Dungeons and Dalliances

7.95 – Vault I

Halfway through their kiss, they were interrupted by the metal restraints giving way and popping off the vault door. With nothing holding her in place, Natalie fell forward, and Vanetta had to catch and steady her.

Behind, the vault door shuddered and fell silent. Something had changed; it had probably been unlocked.

She pulled away and looked at Vanetta. Vanetta looked back, hesitant. Natalie laughed and kissed her.

"Well," she announced. "That was a fun trial."

Vanetta huffed, the tension that had briefly appeared easing. "You weren't supposed to finish inside," she muttered. "That potion better be active still. And you got me sticky." She pointedly looked down between her thighs, drawing Natalie's eyes there too, and yes, she had indeed been left in a messy state. No cleansing liquid left to clean up with, either. Not even a towel.

She chose not to comment on the 'you weren't supposed to finish inside' part. As if Vanetta hadn't begged her to, or Natalie'd had any choice in the matter, being clamped to a wall.

Separating, Vanetta said, "Let's go see if there's a fourth trial. And how screwed we are if there is."

Natalie wouldn't have minded stealing a few more kisses and basking in the afterglow, but she admitted she was curious too. She was pretty sure the third trial had been the last for a number of reasons, but there was no guarantee.

With growing anticipation, she turned the handle and swung open the door—

—and was met with a vault.

Inside, four silver metal walls rose to enclose a compact space large enough for them to stand and spread their arms out, but without much leftover room. Ten feet cubed, perhaps. Two stone pedestals stood in the back-center, three feet apart. The vault's sterile appearance was relieved by a geometric pattern etched into the walls, straight lines forming a grid-like design.

There was text above the pedestals.

Remaining distributions: 4

"Remaining distributions?" she murmured, but she wasn't focused on what those words might mean. Because the pedestals had items on them, and she was more interested in that.

The first was a tall triangular flask, the liquid inside swirling with all the colors of the rainbow.

***

Potion of Level Up

Description

Binds on pickup. Five uses remaining. Advances the consumer by one full level. Will not advance the consumer beyond level four and one-half.

***

Natalie made a choking noise. It had been a given that whatever loot they found in this vault would be good, but that went beyond her expectations.

So straightforward, too. No bells or whistles. Leveled people up, and had five uses. The cutoff for 'level four and one-half' was odd, but maybe that was to allow overflow. Natalie was partway through level three, and this way, she would get a full use out of it.

For the average delver, an instant level up meant months saved. She and her team were progressing faster than average, but they were also cheating. This, though, was a cheat item even by her skewed perspective.

There was a lot to discuss and contemplate about the potion, but she held off. Because there was a second item.

Gaze turning leftward, she inspected it. A black orb hovered above the second stone block. The inky sphere changed shape as she watched, undulating in an unnerving fashion.

***

Mercurial Heart

Mythical

Lv. 4

Binds on Pickup

Effects

- Major increase to Prowess.

- Morph. Upon being equipped, this weapon will take a shape suitable to its wearer. This effect can retrigger if certain conditions are met.

- Automatic Evolutions. This item increases in level whenever its owner does, up to level fifteen. New effects may develop with each evolution.

Description

A fist-sized orb of shimmering black liquid, its surface rippling like molten glass. Thin trails of inky vapor curl from its edges as it churns. Cold to the touch and unnervingly weightless.

***

First and foremost. A mythical rating. Epics were ridiculous already, almost unheard of. This, though, might be the only level four mythical in the world.

Well. She was some commoner from the far south region of Valhaur, hardly someone privy to the secrets of the world. Maybe Liz had a better understanding of how ridiculous a level four mythical was. Maybe it wasn't totally unique. In any case, it was absurd. Maybe more absurd than the level-up potion.

"A mythical that keeps pace all the way to the top ranks," Natalie muttered. "Unbelievable."

Sparing a look for her partner, she wasn't surprised to see Vanetta's wide-eyed expression. Logically speaking, with epics appearing in the City of Eros, it was reasonable that mythicals would crop up either in the Emporium or in special events like this Basement Vault. But mentally acknowledging the possibility could only brace a person so much. Mythical items were the second highest known rarity, only 'Legendary' being higher. The higher rarities became more common the deeper into the dungeon a person went, but a mythical so early was ludicrous.

"Two items, both of them bind on pickup," Natalie said. "And the wall says 'Remaining Distributions: 4'. Think the trend keeps? One item for each of us, binding on pickup, so we have to decide who gets what each round?"

At being asked a question, Vanetta's shock at the ridiculous items receded, and she turned to consider Natalie. "That's a good theory," she said slowly. "What do you think of these two, then?"

The implied question was obvious: Who should get which?

"Both are unbelievable," Natalie said. "But the weapon is better."

A level up potion with five charges meant her whole team could skip a level. That meant an enormous amount of hard work saved.

But a mythical weapon that evolved alongside its user for fifteen levels—which went beyond most delvers' entire careers—was on another level entirely.

Natalie mulled it over.

Obviously, Vanetta would use the morph-weapon better. It gave a 'major increase' to Prowess. Such a large jump in agility would hardly be ineffective on Natalie herself—or anyone, since it was 'Prowess' and not merely 'Physical Prowess'—but it suited rogues best, no question.

"You should take the weapon," Natalie said. "And I the potion. I want to bring something back for my team anyway." She had planned on making up for her extended stay by buying them something at the Emporium, but this was a better solution. Well, addition. She intended to do the former still. "A major Prowess boost is obviously geared to you. I'd like it myself, and it's the better item, but you're the better choice."

Vanetta met her eyes for a moment, keeping her face straight, before grimacing and looking away.

"I should've known you'd be like this. I agree, for the record, but—ugh. You're not even gonna try to barter?"

"Barter?" She hummed. "If both of the next items are equally suited to either of us, then I get the better one." She laughed. "Deal? It's not pure charity, I'm just not gonna be obnoxious about it." She tilted her head. "You get into loot bickering with Elida, a lot?"

Vanetta scrunched her nose. "Not her, actually," she said. "But the other three can be annoying sometimes. Somewhat." She shrugged. "Not that I blame them. A person should fight to get what they think they're due. Not roll over at the slightest pushback."

Natalie raised an eyebrow, and Vanetta waved her hand, as if dispelling the discussion before it began. "You're the outlier when it comes to this stuff," she said. "You sure you're okay with it?"

She hummed as she ran the logic over in her head. A mythical weapon that would keep up with her all the way to level fifteen sounded heavenly. But logically—if at level four, they were getting mythicals? She could reason that by level ten a legendary weapon would drop for her, through some trial or another, so she wasn't giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even this mythical would grow outdated.

Which was ridiculous. A mythical should be once in a lifetime.

"I'm sure," she decided. "But I get a little extra credit, going forward, because it's definitely the better item, and you're getting it. Deal?"

"Deal."

They stepped forward and claimed their respective items.