10. Vesper #3
“Five regions, yes. Within each region, there are zones with Minor Bosses, battles, and quests meant for leveling up. Boss battles are an excellent way to narrow down the player numbers, as many overestimate their abilities.”
“Boss battles,” I repeat out loud, thinking about his words. “Is there a boss battle here in . . . The Secret Abyss?”
“Yes,” he answers.
“And?”
“I will not give you any other information, Vespera. That would be cheating.”
I snort. “I would think talking to one player more than the other is already cheating.”
“Would you like me to stop talking to you?” he asks, his tone dripping with condescension.
I pause and scowl even though he can’t see me. “Are you threatening me?”
“I don’t make threats, player number two million, six hundred and one thousand, three hundred and thirty-three.”
“Fucker,” I mumble, glaring at Locke. “Consider yourself lucky you don’t have to put up with his attitude. He’s a real dick.”
“It’s just a system,” Locke points out. “Just some old machine we don’t know shit about.”
But Cipher is clearly more than that and I know it.
He’s not telling us information because of some rules and coding he says, and I believe that.
I don’t know if he’s even breaking any rules by what information he’s giving me, but it’s really fucking frustrating to have him be such an asshole.
I’m just asking questions. Any sane person would ask questions.
I nearly trip over something small buried in the stone wall floor and the skeleton half-buried wrapped around it.
The toe of my worn boots catches on it and I slam against the wall, almost taking Locke down with me.
He manages to catch us both, keeping us on our feet, but he can’t save me from the breath being knocked out of me.
I rub at my chest, wincing as I stare down at the bones and the thing they’re curled around.
“Could you be any clumsier?” Locke grunts, dusting himself off like we actually fell into the dirt.
“It’s not my fault,” I argue. “I tripped on that thing.” Only then do I realize it’s a chest. “You know what? That looks important actually. I think it’s a chest.”
“Looks like someone already died to protect it,” Locke says, pointing at the skeleton. “Maybe be careful opening it.”
We dig it out of the packed dirt and set the small chest between us.
When I try to pry it open, it doesn’t budge.
Locke tries next and it still doesn’t move.
My eyes land on the skeleton and I wince.
“Sorry, buddy. I need this.” I grab the arm bone and use it to start prying at the edge of the chest. I wiggle the bone until it just barely gets under the edge before I start hitting it to push it inside.
Finally, with a soft “Shh” sound, the lid pops free. I drop the bone to the side and lift the lid carefully, half afraid something will leap out at me. When nothing does, I lean over the chest and we get a look at what’s inside.
There are two weapons lying in the bottom of the large chest and a small pouch. The first weapon is a dagger, the edge barely sharp enough to cut. The second is a short sword, also blunted.
“Fuck, it’s better than nothing,” Locke says, reaching for the sword. “You mind if I take this one?”
“Go ahead,” I say, picking up the dagger and tucking it in my inventory.
A brief description pops up that I immediately flick away.
I know it’s a shitty blade. It doesn’t need to be repeated.
The pouch jingles when I pick it up. Frowning, I shake it out into my hand and six golden coins fall out.
They sparkle in the golden light emanating from my medallion and both of our eyes widen.
They each have a large glittering H, just like the coin for our soul, but these one’s have the H on both sides. They’re just regular gold coins.
Locke looks from the coins to me and back at the coins again. “You found the chest first. So those are yours.”
I could take them. These coins are probably important. We don’t yet know what kind of currency they will be, or how we spend them. I should keep them. But . . . we’re a team.
I split the coins in half and hand Locke three of them. “You take half.”
His brows go up. “You’re sure?”
When I nod, he says, “Inventory.” The coins disappear. “You ain’t gotta tell me twice.” He frowns at his menus. “Harrow Coins is what they are. They don’t count in your regular inventory either.”
“Well, we’re each three Harrow Coins richer,” I say, standing up and dusting my knees off. “Maybe they’ll come in handy.”
“Your compassion is going to get you killed,” Cipher warns me as I start to move again.
“Compassion is what makes me human,” I snip. “I know you can’t relate.”
He chuckles. “Oh, Vespera. Compassion, as all emotions, can be programmed. It’s just unnecessary in the Harrow.”
I snort and take three steps forward. Three steps. That’s how close we’d already been and hadn’t even known.
BOSS BATTLE INITIATED: WATER GODDESS RISING
Cipher’s sensual voice booms around the cave, echoing so that I hear it over and over again as it bounces back at us. The moment the echo fades away, another noise can be heard in the otherwise quiet cave.
The soft, the sliding of flesh skin against the ground. Something large. Something in the dark.
Something that hisses as it moves.