The Last Experience Point

Chapter 44: Room 18361

If part of being an adventurer was learning to detect and avoid traps, then Zach clearly still had some weaknesses he needed to address. This, he realized, as Fluffles’ claws dug into his hands and broke his skin, causing him to yank his arm back and hiss in pain.

“Why?” he shouted, as Lienne laughed. “Why did you do that again? You told me it was okay this time.”

“It always a trap,” Fluffles said, lying on the clean, carpeted inn-room floor on his back with his belly exposed. “No one rub Fluffles’ belly without attack.”

“But you asked me to. You told me I could. And then when I said I didn’t want to because you always attack me, you told me you wouldn’t this time, and you promised it’s not a trap.”

“It always a trap,” Fluffles repeated. “Zach fall for Fluffles’ trap every time.” He meowed. “Fluffles feel bad. Zach can pet belly this time. It okay. I not going to attack.”

Fluffles had his paws in the air and his neck tilted back as if in invitation. Nevertheless, Zach wasn’t about to make the same mistake for the eighth time in a row. He’d finally learned his lesson. Never again would he be deceived this way. Lienne, on the other hand, seemed like she was willing to get a nasty scratch, as she leaned forward and actually tempted fate, placing her hand down on his white, fur-covered belly. Yet for some reason, there was no attack or clawing, which only heightened Zach’s frustration and confusion. Why the hell wasn’t Fluffles attacking? Was this some kind of favoritism or something?

“Pretty kitty,” Lienne said. Fluffles purred.

The two of them were waiting in Zach’s room for Rian to return. He’d gone to pick up some lunch for the three of them—and Fluffles—before they began sorting through their loot. Zach hoped he didn’t screw something up on purpose, as Rian hadn’t wanted to be the one to go and had even angrily protested. Both he and Lienne had agreed that Zach shouldn’t have to go since he’d saved their lives against all odds, and thus, it had become a shouting match between the two siblings. Ultimately, since Rian was the hungrier of the two and wanted to eat the soonest, it was only fair that he be the one to make the unexpectedly long journey to the tavern and order four meals to go.

We’ll probably have to warm everything up when he gets back here, Zach realized, glancing over at the tiny little microwave across from where he was sitting in the inn room.

Despite wanting to see his new sword and hopefully score some powerful—and valuable!—stuff, Zach had been way too tired yesterday to start messing around with storage and loot, and Lienne and Rian seemed to have felt the same way; hence, the three of them had each spent almost an entire day in bed. Now, during what Zach’s cell phone assured him was just past noon in local Galterran time, he sat on the green-carpeted floor with Lienne and played with Fluffles while waiting for Rian to return. What was taking him so long, anyway? Zach expected Rian to be back by now, as he’d been gone for almost five hours, and it was only a two-hour walk each way.

It’ll probably take him longer since he’s carrying all that food.

Something Zach had come to accept lately was that there were certain mysteries of the universe for which there was simply no satisfying explanation. The very existence and nature of “Angelica’s” was definitely one of those mysteries. And yet, the fact that this warm, comforting place of genuine safety was trillions of light-years beyond the farthest star in the known universe was somehow not, at least in Zach’s opinion, the biggest mystery regarding this inn—nor was learning that its owner was a super-cute, very much sentient, level-1027 chick with real, actual cat ears. Incredibly, the rabbit hole went even deeper as it pertained to Angelica’s, and much of this Zach had learned yesterday on his “walk” to his room, where he had encountered two grey-haired, elderly adventurers—a husband and wife—who had filled the three of them in on many of the downright fascinating details.

I still can’t believe what they told us, Zach thought.

Unlike the last time they’d stayed here, when they’d been given rooms 556, 557, and 558, this time around, Angelica’s had apparently been “very busy” yesterday when they’d arrived, and she had instead given them something a little bit “farther down the hall,” so to speak.

Having just finished eating a meal that Angelica claimed was on the house, Zach, Rian, and Lienne had all decided they wanted to turn in early for the night. Hell, even if those two hadn’t wanted to, Zach would’ve gone without them. He’d needed to shower, wash the blood out of his clothing and body, and then get some sleep, as he had driven himself well beyond the point of exhaustion. Fortunately, buying a room for the night was something that had now become easily affordable; all three of them now had more than 10,000 points, with Zach actually having 21,351. Thus, the 300 a night required for a room had suddenly seemed incredibly cheap. Fluffles had also insisted on coming along, which Zach was glad to hear, as he’d missed his little buddy.

Reaching beneath the counter without even looking, Angelica had produced three electronic key cards. Zach, confusingly, had received a room key with the number 18361 on it, which upon first glance, he’d assumed must have been some kind of mistake. But then he saw that Rian had 18362, and Lienne had been given 18363.

“I thought there were only two floors here,” Zach had said to Angelica. He had then held up his key card to show her the number on the one she’d just given him. “This says room 18361.”

Angelica smiled. “Yep! It’s just down the hall.”

“Down the hall?”

“Mhm. Just keep going. You can’t miss it.”

Zach had again stared at his key card. “Yeah, it’s just…”

It had been just then, in that moment, that the three of them had met the acquaintances of Mister and Misses Britethorn. “First time at Angelica’s?” a man who’d later identified himself as Frederick Britethorn had asked him.

“Ah, no, sir,” Zach had replied politely. “Second time.”

“What room did you stay in last time?” his wife had then asked. The two of them had been an odd sight to behold. Despite clearly being in their sixties if not early seventies, they were both clad in massive suits of shiny, bronze, and blood-stained armor; each of them held a matching helm under their arm.

“I was in room 556,” Zach had told them.

At this, the old adventurer had tapped his chin with his armor-covered finger, nodded his head, and said, “Ah-ha! That makes sense. Care to take a walk with us? We live in 12521. There’s probably a lot you don’t know.”

“Live in?” Rian had asked.

“We’ll explain on the way,” his wife had said, the two of them walking up the homely wooden staircase to the second floor. Sharing a collective shrug with his friends, the three had then hurried after the old couple, joining them on their “walk.”

As Zach and his friends would soon discover, Mr. Britethorn had indeed been correct: there’d been a lot the three of them did not know, starting with the fact that, however inexplicably, Angelica’s supposedly contained an infinite number of rooms. Upon hearing this, all three of them had asked for clarification, to which both Mr. Britethorn and his wife had then reiterated that, yes, the hallway they had been traveling down was believed by many to continue on infinitely. Both had then been quick to clarify that they themselves could not confirm it, but that even still, they believed it to be true. Zach found it to be perfectly understandable that neither of them had ever bothered to try disproving the belief, as he himself would not want to spend a week or more traveling down an infinite hallway only to run out of supplies and walk all the way back with no conclusive answers.

After learning of the seemingly infinite nature of the second-floor hallway, Zach, having taken yet another glance at his key card, had asked the first thing that had popped up in his head, something that had seemed only natural to him. Clearly, it had been an obvious question, as the married, grey-haired adventurers had both nodded along while Zach spoke as if they’d been expecting him to ask them exactly what he had.

“Are you telling me that there are more than eighteen-thousand people staying here tonight?” Zach had asked. “Because as crowded as it is today, I don’t know if I can believe it’s that busy.”

Their voices filling with excitement, it had been at this point that Mister and Misses Britethorn looked at one another, grinned, and then the two of them had begun taking turns as they energetically launched into a lengthy, detailed explanation of what they had referred to as “the housing market.” Despite their age, the two elderly adventurers seemed to have no problem talking and answering questions as they glided down the supposedly infinite hallway even while clad in such heavy armor. If anything, it had been the three of them who struggled to keep up.

“The first thousand rooms of Angelica’s contain a few special 'reserve rooms' for people staying ten days or less,” Mrs. Britethorn had explained. “On a regular day, you can usually get a bed in one of those. Since it’s rather busy today, you’re stuck taking the long walk with us.”

As she had continued to speak, Zach found himself so enthralled in what she’d revealed that he bumped into Rian, who hadn’t even seemed to notice. It turned out that every room in Angelica’s contained certain special “properties.” For a normal stay, or even a somewhat longer one, these rooms all functioned exactly the same: they were all the same small, but cozy spaces with a single bed, a tiny little kitchen area, a small bathroom, and a washer and dryer—something that Zach had definitely planned to use as his equipment was now his only clothing and it had been filthy, smelled horribly, and had been covered in the blood of everything from pirates to purple pumpkins. Aside from that, the only other “unusual” feature shared by all rooms was that every twenty-four hours, they would clean themselves as though by magic. All that was required was for any occupants to step outside for a period of ten seconds or longer, and whenever they reentered, the rooms would be spotless, the sheets fresh, the bathroom immaculate, the air fresh, and even the kitchen counter free of any crumbs or other junk.

“So that’s what every basic room in Angelica’s has in common,” Mr. Britethorn had said. “Now, here’s where it becomes interesting.”

Not long after passing the first thousand rooms, Mr. Britethorn had removed what looked like a tablet computer from somewhere inside his chest armor and had then showed it to Zach. Glancing down at it, Zach had seen what looked like a 3D model of a giant mansion. Within this mansion, everything from the flooring to the furniture, light fixtures, and even the stairs could be tapped on, bringing up a vast number of menus and configurations that could be purchased with “points.”

“Any time an adventurer books a room for more than a hundred days that isn't a reserve room, they get a tablet. That’s where the fun begins.”

Zach’s eyes had widened. “Wait, so if I were to book my room for another 99 days, I would get one of those?”

Mr. Britethorn had nodded. “That’s right, son. And from there, you can begin modifying it: its size, its shape—everything. For about 200k points, you can get a starter house: two floors, three bedrooms. Or, if you want something more the size of an apartment, you can get away with 50k. But remember: if the number of days left before your booking expires ever falls under 30, you lose everything. It’s all reset.”

Zach had found this simply unbelievable. “So, eighteen-thousand adventurers live here? Is that why we have to walk for two hours?”

“Kind of but not quite,” said Mrs. Britethorn. It had then been she who continued the explanation. “Because adventurers are often so paranoid about losing their precious homes and all the points put into them, a lot of them book rooms for a great deal of time, well, well in advance. Sometimes to the point it’s a bit silly.” She’d chuckled. “There are rooms booked up for thousands of years, and for whatever reason, death doesn’t cause anything to reset. So a lot of the taken rooms in Angelica’s are booked by people who’ve been dead a long, long time. Room 101 is infamous. No one knows who ‘owned’ it or how long ago, but it’s booked through the next fifty-thousand years.”

“That’s kind of incredible,” Lienne had said. Then she’d smirked. “Now I want a house here, too.”

“You can earn one easily enough. You three seem very capable.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

As the two old adventurers continued their explanation, Zach had learned that there was an entire housing market, primarily in the bazaar, of people willing to “sell” their rooms to adventurers who wanted to be closer to the stairs leading to the tavern. It wasn’t even just because of matters of convenience, either, but also because it served as something of a status symbol, too.

Prices began to get pretty steep for any room lower in number than 2000, and they were doubly high for 1,000 and below. But even that was nothing compared to the top 500 or, Gods forbid, the top 200. If Zach ever wanted to live in one of those, he’d be entering Purple Rejuvenation Stone territory.

As the five of them had continued along, more questions and answers from Rian and Lienne had revealed some more interesting details. Many adventurers took a varied approach to how they both decorated their homes in Angelica’s and even how often they lived in them. Some only visited once or twice a year, as many also had homes on Galterra as well, whereas others stopped by more frequently. And quite a few, such as Mister and Misses Britethorn, used their room in Angelica’s as their primary residence.

As incredible as all this had been, the nature of things hadn’t truly solidified in Zach’s mind until they’d finally reached the room these two stayed in, and what Zach had seen, to put it mildly, had blown his fucking mind. Given that they’d only been a few thousand rooms away, they’d asked Zach, Rian, and Lienne to return for tea or coffee after they’d washed up, and the three, having now been totally hooked and curious, had agreed fairly quickly.

Upon returning, they had entered into what might very well have been the most elegantly furnished, elaborately decorated, and luxurious property Zach had ever born witness to. Their kitchen alone was the size that his entire apartment had been in Whispery Woods. Apparently, these two had spent decades saving the points required to build such a dream home.

“The more points you earn, the higher level of upgrades you can unlock,” Mr. Britethorn had explained, asking them to follow him after they’d shared some tea. “Even if you have the points for certain higher-end upgrades, you won’t be able to buy them unless your overall point level is high enough to unlock its tier. An example would be our backyard where we have our own personal atmosphere.”

“Wait, what?” Rian had asked.

Mr. Britethorn had smiled proudly. “Oh, you’ll see.”

With that, he had led them through a sliding glass door and out into what was, unmistakably, a beautiful backyard under a warm summer sky, complete with a pool, a deck, and garden, all of which was enclosed in an unusually high, see-through fence that was at least fifteen feet tall. In the distance, Zach could see what appeared to be an entire neighborhood on a conventional suburban city street.

“Everything not within this fence is fake,” Mr. Britethorn had said. “If you jump over the fence, you won’t land on that street over there”—he’d pointed—“but instead into the void of space, so be careful.”

Zach had nodded. “Yeah, definitely don’t want that to happen. Hey, Mr. Britethorn, how is it so warm and lifelike out here?”

Both Mr. Britethorn and his wife had shrugged. “No idea how it’s done. But I can make it winter, fall, you name it. You can have it set to a stable time of day, too, but we find it healthier to keep it set to our local time in Galterra. That way, every morning, a beautiful sunshine comes through the windows, and every night, we can see the stars.”

Even before he’d seen their backyard, Zach had been sold on this whole thing hook, line, and sinker. The only question was how he’d convince Kalana to live somewhere like this with him, as she kind of had her own private island now. Zach supposed they’d have to take turns. Kalana was always a stickler for things like “sharing” and “taking turns,” so he couldn’t imagine she’d have a problem with it.

I want all of this, he recalled himself thinking. I want my own beautiful mansion. I want to control every aspect of it!

Having been worn down from his dive to B10 and subsequent boss fight, Zach, Rian, and Lienne had only stayed for an hour or so, but before leaving, they’d learned that Angelica’s offered a variety of subscription services for points each month, such as having their mail miraculously delivered to their room. They could also order groceries and have it appear within a nanosecond in their refrigerator. There was so much more—to the extent that it seemed what they’d explained so far was only scratching the surface. As much as Zach had wanted to learn more, he had begun to doze off on their leather couch. Regarding him warmly, the two elderly adventurers had offered to let all three of them use the guest rooms, but Zach did not want to impose and so, along with Rian and Lienne, they had bid the Britethorns a good evening, and then they had returned to their own rooms.

Given the very real security and safety of Angelica’s, Zach actually felt comfortable leaving his inn-room door open a crack so that Fluffles could come and go while he slept. If there was anywhere in the universe he doubted he’d be robbed or attacked in his sleep, it was this place. In fact, one of the final interesting bits of information Zach had obtained from the Britethorns was that Angelica’s had some very unique but critically important rules that could easily result in death—via Angelica—if not obeyed. And one of them regarded fighting.

As merrily as most adventurers seemed to get along, they weren’t without their interpersonal conflicts. And sometimes—as in every fifteen minutes or so—a fight tended to break out in the tavern. Zach had seen plenty of these his first time here, enough so that he had become desensitized to it after like the fifth or sixth time watching two people go at it. Yet what he hadn’t known at the time was that there were very, very strict rules regarding fighting with dire consequences for those who disobeyed.

Zach had learned that, not only did Angelica personally allow adventurers to resolve their issues with their fists—she actually encouraged it. In fact, she preferred that it happen in her tavern as opposed to anywhere else, at least according to Mister and Misses Britethorn. That said, there were numerous rules that she required be followed to the letter of the law.

First and foremost, no adventurers were allowed to use weapons. If anyone so much as touched a weapon, Angelica would either knock them out—if they were lucky—or outright sever their limbs if not kill them. Secondly, anyone wanting to fight had to eat a nullification grape, which was apparently a fruit she kept under the counter that reset an adventurer’s stats to that of a level 1 for the next five minutes. Lastly, when Angelica said it was time to stop fighting, it was time to stop fighting. It appeared that stamina wasn’t the only hidden stat that adventurers had. It turned out that HP, too, was something that actually existed in people just as it did in mobs, and it functioned very similarly to stamina, which was to say it was comprised of a bunch of different values, some of which swung wildly from moment to moment.

Angelica, it seemed, could see this number, and she monitored it very carefully, breaking up fights the moment either participant risked injury or worse. Furthermore, she only allowed two adventurers to fight at any given time, and if multiple people had scores to settle, they would just have to agree upon an order and wait their turn. Through this system, Mrs. Britethorn claimed, no adventurer had died in Angelica’s tavern from fight-related injuries in over a thousand years other than the tiny handful Angelica had killed herself.

It was for this reason, apparently, that the inn was a popular spot for adventurers with issues that needed to be resolved violently. It was also the only location and method that the adventuring alliance sanctioned for dueling or resolving disputes without requiring either participant to notify their guild-leader or guild-officers. In other words, assuming Zach had understood correctly, if for whatever reason, say, Kesten and Maric—or whoever—developed some bad blood, they could punch it out in Angelica’s without even having to tell anyone in the GSG. It was explicitly allowed—as long as it happened here under the watch of Angelica.

Having gained so much new knowledge in such a short time, Zach had been given more than enough to think about as he drifted off to sleep with Fluffles on the pillow beside him. And now, following thirteen hours of rest, he felt wide awake, refreshed, and with a growl from his stomach, he realized he was beginning to get really, really hungry. He hoped Rian would get his ass back here already with their food.

“What’s taking him so long?” Zach asked.

Lienne curled her lips. “He’s probably being lazy. Uh, hey, Zach.”

“Yeah?”

Zach felt a pinch form in his stomach as a drastic shift in her expression saw her biting her lip and somewhat narrowing her eyes. “If you wanted to hang out later, I mean, after we go to bed, I’d never tell anyone, you know?”

Completely taken by surprise, Zach tried to speak but found that no words would come out. He was so jolted he wasn’t even sure he’d understood her correctly. “Hang out?” he croaked. “What do you mean?”

She smiled. “You know.”

She’s not talking about…‘that,’ is she?

In truth, despite being seventeen, Zach had never been with a girl. He was still a virgin. For this reason, he was inexperienced and couldn’t even be sure that this was what Lienne was referring to. Yet the way she then placed her palm down on top of his hand left little doubts as to her intention.

“I…I can’t,” Zach said nervously. “Kalana.”

“But she wouldn’t have to know.”

“Yeah, but I’d know.”

Lienne frowned. “She’s young and has like fifty gazillion followers on social media. You don’t think she’s…?”

At this, Zach gave an absolute, resolute, and completely confident shake of his head. “I know she’s changed a bit lately, but unless her entire personality down to its very core has been ripped out of her and replaced with someone else, then there’s no chance. Kalana wouldn’t. Not if she said she wouldn’t. And she did. She’s got more to worry about from me than I do from her. Which is why I can’t.”

“I’m not asking for a relationship,” Lienne said. “Just some fun.”

Zach despised himself for how tempted he felt. He wished he could easily dismiss her. He wished he could say he didn’t want to. The fact he did want to disturbed him greatly. Did that make him a bad person? That such an outsized part of him wanted to pick up Lienne and throw her on the bed right here and now? Even still, he resisted.

“I’m sorry. I would if…if not for Kal. But I know she wouldn’t do it to me. Even if she never found out, I’d have to live with knowing what I did.”

Lienne sighed, though there was sadness in the sound of it. “Is it because I’m ugly?”

Zach guffawed. “What? Are you insane? No, no, you’re crazy hot.”

“Then…then why?” She sounded genuinely hurt. Zach had never been in this position before. He wasn’t sure how to react.

“Because I love her,” Zach said. “And I found her first.”

“If…if you didn’t know her or didn’t love her, would I…would I be good enough?”

Zach nodded. “Absolutely. I swear it. It’s nothing wrong with you at all. I know it…it must suck to be told no and all, because if I were in your shoes, I’d be really upset. I promise you it’s the only reason. I swear it.”

Lienne’s eyes dampened, and Zach felt his heart ache with guilt as though a bullet had pierced his chest. Nothing he did or said in this situation would feel right. He almost thought about reconsidering: having one night of fun with Lienne and then pretending it never happened and never bringing it up again. After all, what harm would it do if Kalana never found out, right?

Stop it, he told himself. You’re enough of an asshole as it is. Don’t be one of those people as well.

Sensing the situation gradually becoming sadder and more awkward, Zach was grateful when his apartment door opened and Rian plodded his way in carrying two plastic bags in each hand, both filled with incredible-smelling food. As Zach saw the perspiration gliding down Rian’s forehead, he felt somewhat bad for making him trek all the way there and back. Even still, his friend seemed to be in high spirits despite having had to make the journey while he and Lienne relaxed on their asses.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said, kicking the door closed with his foot. Then he swore. “Oh, shit, I forgot we need to keep it open a bit for the cat. I’ll get it, I’ll get it. Huh?” He took several more steps into the room and paused. “Li, what’s wrong?”

Her eyes reddened, she averted her gaze and shook her head. “I was just telling a sad story about our parents to Zach.”

Rian sighed. “Don’t even think about that, Li. We’re living a whole new life now. Hey, Zach, we’ll do loot while we eat, okay?”

Zach gave him a thumbs-up as he set down the bags and used his storage ability. Today would likely be the day Zach learned to use it as well. From what he could tell, it didn’t seem to be all that complicated. “Before we get going, this is yours I believe,” he said, grabbing something out of thin air.

Having believed he was going to die, Zach hadn’t even looked at the quest weapon he’d earned. Now that he finally saw it, it moved him to stand up to his feet. Even before he got a proper look at the weapon, he could tell it was something special. He felt his mouth forming into an O-shape as Rian passed him the blade, as well as what appeared to be a shoulder strap and scabbard that came with it, along with his original sword that Fluffles had made for him. Setting his starter sword down on the bed, he decided to appraise his newest weapon.

It’s a good deal heavier than my other sword.

Ever since coming to Angelica’s, Zach had noticed that many—if not most—of the adventurer’s had gear that just “looked” special. Everything they wore, and every weapon they had, it all seemed to have a certain “look” about it that distinguished it from any other junk one might find lying around. Now, for the first time, Zach had a piece of gear that seemed as though it would blend in well with at least some of what he saw from the other adventurers.

The blade itself was made of a sharp, straight, and double-edged steel. It was thicker than his current sword by a good few inches, and the very tip of it shined with a blue, otherworldly light. There was also some kind of black writing inscribed along the right and left side of the blade in small black letters that Zach did not recognize. The grip of the blade was also black, and the crossguard was curved downwards and at an angle. But what really caught Zach’s attention was that, inside the pommel below the grip, there was a beautiful blue gemstone that shined the same dark blue light as the tip of the blade.

This is amazing.

Eager to learn more about his new weapon, Zach willed forward his inventory. When nothing happened, he released a stupid, dumb laugh, which caused both Rian and Lienne to send him questioning looks. “I forgot I can’t do what I did before,” he explained to them. As their looks of confusion only seemed to increase, he grunted. “Meaning my Helm Sight Level. I’m not in Unleashed Phase.”

“Oh, right,” Rian said. “Guess it’s the old-fashioned way for now.”

Zach laughed. Tapping his right shoulder four times, he brought up his inventory, and then he tapped in the air and selected his new blade, which was called “Yorna’s Sword of Courage.” He noticed Rian and Lienne coming to stand by his side as if also curious to see what the weapon was capable of.

(RARE) Yorna’s Sword of Courage: earned by Zachys Calador

+4 str

+2 dex, +2 con,

+1 spd

Successful, damaging attacks with this weapon grant the user 1 stack of Courage (max 5). Upon reaching 5 stacks, the user may activate Yorna’s Courage.

Yorna’s Courage: consume all 5 stacks of Courage to create a barrier around the user that completely negates the next damaging attack, spell, ability, or item ability. If the user is struck with an ability that causes damage over time, then that ability is negated. If the user has already been struck with an ability that causes damage over time, then any damage from the next tick of the DOT will be nullified and the damaging effect(s) will continue normally thereafter until it is either removed or it expires naturally. Does not block curses or debuffs.

“Wow, not bad,” Rian said, bobbing his head with approval.

Zach read the description several times, burning it to his mind so that he didn’t forget it. Then, he said, “I think I recall this glowing blue when it first dropped right next to me. Not the blue glow it has now, I mean. But like, the glow when you look at loot that belongs to you. I think if something is shining blue, it makes it rare. That um, that Purple Rejuvenation stone also shined purple. I think that has something to do with the rarity.”

“It does,” Rian said. “White is common, green is uncommon, blue is rare, purple is epic rare, and gold is legendary. Silver is artifact, but that’s so rare you might as well forget ever seeing it. So that’s basically how rarity works. But be careful: rarity can also sometimes be misleading, too.”

“How so?”

“Because a rare item like that”—he pointed—“in terms of value, is probably only worth a fraction of a common item dropped by something that’s level 60.”

Zach nodded. “Makes sense.”

Rian spent the next several minutes removing several items from storage and setting them down on the floor nearby. Then he, Zach, and Lienne took turns using the microwave to briefly reheat the food, which had gone cold. Fluffles, who had fallen asleep at some point during his conversation with Lienne, woke up the moment the microwave activated and waited as patiently as could be expected for his food.

“Did Angelica give you a plastic bowl for Fluffles?” Zach asked.

“Yeah, she did.”

“Maybe we should serve him first.”

“Yes!” Fluffles shouted, meowing nonstop. “Maybe serve Fluffles first! I was a good cat. I get to have first. Fluffles want extra.”

As the four of them ate, they briefly discussed their plans of what they intended to do next. Rian and Lienne wanted to spend a few more days in Angelica’s inn, which Zach could totally understand, because he loved it here too, yet he managed to convince them to leave with him tomorrow.

“I need to call Kalana,” he said. “I definitely want to keep adventuring with you two, but I need to see her first.”

“So are you going straight away?” Lienne asked, the sad look once again returning to her eyes.

Zach shook his head. “No. Uh, actually, I think we should spend a few days in town, no? What did you guys say was the name of the town right near the entrance to Yorna?”

“Den of Ziragoth,” Rian said. “It’s a nice little town. Has a pretty decent market. One of those old-fashioned ones where you can haggle and bargain for all kinds of things.”

“Well, I do need to buy all new clothing—and a backpack, too. Also, I left my bike near the boulder. I say we head into town for a few days. Besides, summer’s started, and as much as I love it here, we need to see the sun again!”

“I sweat too easily,” Rian said with a half-frown. “But I get where you’re coming from, dude. So, after we hang out in town, then what? Meaning, after you see Kalana.”

Zach pursed his lips as he thought about it. “Well, there’s always B11,” he said with a laugh.

Lienne shuddered. “I can’t speak for you boys, but I’ve had enough of Yorna for now.”

“Gotta agree with Li,” Rian said. “We should go spawn-hunting. Find an actual, real-world spawn.”

Zach finished chewing some of his roast chicken and then downed it with some of Angelica’s custom-made cherry cola, which came in a plastic bottle like those from the supermarket and impressively had her actual name and face on it.

“I like the idea of going spawn hunting, but won’t that be really hard? I mean, I guess I could use Boundless if we get far enough away from this place that it picks up something somewhere else. But for that, we’d need to get some more Frog Snax or something similar.”

“Nah, forget that,” Rian said. “That’s basically, like, cheating. It also destroys the fun. You should learn to do it the right way with us.”

Zach chuckled. “By going to the library?”

“Yeah. We can even make it interesting: let’s go to the Tomb of Fire.”

Now this was an idea that Zach liked hearing. He’d always wanted to go there. Back when the monarchy created by the Guild of Gentlemen had ruled over North and South Bastia, the Tomb of Fire had been the kingdom’s capital city, and Zach had always wanted to see its beauty for himself.

“So how does this work, then?” he asked. “We do a bunch of research, find clues, and then go hunting?”

“Pretty much,” Lienne said.

Rian agreed. “Yep.”

“Okay, then,” Zach said, clapping his hands together a single time. “It’s settled then. Tomorrow morning, we’ll take the elevator back up to the entrance, I’ll get my bike, and then we’ll spend two or three days in town. Then I’ll meet up with Kalana. I’ll probably spend a week or two with her because I really, really miss her. So…you guys can go on a vacation or whatever as well. Then we’ll all meet up in the Tomb of Fire and find something new to level off of. But I do want to come back here eventually.”

“Of course, dude. So do I. Li does too, I bet.”

“Heck yeah,” she said.

Rian stood up, wiped his chin, and said, “Oh, and that reminds me, since you mentioned the elevator.” He marched over to Zach’s bed, picked something shiny up, and then flicked it through the air at him. Zach reached out and caught it. It was a metal key. Rian then threw another one at Lienne, but she missed it. With a growl, she turned around and grabbed it where it’d fallen behind her.

“We each get our own boss key?” Zach asked.

Rian opened his mouth to reply, but strangely enough, it was Fluffles who decided to answer the question, which was weird, because the cat almost never contributed anything unless directly asked to do so. “Everyone get,” Fluffles said, lifting his head to look at Zach. Then immediately after, he buried his face back in the bowl and continued to munch on his food.

Making light chatter, the four of them continued to eat until, a half hour later, they had cleared a space on the floor as it became time to settle the issue of loot. Rian removed his cell phone and opened a simple app that appeared to be nothing more than a random number generator. Tapping the button would generate a number between 1 and 100.

“Adventurers all follow the same loot rules,” he said, bringing various items over from the bed. “First, we do need-before-greed. If anyone honestly needs something, it’s theirs. There’s no limit. If two people need the same thing, we roll. Then, with everything that’s left over, we roll to see who gets first pick, second pick, etcetera.”

Zach rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Oh, okay, so no one person can get everything.”

“Nope. If you roll third, you just get to pick third from anything that’s in the greed pile. But first, we have to decide what to do about the gold split.”

“Gold split?” Zach asked.

“Yeah. Bosses drop gold. Well, mobs very rarely do sometimes as well, but bosses always do—or at least that’s what Zephyr said. Anyhow, personally? I prefer to split it three ways. Some people like to roll to see if—”

“How much gold?” Zach asked, flying forward and grabbing Rian’s shoulders. How had this not been the first thing that Rian had said? This was more important than anything else. The moment Zach had heard the “G” word, he felt an explosion of money-hungry greed, and he had to force himself not to snicker. Gods, he loved gold. He loved it more than anything except maybe Kalana.

Rian grabbed a cloth satchel and opened it, thumbing through the contents inside. “I’d guess about 50k.”

“No fucking way,” Zach said. “For real?”

“Yeah. Do you wanna split it or roll for it?”

“Split,” Lienne said.

Zach agreed. “Yeah, split it. I don’t want to risk losing it. That’s still almost 17k a person. That’s more than I’ve ever had. It’s more than I’ve ever seen.”

Rian rubbed his hands together and smiled. “Okay then, well, that’s one issue down.”

No matter what happened with the loot, Zach already felt like a winner as he stared with lust at each and every gold coin that was placed in a pile by his left side, right next to his new sword, which continued to glow blue from where it lay on the carpet next to his shoulder harness and scabbard. To someone rich, this might not have seemed like a lot of money. But Zach’s dad had only made eight-hundred gold a week. To someone like him, 17k was a fucking fortune.

“Okay,” Rian said excitedly. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

The moment he grabbed the first item, Zach pointed to Lienne even before she excitedly chirped out, “Need!” It had been obvious. It had been beyond obvious. Of course Lienne was going to want something called “Magical rod of Enchanting Power.”

It was not as long lengthwise as her staff, but it was metal and appeared heavier. It was black, and both ends of it seemed to release a constant green mist, which actually looked really cool. It was also a rare-quality item, and the genuine look of happiness and excitement in Lienne’s face made Zach smile, too. He just wanted her to be happy. That was actually a new kind of thing for him, too. He’d always only cared about himself and sure, maybe Kalana, too, but rarely did he think twice about others. But now? Now he wanted Lienne to be happy. It meant something to him that she was. Even though it was such a strange feeling for him.

The next item up, also a rare quality, was a pair of metal boots. Rian immediately declared need on it. Zach inspected its stats. It was a clear upgrade from his sandals. It also would raise his constitution which definitely needed raising. On the other hand, though, who the hell wanted to run around in metal boots? Zach’s fighting style involved being quick and moving in and out, and it involved a lot of evading and dodging. At least, that was the way Fluffles had taught him—and he’d improved upon. So, as far as he could tell, the boots were just too heavy, too uncomfortable, and so…yeah, no thanks. Rian could have it. He would put it to better use than Zach would, anyway, as it was clearly an item for tanks.

“Thank you,” Rian said.

“For what?”

“For not ‘needing’ on it.”

Zach shrugged. “I don’t even want it.”

“Fair enough.”

Rian reached behind him and grabbed the next item. The moment Rian’s fingers touched it, Fluffles became “activated” like a dormant robot. Literally out of nowhere, the cat darted forward and began to hop around. “Finally!” he shouted. “Fluffles roll need! Fluffles roll need!”

Confused, Zach looked at him with a frown. “Huh?”

“Fluffles roll need! Fluffles wait all day for this.”

“You...you weren’t even there,” Zach said bitterly. “You don’t get to roll, little buddy. Come on.”

Fluffles hissed. “Yes! I was a good cat, and I get to roll. Fluffles need!”

“I don’t even know what this is,” Rian said. It looked like a cardboard box—like the ones used to ship medium-sized items in the mail.

“It 20 bags of Skelly Chips,” Fluffles said. “Fluffles spend all night and day waiting.” The cat ran over, lifted his paw, and then pressed it against the screen of Rian’s cell phone, generating a 5. Then he hissed, pressed it again, and generated a 3. Once more he hissed, and now he sounded really pissed. “Rian phone cheat!”

Rian backed away as Fluffles hissed a third time and tried to scratch him. “The hell did I do?” he asked fearfully. Zach wasn’t sure why he was reacting with such cowardice. Was he afraid of cats? He doubted it, as Lienne claimed she had some cats of her own. Actually, who was taking care of them right now? Zach thought to ask her, but first, he tried to figure out why Rian was backing away from Fluffles as though petrified. It all made sense to him a moment later, however, as Fluffles began to issue threats.

“Fluffles is level 48 now,” the cat said. “Fluffles do PVP on Rian for Skelly Chips!”

“T-take them,” Rian said. “I don’t even care about them.”

Lienne covered her face as if trying to hide the grin that had formed. “I like Fluffles,” she said. “And I don’t really care about the Skelly chips either. Kitty can have them. I don’t want them.”

“Neither do I, to be honest,” Zach said. “I mean…yeah, I don’t really give a shit. Fine, Fluffles, just take them.”

“Hurray!” Fluffles cheered. “Fluffles extort his friends!” The cat placed its paw on the box, and just like that, it vanished into nothingness. Then he brushed up against Rian, who nervously patted his back with a smile on his face that looked forced. A moment after, Fluffles hopped his way over to Lienne, jumping into her lap and taking a nap. He was asleep and purring within seconds. Lienne bent forward and kissed the top of his head.

“Next item?” Zach asked.

Rian quickly shuffled through the four common and one uncommon item remaining. Everything went into the greed pile, as there was nothing there Zach ever imagined himself actually using. To be honest, he was already content just with his new blade and the gold he’d earned for himself. Even still, he thought he’d take whatever he could, as at some point in the future, he figured he’d end up in this “bazaar” he’d heard about. Though he knew nothing substantive about it, he thought it was a safe guess to assume he’d be able to pawn off some of his extra junk for either gold or points, and really, he’d be happy with either.

In the end, he managed to win two items: one being a flail he was positive he’d never use, and the other being another pair of the same “decaying” trousers he was already wearing. Despite the name, it was fresh and smelled kind of nice. At any rate, both it, the flail, and his old sword needed to be put in storage.

Standing up, he activated Bank and Storage, ready to final unravel the mystery behind its usage and learn the ins and outs of this apparent “human racial ability.” As it turned out, when compared to all the other new things he’d had to learn recently, Bank and Storage turned out to be rather simple and uncomplicated. It had only seemed complex because he could not see what Rian and Lienne could see when they had used the abilities. Now, however, it all made simple, intuitive sense.

Before him, he now saw, clear as a day, a large storage chest roughly the size of a wide coffin, but one that was waist high. He could store a great many things in this, he imagined. To the right of the storage coffin was a piggybank, which somehow, Zach knew instinctually was not meant to be taken as a literal depiction of where his money would go, as above it were the words Account Balance: 0 gold.

Right off the bat, Zach decided to put every last gold he had inside of it, as there was no longer any need to carry it around on him where the possibility existed, however likely or unlikely, of having it lost, stolen, or mugged off of him. He included both the remainder of his “starter gold” Mr. Oren had given him as well as his much-larger haul that he now had received from the boss. Distantly, he marveled at the fact that these coins seemed newly minted and completely authentic. The dungeon likely far predated—maybe even by thousands of years—any of the people depicted on the various denominations of coin, yet the gold received was current and legitimate, at least as far as Zach could tell. He highly doubted it was counterfeit. It was real, somehow.

With his money safely stowed away and accessible to him any time he needed it—minus the hour cooldown—he reached down and grabbed his silly-looking flail, as well as his old sword, and he raised them each above his head. Mentally, he visualized where in the storage box he wanted them, and just like that, they vanished and reappeared inside of the box. He wasn’t sure how he’d known to visualize it. It must’ve been all that playing around with “Legendary Sight.” He kind of just “got” how these kinds of things worked now.

Sending his extra pair of “decaying” trousers into the storage box, he dismissed the box as well as his bank, and then he patted his hands against his pants to wipe away the cobweb which had somehow been on the grip of his old sword. No matter what, he’d never sell or get rid of the blade Fluffles had made him. That much, he promised himself. But for now, he was happy to have something far more powerful. While holding it in his right hand, he checked his stats.

Zachys Calador: Level 13

(2417/15000xp)

Armor Bonus: 12

16 strength

10 dexterity

11 constitution

49 intelligence

7 speed

5 luck

Oddly enough, he actually found it disappointing to look at them now. He was just so much weaker while not in Unleashed Phase. It made him worry that he’d be completely, totally useless for someone of his level except for a brief fifteen minutes a day when he accessed such an insanely powerful ability. It was almost like some kind of tradeoff. Because really, just look at these stats! Intelligence aside, they were garbage for where he should be at his level. And since he didn’t have any spells, his int was useless.

Zach sighed. He’d worry about it later. For now, it was time to have some fun. “Let’s go spend the day in the tavern and listen to some music.”

Lienne smiled, and so did Rian. “Sure,” he said.

“Tomorrow, bright and early, we’ll head into town and hang there for a bit. I feel like there are only good things ahead for us now. Seriously.”

As Zach nudged both of them on the shoulder and headed out for the two-hour walk down to the tavern, he felt like everything was finally going in the right direction. No more heroics. No more close bouts with death. Just Kalana and his friends from here on out. He'd suffered enough.