Two Doors (5): The Pearl in the Sand

Ha Heijeong's second run.

A community of the dead.

The moment the notification's message ended, a black door appeared on the far side of the room.

What the hell is this…

Two Lightning Dashes had drained my mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the bottom, and my stamina wasn't in great shape either after going toe-to-toe with the Tu'tuli Guardians and that nameless enemy.

On top of that, I'd given myself a rough wipe-down, but with blood and gore caked all over my body, I felt absolutely disgusting. I wanted nothing more than a proper wash and a desperately needed rest.

Ugh, damn it… nothing I can do about it, I guess.

Supposedly the floors were connected — what was I going to do, refuse?

The one silver lining was that I had water and food on hand. I'd stocked plenty of both in Moongchi back when I was preparing for the possibility of a long stay on some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floor.

At least they were giving me a short break — a whole hour of it. Mana recovered faster during rest, after all.

I had time left, so resting first was the sensible move. I needed to eat and drink to restore my stamina and mana.

As for the nameless enemy's equipment, I could inspect it after the break…

Now that it came down to it, checking it right this second felt like far too much effort.

"Moongchi, get me some water and jerky."

Moongchi was the mimic's name. It had run away in such a comically adorable way that I'd given it the name on a whim.

I'd spoken with the lid already open, but the mimic said nothing.

Well, "nothing" wasn't quite the word for it… it simply refused to spit out a single item.

Hmm.

It swallowed everything I fed it without a peep, but the moment I wanted something out, it clammed up.

It had no trouble producing goods back when I was hawking junk at the rest stop, so why now?

Oh — is it because Ha Heijeong was there back then?

She was the one who'd knocked the mimic out cold by shaking it in the first place. So it was scared of her, and now that she wasn't around, it was holding out on me.

So that's why she shook it. She wasn't telling me to discipline it for nothing.

It seemed the thing only behaved when there was some training involved.

But I was dead tired already, and it wouldn't listen, so a sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

Look, normally the answer to a disobedient child is a good whack, but…

Hm. I'd rather raise Moongchi as humanely as possible.

Let's give it one last chance before resorting to shaking.

"Moongchi, get the water and jerky out. Or else… you know what happens."

"Kiiit!"

"Where'd you learn to throw a tantrum? You heard what Heijeong said about knocking you out. I'm only being nice because I want us to get along. Keep this up and I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have no choice."

"Kii-iit…"

Deep in the darkness of the little box, the mimic's eyes wavered. It looked like it was agonizing over something.

Ha Heijeong had said mimics were proud creatures, but…

I couldn't wrap my head around why it would hesitate when it was going to spit the items out eventually anyway.

Or was I wrong?

Come to think of it, plenty of humans were stubborn in equally nonsensical ways. Let's just call it a quirk of the species.

After a short wait, the mimic meekly regurgitated the jerky and water.

"Kiiit!"

"If you were going to do it anyway, why put up a fight? Dobby, hold this for me."

I handed the jerky to Dobby and poured a two-liter bottle of water over my head. Even a quick rinse would help.

The cold ran down from the crown of my head, and I scrubbed at my hair with my right hand as the water streamed through it. After a rough pass over my face, I tilted my head back and caught the water in my open mouth.

The feeling of it sliding down my parched throat was blissful.

Then I poured another round over my shoulders. One bottle wasn't nearly enough for a real wash. I flung the empty container to the floor.

"Moongchi, more water."

Dobby and I shared a light meal. Blood had splattered all over me and killed my appetite, so I made do with a few strips of jerky.

Dobby, on the other hand, got a properly grilled steak. A goblin in his growth years needed feeding well, I figured.

Watching the pure happiness on Dobby's face left me feeling a little empty somehow.

Hm. I should stock a wider variety of food from now on.

Afterwards, I lay down in a corner of the room that was free of blood spatter and rested for as much of my remaining time as I could.

My mana hadn't recovered even a quarter of the way, but my stamina was fully restored.

Now it was time to examine the nameless enemy's equipment.

Since the enemy had burst apart and died, there was no notification window to check. I had no way of knowing who it was or what it had looked like.

All I'd found near the point of impact were black scales and what appeared to be a tail.

Going by this, some kind of reptilian humanoid…

But I couldn't say for certain. Then again, I had a feeling the Tower would tell me the species' name once I cleared Floor 12.

All that remained at the scene were two daggers and a torn cloak.

For them to have survived perfectly intact while a body was literally bursting apart, these were clearly no ordinary pieces of equipment.

I picked up the blood-and-flesh-covered daggers and cloak.

Wait, aren't these completely overpowered items?

Ah — no, right. A difficulty spike this sudden would have been absurd.

The nameless enemy hadn't actually been as strong as I'd imagined. Those weren't skills — it was pure gear carrying the whole fight.

If I'd known the daggers and cloak were this good, I could've taken him down so much more easily…

A deep wave of regret washed over me as I stared at the shredded cloak.

According to the dagger's description, that bizarre defense of his had been a one-shot affair. If I'd simply killed him with my axe after a Lightning Dash…

The cloak would have survived intact.

Excellent resistance to non-physical attacks. The loss stung.

…Well, nothing to be done about it. There was no way the me of that moment could have known the enemy was all gear and no skill. It was the best choice I could have made.

That said — those twin daggers had been a single blade all along?

Hm, that explains why I only heard one sound when he drew his weapon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the start.

Replica or not, this was no ordinary dagger.

Setting aside the Agility +2, a skill called Shadow Veil, and a one-time auto-defense against all physical attacks…

The darkness blanketing this floor, and that uncanny defense from earlier — it all finally made sense. He'd created the darkness through that skill, so it had dissolved the instant he died.

And that was also how he'd kept pace with the speed of my Lightning Dash.

But if this is a replica… how insane is the real thing?

Unique grade — the same tier as the Essence of Lightning.

A surge of desire for the genuine article rose in me, but I decided to be satisfied with the replica for now.

Replica or not, it's more than serviceable as a weapon.

Ever since I picked up the Axe Mastery skill on Floor 11, I'd come to appreciate just how important a dagger was.

I'd been planning to replace my dagger anyway, and now I'd landed something quite good.

I stored my old weapon in Moongchi and pressed the two daggers together into one. I had no idea by what principle it worked, but the moment they touched, they fused together with unnerving ease.

I draped the half-shredded, ragged cloak around my neck as well. Sure, its effect was nearly gone now, but as the notification said — better than nothing.

Right. Preparations complete. Time to move again.

"Dobby, we're not missing anything, are we?"

"Kkiik! Goblin is fine!"

"Good. Then let's go."

"Kkiik! Let's gooo!"

Dobby beamed a bright, guileless smile.

Whew. On top of a living inventory, now I'm lugging around a giant living potion too.

Seeing Dobby grin so innocently, it struck me that the goblin could use some combat training of his own before long.

I couldn't fight while shielding Dobby forever. If we ever ran into a messy situation against large numbers, protecting him might simply become impossible.

I did give Dobby a barrier spell, but…

That was a stopgap, nothing more — meant for the split seconds I couldn't spare attention, not something that would hold indefinitely.

Thinking about the future, Dobby needed to learn to fight too.

Seo Harin swung her mace while chanting holy incantations. There was no reason Dobby couldn't do the same.

He did carry a crossbow back on Floor 1, so he's got the fundamentals, at least.

Not that this needed saying right now. Saying it now wouldn't change anything — it was a conversation better saved for a comfortable chat in the Waiting Room.

Right now was time to focus on Floor 12.

The black door on the far side of the room. Unlike before, it seemed the Tower wasn't teleporting me across this time.

Something to do with the Guardians waiting on the other side?

It was a question that had been gnawing at me since Floor 11 and the boss room. I'd half expected something waiting at the end of this darkness room, but with the nameless enemy dead, there was no way to know.

It had called me a "thief," which suggested there was more to find — yet the final room had held nothing special either.

But Floors 11 and 12 were connected…

Most likely, something was waiting for me on Floor 12.

I carefully opened the black door.

Huh?

The first thing to meet my eyes was a small desert.

A vast cavern about the size of a soccer stadium.

The floor of the cavern was made entirely of sand.

I stood there, slightly stunned, as a notification window surfaced before me.

Two hours. Not much time at all.

No — wait, for a space the size of a soccer stadium, was that actually plenty?

Presumably the enemies would be bursting up out of the sand.

The floor was called The Pearl in the Sand.

I was getting used to the Tower's messages by now.

So the thing the Guardians were guarding was this pearl?

Before me stretched a very real desert of sand. Whether the pearl was a metaphor or a genuine gem, though, I had no way of knowing.

This floor's objective was to search for the pearl while fighting off the enemies.

And on top of that, I couldn't kill every enemy before finding the pearl.

All right — Floor 12, sorted. I turned to Dobby.

Enemies springing out of the sand — I needed to warn him to stay sharp.

"Dobby, stick close behind me and—"

I never finished the sentence. The small sand desert before us was trembling — like a miniature earthquake.

The epicenter was dead center of the sand.

From that central point, the sand erupted upward like an explosion.

Sand blurred my vision. Beyond the swirling haze, a colossal shape rose from below.

"Kryaaaaraaah—!"

A spine-chilling cry. Goosebumps raced across my skin.

Through the collapsing sand, glaring straight at me, was a black dragon.