With things settling down after a few minutes, Vahn, Himl, Tanya, and Ruijerd gathered near where the Boss, known as a Timber Wolf King, had fallen.
Touching down near her prize, Tanya grabbed the pale red Constitution Enhancent Crystal, taking a large bite out of it and waiting for the rest of the Party to assemble before casually revealing, "I got an Achievent called One Shot, One Kill."
"An Achievent...?" parroted Himl, crossing his arms, cupping his chin, and tilting his head in curiosity.
"According to the description, it doubles the damage I deal to monster weak points when wielding firearms..." revealed Tanya, her expression morphing into a frown as a prominent, tingling heat perated her body.
Realizing what was happening, Vahn raised his right brow and questioned, "What Rank is your Constitution? If that's an E-Rank Enhancent Crystal and your Constitution is F-Rank, you won't be able to absorb more than a portion of the stored energy."
"I can take it..." responded Tanya, sporting a determined frown as she ate the rest of the pale red crystal. The excess energy, which was specifically intended to refine and reinforce a person's physique, caused her body to flush and beco saturated with sweat. Despite this, Tanya didn't cry out or relent, her expression a determined glower as she reached up to pull at the zipper of her flight suit, lowering it to reveal her neck, collarbone, and a glowing crimson sphere set in gold with a cross on top.
Exhaling from his nose, Vahn startled everyone by turning away from the Party and tossing a large capsule several ters away from where they were standing, producing a large explosion of yellow and pink smoke that promptly cleared to reveal a capsule house. Then, staring down at Tanya, who was staring back at him with wide-eyed incredulity, he stated, "There is a bath, wardrobe, and bed inside. Run the water as cold as you can and add this to it."
Handing Tanya what looked like a pale blue bath bomb, Vahn explained, "This is a Low-Grade Yin Essence Pill. It will make the water as frigid as glacial seawater, but it will help you process the excess energy coursing through your body while drawing out impurities."
"Sounds like sothing straight out of a Wuxia novel..." remarked Tanya, accepting the baseball-sized pill with narrowed, suspicion-filled eyes before looking up at Vahn and questioning, "And you're just giving this to ? What's the catch?"
"Even if this is the only ti we Party together, I consider everyone in the Tower a prospective ally," remarked Vahn, presenting his best smile as he playfully appended, "And I'd rather not witness one of my allies overheat, succumb to a coma, or explode from the inside. Would you respawn? Yes. But that wouldn't make the experience any less grueso or traumatizing for all of us..."
"Fine...I owe you one..." responded Tanya, issuing a temperantal snort before retreating to the capsule house, her skin an increasingly prominent shade of red and faint pink steam rising from her body.
Seeing Tanya disappear into the portable house, Vahn shook his head in slight exasperation, exhaled faintly from his nose, and turned to Himl and Ruijerd, stating, "It will take at least 3-4 hours for her to process the energy and recuperate. Shall we set up camp, prepare a al, and maybe train a bit until she erges?"
"I personally wouldn't mind learning more about you and the group you belong to," responded Himl, sporting his usual friendly smile but with a glimr of intrigue in his pale blue eyes.
"We shouldn't fight while we're in the Dungeon..." appended Ruijerd, his expression and tone serious as he asserted, "Even if the monsters here are weak and we're able to revive upon death, it's important to maintain a certain degree of tension to avoid becoming complacent when we return to our original worlds..."
"Makes sense..." affird Vahn, nodding. Then, rather than setting up a normal camp, he produced a large wooden platform, set a carpet atop it, and produced so comfortable furniture and a large table for the three of them to use as they snacked on the magical crops he had grown in the Tower or acquired from the Corridor. Himl offered to cook for them, but as he was acclimated to Grayfia's cooking, Vahn politely refused since he doubted the blue-haired Hero was anywhere near as skillful as soone who had refined their techniques over centuries...
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[Six Hours Later]
"This Equip function is really handy..." remarked Tanya, erging from the capsule house looking noticeably refreshed. The Low-Grade Yin Essence Pill had made her skin even fairer, and as her hair refracted the light of the artificial sun, it appeared to glisten with a faint golden hue.
Seeing Tanya bereft of her flak jacket and flight unit, the upper half of her flight suit wrapped around her waist, exposing the black wool tank top she was wearing underneath, Vahn raised his left brow and asked, "How are you feeling? Were you able to get enough rest...?"
"Yeah...I should apologize about that..." remarked Tanya, exhaling from her nose as she revealed, "I ended up passing out in the bath. I guess I overestimated myself. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"It's not a big deal," responded Vahn, offering a shrug as he reasoned, "I an, we've nothing if not ti in this place."
"Yeah, about that..." started Tanya, crossing her arms and raising her gaze to the sky as she asked, "Is there no day-night cycle in this place? Unless the ti displayed by this System is inaccurate, we've been at this for the better part of twelve hours."
"It's due to the Dungeon's setting," stated Vahn, explaining, "Monsters beco much more dangerous at night, so most F-Rank Dungeons are set to perpetual noon. There is a proper day-night cycle in the overworld and most safe areas."
"This place is beyond absurd..." sighed Tanya, grabbing a Crimson Bapple from the fruit bowl separating everyone before plopping down in the seat Vahn had considerately prepared for her. Had she been back in her world, she would have done her best to appear as a model soldier, but since she was in the company of two people from fantasy settings and a being that could easily pass as a deity, she drew her feet up onto the chair and sat in a lazy, lounging posture as she asked, "So, what's the plan?" before taking a loud, crunchy bite of the Crimson Bapple.
"We were waiting for you to return before investigating the Timber Wolf King's den," answered Himl, prompting Tanya, whose bright blue eyes had widened at the taste of the Crimson Bapple, to frown and ask, "Why? It was my fault for taking myself out of commission. You should have split the loot among yourselves and left ."
"I don't really need loot," responded Vahn, shaking his head as he added, "And think about our Party composition. One of us is a Hero, and the other joined our Party to protect and watch over you. It would be impossible for us to make such a selfish decision."
"Eh, whatever floats your boat..." retorted Tanya, shrugging dismissively before eting Vahn's gaze as she asked, "More to the point, do you have infinite Tower Points or sothing? I also noticed that you haven't eaten a single Enhancent Crystal since we entered the Dungeon."
Shaking his head, Vahn revealed, "I received the sa amount of TP as everyone else who was eliminated during the Preliminary Ranking Battle Royale. I acquired your flight unit and Ruijerd's boots using a power that allows to produce virtually anything using a currency known as Origin Points. The Tower System and Shop were derived from an ability I already possessed."
"So you have access to a currency and shop that transcend the Tower's..." summarized Tanya, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
Nodding, Vahn appended, "But I still have to earn that currency, just like everyone else. As for the Enhancent Crystals I've acquired, they aren't all that useful at my current Rank, so I'm saving them to trade with others or convert to Tower Points. There will invariably be those who don't want to enter the Dungeons to grow stronger, so Enhancent Crystals will be an important currency to exchange for goods and services."
"As expected from soone who had a hand in the Tower's making...you aren't thinking about how things are but how they will be in the near-to-distant future..." remarked Tanya, nodding approvingly.
"It makes sense," appended Himl, cupping his chin thoughtfully as he reasoned, "Since we'll eventually be able to invite others into the Tower, having a stockpile of Enhancent Crystals could prove extrely useful. I suspect it won't be long before various organizations endeavor to gain a foothold in the Tower, particularly the lower Floors. Possessing the ans to strengthen allies quickly will be vital to rapid expansion..."
"We can invite other people to the Tower? Where did you hear that...?" asked Tanya, anticipating the answer even before Himl and Ruijerd shifted their gazes to the obvious culprit, Vahn. Consequently, the latter found himself on the receiving end of another barrage of queries, leaving him sowhat exasperated as he realized he would likely have to answer the sa series of questions dozens of tis during his stay in Tower...
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After returning the capsule house to its capsule and packing everything up, Vahn took point, leading everyone into the Timber Wolves' den with Himl, Tanya, and Ruijerd following behind in that order. Fortunately, they didn't have to travel far to reach their destination, a massive, roughly do-shaped chamber with shafts of light descending from a hole in the ceiling, accessible after descending a slight incline.
"Well, this is convenient..." remarked Tanya, exhaling from her nose as the Party discovered a series of four bronze and one silver treasure casket at the cavern's center, neatly arranged with the slightly larger silver chest at the front.
"We should take caution..." suggested Himl, his eyes narrowing slightly as he revealed, "Back in my world, there is a variety of monsters known as Mimics. They can take on various forms, but one of their most infamous is a treasure chest, patiently waiting to devour unsuspecting or overzealous Adventurers who drop their guards..."
Nodding, Vahn affird, "You should definitely be wary of such surprises in a labyrinth or ruin-type Dungeon, but it's reasonably safe to assu the chests found in a Boss's treasure room are safe. I have no doubt there will be exceptions to the rule, but not in an F-Rank Dungeon."
"So, what's the plan?" asked Tanya, questioning, "Should we each pick a bronze chest and then open the silver one together? Or should we open all five, see what loot is available, and then distribute it from there?"
"Generally speaking, the best way to handle such things is to ascertain the value of the loot back at the safe zones," stated Vahn. "Then, if there is sothing that soone in the Party wants to keep, they can exchange Tower Points to acquire it."
"Considering we fought together, that's reasonable..." confird Tanya, taking the initiative to step forward and open the silver chest without an iota of hesitance. Fortunately, it wasn't trapped. As for its contents, the only thing inside was a red slip of paper with a Magic Circle inscribed on its face.
"What's this...?" asked Tanya, picking up the piece of paper, prompting a notification that revealed it to be an E-Rank Weapon Summoning Ticket.
"Oh, wow. That's an extraordinarily lucky find in an F-Rank Dungeon..." remarked Vahn, genuinely surprised as he explained, "It basically allows you to specify a weapon type, and then it will provide a random item that matches the ticket's Rank. It might not be useful for the four of us, but acquiring an E-Rank weapon this early would have been a godsend for a proper F-Rank. Otherwise, it's worth a thousand Tower Points."
"Then let's just trade it in," suggested Tanya, feeling it would be pointless to harp over an E-Rank weapon when she could already eliminate F-Rank Bosses in a single shot. Everyone else agreed with her, and since none of the other items in the chests were worth writing ho about, they traded in everything for 1,108 Tower Points, making it clear just how great a boon the ticket had been...
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