Chapter 62: Grief

The Tidepool Basilisk erupted from the water, acid spraying across the nearby rocks as its body twisted through the air before catching itself against the cavern wall.

Zion immediately leaned closer.

It was hurt. Several large X-shaped cuts crossed the softer scales along its underbelly, some deep enough that he could see dark lines beneath the surface. Still, the basilisk looked very much alive...and very angry.

It climbed higher along the cavern wall, keeping itself away from the pools below while its head moved from side to side.

The two hooded adventurers stood together on one of the rocky platforms while the third was still somewhere beneath the acid.

Zion glanced toward the pool. No defeat notification had appeared, which meant the man was still alive somehow.

He frowned. "Then where is he?"

The basilisk opened its mouth, and a faint glow gathered deep inside its throat.

Zion immediately looked back toward the platform. The two adventurers noticed at almost the same time.

A stream of corrosive mist and liquid tore across the cavern, but both figures vanished before it reached them. The attack struck empty rock, and a heartbeat later they appeared together on another platform several meters away.

"That move again," Zion said with irritation.

Normally, that would have been enough to get them out of danger. This time, however, the basilisk moved before they had even finished recovering. It released its grip on the wall and launched itself across the cavern, not toward where the adventurers had been, but directly toward where they had appeared.

Zion sat upright. "No way!"

The basilisk landed above them, causing the two hooded figures to actually look caught off guard.

"It predicted them!"

Zion gripped the armrest, unable to hide his excitement.

His boss had watched them use the same movement skill enough times to figure out where they would reappear. Maybe it did not understand exactly how the skill worked, but apparently it understood enough.

The basilisk raised one claw. The hooded adventurer beside the leader immediately shifted backward. The leader, however, did not move.

"Maybe that teleport skill has a cooldown," Zion said while pondering. That would make sense. They had already used the skill several times during the fight. If they could not use it again immediately, then maybe—

Something dropped from above.

A dark shape struck the basilisk before its claw came down, driving a weapon straight into one of the X-shaped wounds beneath its stomach.

The creature jerked violently.

For half a second, Zion assumed the swimmer had somehow launched himself out of the acid. Then he looked again.

"No, that’s someone else."

This person was different. The cloak was slightly narrower through the shoulders, and even the shape beneath it was different. A woman.

She landed behind the basilisk and ripped the weapon free.

Zion stood up. "There were four of them this entire time?!" He nearly slipped sideways.

Two were still on the platform. One was somewhere inside the acid. And now this woman had appeared out of nowhere.

He had watched them since the beginning of Floor 1. He watched them kill sheep, fight the Horned Ram, and move through the entire sulfur cave. Not once had he noticed her.

The other two had used stealth too, but Zion could eventually make them out if he focused hard enough. There had always been a faint distortion around their bodies.

This was completely different. There was nothing. His earlier excitement disappeared almost instantly.

"That’s really not good."

Before he could think about it much more, the basilisk began dissolving into white smoke.

[Floor Boss defeated.]

The reward chest materialized on the central platform.

Zion barely looked at it. His attention stayed on the fourth adventurer. Or where she had been.

She was gone again.

Zion searched the walls. The ceiling. Every platform he could see.

Nothing.

He knew she was somewhere in the room now, which somehow made not being able to see her even worse.

"How?"

A splash finally came from the acid pool. The third man climbed out. Not only was he alive, he looked completely fine.

His robes were wet, but nothing had melted. His skin was not burned, and he climbed onto the platform, wrung one sleeve out, then walked toward the reward chest like he had just gone swimming in normal water.

Zion pointed at him.

"What are those robes made of?" He had clearly seen leather boots disintegrate in a matter of moments before. He waved one bony hand at him. "And how do I get them?"

His attention shifted toward his own body. Technically, there was nothing stopping him from wearing clothes now.

He looked down at himself. A skeleton sitting naked on a throne suddenly felt a little strange. He opened the Dungeon Store.

Hundreds of clothing options immediately filled the window.

Robes.

Cloaks.

Armor.

Coats.

Some looked like shredded rags barely held together by thread. Others looked expensive enough to belong to royalty.

Zion continued scrolling. One listing caught his eye almost immediately. It was something he remembered looking at before.

[Robes of the Starbound Sage]

[Price: 14,800 Essence]

He stared at the price. "That used to look expensive."

Then he scrolled farther.

[Mantle of the Hollow Moon]

[Price: 37,500 Essence]

[Imperial Vestments of the Undying Sun]

1

[Price: 152,000 Essence]

He slowly stopped scrolling.

"Never mind."

There were apparently much worse ways to spend money. He returned to the cheaper listings.

"Let’s start small. I’m only looking for something to wear right now."

His current balance had already climbed past twenty thousand essence. A few days ago, seeing that number would have made him feel rich. Now he was painfully aware that in less than a week his throne room would no longer be sealed.

That thought ruined the mood almost immediately.

He kept scrolling.

A red robe appeared. It was long and heavy, with gold thread covering the shoulders and sleeves in elaborate patterns. The defensive bonus was surprisingly high too.

Zion imagined himself wearing it.

"Nah."

It was too regal. Too bright.

He kept going.

"As a skeleton, it should feel a little haunted," he said, stroking his chin. "Black, maybe. Or dark blue."

From that point onward, Zion started judging every robe almost entirely by appearance. The defensive bonuses became secondary. If an adventurer eventually reached him and was strong enough to kill him, an extra ten defense probably was not going to save him anyway.

Then he stopped. A black robe filled the window.

The fabric looked almost like velvet, completely matte except where the light caught the folds. Metallic purple thread ran along the edges, and Zion immediately leaned closer.

Something about it reminded him of Lilith. He ignored that part...mostly.

The sleeves widened slightly near the wrists, and along the cuffs were several embroidered birds falling downward with their wings spread.

Not flying.

Falling.

Zion stared at them for a moment before the item name appeared beneath the image.

[Grief]

He immediately pointed at the screen.

"Yes."

The more he looked at it, the better it got. Black fabric, purple stitching, those strange falling birds, and a name like Grief on top of it.

"This goes hard."

Then he remembered there was still a price attached to it. He hesitated and slowly looked down.

[Price: 4,000 Essence]

His nonexistent heart almost stopped. "Four thousand?!"

That was the exact same price as unlocking Floor 5.

Zion looked toward the dungeon then back at the robe.

"That is ridiculous."

The worst part was that he could afford it. If it had cost fifty thousand, he could have closed the window and forgotten about it immediately.

Four thousand was possible. Painful, but possible.

He peeked at the robe again. The purple stitching really did look good.

"Ugh!"

He closed the preview. Then opened it again, letting out a sigh.

Meanwhile, the hooded party had already finished opening the Basilisk chest. All three visible members regrouped near the stairs.

Zion stared at them. He still could not see the woman. He knew she was there somewhere, and that alone made the back of his skull feel uncomfortable.

Then the party turned toward the stairs.

His attention snapped toward Floor 3. This was the first time a party had entered Floor 3 with the intention of actually continuing.

Zion felt his excitement return.

These people were good. Probably the strongest group he had watched so far. But Floor 3 was different. It had traps, darkness, awkward terrain, and somewhere inside it, the Shadow Panther was waiting for them.

His eyes drifted back toward the robe still sitting in the store window. Then toward the descending party.

Zion smiled. "Fine. If you clear Floor 3 on your first try, I’ll buy it."

He leaned back against the throne, suddenly feeling much better about the price. Either Floor 3 stopped them, or he got an extremely cool robe out of it.

Zion dismissed the store window and focused on the new instance.

"Let’s see how Floor 3 treats you."