Luck be Damned

24

^^ Alice with Icy Blue Eyes ^^

— Alice —

I noticed, as the molten slag stood up into a vaguely humanoid form, that a little holographic placard now shined above its head. 'Hoard Mimic' was written in an artistic font, next to a number '4' and a literal health bar.

I raised an eyebrow slowly, and looked at Besan. "Are you serious? HUD-Tags and Levels?" I asked blandly.

He shrugged carelessly. "The original designers of the dungeon system set it all up, we just use the Template. You have to admit it's useful."

I sighed and waved a hand, sucking all the heat out of the room to power a gate underneath him. His molten form froze solid almost immediately, as I'd expected; as a living being, he was wearing golden coins stuck to him with the Mimic's Adhesive abilities, but they were now melted, and re-solidified in a way that covered his body entirely, not allowing movement. He fell into the gate easily, and was placed in a cubicle made of my black Barrier, shuffled off to the side to 'make room' for more.

"I admit, knowing that Dungeons were made by people from my old Realm is amusing... or maybe it's the other way around? Curious thought, but, let's see if we can scrounge up some Materials or Loot!" I grinned at the prospect and examined the room for anything hidden or left behind.

Besides a few coins made of fake gold that were left behind, it was pretty barren, to my disappointment. "I suppose it'd be too much to ask for some Loot... magic crystals, maybe? I've seen them before, I know they exist..." I sighed heavily, and Besan chuckled.

"You expected Loot in the Lobby?" He shook his head at me and nudged Buri and Lena forward. "Moving on, you four will go in front; we're just emergency support, so pretend we're not here."

I dusted myself off and waved Cala and Zara forward. "Alright... Zara, Cala, you're with me... Buri and Lena need to learn how to fight with their dragon companions. Besan will be with them, and Lady Jade will be with us."

"Weren't we all supposed to go together? Wasn't that the whole point?" Buri asked, confused.

"I suggested that to make Victor shut up about how dangerous it was and how fragile he thought I was, not because I think Cala and Zara and I need your help. But, I didn't lie; you and your dragons need to learn to fight together." I shrugged, explaining casually my semi-deception.

"Okay... fair point, I guess." He nodded, and looked at the two hallways that led out of the first room. "These lead to two different paths through the dungeon, but both go to the Boss Room, so I guess we'll see who gets there first?"

"Yes!!! First will not owe copper hoard!!!" Gillian whined, scratching his claws against the stone; having lost the race, he owed Zara a pile of Copper.

Zara growled at him softly, making him cower behind Buri as best he could, and then snorted an Affirmative. "If Zara wins, Gillian will owe his weight in Silver." She demanded sternly, and then whipped his nose with her bladed tail as she turned away primly.

I sighed as he yelped and clutched the inevitable wound, healing him swiftly. "Zara, be nicer to your brother! Honestly..."

She grumbled at me noncommittally, and sniffed the two hallways, humming softly. "The left one smells of blood; someone died here recently? Caution..." she muttered to me as quietly as a dragon could.

"We go down the left hall, then! See you later, losers, you'd better have Zara's money!!!" I laughed excitedly, and started trotting down the hall before anyone could say otherwise.