Brann gestured to his team, who were already dropping their packs with a series of thuds. The sound of clinking metal and shifting loot was unmistakable.
"And?" Carlos asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's incredible," Brann said, his face lighting up with the expression of a man who had just discovered a hidden treasure. "We have been clearing this floor for six hours now. Usually, a core appears once every four or five kills. Today, we are seeing them every other time. Even the quality has shifted. We pulled three E-rank cores off standard mobs that usually drop nothing but bone and fur."
Jacob kept his head down, the mithril tool moving in smooth circles a fraction of an inch above the steel.
He could hear them, but his focus was entirely on the lattice.
He felt the resistance of the steel's mana field giving way, the mana snapping into place as the composite field stabilized.
One of Brann's teammates, a scout with a bandaged nose, chimed in while he rolled out his bedroll. "It is more than just the cores. The material drops are overflowing! We have bags full of hides, teeth, claws, and rare scales. We're going to earn an entire month's wages in a single afternoon."
Grimmand looked up from the fire, his interest piqued. "That good, eh?"
"Better than good," Brann said, sitting down on a log. "We ran into another group a few miles back. They said the same thing. The whole dungeon is hot. It is like the System decided to throw a festival."
Elara exchanged a quick, subtle glance with Carlos. They both knew exactly why the System was throwing a festival. It was pushing more mana and resources into the dungeon to counter the anomaly sitting quietly by the fire.
"That's excellent news," Carlos said, carefully keeping any suspicion out of his voice. "We noticed the density was higher than usual, but I didn't realize the effect was spread across the entire floor."
"Oh, it is everywhere," Brann said, pulling a flask from his belt and offering it to Carlos. "We're resting up here for the night, then hitting the third floor at dawn. If the drop rates hold up down there, we might just retire early. I tell you, Carlos, whatever god is smiling on this place today, I want to buy him a drink."
Click.
Jacob felt the sensation in the back of his mind, a mental thud as the enchantment took hold. The link was formed. He could feel the armor now, a small presence in his awareness. It wasn't just metal anymore. It was a kinetic battery ready to absorb a strike.
"Well," Carlos said, taking a swig from the flask and handing it back. "Here is to the gods of fortune, then. May the loot keep flowing."
"To the loot," Brann agreed, taking a drink. "Are you guys pushing for the third floor tomorrow?"
"That is the plan," Carlos replied with a nod. "We are escorting a trainee, so we are maintaining a cautious pace." He gestured vaguely toward Jacob.
Brann glanced at the boy and saw a child staring intently at a piece of armor with no visible tools in his hand. He shrugged and looked away. "That's smart. With the dungeon acting this erratically, it's a dangerous place for a kid. If he survives the trip, at least he will be wealthy."
The veterans laughed, fueled by adrenaline and the promise of profit, and began setting up their own camp. They remained loud and happy, completely unaware that the source of their windfall was the young boy sitting ten feet away.
Carlos sat back down across from Jacob and reached for his breastplate.
He paused.
The metal appeared identical to how it had looked less than an hour ago. There were no glowing marks, no new scratches, and no visible runes.
However, as Carlos hooped the piece, his brow furrowed. The weight had not changed, but the armor felt denser, as if the air surrounding the steel had become thicker.
Carlos narrowed his eyes, focusing on the discrepancy. He felt the familiar prickle at the back of his neck as his vision tightened.
The firelight seemed to dim around the edges, highlighting the breastplate in sharp, hyper-real clarity.
Combat Insight Triggered
Anomaly detected: Item density and kinetic resistance exceed material limits.
Grade Disparity: Defensive capability significantly above visual rank.
Enchantment signature: High stability. Method unknown.
Suggested action: Asset is critical. Secure exclusive access. Monitor development.
The text hovered in his mind for a second before fading, leaving Carlos staring at the armor with a dry mouth.
His skill was not prone to exaggeration. It had just looked at a piece of standard C-rank steel and reported that it was performing far beyond its class. And the suggestion at the end, Secure exclusive access.
Carlos slowly looked up.
Jacob was sitting there, wiping his mithril tool with a rag, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just triggered a high-level threat assessment skill. To the boy, he had just done a bit of "basic stuff."
Carlos felt a cold realization settle in his gut. If Brann or any of the other veterans knew what this kid could actually do, they wouldn't be laughing about loot drops. They would be fighting over him.
"You hear that?" Carlos murmured, his voice too low for the other group to hear. "You are making a lot of people very happy, Jacob."
"I am just sitting here," Jacob whispered back, slipping the mithril tool back into his pouch.
"Keep doing exactly that," Carlos said with a smirk, tapping a knuckle against the steel. The sound was different now. It was deadened and solid, like striking a stone wall instead of a tin sheet. "If the third floor is as intense as they say, I am going to need this to hold the line."
He patted the steel, feeling the vibration die instantly as the enchantment swallowed the force.
"Get some rest," Carlos added, dropping a couple of random cores into Jacobs' hand before leaning back against his pack and shifting his sword so it was within easy reach. "I have the first watch, and I intend to make sure no one bothers the asset."