Henry walked up to a Sarcophagus and placed his hands against the stony lid as he pushed as hard as he could. His muscles bulged and his face looked strained but besides an inch or two, the lid was barely reacting to his efforts.
He stood up then and looked at the Raiding Party who all had their eyes on him,
"Hey you," he called out to the Fighter he had sparred with to join the Raiding Party and decided he might as well have sothing to call him, so he asked,
"What's your na?"
"Andor, Sir," the Fighter said.
"Sir?" Henry said, looking taken aback, "You're older than ."
"I don't think that matters?" Andor said slowly.
"Are you being serious?" Henry asked.
Andor said nothing and just looked confused as to why Henry would reject being called 'Sir'. The way Andor saw it —and the way many others in the Raiding Party saw it— they had had no chance against Echo since Doherty and the rcenaries had failed so Henry's success put him above them in so hierarchy they had cooked up in their heads.
"Just help move this," Henry said.
"Yes, Sir," Andor said and stepped forward with his Spear in hand.
Henry had to fight back a smile. He thought the optics of Andor, who looked to be in his late twenties/early thirties regarding him, a Nineteen-year-old with that much respect was hilarious.
When Andor arrived at the Sarcophagus, he put his Spear aside and assisted Henry's effort in pushing off the lid.
With Andor's support, the lid moved and with the grating sound of stone against stone, it fell to the side completely opening up the Sarcophagus for a a search.
"Wow," Louis said which was the only way Henry knew he had gotten closer.
There was a skeleton in the Sarcophagus but it was so weathered and brittle that any bit of force cracked it and reduced wherever contact was made into bone dust. Besides the Skeleton though was quite a bit of loot.
All of it was weapons or so assortnt of wearables and of them all, the most eye-catching were the following;
An Armor that was made of Leather like the ones everyone else in the Party was already wearing but, at first glance, clearly offered better protection.
There was a circular polished shield that had clearly been forged with Magical tal. It even had Arcane symbols etched all over it that imbued it with additional effects.
There was a robe. A blue/green robe not particularly very adorned but shimring with Magic Henry did not quite understand.
"This will all go for a lot outside," Louis said as he grabbed a sword and looked it over with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I don't assu it'll be that wanted," Henry said as he picked up one of the weapons as well,
"I an, what makes it different from the weapons you all ca in here with?"
Louis looked at Henry like he had just said gibberish. Even Andor, despite his admiration looked at Henry like he was surprised by how dumb he was.
"What?" Henry asked, confused by the reactions.
"How can you suggest they're the sa?" Louis asked, "Can't you feel how different these are?"
Henry shook his head,
"No, I can't," he said and was starting to feel just a bit ashad. Despite all the talk the System had made about his improving Perception allowing him to detect the elents of the world, there were clearly so things it failed to read.
The situation was similar to when Louis had sensed sothing about Echo's Sarcophagus and he hadn't.
'I wonder if it's so kind of Magical Perception. Sothing I don't have because I'm not a Mage. Hmm, but Andor seems to be able to tell the difference too and he's a Fighter.
Maybe my Perception is just not high enough.'
That last sentence caused Henry to crack a smile. His Perception being lacking against soone who didn't even have the stat was funny to him.
Anyway, Louis quickly fell into an explanation,
"The energy of the Dungeon is all over these. Outside, any rchant or Weapons dealer will be able to tell. These items being from here will always be higher priced compared to those forged on the outside with 'similar' quality or properties.
It's a bit of a business, you see. You enter the Dungeon, gather up loot, and sell it for a profit outside. It's why we were brought here. To gather things like this out of the Dungeon."
"I don't think those bags can hold these things," Henry said with a chuckle and grabbed a broad sword,
"I an, see how long this is. It'll just stick out and wear you down. If it doesn't cut through the bag first, of course."
Again, Louis looked at Henry like he just wouldn't stop spouting gibberish.
"Where are you from, really?" He asked.
"New Freudein," Henry said.
"Where's that?" Louis asked.
"Far from here," Henry answered with a small smile, "But close to the City of Saint Claret."
"City? That sounds big. So you were close to a big city and you don't know about Space Expansion?" Louis asked.
"What's Space Expansion?" Henry asked, slightly annoyed at looking and feeling dumb.
"This," Louis answered as he took his bag off his back and grabbed a sword from inside the Sarcophagus which he dropped inside it.
*Thunk!*
The sword made a sound like it hit the bottom and despite its length surpassing that of the bag, it completely vanished from slight.
Louis reached in and pulled the sword out while turning the inside of the bag toward Henry so he could see that it looked wider inside than it should have been.
"Whoa," Henry said. The fact that he had an interface that only he could see to store any number of objects did not stop this piece of magic from amazing him.
"This is Space Expansion," Louis said, "Only really common in big Cities Like Alvareen. They use Magic to increase the inner dinsion of bags and sotis pouches.
You would have noticed it if you ever looked in your bag."
Henry glanced at where his bag had fallen on the ground after its strap was cut off his body by the attack of a decaying undead and smiled lightly. He never planned to use the bag. Not when he had Inventory.
"Can I have this?" Andor asked suddenly and Henry looked over to see him holding the improved Leather Amor in one hand and the Shield in the other.
"Yes, of course," Henry said, "You opened up the thing. Take it."
"What about ?" Louis asked while casting a look at the robe.
"Take it," Henry said as he walked over to the third Sarcophagus in the room. The only one still unopened.
"Andor," he called and the Fighter was by his side in a second, wearing the Armor he just got.
"We'll open this one up too," Henry said, and together, with Andor providing most of the effort, the Sarcophagus' lid slid off and hit the ground with a heavy *Thud*.
Within it was a brittle skeleton —as was also the case with the last Sarcophagus—, surrounded by weapons and other pieces of equipnt but those were easily ignored by Henry whose eyes fell on an object the skeleton had between its hands.
It was a bright orange sphere that Henry reached out and grabbed to lift out of the Sarcophagus. Unlike whatever energy Louis and Andor could feel from the weapons in the Sarcophagus, the magical property of this Sphere was not elusive.
Henry could feel it pulsing almost with life and sotis with the rhythm of a heartbeat. A rhythm he recognized from the most magical item he had ever held in his hands —besides his guns—; The Vinculum.
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