Chapter 205: Chapter 205

Where the second mantis humanoid had collapsed, a blinding light erupted, and a loot chest hovered above the scorched stone, golden-green light pooling at its base. Fabrisse had never seen an aetheric loot chest before, but he knew what a chest looked like, and this one was just a chest but radiating with aether.

What would be in a chest, and how would it aid him, he wondered.

The older raven-haired man stepped forward, reaching for the chest. His long fingers curved around the glimmering form, ready to pluck it from the air. But Severa moved faster.

She placed squarely between him and the chest and stood in her usual rigid form. Her spine was now once again too straight to be that of a normal human. “This is ours,” she said. “We have acquired the right to this chest in accordance with the Dungeoneer Code, Article IV, Section 7: ‘The party with majority contribution to the dungeon encounter has the prerogative to determine loot distribution.’ You may challenge us, but the majority contribution is ours.”

The older man’s eyes narrowed, then he spoke in a language Fabrisse recognized from the few times Zan had spoken it—but he had never understood it. It was authoritative and edged with what Fabrisse could only describe as restrained aggression.

Zan then stepped up with measured hesitance and the slightly hunched shoulder she’d always carried undermined the otherwise proud lines of her frame. Her tone was gentle, almost deferential, yet when the older man barked back, she didn’t step aside. Apart from the attire, she still seemed like the Zan he knew.

They had never really parted in bad blood, nor had they ever officially ended things. One day, she had simply returned to her kingdom, and both of them had silently assumed it was the last time they’d ever speak. Fabrisse had barely thought of her since; he didn’t dwell on romance, and never truly understood the intricacies of it. By most standards, they were probably never all that invested in each other, and the time spent with her had felt like an easy friendship left unresolved rather than a love story cut short.

“What are they talking about?” Tommaso whispered to Fabrisse.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back. “I don’t know the language of the Jade Court.”

As the two conversed, he saw Zan’s shoulders dipping as if she were being scolded. The older man stood as rigid as a carved statue, and his voice rose again in heavier and heavier syllables. The intent was clear: reprimand.

Zan gestured briefly toward Severa’s group, then back toward the hovering chest, as if to explain the situation. Fabrisse could see her fingers doing some sort of ritualistic motion that vaguely resembled wind spell sequencing, yet he couldn’t recall any such movements in thaumaturgy. The older man’s gaze stayed fixed on her, then he snorted, and brushed a hand along the flowing robe, dismissing the moment entirely. Without another word, he turned and left the corridor.

Zan turned to the party and bowed. “I apologize. My elder, the Grand Luminary, can be . . . exacting at times, but his intent is honorable. We are striving to purge the core of this dungeon, and if your objective aligns with ours, you are welcome to combine efforts.”

Tommaso leaned even closer to Fabrisse. He wasn’t even hiding that they were whispering about her. “Yo . . . still the same Zan we knew? The old Zan could’ve won a competition for least words spoken in an hour against you.”

Fabrisse didn’t know, and frankly, he cared more about what was in the loot chest right now.

Severa did not bow, but she inclined her head with the minimum polite angle needed to qualify as courtesy. “Very well. Proceed. If our paths converge again deeper in the structure, we will reassess cooperation at that time.”

Zan nodded, and with an apologetic glance, she hurried after the Grand Luminary, but not before giving Fabrisse a small smile on her way out. He thought he’d smiled back; he didn’t know.

As her footsteps faded, Severa finally turned toward Fabrisse. “Is your back intact?”

The question caught him off guard. Only then did the pain roar back through his nerves.

[Status Effect: Back Pain]

[Effect: – 7 DEX & – 7 FP until the pain disappears]

[Combat Completed: +125 EXP]

[Congratulations! You have reached Level 7.]

[You have gained: +3 Attribute Points]

[SYSTEM WARNING: Your current FP is 13/42. At <30% of your total FP, your speed, concentration, and the potency of your spells will drop by 50%. Rest and rehydrate immediately to restore optimal operational parameters.]

He wasn’t going to waste one on this.

“It’s . . . just minor,” he said, jaw tight. “I can walk.”

Now, for the more important part: His Focus pool. Even with Lorvan’s ring, the non-stop action was getting too much for him to handle, and the back pain was not helping. He distributed his 3 Attribute Points on the most obvious, RES, bringing his RES total to 11 and adding one more FP to his Focus Point pool.

Severa studied him a moment, then gave a single approving nod. She didn’t push further. Thank the Aetheric socks.

Tommaso slapped soot off his gloves and jerked his chin toward the direction Zan had gone. “We should follow their trail. We know Zan; she’s not the type to harm anyone. And honestly, safer to tail someone we vaguely trust than wander blind like three idiots.”

Severa’s expression soured instantly. “I have no intention of placing myself within arm’s reach of a man with that attitude.”

Tommaso shrugged. “We don’t need to be near them. Just . . . not alone.”

Severa scoffed, looked away for a drawn-out second, then scoffed again. “Let us open the chest first.” Then she opened the chest.

The peridot glow bent toward her fingers, and nestled in a fold of aetheric waves lay five items.

“Inventory as follows,” she declared, as though she were reciting a grading report. She lifted the first object and said, “Mantid Wing Cloak. Rare. Whisperstep Anklets. Rare. Four Cyclone Capsules. Single-use, Rare. Two Chitin Gale Shards. Rare. Zephyr Mantis Bracer. Rare. Remember to double-check if your current condition is suitable for equipping these,” she continued as she pulled out the last of the items. “Aetheric items, especially those of wind aspect, require a compatible resonance to function properly. You should feel a subtle tingling along the skin where the item will contact you. If you feel nothing, it will not bind; if you feel a sudden, harsh spike, remove it at once.”

“Or you can just train until you do bind,” Tommaso shrugged. “I’ve been able to bind with even Legendary-grade agility items. It just becomes easy if your core becomes dexterous enough.”

Fabrisse stared at the cloak first.

[Reward Analyzed – Armor: ‘Mantid Wing Cloak’]

[Type: Light Armor – Utility]

[Requirement: DEX ≥ 27; RES ≥ 27; SYN ≥ 27]

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[Effect: Reduces sound generated by movement by 40%]

[Secondary Effect: Glide Drift – grants 20% slower falling speed and Temporary Skill: ‘Controlled Gliding—Rank I’ when a gale is present]

That’s a great item, especially for Stealth, if only it doesn't ask for so high a RES . . . But hold on . . . Why does this item have a ‘requirement’? Items from the flower ritual didn’t have any requirement; neither did my Throwmitts nor Forsing’s ring.

[INQUIRY RECEIVED: Why does this item have a requirement?]

[ANSWER FOUND: Soulbound items and Attuned gears bypass or diminish attribute requirements because they attune directly to a wielder’s aetheric signature. Requirements may be reduced or eliminated through certified adjustment procedures, such as Attunement performed by a Certified Attuner.]

He mentally checked his inventory again, and sure enough, his throwmitts were attuned items.

[Grade: Common — Attuned]

Description: SYN + 3; RES + 2

Also passively increases your likelihood to pick fights you probably can’t win, if your FP drops to lower than 30% of the total amount.

He mentally skimmed the sidebar of notes in his head. Right. Attuned. Of course.

Attuning was expensive, ridiculously so. Even the most basic attuning process required a certified attuner, a resonance chamber, a traceable sigil anchor, and at least one full aether cycle of calibration. People didn’t attune Common items. It was a waste of Kohns, time, and patience. Most adventurers simply trained until their aetheric or physical output met the requirement. That was the sensible thing to do.

No one in their right mind would pay a professional to attune something like the Throwmitts. They were barely worth listing on a resale board.

Tommaso had spent money—real money—so Fabrisse could use them immediately.

Tom reached over and plucked the Mantid Wing Cloak from Severa’s hands, then grinned at her despite her glaring.

“Yeah, no,” he said, giving it a light shake so the translucent insectile panels rippled. “I don’t usually wear cloaks. Too flappy. Too dramatic. Makes me look like I’m auditioning for a traveling theatre troupe or some nonsense. This is supposed to be used for stealth, right? Air or Veil based spells.” He narrowed his eyes at the cloak. Then, without warning, he tossed it at Fabrisse. “Why don’t you try it? If it rejects you, whatever. Worth a try.”

Fabrisse caught it out of pure reflex. No thanks, he thought immediately. I already knew the outcome.

Only now did the weight of that sink in. Tommaso never said anything about attuning gears for him, never even hinted at it. He’d just tossed the gloves at him and told him to smash Cuman’s head in. He glanced at Tommaso, who was leaning over Severa’s shoulder, trying to peek into the shimmering chest like a child at a bakery window.

Tom had never acted like someone who’d do something quietly kind.

But apparently he did.

He moved on to the next item, already bracing himself.

[Reward Analyzed – Bracer: ‘Zephyr Mantis Bracer’]

[Type: Weapon-Accessory Hybrid]

[Requirement: DEX ≥ 29; STR ≥ 18; RES ≥ 18]

[Effect: Enhances slashing attacks by 25%]

[Secondary Effect: Gale-Hook – allows brief aerial redirection using ambient currents]

Nope. He didn’t even have a slashing weapon. None of them had.

[Reward Analyzed – Accessory: ‘Whisperstep Anklets’]

[Type: Movement Accessory]

[Requirement: DEX ≥ 24; RES ≥ 15]

[Effect: Further reduces step-noise by an additional 20%] Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel•fire.net

Fifteen. Fifteen RES.

The lowest requirement among the batch, and still comfortably above his entire being.

He clicked open the next readout.

[Reward Analyzed – Consumable: ‘Cyclone Capsule’]

[Type: Single-Use Catalytic Orb]

[Requirement: DEX ≥ 20]

[Effect: Releases a controlled wind detonation upon shattering which dealt the damage equivalent of 100 N; damage scales with user RES (1% per 1 RES over 20, up to 100)]

This one he could use (at least after he rid himself of this stupid back pain), but he wasn’t sure if they’d trust him with it.

Yet, Tommaso reached over and threw a capsule at Fabrisse. “This is just a throwing object; it’s like a ready-sigil with no aetheric channeling requirements because it’s already primed with aether. Use them to save your skin, dude.”

Fabrisse had to bend sharply to catch it before it hit the ground. A bolt of pain lanced across his lower back. His teeth locked behind a thin, involuntary inhale as he sat.

“At least check if Kestovar could catch it first!” Severa grumbled. “You could detonate it at him.”

“The guy’s more agile than you think.”

“His back’s hurting!” she shot back.

“Oh, right,” Tommaso said. He pushed past Severa, scooped up the remaining items from the chest, and walked them over like he was delivering contraband. “Here,” he said, stacking them into Fabrisse’s hands one by one instead of risking another toss. “Just don’t bend. Or twist. You look like you’ll fold in half.”

Fabrisse stared down at the pile; the only thing he could actually use because anyone faster than a sloth could use it.

And here I thought I was getting better . . . My RES . . . It’s still so garbage . . .

He recalled the Eidralith’s warning: most items wouldn’t function if stored beyond his inventory limit, even if he could physically hold them. But consumables weren’t like that, by that logic. They didn’t siphon his aether, didn’t demand activation beyond their own mechanism. It’s like carrying a water bottle: drink it, you get water. Full inventory or not, it still works.

So he asked Eidralith: Consumables stored beyond inventory limit – functional?

He sighed. Good. At least something straightforward today.

Severa was already cataloguing the rest of the items, reorganizing them in the chest and tapping at something on her wristglyph, but then she stopped once more. “Hold on,” she said. “There is another item.”

Tommaso leaned forward. “What, like a hidden compartment? Yo, does this chest come with a mini-chest? Love ‘em. I just love chests of all sizes.”

Severa ignored him entirely. Her fingers slipped into the aetheric lining, pushing past the visible items, parting the shimmered motes like pulling aside curtains. Then she drew out the last item: a frame of polished darkwood, inlaid with iridescent green filaments that looked like insect-veins and wrapped in braided silk cord around a translucent chitin band gleaming with captured gale.

“Aetheric Windcaster. Common-grade,” she announced. “Projectile conduit.”

“A slingshot?” Tommaso said.

Both of them stared at Fabrisse.

Fabrisse was already staring at the object.

[Reward Analyzed – Weapon: ‘Gale-Kin Slingshot’]

[Type: Ranged Focus – Aetheric Kinesis Amplifier]

[Requirement: INT ≥ 30; DEX ≥ 14; RES ≥ 8; SYN ≥ 10]

[Effect: Enhances the range, velocity, and aether-shear impact of small projectile objects by 30%]

[Definition – ‘Small Projectile Objects’: Any solid item between 1 cm and 8 cm in diameter, and weighing up to 350 g. Includes: stones, pebbles, metal bearings, shard-cores, and similarly sized field debris.]

He stared at it in disbelief.

I . . . I meet all requirements.