The caverns under Ravioli are far larger than they have any right to be, as though space itself is warping to enable such a massive structure to exist under the Bolognese Kingdom`s capital. After my near-fatal dive into the underground river, the rest of our descent into the center of this chasm is smooth sailing. Though, despite the experience of saving us both from near death, the system has seen fit to award me no points. I shake my head - may the goddess have mercy on my soul.

　　Walls of moss-covered dirt give way to stone and metal as we reach the ancient ruins upon which the castle was built in ages past. Evidence of some precursor civilization, according to some interpretations of the lore, though it`s never stated outright. As we continue onward, I hear something - nothing concrete, and no follow-up, though the sound of my footsteps against the pavement fills me with dread. By this point in the dungeon, random encounters are reenabled, and I`m not keen on being ambushed.

　　A noise from behind startles me and I jump around, clutching Radiant Edge and willing it to glow a bit brighter. Just a couple of rocks tumbling. For a moment I`m relieved, but a realization slams into me. That wasn`t a natural movement - something threw the rock as a distraction. I turn around and dodge an incoming boulder strike that misses my face by less than an inch and takes a few of my hairs with it.

　　Sammy wills magic into her staff, illuminating our surroundings and revealing a trio of giant worms behind me, each probably a dozen feet long with a circumference as large as my waist. One of the worms sucks a boulder the size of my head into its gaping maw, and with a stomach-churning series of undulations, springs back and fires the boulder directly at me, not unlike an air cannon. The boulder darts toward me, though with equal celerity, I sidestep the attack and it lands on the ground a short distance away near Sammy`s feet.

　　More concerning than the initial attack is the hissing sound coming from the boulder and small bores within it. The insides of these disgusting creatures must be coated in some sort of acid. Magical weaponry is resistant to corrosion, though our fleshy bodies are less so. I charge the one on my left, skewering it with my blade, though as I slice through its pulsating mass to retrieve my cutlass, its acidic innards splash out, a few drops landing on my arm. It burns and I seethe, channeling my anger into my physical might as I nearly sever the creature in twain.

　　"Lightning Strike!" Sammy cries out. She holds her staff in front of her, channeling magical energy before loosing it along the ground. Bolts of blue energy crawl across the damp stone, and I backflip high into the air as the electric pulses hit their mark. The one I injured earlier turns from a tangerine color to a crispy black and falls to the ground, probably lifeless, while the other two gurgle and slither toward us.

　　"Ew, ew, ew, ew! Get off, get off, get off!" Sammy cries out, eyes closed, head shaking as she launches two consecutive volleys of Triple Firebolt. Six orbs of flame fly out, and three of them connect with each of our slimy foes. One of them collapses, though with its wriggling, it probably still clings to life, while the other one lurches toward Sammy.

　　"Oh no you don`t!" I cry out and charge it.

　　But before I can reach the oozing beast, Sammy thwacks it with a series of staff strikes, squealing the whole time as the cretin looms over her. Its mouth opens and drips acidic saliva toward Sammy, but her relentless strikes, though weak individually, are so quick and numerous that the injured beast collapses and disintegrates before its hideous maw engulfs her. I stab the last beast as it lies at death`s door - a kindness it doesn`t deserve, but I just want this battle over with.

　　Sammy pants with her hands on her knees as I lower my blade, keeping it out as a glowstick. Not quite enough experience for us to level at 800 points apiece, though we`re both getting exceedingly close. I eat a cluster of grapes, and while I`m not fully healed from them, it`s enough to block the pain and prevent any lingering acid from continuing to gnaw away at me.

　　As the last of the three worms disintegrates, a red treasure chest materializes. I open it to find a trio of vials, each containing a bright-blue liquid. Analyzing them, they are exactly as expected - flasks of antistone compound. And we`ll need them.

　　With that encounter finished, we continue onward, reaching a large stone monument in the shape of a ziggurat. It`s easily as large as a warehouse, though a little smaller than the Great Pyramids back on Earth. It`s quiet as we approach the structure.

　　"In there?" Sammy asks.

　　I nod. We walk up a stairwell, ascending toward the entrance of the structure with little sound but our footsteps and the faint cascade of the river in the far distance. A chill grips me, and my hairs stand on end as we reach the pyramid`s threshold. Inside, the monument glows with an eerie shade of white and green emanating off the walls. It`s dim, but bright enough that I can see from that light alone, and I sheathe my sword to avoid standing out too much.

　　If the caverns under Ravioli are larger than they should be, then the inside of this pyramid is definitely larger than it appears on the outside. We descend down what seems like hundreds of stairs before we reach the main antechamber. The floor glows that same shade of phantasmal green as we approach the center of the room.

　　"I don`t like this," Sammy whispers.

　　I shake my head. "Nothing to worry about. Yet."

　　Sammy glares at me and readies an attack. I step back and quickly elaborate.

　　"We`ll have another boss fight here soon enough. But there`s still a couple of things we have to do before we fight it."

　　"Boss fight?"

　　"Like the troll boss, or that skeletal serpent in the& nevermind. Monsters much stronger than those around it. Ones that take up residence in dungeons like this and make it their home. Highly dangerous, but highly territorial. Most don`t leave their lairs."

　　"What is it this time? Goddess, I hope it`s not another serpent!"

　　"No, a cockatrice."

　　"A what? I`ve never heard of such a thing."

　　"Well, as the name suggests, it`s a giant cock."

　　"Ash! That`s- I don`t&"

　　"As in a rooster! Suffice it to say it`s one chicken you should definitely beware of! It has the power to petrify with its beak. As for how I know, I guess I can`t be certain. But something makes me think that that`s what we`ll find."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

　　"Well, I suppose your hunches` have proven mostly true thus far. Do you think we can defeat it?"

　　"We have to. The invasion of Ravioli won`t stop until we do."

　　"Okay, Ash. What do we have to do?"

　　"There`s a series of levers at the ends of the three hallways." I point to the three hallways extending outward in each direction. "Once we pull each of them, we`ll reach this overgrown bird`s nest. Then it`s just a matter of defeating it."

　　"And& how does that have anything to do with the gremlins in town?"

　　My eyes dart around. "Territorial war between monsters," I lie. "As I mentioned before, boss monsters are territorial. The cockatrice must have riled a gremlin nest and forced them to relocate to the surface."

　　In truth, I have no idea how the two are related, but I can`t say as much. What I do know is that in the game, defeating the cockatrice also ends the invasion of gremlins, though thinking about it, worry seeps in. What if the two aren`t related at all? What if the two are just coincidental events? What if I`m dooming people that I could have saved? I shake off the thoughts - there`s no way we`d be able to fight the relentless waves of gremlins on by ourselves, and this is the best lead we have for solving the issue.

　　We head down the left hallway and enter a room with staircases in every direction. Some go up toward a ceiling that seems infinitely high. Others head down toward the Abyss itself, and still others seem to traverse side to side along the sides of the room in manifold, nonsensical patterns taken straight out of an Escher painting. To the side of the room is a control panel which manipulates the orientation of the room. In the game, it`s a nasty puzzle, having to rotate the room six times to create a path to the other side, and an additional four times to pick up a useful, but ultimately unnecessary treasure. Though, after our trip to the sewers, I see no reason not to break the puzzle with acrobatics.

　　I turn to Sammy. "Do you want to follow me? Or should I carry you?"

　　Sammy turns away, her face so red it`s visible even in this eerie light. "Carry me?"

　　"If you want me to." I was mostly joking, but the way she responds doesn`t upset me.

　　She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck and jumps into my arms. I can`t help but return her blush as I eye my path. I do a couple of weak jumps in place to gauge my strength, though given she doesn`t feel very heavy at all, I`m confident. Maybe too confident, given the& cascade calamity earlier.

　　With little trouble, I leap from platform to platform, darting across the sides of the staircases, jumping high above the hallways until I have enough height, and then, in a single bound, I leap the second half of the gap, landing on the hallway, though failing to stick the landing as my knees buckle a bit from the impact.

　　"Oh my, Ash," Sammy says. "That was pretty cool. And you`re so strong." I check to see if she`s used a fire spell on me, though that doesn`t appear to be the case as her magic reserves haven`t dropped.

　　I head to the nearby control panel and place my palm on the surface, causing a series of raised platforms to emerge out of the depths, forming a path back to the central area. With that taken care of, we head to the far end of the hallway and activate the first switch. A dull rumble in the distance is proof that our task here is done, and we quickly make our way back to the central area.

　　The right hallway is next. The path dims ahead of us as we continue onward into darkness. Sammy raises her staff, but the incandescent glow is suppressed by some mechanism, allowing us to see little further than our outstretched hands. My sword`s glow is similarly dampened, so I keep it sheathed to reduce the risk of accidental injury.

　　We reach a series of three narrow corridors in the darkness, one leading directly in front, one leading to the left, and one more to the right. There are a couple of treasure chests with worthwhile items along the left path, but the right path ultimately leads to the next switch. And the center is useless, leading only to an ambush encounter.

　　"Which way do you want to go, Ash?"

　　"Left first, then right. I have a bad feeling about the center. Something about it feels off. Like there`s something lurking in the darkness, ready to jump out at me."

　　"I`m glad that you feel it too."

　　We nod and take the left path. Sammy insists on following a left-hand rule,` always taking the leftmost path, and while it`s a bit inefficient and involves a few extra dead-ends, I see no reason to argue the point. Before long, we reach our first chest, containing a vial of Miracle Water, an incredibly potent item, and the first copy accessible.

　　Miracle Water

　　Divine water blessed by the goddess herself.

　　[Permanent +4 to all stats when consumed]

　　I quickly down the substance, which tastes way worse than anything blessed by the goddess` should be. Closer to cough syrup - not bad, but certainly not heavenly`, divine`, or anything similar.

　　"Are you sure you should be drinking strange liquids like that?" Sammy asks. "What if it`s poison? Or sludge!"

　　"Can you not analyze items with your display screen?"

　　"Analyze?"

　　"Yes. I can determine the nature of most items and substances just by focusing on them for a couple of seconds. A small display window appears in my vision."

　　"Wow! I didn`t realize you could do such a thing! Let me-"

　　Sammy concentrates on her ring before turning back to me. "I can see it as well! Can others not do this?"

　　"I- When I got here, I thought everyone could. But maybe only people I`m formally in a party with share this ability." I should have realized this sooner, back in the jeweler`s shop, when no one else blinked at the prospect of being overcharged for fake accessories. No, other hypotheses couldn`t be ruled out. Conspicuous consumption, a genuine lack of knowledge about the market for such jewelry in the rest of the world - no reason the efficient market hypothesis holds true in a fantasy world. Especially given how item crafting and selling should break the economy, but never does in a game world.

　　So this, not anything else, is the boon I have as the Heroine. Honestly, it`s rather refreshing that I get such an unusual power. Now I just have to figure out how I can best use it. No, I know that much already, but& No time to worry about that, there`s still a dungeon to clear and a chicken to cook. Extra crispy, with a double portion of heat. Damn I`m getting hungry.

　　Experience: 18,710

　　To Next: 940

　　Experience: 19,623

　　To Next: 27

　　Ashley Lancaster

　　Level 16

　　Samantha Relford

　　Level 16

　　HP:

　　872 / 1143

　　HP:

　　834 / 834

　　MP:

　　143 / 178

　　MP:

　　156 / 236