Chapter 2: The Gift of Loot

“Jesus Christ,” Thomas panted, hands on his knees. And because that felt nowhere near enough, he repeated, “Jesus Christ on a pogo stick.”

But he had done it. He had just killed his first monster… and he kind of felt bad. After all, he had walked into its territory, and it had defended itself.

Thomas looked down at the mess of blood, feathers, and claws. Its little mouth was open, showing teeth in a last grimace. It had died in pain, and he didn’t feel good about that at all.

Also, he didn’t feel good about the fact that he was actively bleeding.

Could you get rabies from these dungeons? He’d heard there were plague dungeons.

No, calm down, he told himself. Yes, there are plague dungeons, but those are heavily marked and off-limits, and guarded by… well, the National Guard.

He didn’t know why there were plague dungeons, why anybody would go into them, or why there had to be an entire platoon of guards to keep people from going into them, but… whatever.

The point was, this wasn’t one of those.

Thomas’s next thought was wondering what the hell his gift was. Nothing physically outward had changed. He was huffing and puffing, so apparently his gift wasn’t strength or speed. But he definitely felt something go ‘click’ in his mind.

Well, he’d find out once he finished clearing out this thing, assuming he didn’t die. That was the trick, apparently. People were told the details of their gift at the end if they hadn’t already figured it out for themselves by then.

No, it wasn’t necessary to complete the dungeon to unlock the gift. He’d already done that with his minor act of extermination. Thomas could technically step back right now and leave the way he came, gift intact. He just wouldn’t get the details unless he went through the proper exit.

Killing a little monster hadn’t been fun. It certainly hadn’t been cathartic.

That was probably a good thing. It meant he wasn’t a psycho.

Thomas took one last, reluctant look down at the mess that was the little creature and saw… something odd in it. There was a little blue crystal kind of sticking out of the blood and feathers. With a grimace, he bent down, though he kept a wary eye on the bushes. This would be the perfect moment for something to ambush him.

Tentatively, he brushed the feathers away. Part of him thought the little thing would leap up, headless and all, for one last shot. But nothing happened. It was dead because he’d killed it.

Anyway, he picked up a little squat, diamond-shaped crystal.

Straightening, Thomas held it up. Was this a mana crystal?

According to their new galactic overlords, this was going to be the new currency. It was a perfect, squat gem about the size of the top joint of his thumb. Pure blue, somewhere between a deep and a mid blue, and kind of cloudy on the inside. Apparently, this was what made magic work. It was going to power people’s magical spells, and he guessed you could use it to cultivate your own power. Somehow. He hadn’t gotten to that part in the thick guides. He had been more focused on finding the right dungeon in order to not die.

Could he do magic now?

Thomas held out the mana crystal. “Fireball,” he said.

Nothing happened, so he put it in his backpack. The crystal was blue, so it was probably water-based anyway.

That moment had given him time to collect himself, and he felt a lot better. One creature down, and according to the guide, there were 23 more to go. That was if he was willing to complete the dungeon.

There was a lot of misinformation floating out there, but the general consensus was that a serious dungeon diver should clear out the entire dungeon before exiting to get the final reward.

He’d already gotten his gift, but no one knew if his gift would be strengthened if he cleared out the entire dungeon, or if it would just result in a better reward at the end. But there was a chance that it might matter in the long run. He only got one shot at this.

Okay. So he was going on a little dinosaur-chicken hunt.

There was a very obvious pathway through the jungle forest, with close-in vegetation, green ferns, plants with heart-shaped leaves, and beautiful yellow and orange flowers with exaggerated stems in the middle. All perfect for ambushes.

With a grip on his trusty maul, Thomas stepped onto the path in search of more prey.

Luckily, he didn’t need to search the monsters out. They were aggressive. It seemed every little chicken-dinosaur thing had a territory in every large clump of foliage, and they liked to attack anything that passed by.

So when the next one rushed out at him, screaming with its tiny claws up, Thomas felt a little more prepared.

He actually managed to hit it with his maul in a golf swing. That sent the little monster rocketing several feet back, where it fluttered on the ground. He went in to finish it, but the blade hit at a weird angle, and he had to put the monster out of its misery with the third strike. Thomas didn’t get cut or hurt this time, but it was still not a great feeling.

Then, when he looked down at the body, there were two more mana crystals. One was white and another blue.

Oh, right. The mana crystals in level one dungeons were supposed to mirror the classic elements: air, water, earth, fire.

Yes, he thought of them in the Avatar order. It was ingrained since childhood.

He picked up the two mana crystals, grateful that they weren’t bloody, and put them in his pack. Then he continued on.

The next bush had two more demon chickens leap at him at the same time. That was when he figured out his best strategy, at least for this dungeon. It turned out the non-bladed side of the maul was easier to hit the little monsters with, and they had delicate little bones that snapped like dry wood. One strong hit, and they were done, which was honestly best for both of them.

Thomas’s first swing took out the first one and caused the second demon chicken to dodge away, and he took the second one out with a backhand swing as it was preparing to jump at him. This time, the first body had no mana crystals, but the second had two again.

Then, on his next kill, he found not a mana crystal but a little knife, kind of like a penknife, with a white stone handle and little leaf designs carved in.

He pressed the button, and a needle-like blade snapped out of the hilt with a sharp snick. He pressed the button again, and the blade snapped inward. He thought about putting it in his pocket, but that button was touchy. Just a brush either retracted or sent out the blade again. He did not want that happening in his pants. So he very carefully put it in his pack.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The little demon chicken hadn’t been carrying that—it hadn’t been in its stomach or anything. It was just nestled in its feathers right on top of its body. Kind of weird.

And so it went. By halfway through the dungeon, the bottoms of Thomas’s pants were riddled with holes, though the fabric had mostly protected him other than the first attack. He got a little better as he went along. He didn’t think it was a gift-type thing. It was just that he was more prepared and less overwhelmed.

Still, these were his favorite jeans, so he was kind of annoyed. He thought that maybe, after this was all said and done, he should stop at one of those dungeon gear stores that were starting to pop up and get, like, chaps or something.

Don’t think of next time, he told himself. Concentrate on now and don’t get distracted.

These chicken-dinosaur things were more nuisances than dangerous, but if one happened to crawl up to his neck and slash his throat, he was dead.

Speaking of which, that was when one launched itself off a high branch and tried to land on his shoulders.

But Thomas had several things working for him. One was that he had read the guide for this dungeon and knew that there would be two points of high ambush.

The second was that it had screamed as it launched its attack, giving him plenty of warning.

Right behind Thomas was a more open space, giving him plenty of room to maneuver into a dodge. He did that, and the monster landed on the ground and shrieked in outrage as if he were the asshole here. Then it came at him with its claws raised.

Thomas swung his trusty maul… and missed. Whoops. But then he kicked out, and that connected solidly. The demon chicken tried to bite the top of his foot, but luckily he’d worn really good hiking boots, and the little teeth didn’t go through.

Then it was knocked away, and he killed it with his maul, with prejudice.

Ooh, it gave three mana crystals this time.

Now he knew what to look for and easily spotted the next ambush point well ahead of time. The little shit was staring at him from one of the higher branches up ahead. Though a bit like a video game, it actually didn’t move until he approached it.