I didn't waste any time in coming up with a plan. I wanted whatever was in that chest and I wanted it as soon as possible. The fact that the Gauntlet was being timed lingered in the back of my mind, making me act almost irrationally. I climbed over the table, ignoring the chest so I could strike the lumbering skeleton from behind. It didn't even get a chance to turn around before my claw slashed away at the back of its neck. 

The first strike made it wobble forward while my second swing severed the head clean from the spine. It fell forward in a motionless heap, leaving just me and Finley with the treasure. 

"Good work there, lad." The Irishman looked at my work. "You took that poor bastard out like you knew him or something."

"I was just venting a bit of frustration," I replied. With the only enemy in the room put out of commission, I put my fingers on the top part of the chest. I drummed my fingers on the wooden surface, contemplating whether or not I should I open it up all the way. I looked over my shoulder towards Finley for guidance. He just nodded his head and raised his rod. I assumed that meant he would back me up in case things went wrong. 

There wasn't any point in hesitating. The chest was about as long as a keyboard and roughly a foot in length. The lid took a bit of pressure to open, but the groove was just wide enough for me to wedge the tip of one my claw's prongs. With a firm push I managed to separate the top from the bottom. I took a few steps back while my fingers shook, eager to grab my reward.

Except there was no real reward.

Of course it was a trap. A green cloud filled with a nasty scent shot up, almost covering my face. I plugged my fingers with my nose, but I wasn't fast enough to stop the smell of molding meat from getting into my nostrils and down in my lungs. 

"Am I going to die?" I yelled with the little breath I had in my lungs. I could taste the scent on my tongue when I spoke.

"A Living Trap," Finley said with disdain. He angled his rod at the chest. When I looked back at the table, the chest was... moving. It bounced up and down, making a hissing sound as the lid flapped about like a pair of lips. It jumped around the table and headed towards Finley. A single bolt of electricity from his rod was enough to make the evil chest stop moving altogether. "Their breath just stuns with how much it reeks. The real damage comes from when it bites ya."

He picked up the motionless chest and turned it towards me, his fingers keeping both halves pried open. I peered into it, fingers still covering my nose. Rows of teeth lined the edges while a long, sharp and red tongue hung limp over the table. "That's why I had so much trouble getting it open, huh?"

"Yeah. I should have noticed it sooner."

"Great." I let out a huff of air. I was genuinely pissed that I didn't get an item out of that chest. Finley must have noticed that I was upset too because he gave me this smug smirk as I headed towards the other side of the room. "What?" I said, unable to mask my frustration. 

"Ya seem upset, lad. Your first time getting shafted?"

"No, it's not. I guess I could say I'm used to it." I put my hand on the door's handle, ready to open it.

"Don't get too bent out of shape. There'll be plenty more chests. With good stuff in 'em too, I'm sure. The further we go, the better the loot."

"I can get the next chest then?"

"Of course. We're here to make sure you come to grips with going through a Gauntlet. You're not gonna to get any better if I started acting like Brandon." He then nudged the dead box with the bottom section of his rod. "And look at the bright side. At least we got a small bit o' Experience for killing this thing."

I felt a bit better. Thinking that you're going to get some magical object only to be a foot away from getting your face devoured by a demon box can really sour one's mood. But, with the mishap behind me, I forged ahead after taking a moment to clear my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder and Finley was there urging me to go on. 

"Go ahead. You got this. Been doing all right so far." He patted me on the back as I opened the door to the next room. Again, nothing I hadn't seen before. A long square room filled with skeletons. Except this time one had a weapon in its hands; a rusty old sword. The other three monsters didn't notice us once I cracked the door open. Seeing that the skeletons in the dungeon weren’t the fastest movers, I took the time before the monster approached to look around the area. 

Each side had its own door, giving us a total of three options to advance through. But what bummed me out was the lack of a chest in this room. Nothing but fighting up ahead. 

"Tell you what. You can get all the last hits in this room. There's a chance one of them could drop something. Slim, but still worth a shot nonetheless."

I leaned back so I wasn't directly in the sword-wielding skeleton's view. "Err... and is it safe to assume that this guy here is stronger than the rest of his buddies?"

"You'd be assuming correct. He should have a higher attack at the very least. But because of the lack of armor, you should be able to kill just as quickly as all the others. Why don't you double check the numbers just to be on the safe side?"

"Check the numbers?" I whispered back. The skeleton saw me start to close the door and sprinted as fast as its 'muscle-less' legs would allow. I promptly shut the door all the way, slamming it right in its face as it lifted its sword high to attack. I heard it rattle from the other side. "I'm guessing that has something to do with my Oracle."

"Now you're getting the hang of it. All you gotta do is just look at an enemy with your Oracle wide open. Then Nuru can send all the relevant information directly to you. Just uh... try not to get distracted by crunching numbers in the middle of a fight. I've seen a few Dungeon Runners go down in the middle of a Gauntlet because they spent too much time calculating instead of defending."

I kept my back pressed against the wall to stop the skeleton from bursting through. I heard it pound its sword against the door. "I was never much of a math person anyway."

"Don't get me wrong, stats are important, but nothing plays a greater role in making it out of a Gauntlet than skill. You can overcome numbers with effective dodgin' and attackin'." He leaned forward and squinted at me while pointing a single finger towards my chest. "Within reason! Don’t take this as me telling ya to fight monsters ten times your strength all by your lonesome!"

"All right, all right. I get it," I groaned. "Be careful but not too careful. Got it." I waved my fingers in front of my face and the world took on the same pinkish hue again. As I looked at the info on my screen, the skeleton on the other side started hitting the door with the entirety of its body, almost knocking me forward. "Now, let's see what this monster is made of."