Chapter 36: Loot, and Other Surprises

Kaius stared at the sarcophagus. Its sculpted golden lid still hovered next to its open interior, displaying a robed figure identical to the Tomblord he had just slain with Porkchop. After his battle with the Champion he expected his just rewards. Considering the rest of the room was stark and empty, that left only one spot.

He set off towards the grave, his friend padded alongside him, curious about what Kaius was so excited for.

“What is loot?” Porkchop asked.

“I’m not actually sure if it’s something you’d be interested in.” Kaius scratched his head. “It’s like… gear. Clothes, weapons, tonics, and useful items. Though I’m not really sure how it works. For all I know the depths might spawn something for you.”

Porkchop huffed at Kaius’s explanation. “Bah. Tools. Two-legged things. Let me know if there is something to eat.”

Kaius grinned at the response, entirely unsurprised his friend was uninterested in things of that nature. He, on the other hand, could barely stop himself from skipping over.

As soon as they reached the plinth that the sarcophagus sat on, Kaius enlisted Porkchop’s help in clambering up. Peering into the cavity within, Kaius’s mouth split into a wide grin. Its internals were lined with a silvery metal covered in a dense runic script – one he had not encountered before. That surprised him, considering the extensive tutoring his father had given him on the subject.

It wasn’t the runes that drew his attention though. There, at the base of the grave, lay a small mound of items covered by a silvery sprawl of scaled metal. He’d struck gold. Not only did the grave hold his treasure, but it had far more of it than he had seen from the other two Champions he had battled.

Though, he suspected in raw value it still didn’t hold a candle to the Natural Treasure the Sunborn Cave Bear had guarded.

Reaching into the space, Kaius grabbed hold of the armour and pulled it up to hold out in both hands. The scales cascaded over each other with a series of rustling clinks. In the light, he could see that the gleaming silver of the armour was tinged by a subtle pearlescence. A set of scalemail. Long enough to reach his thigh , well tailored with larger overlapping plates covering his vitals, and with a reinforced gorget and pauldrons. It even had sleeves that cut off just below the elbow, rather than the cheaper variants that left the arms exposed.

Every single one of its scales was etched with fine runes along the edges, a single large anchor rune at the centre.

He felt the weight of it in his arms. Sturdy, but not so heavy it would weigh him down once distributed over his body.

It was a fine addition to his arsenal, a perfect blend of defence and manoeuvrability. He’d always preferred the measured approach of medium armour.

Grinning in satisfaction, he tossed it down to Porkchop.

“See! Loot!”

“Not like I can use it!” Porkchop grumbled.

Kaius laughed, turning back to the interior of the sarcophagus. In his focus on his new set of armour, he had entirely missed what had been lying underneath. His joy only grew, the scalemail had been hiding plenty more. Two tonics sat on the silvery floor, liquid a roiling angry red that seemed to be at a constant boil. He’d gotten lucky. They were in bottles the exact same shape to his Solar Revitalisation tonics that sat in his potion pouch.

Beside the tonics, a small handful of silver coins lay scattered around a strange spiky fruit. A pale green, it wasn’t actually covered in thorns, but the rind itself seemed to contort into devilish peaks. Kaius eyed the fruit with a cocked brow. He couldn’t smell any magic, so it wasn’t a reagent.

He picked it up, holding it to get a closer look. Even as he turned it round in his hands, he got the sense from Explorer’s Toolkit that it was just a…fruit?

Hearing a squeal from behind him, Kaius turned around to find Porkchop staring at him with an open mouth, drool streaming from his mouth. Landing precariously close to his brand new scale.

“Woah buddy.” Kaius waved at Porkchop to back up. “Away from the shiny armour please. I assume you know what this is?” He held the fruit up.

“Kacha fruit! Very, very rare. Very, very tasty!” Porkchop replied, visibly salivating as he fixated on the fruit.

“Alright,” Kaius laughed. “Enjoy.” He tossed his friend his share of the spoils, smiling as Porkchop leapt up to snatch it out of the air. A second later it was gone.

“What? Not going to savour it?” Kaius teased.

Porkchop simply moaned in bliss and rolled onto his back. With a shake of his head Kaius turned back to the rest of his spoils. Unbuckling his potion pouch, he slid his newest tonics home, adding the coins to the rearmost slot to join the rest. Another ten depths-silver to his name.

Kaius hopped off the plinth, grunting as he bent his knees slightly to soften the shock of the chest height drop. Sitting down next to his new armour, he turned his head to Porkchop.

“Well, since you are enjoying yourself so much, and I have a new set of armour, I’m going to work on getting Appraise.”

“I’ll keep watch.” Porkchop groaned, rolling on to his stomach to face the entrance to the catacombs.

Turning his attention back to his prize, Kaius began the burdensome process of saturating his eyes with mana. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was something he would have to grow used to. He’d have to do it for every other skill he needed for True Sight from here on out.

His head started to ache, eyes watering as the volatile energy he syphoned from his soul saturated the delicate flesh. He stared at the scalemail with the desire- no, the need– to learn more. To peer into the secrets the system kept hidden.

He got the notification.

**Ding! General Skill Available! Would you like to learn: Appraise (Rare)?**

With a whoop of success, Kaius used his new skill on the scalemail.

Serelian Scalemail Cuirass:

Uncommon – Tier I

Knight of Sereli, don your armour. War is at the gates, your duty is at hand. Raise your sword high, your spirit aloft. Know that we are with you. Know that our steel guards you. Our magic infuses you. Trust in your armour, Knight, and it will see you through this darkest eve.

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Forged from a Heilomite-Steel alloy, this scalemail armour was standard issue for the mage-breaker knights of Sereli. Designed to be light and mobile even for medium armour, it provides significant physical and arcane protection without unduly hampering movement.

Depths-wrought Artefact

Medium Armour (Cuirass)