49th Floor, The BNY Mellon Center, The Pitt - 1:59 PM
I sat there for a while even after my hit points were maxed out. The Skin of Papyrus debuff was a nasty curse, and the moment my adrenaline rush died down I was hesitant to move in any way that could aggravate it further. Unfortunately, that meant staying completely still as my skin stitched itself back together. The blood drying on my back didn’t help, either.
Thinking back to my adventures so far in this run, I thought this might have been the most injured I had looked. My clothes were essentially torn into ribbons and soaked in blood and filth. To Ashley or the Mills, I would probably look like I was on the brink of death. Honestly, this was a common occurrence. Not a pleasant one, but one that I was used to at the very least.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the message floating in front of me. I had received it some time ago, but had been content to sit and wait. I read it now.
[[Notice]]
The Patron [Imsety] points you towards the stairwell to the dungeon boss to find his mask.
“Thank you, Patron Imsety,” I said aloud. They weren't going to be angry at me thanks to Sara, so I saw no reason not to be polite.
Glancing in that direction, there was no way to tell from here that there was a hidden space. Many had spent their time searching the arena I sat on, but that was a fool’s errand. Even though I had direction now, I didn’t get up.
Instead, I looked down at the brown skill book that I still had in my hands. From the image of parchment on the cover, I could tell that it held the Skin of Papyrus skill within. I was about to open it when I had a thought.
So far, Jeff had a strange build. As a Queen’s Knight, he was essentially a support tank for Kayla. He had abilities to buff her and himself when they fought together, and he could steal any aggressive attention placed on her. Within his class, his kit was really straightforward and did exactly what it needed to do.
The skills and passives he had picked up, though they were mostly through items, were not complementary to these at all. Both Killer Queen, his rapier, and the Stinging Yellow Jacket provided him with the means to inflict debuffs whenever he hurt an enemy. All three skills, Honey Clot and both types of poison, stacked as well. He had been so excited about it before realizing that poison wouldn’t work on a lot of our enemies here.
It had been a while, but I remembered that Jeff had learned the Pain Enhancement passive that Talspra had dropped. A shiver went down my spine as I realized how scary the Queen’s Knight could get. Not because I was scared of him - Jeff was essentially a giant, overprotective puppy - but because a competent tank that could cause an excessive number of debuffs was one of the few things I personally wouldn’t fight without a lot of preparation and planning in advance.
I gazed at the Skin of Papyrus skill book with a whole new mindset. As always, it was a neutered version of the skill the boss used. This one wouldn’t activate on a near miss, and it certainly wouldn’t cause a whole section of someone’s body to dry and crumble like mine had, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t potent. I wouldn’t be missing much if I gave this to him, either; my weapon strikes didn’t need anything extra to be lethal.
It wouldn’t be the first thing I planned on giving Jeff from this expedition. The poison enhancing passive that the Serpopards had dropped was definitely going to go to him, but this could help cement him in a niche that most tanks didn’t build towards.
“Normally, it would be the rogue that inflicts all these debuffs,” I chuckled to myself. “Well, like wife, like husband, I suppose.”
[[Patron Message]]
Are you saying things like that because you’re thinking of giving it to Jeff?
I can see why you’d want to. He has such an unusual skill set in the first place. For what he is, I mean. It’s a shame he’s never made it through the first scenario.
Sincerely,
Sara
“Yeah, that really is a great loss, isn’t it?” I asked the sky before sighing and shaking my head. “I think I’m going to. They’re not supposed to be here, which means it’s my responsibility to keep them safe. Giving this up is a small thing considering what I already have to work with, so I really don’t mind.”
I set the skill book into my inventory as I stood up. While I usually had no problem learning this particular skill, it didn’t offer as much to me as it could to him. It was a solid choice, though I wouldn’t be leaving this place empty-handed; the best skill was still at the top.
Turning around, I Pulled the khopesh and shield towards me. I opened their descriptions once I had them in hand.
[[Equipped]]
Kedjen’s Khopesh
(+8 Strength, +6 Constitution, Chariot Transformation skill acquired)
[[Skill]]
Chariot Transformation
Throw the Kedjen’s Khopesh to the ground to activate this skill. It will transform into a chariot large enough to carry you and two others, and provide spectral horses that can travel up to 1.5 times your fastest speed. The vehicle will have half as many hit points as you do. If it is destroyed, this skill can’t be used for another 24 hours.
[[Equipped]]
Shield of the Qer’iu
(+8 Strength, +4 Constitution, Guardian Shield skill acquired, Block Strength x2 passive acquired.)
[[Skill]]
Guardian Shield
While this skill is active, the Shield of the Qer’iu will automatically float around the person you want to protect. The effect lasts for an amount of seconds equal to your Constitution/2 or until it blocks damage equal to the bearer’s hit points, and can be activated twice per day. The shield will automatically attempt to intercept attacks made against the target of this skill.
[[Passive]]
Block Strength x2
When blocking with a shield, consider your Strength to be twice as high as it normally is.
The khopesh’s Chariot Transformation would be very useful when it came to moving several people around at once. My Heelies of Hermes’ Divine Messenger skill would always be faster at twice my fastest speed but I could, at best, carry a single person. Not to mention, long distance travel was killer on the legs. It wasn’t so much a skill for everyday use, but it was handy, especially when making an entrance.
On the other hand, the Guardian Shield skill would be handy in all manners of combat. Despite its wording implying it could only be used on others, the bearer could be the target of its protection. The bronze shield was shaped like an oval with an eye motif. It wasn’t very large, but it was surprisingly sturdy and did its job well. This was an item I was planning on using, though I was going to pass it off to Jamie until her golden shield was fixed.
For now, I set them both into my inventory and opened my menu. With the defeat of the Bronze Crocodile, two Guardian Serpopards, the Baboon Conjurer, and now the Tomb Guardian, I had two items to upgrade. Navigating my screens, I upgraded them both simultaneously.
[[Equipped]]
Gloves of the Warmongering Mystic +2
(Set Item 2/6; Growth Item, kill 10 bosses to upgrade; +110 Mental Points, +16 Wisdom, +16 Willpower, Weight Increase ability augment, Distance Increase ability augment)
[[Ability Augment]]
Weight Increase
When using Push, Pull, Lift, or Drop, increase the weight of objects you can affect by 20%.
[[Ability Augment]]
Distance Increase
When using Push, Pull, Lift, or Drop, increase the distance at which you can affect objects by 20%.
[[Equipped]]
Breeches of the Warmongering Mystic +1
(Set Item 2/6; Growth Item, kill 9 bosses to upgrade; +100 Mental Points, +15 Wisdom, +15 Willpower, Weight Increase ability augment acquired, Distance Increase ability augment acquired)
[[Ability Augment]]
Protection Increase
When using Shield or Force Field, increase the amount of damage they can take by 15%.
[[Ability Augment]]
Recharge Increase
When using Shield or Force Field, increase the recharge rate by 15%.
The Warmongering Mystic armor was a powerful addition to my arsenal even if they only increased Wisdom and Willpower. I looked them over again, glad that my numbers were getting bigger and my abilities were becoming augmented. However, if they were going to become much more powerful, then I needed to collect more of them.
When it came to sets like these ones, the items that made it up usually couldn’t get much stronger without others of its kind. If I hadn’t found the Breeches, then the Gloves would have topped out at +2. They all grew to +1 naturally, but after that they only grew depending on how many items in the set you owned. That meant all six of the set pieces could be enhanced to +7 overall when they were together.
What made it worse was that any boss kills I got between maxing out an item and getting another piece of the set didn’t count towards the total. I went through powerful enemies very quickly because that was what I needed to do, so it was especially egregious to me that the administrators made me wait to upgrade even if I had already defeated enough bosses to upgrade an item twice over.
Taking a breath before I could get myself riled up over what was essentially a way to quell power creep, I retrieved my Vague Stick and walked towards the staircase. Before Imsety could send another message, I tossed and Pushed the weapon into the corner where it shattered the limestone hiding the final item.
[[Notice]]
Your Scenario Quest’s optional objective, “Find the four hidden objects,” has been completed. Complete the quest to receive the optional reward.
I reached into the hole I made and pulled out a golden funerary mask. It bore the likeness of a human man on it, and was surprisingly heavy even with my advanced Strength. Cow horns rose out of its forehead, and a long, plaited beard adorned its chin. The whole thing was carefully painted and set with several precious stones.
It fully reminded me of the world renowned Mask of Tutankhamun. This wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to the original legendary item that resided in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, but it was still fantastic. I pulled up its stats.
[[Item]]
Mask of Imsety
(Unique Item; +30 Constitution, Isis’ Protection passive acquired)
[[Passive]]
Isis’ Protection
WARNING: You must be an Avatar of Isis to receive Isis’ Protection. You already have a Patron, so you will not be able to obtain this passive.
I let out another breath as I read it over. +30 Constitution was big, sure, but Isis’ Protection was on another level. In Egyptian mythology, she breathed life into her husband Osiris’ dead body, resurrecting him. This story was thought to have been the one that spread her significance throughout the world, even reaching the Greeks and Romans where she gained a cult following. This item did something similar.
If you died while wearing the Mask of Imsety, then Isis’ Protection would resurrect you with full hit points and nary a scratch to show for it. It only worked once, but it was a damn fine object and the creature acting as the Patron wasn’t bad. I had been their Avatar at least four times before on runs where I knew I would be doing something stupidly dangerous.
This time, however, I reached inside with both hands and pulled. The Mask of Imsety creaked, then cracked, and I broke it with raw Strength alone. Holding the bottom of it away from me, a large, discolored liver slopped onto the ground.
The building began to shake violently. The stone rumbled and some of the glass shattered as a loud roar could clearly be heard above me. Now that all four of the hidden objects, which worked like Canopic Jars, were broken, the final enemy of the dungeon was well on the road to being weakened enough that I could handle it on my own. As it could have easily been a raid boss somewhere else, it was necessary.
Even though there wasn’t any word of it, I knew my troubles didn’t stop on the next floor up. There was no message, but the Patron masquerading as Isis was keeping an eye on me. Unlike the other hidden objects, this one was closely tied to her and she would have offered whoever found it to become her Avatar. Now she was staying silent, though I wasn’t sure if it was because she was content to watch or because of Sara’s words to the pantheon.
Either way, I pulled out my Writhing Belt Whip from my inventory and started heading up the stairs for the first time. It was a short trek, one that I easily made while taking the steps three at a time, and I entered the boss’ room.
The top five floors of the dungeon had been converted into a single space. The first thing anyone would notice in the room was the large, golden sarcophagus smack dab in the middle of everything. It was set with precious metals and jewels in a gaudy show of wealth. Unlike a regular sarcophagus, this one didn’t depict a human.
Instead, it was in the shape of a Dragon.
Any who tried to interact with it would find that it was sealed shut. Hieroglyphics were written on every surface of the sarcophagus, acting as runes that kept it closed. These weren't carved into the gold, but painted on as if it were an afterthought. Anyone approaching it would have a screen pop up telling them that, if they wanted to open it to complete the dungeon, they would find the answer in the rear of the room.
Against the back wall were stairs leading up to different platforms situated where the floors would normally be. There was a puzzle set up in order to open the sarcophagus that required people to give up items to the Patrons the dungeon was paying homage to. The most obvious answer was to give up the four hidden objects, but anyone who wanted to keep them could offer something else at the risk of being cursed.
Getting cursed was definitely the better way to do things.
If the dungeon raiders gave up the hidden objects, then the boss entombed here would regain the organs inside and grow more powerful. The fact that I had destroyed them meant that it wouldn't get that boost in power, but for this foe I would need to go the extra mile. It would still be dangerous, even for me, but not nearly as much as it could have been.
I didn’t want to get cursed just for solving a puzzle, so I didn't go anywhere near the puzzle. There was one last thing I had to do before the fight. Reaching into my inventory, I retrieved the various organs I had gotten from the broken items. The smell of ancient embalming fluid quickly filled the room. Afterwards, I pulled out a match.
This was a tried and true method I had learned about early on to draw the boss out. Not only would it temporarily deviate in its programming, allowing it to break out, but it would fully weaken the beast. Placing the hidden objects in the puzzle would Awaken it, while destroying its innards would make it Dormant.
I shivered in anticipation as I struck the match against its box, realizing how much I was looking forward to this as I tossed the first flame.
Soon, every one of them were lit ablaze, and the building violently shook again as the beast trapped within made its fury well known.
