Aiden picked up the journal and took a moment to look it over.
The leather cover was covered in cracks from a mixture of dehydration and age. The pages inside looked brittle, the kind of brittle that seemed ready to crack and turn to dust if someone breathed on them wrong.
Behind him, Jax and Selene were saying what they had found in the chest as they passed the contents back to Liora, who took the gold and placed it in her bag.
"Dude, is that a potion recipe?" Jax asked, peering into the chest.
Part of Aiden wanted to assume Jax was messing with him.
The other part whipped his head around before he could control himself.
Sure enough, Jax was holding up a potion recipe for something called a Potion of Iron Flesh.
Better still, it was D-rank.
Aiden made his way over to where Jax held the scroll and threw open his notebook, flipping to the first page of the D-rank section.
When he was younger, he had divided his notebook into sections.
Sixty pages for E-rank recipes.
Thirty pages for D-rank recipes.
Fifteen pages for C-rank recipes.
Currently, only his E-rank section had anything written in it, and even that was less than half full. In seven years of work, he had only managed to fill twenty-five pages with recipes he had learned from his grandfather, bought from other alchemists, or discovered through his own attempts.
So, finally getting to open the D-rank section and write something down was exciting.
Extremely exciting.
Potion of Iron Flesh (D)
Effect: Reduces incoming bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage by 50% for 1 minute.
Crafting Recipe
Ingredients:
Liquid Crystal - 1 vial
Xosorrel - 2 units
Navouh - 1 unit
Almat Grass - 1 unit
Equipment:
Mortar and pestle
Small cauldron
Glass bottle with cork
Instructions:
Crush Herbs:
Pulverize Xosorrel bark and Navouh petals into a fine powder using the mortar and pestle.
Infuse Base:
Pour the Liquid Crystal into the cauldron. Slowly stir in the powdered herbs while heating gently over a low flame.
Brew:
Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally while adding Almat Grass flakes until the mixture thickens slightly and turns a faint metallic gray.
Bottle:
Allow the potion to cool completely. Bottle the solution in a glass container with a cork, and label accordingly.
As Aiden finished writing down the recipe, Kaelen leaned over his shoulder and asked,
"Who puts 'label accordingly' as part of the instructions?"
"Who cares?" Aiden said, practically vibrating in place. "I have a D-rank recipe. I have a D-rank recipe!"
His voice slipped into a singsong rhythm as he did a little dance in place.
A dignified alchemist probably would have handled the discovery with grace.
Aiden was not that alchemist.
He put his notebook away and was about to turn back to the journal he had found when, across the room, he noticed Thalia rifling through a blanket chest at the end of the bed.
She pulled out a scroll and carefully opened it.
"Found a list of soldiers," she said.
Then she rolled the scroll back up and placed it in her bag.
"W-why are we taking an old list like that with us?" Selene asked, looking to the rest of the group as if checking whether she was missing something obvious. "Won't it just take up space?"
"Historians love this stuff," Thalia said with a shrug. "You can often sell it to scholars for a good amount of gold. Plus, it is light and does not take up much room."
She walked over to where Kaelen had moved on to opening a drawer in the central desk.
The moment he pulled it open, a System announcement appeared.
Party member Kaelen has found one of the dungeon items.
Item: Skillbook - Erratic Charge (E)
Everyone turned toward Kaelen.
He was now holding a book with copper-colored metal corners. The title, Erratic Charge, was written in white ink that contrasted sharply against the brown cover.
The rest of the room was dusty, old, and fragile.
The book looked brand new.
"Nice work," Liora said, walking over. "Any idea what this Erratic Charge skill does?"
Kaelen held the book out to her.
The moment Liora took it, a System notification appeared for her. As she read it, Kaelen said,
"From what it says, it is a skill that allows someone to run around during a fight and become harder to notice or hit as long as they keep moving."
"Then it sounds perfect for me," Jax said, standing up on his hind legs and holding out his paws. "How do I use it?"
"I believe it would not be as helpful as you think," Thalia said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms. "As one of the primary tanks of this party, if you are unable to be targeted and block enemy attacks, then the rest of us will be vulnerable."
"I thought Selene was our main tank, and Jax was more half tank, half offense," Kaelen said with a shrug.
Aiden turned toward Thalia to ask a question.
Before he could, another System notification appeared.
Zombie Soldiers x4 have arrived to protect their treasure.
Zombie Soldiers x4 have snuck up on you.
Temp party member Thalia has been struck from behind.
Temp party member Thalia has taken 6 damage.
Maybe it was because Aiden had been standing next to Thalia when it happened.
Maybe it was because his body was still humming with excitement from what they had discovered.
Either way, he moved faster than normal.
He spun around, spear in hand, just as Thalia bounced against the wall. Her cry of pain alerted the others.
A zombie stood in the doorway, its arm still outstretched from where it had struck her in the side.
Aiden had expected a terrible smell.
He had also expected classic zombie moans, the kind heard in cheap tavern stories told by drunk men who had never actually seen an undead creature in their lives.
Instead, the zombies were quiet.
They stared into the room with a surprising amount of rage on their faces, as if the party had been marked for death simply for daring to enter this place.
Aiden jabbed the spear into the zombie.
The tip bit into decaying flesh, and the puncture released the putrid smell he had been expecting.
You have attacked Zombie Soldier with Basic Spear (E).
Zombie Soldier takes 4 damage.
Thalia took the opening Aiden gave her.
She flicked her hands out, and her mana strings extended, wrapping around various points on the zombie's body.
Then she threw her arms to the side as if swinging a heavy bag.
The strings went taut.
The zombie began to drag backward, but its decaying hand shot out and grabbed the doorway with a level of strength Aiden did not think a rotting body should have.
Temp party member Thalia has used Marionetting Fingers (E).
Zombie Soldier has resisted the strings.
Jax took the opportunity to lunge.
He landed on the zombie's chest with all four paws and kicked off hard.
"IRON PAW!"
Jax sprang away from the zombie.
Aiden expected the undead soldier to go flying backward.
It did not.
It stood there as if nothing had happened, though the rusty chestplate it wore now had a massive dent in the center.
Party leader Jax has used Iron Fist (E).
Zombie Soldier takes 23 damage.
Zombie Soldier stood its ground despite the odds.
"Why won't it get pushed back!?" Kaelen asked, sounding both surprised and worried.
Over the zombie soldier's shoulder, Aiden could see three more making their way down the hallway near the stove. Their rusty armor made the shadows around their eyes seem even more haunting.
Aiden turned to answer Kaelen but before he could, a hand grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him away.
He gagged slightly as his top button snapped off, and he was dragged back behind Selene just as she slammed her left arm into the chest of the zombie that had lunged at him.
The zombie's skull caved in and its body flew back into the hallway, dissolving into sparks before it hit the ground.
Party member Selene has used Claws of the Beast (E).
Zombie Soldier has been defeated.
Where did the body go?
What happened to the experience we were supposed to gain from killing a monster?
Ow, my neck.
All three thoughts flashed through Aiden's mind as he rubbed at what was absolutely going to become a bruise.
Behind him, Kaelen began chanting quietly.
Both he and Liora thrust their staffs forward.
Aiden grabbed Selene's shoulder and tried to pull her down. He was not strong enough to move Selene the way she could move him, but she got the message and ducked.
Party member Kaelen has used Condemn the Wicked (E).
Condemn the Wicked failed.
Party member Liora has used Wind Blast (E).
Wind Blast has struck a vital point.
CRITICAL HIT!
Zombie Soldier has taken 12 damage.
Zombie Soldier has been pushed back into Zombie Soldier.
They take 8 damage in the collision.
It was a surprisingly good bit of teamwork.
The zombie saw glowing flames ignite on the ground at its feet and jumped back, only to be struck in the face by a blast of air it had not seen coming.
It went flying into the zombie behind it, bowling both of them over as they ended up on the floor in a heap.
One remained standing.
It sprinted for the doorway with surprising speed, throwing its fist toward Thalia. In the tight space, she had no room to move back.
But as the zombie's fist flew, strings went taut around its arm.
The punch suddenly veered sideways and struck the wall instead.
Rotting bone and dried flesh cracked with a horrible sound as the zombie's hand broke in several places, bits of bone poking through its skin.
Temp party member Thalia has used Marionetting Fingers (E).
Zombie Soldier's attack was redirected away.
The zombie soldier stumbled back giving Aiden an oppening.
He stepped behind Thalia and thrust his spear over her head.
The zombie ducked its shoulder.
The spear lodged in the gap between its chestplate and back, leaving only a small mark on its rotting skin, but trapping the weapon. As the zombie straightened, the weapon was ripped from Aiden's hands and bounced against the wall.
Before it could hit the ground, it caught on the air.
No.
Not air.
Strings.
"Borrowing your spear," Thalia said.
She yanked her arms back.
The spear rocketed from where her strings had caught it, slamming into the zombie's back and punching through the rusty plates.
You attack Zombie Soldier with Basic Spear (E).
BAD LUCK: Your grip slips from your weapon.
Temp party member Thalia has grabbed Basic Spear (E) with her strings.
Temp party member Thalia has attacked Zombie Soldier with Basic Spear (E).
Zombie Soldier takes 5 damage.
As the zombie lurched into the room from the impact, Jax lunged.
His teeth clamped onto the zombie soldier's arm at the socket. With a brutal ripping noise, the arm separated from the rest of the body.
Jax landed and spat the arm out.
"They tathe tho much worse than you think!" he yelled, scraping at his tongue with his paws.
Party leader Jax has struck Zombie Soldier.
Zombie Soldier takes 15 damage.
Zombie Soldier's right arm has been torn off.
Selene jumped forward, her hand flying over Thalia as she used her left arm to backhand the zombie in the face.
Its facial structure caved slightly as it stumbled back.
Party member Selene has used Claws of the Beast (E).
Zombie Soldier takes 9 damage.
Kaelen thrust his staff forward.
Aiden expected him to use his skill again.
Instead, Kaelen used the staff like a makeshift spear. The top jabbed into the zombie's neck.
Between the force of Selene's attack to its face and Kaelen's strike to its throat, the head separated from the body.
Party member Kaelen has attacked Zombie Soldier with Staff of Serenity (E).
Staff of Serenity has struck a vital point.
CRITICAL HIT!
Zombie Soldier has been defeated.
The zombie's body dissolved into sparks before it even hit the ground.
Aiden stared at Kaelen.
Who would have thought an item named the Staff of Serenity would be used to behead the revived corpse of a soldier?
Then again, who would have thought Aiden would be fighting undead soldiers in a dungeon?
Liora held out her staff to fire another Wind Blast, but the sparks from the dissolving bodies clouded her view. Her shot went too high and struck the back wall.
The two zombies that had been knocked to the floor were already scrambling to rush the door again.
Party member Liora has used Wind Blast (E).
Wind Blast missed its target.
As the zombies rushed forward, Aiden slammed his shoulder into the still-open door.
It swung out and crashed against one of them.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength was immediately obvious.
With nothing more than a shove, the zombie threw the door back open.
Aiden was slammed into the wall with a yelp of pain.
You have used improvised weapon: Door against Zombie Soldier.
Zombie Soldier took 1 damage.
Zombie Soldier has used improvised weapon: Door against you.
You take 3 damage.
Your damage was mitigated by skill Mana Strings (E).
He would have taken more damage if Thalia's strings had not grabbed the edge of the door and dragged the bed in the corner a few inches, slowing the momentum.
Jax dove at the zombie.
His forepaw came from the side in a wide swipe against the zombie's lower stomach.
The torso snapped away from the legs.
The legs fell backward.
The torso flew forward.
Both pieces vanished into sparks.
Party leader Jax has struck Zombie Soldier.
Zombie Soldier has been defeated.
Selene grabbed the door off Aiden with her left arm.
Then, in a savage display of strength, she ripped it away from its rusty hinges and threw it spinning down the hallway at the last zombie like a crude discus.
The door bounced off the charging undead soldier.
It did not stop it, but it slowed the thing down. The zombie's left forearm seemed to break as the door struck it, the limb bending in an unnatural way as the rotting wood splintered and shattered.
Party member Selene has used improvised weapon: Door against Zombie Soldier.
Zombie Soldier takes 13 damage.
Part of Aiden was annoyed that Selene could casually throw a several-dozen-pound door like a frisbee, the other part however was glad it was not being thrown at him.
The sound of feet sprinting up the small steps toward the room snapped him back to focus.
The zombie rushed the doorway.
It did not even try to hold its ground. It lunged, mouth open, diving toward Selene.
A blast of air from Liora struck it and knocked it off course, the zombie hit the ground and immediately began scraping forward, already trying to lunge again.
It had taken maybe one step when gold and white flames ignited beneath its feet.
Party member Liora has used Wind Blast (E).
Zombie Soldier takes 5 damage.
Zombie Soldier has been knocked back.
Party member Kaelen has used Condemn the Wicked (E).
Zombie Soldier has been defeated.
For a moment, everyone remained on guard.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then, slowly, they all let out a collective sigh.
Aiden grabbed one of the healing potions from his bag and drank a small amount before handing the rest to Thalia.
You have used item Basic Healing Potion (E) on yourself and temp party member Thalia.
You and temp party member Thalia have your injuries healed.
Aiden took a moment to feel the sharp stinging pain that came with unnatural healing.
The yellowing spot on his chest faded back to its normal color.
Thalia, much more modestly, simply poked at the place where the zombie soldier had struck her until she seemed satisfied the pain was gone.
"That went pretty well, considering we were caught off guard," Jax said, shaking himself as if trying to make sure there were no zombie sparks caught in his fur.
Everyone stared at him.
Then Liora smacked him on the back of the head.
"Dude, you totally just jinxed us."