We take a few minutes to rest and survey the rest of the room for any signs of treasure or hidden passageways before moving on. I don’t mention this to Chloe, but I’m also concerned that there’s more than a few scorpion eggs lying around. Especially underground.

  After she finishes casting [Antidote] several times to purify the room of toxins, Chloe searches the walls for traps or treasures. Meanwhile I use my [Ethersight] to scout any sources of Ether hiding just beneath the surface. To my horror, I actually spot one, which I stab with my sword.

  [You have slain a Lesser Toxic Cave Scorpion Egg (Level 0). No Experience Awarded.]

  Thanks, System. Still, good to know that that hidden menace is dead and we won’t have to worry about another one growing anytime soon. Though, I wonder how dungeons and their internal ecosystems work, and whether that’s actually the case. For all I know, it just uses all the Ether it siphons out of the air and condenses it into new monsters for explorers to find. That would be in keeping with the purposes of dungeons as I currently understand them.

  “Hey, Sera, can I borrow you for a moment?” Chloe says.

  I head up to where she’s standing near the back of the room and see exactly what she’s alluding to. There’s a small panel against the back wall, cleverly hidden among the other markings. Though, it’s weird. This is the only wall I’ve seen thus far on the floor that hasn’t been perfectly smooth. That alone should attract plenty of suspicion. Then again, this monster was considerably more powerful than most, and was probably as much a guardian of the floor as whatever treasures might lie behind this wall.

  I fumble around with the lock for a minute before deciding to just use the [Unlock] glyph to bypass the panel altogether. It reveals a single red button. Chloe stands behind me, her own [Gauntlets of Repulsion] at the ready. I hesitate for a moment, moving my buckler toward my face on the off chance this is another trap, and in the vain hope that this flimsy disc of steel will save me if it is. And then I press it.

  The sound of gears echoes from behind the wall, followed by the whoosh of steam being released as the locking mechanisms release and the door slides open. The walls glow a smoldering orange-red hue not unlike burning charcoal. In the center of the room are three treasure chests, one in the back, and two others on either side. Chloe is giddy with excitement, her eyes practically lighting up, but I continue to urge caution and restraint.

  No excessive heat comes out of the floors, nor does my [Ethersight] register any signs of obvious traps. I slowly approach the nearest chest on the right side and unlatch it before it opens on its own and lunges at me. I’m aware enough of my surroundings and the possibility to activate my [Boots of Impulse] at the last possible second, but the cavernous maw still manages to take a chunk out of my leg as I scurry to relative safety.

  “What in the nine hells is that?” Chloe asks.

  She taps my leg and begins to heal it. It’s an odd feeling, experiencing one’s muscle fibers growing longer and suturing themselves back together in the span of a second. New blood vessels and nerves follow suit, then layers of skin and other integumentary tissue grow over the exposed flesh. One final tingling sensation purges the wound of any impurities and microbes that might try to later infect me from within, and I’m back on my feet all in the span of two seconds.

  “Mimics,” I mutter. “Monsters that disguise themselves as treasure chests or other useful items. They lure their victims in, and when their guard is lowered, they pounce.”

  “That’s why you were always urging caution when you encounter treasure chests?”

  I nod. “They’re common enough in fantasy games, and I assumed that if the System knows what we know, it was bound to happen sooner or later. And, well, I was unfortunately proven right.”

  “Do your fantasy games point out any particular weaknesses that we can try?” Chloe backs up a couple of steps as the mimic shambles toward us.

  “Nothing that I’m aware of. Then again, it’s not like the strengths and weaknesses of these mimics are going to be exactly the same as in all other fictional media. Might as well try fire!”

  I pull out my blowgun and switch to the [Flaming Bullet] setting. Two bullets fly out in succession, striking the upper jaw of the fiend. It does damage, but not an overwhelming amount. Chloe throws her hourly [Fireball], which does considerably more, but fails to finish off the creature.

  It lunges, hopping in the air as it attempts to bypass my defenses and hit Chloe from above. I shoot a [Repulsion Bullet] while it’s right above me. It’s effective at blowing the mimic into the nearby wall, but the force of the blast knocks me to the ground in the process. I’m dazed for a moment, but the mimic is even worse off, stumbling around as it tries to get back to its… foot? Tentacle? Gastropod?

  I don’t hesitate, drawing my sword once more and delivering a thrust directly into the mimic’s underbelly, then another, then a third. I finish with one final slash to sever off its foot organ, which silences the monster once and for all.

  [You have slain a Cave Mimic (Level 18). You have gained a boosted 1,050 Experience.]

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  [Level: 18; Experience: 29,234; To Next: 2,126]

  [Current Stats: [Health]: 1,046 / 1,382 ; [Ether]: 78 / 807]

  Chloe channels more of her [Ether] into me, and I absorb the contents of one [Ether Canister], bringing my [Ether] reserves to a less uncomfortable 328 before we continue on. Much to my disgust, the mimic doesn’t instantly disintegrate after we slay it, leaving me to do the dirty work of chopping up its entrails in search of loot.

  It’s… vaguely relaxing in a way, rummaging through all the flesh and sinew. Despite how disturbing it is to deal with so many tentacles that still occasionally jump and squirm as I slice through them. And the utterly noxious scent that the heavens above have seen fit to dampen with the joy of noseblindness.

  I continue my unthankful work until I find a small orb the size of my palm and the color of amber. [Ethersight] confirms that it is an object with some power and value, and so, after wiping it off with my already bloodstained rag, I stick it in my pouch with my other loot.

  The other two chests prove not to be monsters. Inside we finally find some helmets that we can equip. Chloe gets a pointed black cap that looks far too similar to the stereotypical witch hat, while I don a [Bandana of Swiftness] I briefly consider using it as a hair tie, before Chloe points out that that makes me somehow look even sillier.

  While the System doesn’t give me the ability to [Identify] monsters, nor the ability to tell what most items do, it does provide some useful information about equipment. And the description gives me a bit of pause.

  [[Bandana of Swiftness]: A gaudy hot pink bandana worn by those whose commitment to strength on the battlefield outweighs their commitment to style. Increases [Defense] by +2, [Agility] by +5, and gives minor resistance to Wind element attacks (25%).]

  First of all, gaudy? I’m no magnificent paragon of chic fashion, but I’d like to think I do a little better than gaudy. And secondly, this indirectly confirms both that there is a system of elemental damage operating behind the scenes, and that Wind is one of those elements. None of my other pieces of gear have any elemental resistance changes that I can tell. I relay the information to Chloe, who does look pretty stylish in her new hat. The black hat and white robes might clash a bit, but I still think they look good on her. The fact that her hat makes all her spells cost twenty percent less [Ether] to cast is an extremely useful passive ability that I would love to have for myself.

  Unfortunately, my class is incompatible with the [Spellcaster’s Hat] for some gods-forsaken reason.

  With our hidden treasures in store, we make our way over to the next room. A trio of Lesser Eyetwitches attempt to assail us, but they are easily dispatched even without using the glyphs on my [Modular Blowgun]. Chloe is still getting a small trickle of Experience for these encounters, as she’s still level 16, but I no longer get any benefit for slaying monsters below level 12.

  The opposite corner— northwest, using my earlier convention— also contains nothing at first glance. However, Chloe spots something and heads off to investigate. I follow behind, backwalking toward her and doing my best to keep my eyes and ears open for any signs of ambush or pursuit. She points to another crevice in the wall, but this time, there’s nothing behind the hidden panel. Not even another hidden panel, which I do check for with [Ethersight].

  We head back to the south, through each door as we trace the westernmost path back toward our starting point. We find nothing. No monsters, no treasures. No hidden pathways. No bugs or critters or even any traps, mechanical, poison, what have you. The only sound is the sound of our footsteps and the grumble of Chloe’s stomach. Her face turns bright red, and we decide to take a small break to hydrate and munch down on pretzels and more hardtack.

  I’m not sure if it’s because of the rankness in the air, the amount of exertion we’ve undertaken, or some aspect of the dungeon environment, but the hardtack itself tastes far better than it has any right to. Not going to ever choose it on a list of favorite foods, nor send compliments to the chef, but it sure as heck beats nothing. Which, now that I think about it, isn’t actually saying all that much. Pretzels are a bit under-salted by comparison.

  We loop east one room, with our starting location the next room over. Chloe wants to head back, but after some deliberation, I get her to agree to test out my earlier hypothesis. We head north two more rooms, picking up a [Greater Ether Canister] along the way that I stash right next to the others. My pack is starting to get a bit full, but I will be damned long before I throw out any [Ether] recovery items, no matter how heavy it gets. Just have to keep improving my level and raising my [Strength] so I can haul a larger inventory.

  One more room to the east sees us encounter a trio of Lesser Eyetwitches along with a single normal one at level 16. All are dispatched with ease, though I do have to burn thirty points of [Ether] on the larger one for an [Impulse]-accelerated [Ether Bullet]. I get 180 Experience out of it.

  I was expecting a bit more than that; the level 15 one earlier was good for 174. But it does speak to just how significant the Experience scaling factor is. Defeating a level 16 monster at level 18 is worth virtually the same amount as defeating a level 15 monster at level 17. Not nothing, but low enough gains that it would take a lot of wasteful grind encounters before I’m able to reach the next level.

  Finally, we finish our journey spiraling around the second basement of this labyrinth. As we step foot into the penultimate room, the sound of another locking mechanism echoes through the walls. The glyphs on the chamber— a [Lock] glyph, among about a dozen others— fade away, and the doorway opens. Sure enough, within the room are stairs leading further down, deeper into the labyrinth.

  “Do we go on, or turn back?” I ask Chloe.

  “Looking for an excuse to back down?”

  “Urging caution because I’m not in a hurry to die.”

  “Pah. Like you’ll die as long as I’m around.”

  “That’s… Part of the reason why I’m worried. Because I don’t have the ability to do the same for you.”

  “But you’ll protect me, right? That’s what you said the day the System came. You’d do whatever you could to protect me. I believe you, Sera. And I trust you. That’s why I’m willing to brave these dungeons alongside you.”

  She takes my hand and fills it with the refreshing sensation of her [Ether] and the comforting sensation of her warmth, and together, we head to the Second Descent’s final challenge.

  [Level: 18; Experience: 29,384; To Next: 1,976]

  [Current Stats: [Health]: 1,374 / 1,382 ; [Ether]: 645 / 807]

  [Current Stats: [Strength]: 22; [Speed]: 22; [Vitality]: 44; [Mind]: 56]