It took him some time to return to the chamber where he had found the first fragment of the supposed key. The vast room remained unchanged during his absence, and no new enemies had emerged. Jake identified the correct sepulcher and made his way to it. The fragment of the supposed key was still nestled inside. He retrieved it and, after considering the best way to carry it, decided to hold it in his large mouth.
He then continued to explore the dungeon, searching for more fragments. He dispatched every undead group he encountered along his way, gaining XP. So far, most of his enemies had been regular skeletons and zombies, and he had yet to encounter another elite monster.
At some point, he checked his current experience.
It wouldn’t be long before he leveled up again—just a few more undead groups, and his level would go up. As he continued to explore the dungeon, he eventually entered a small rectangular room. It resembled many others he had passed through, except for the object that sat at its center.
Before giving it any more attention, he quickly scanned his surroundings. There were no enemies in the small room. The flaming torches that adorned the walls cast a soft glow over the space. Four corridors branched out from the room, one on each side. However, before moving on, he wanted to examine the small chest that sat at the center of the chamber. He appraised it with a thought.
Primitive chest (Common)
No further information came to him. He cautiously made his way to the chest but stopped a safe distance away. By that point, he was well aware that various containers could be trapped, so he reached out with his senses in search of any telltale signs of a potential trap. He felt nothing—no hum, no vibrations, no electric charges in the air. If there was magical protection on the chest, it was so subtle that even his heightened senses could not pick it up.
But he was still unsatisfied. While there didn’t seem to be any wards on the chest, it could still be connected to a mechanical trap. He slowly circled the chest, inspecting it from every angle before returning to his original position, having completed a full circle. Nothing seemed out of place, and he finally allowed himself to approach the chest. Still, he remained on high alert, prepared to dash away if any trap he might have missed was triggered.
He lowered himself into a crouch and grasped the lid of the chest. Nothing happened. He eased it open just an inch and froze again, all his senses on high alert. No signs of danger caught his attention. He continued to raise the lid slowly until the chest was fully open. Then he leaned in to look inside.
Given that the chest was relatively small and of Common rarity, he anticipated that it wouldn’t hold much treasure inside, probably nothing of value. So, he wasn’t surprised to find a single item at the bottom of the chest—a rather ordinary-looking sword with a short blade. He appraised it with a thought.
Description: This is a lightweight and fast dagger featuring a slightly curved blade designed for swift slashing attacks. The alloy used to forge the dagger contains a unique metal, granting it the ability to inflict increased damage on undead creatures.
Primary Effects: Inflicts 10% extra damage against undead foes.
Temporary Effects: None
After giving the matter some thought, he decided to leave the dagger where it was. Sure, it dealt an additional 10% damage to the undead, but he didn’t need a weapon with a ten-percent increase in damage to the undead when he had his own weapons capable of dealing devastating amounts of damage to most kinds of monsters. After getting to his feet, he looked around, picked a random tunnel leading out of the small room, and pressed on.
After navigating through various tunnels and halls of the dungeon, he soon entered a small rectangular room similar to the previous one. Like the earlier chamber, it was devoid of enemies to kill but had a chest sitting at its center. This chest was larger and appeared more refined than the primitive one he had discovered earlier. He appraised it with a thought.
Quality chest (Uncommon)
This chest was one rarity level above the previous one. Just like last time, Jake reached out with his senses but discovered no wards guarding it. He walked around the chest, inspecting it from every angle, and quickly spotted a thin thread extending from one corner down to the floor, vanishing into a small hole near the base.
Severing the thread would deactivate the trap, but Jake was curious about what would happen if the trap was triggered. So, maintaining a safe distance, he sprouted a bladed tentacle from his back. He extended it to its full length toward the chest and wedged the tip of the blade between the chest and the lid. He thrust the blade deeper and then began to lift the lid. When it was halfway up, the thread stretched taut, and as he lifted the lid a little higher, it easily severed in two.
Immediately, several spears shot down from the high ceiling, striking the floor just before the chest—precisely where Jake would have been crouched if he had opened it with his hands. The spears clanked against the cobbled floor, and everything went quiet once again. He looked up, but just like in all the previous rooms and tunnels, the high ceiling was completely obscured by the supernatural darkness that even his inhuman sight couldn’t penetrate.
Using his tentacle, Jake fully opened the lid, then stood up and approached the chest. He leaned in to look inside. At the bottom rested two items: a battleaxe and what looked like a medallion with a chain. One by one, he appraised them with a thought.
Name: Ethereal Battleaxe
Description: Crafted from spectral matter, this battleaxe can inflict harm on ghosts, wraiths, and other undead beings that lack a physical form.
Primary effects: Increases damage dealt to ghosts by 25%.
Temporary effects: None
With that weapon, he could kill the shade that had emerged from the abyssal liche. Jake took the weapon from the chest, giving it a closer look. It appeared immaterial, made of some strange semi-transparent matter that allowed him to see through it. Whatever it was, it didn’t look like glass. Instead, it resembled see-through mist, which was constantly shifting inside while maintaining the shape of a double-bladed axe. Having never seen anything like it before, Jake simply kept staring at it for a moment as if mesmerized by the unusual sight.
Finally, he put the weapon away and turned his attention to the second item resting at the bottom of the chest.
Name: Ethereal Protective Medallion
Description: This magical medallion offers protection from all forms of ethereal attacks by absorbing them. Once its energy is depleted, the medallion must be recharged in order to be effective once again.
Primary effects: Provides protection to the wearer against Ethereal Damage.
Temporary effects: None
So this medallion could protect him against the shade’s attacks, which was great. He quickly hung it around his neck. After retrieving the battleaxe from where he had set it down a moment before, he rose to his feet. Now that he had a means of harming the shade and was protected against its attacks, it was time for a rematch. He consulted his mental map of the dungeon to get his bearings and set off.