Siegmund had been forced to spend almost every last bit of Essence which Ignatius had given to him.
The [☆ Dull Newt's Eye] belonged to the Magic Focus category, which had allowed Ignatius to cast [✧Cold Heart] and survive the encounter, but it had cost over half the Essence just on its own. This had been due to the magical status on it, which allowed any class to equip it. Usually, only Astrologers, Necromancers, and Wizards could equip them.
Unfortunately, the magic focus—an ugly sphere of green glass with a single, tiny eyeball in the center that always turned to look at the user—had no other use for Ignatius, except to boost his Intelligence stat by 5 points.
At this early point in the game, Intelligence was nearly useless for any character who didn't use it as a primary or secondary attacking stat. Most other stats, like Endurance and Luck, gave some kind of boost to every character's effectiveness.
Even "spellsword" builds, which were usually Wizards who used melee weapons, could increase their blocking ability by gaining points in Strength! But Intelligence would have no secondary effect for months, not until enough players complained that the developers patched the game.
So for now, Ignatius had only 757 Essence after killing the Scab Fiends. None of them had even dropped a single item for him to sell! They were intended to be a pretty easy encounter for a full party to fight. Their explosions and fire trails were supposed to teach new players the value of proper positioning.
They'd only been so deadly because Ignatius had been a solo player whose class had weak defenses. A solo Barbarian or Paladin could have easily tanked several of them at once without as much trouble, so long as they were killed one at a time and the player was careful to move away from the center of each explosion to minimize its damage.
However, no other class could have perfectly avoided three explosions at once, like the Monk could!
At this point, Ignatius had very low HP and Energy, though his HP was still steadily regenerating because of the potions which Siegmund had bought. The Energy would take longer to return, and Ignatius definitely couldn't afford a full Energy-restoring potion.
"I sure wish I had a ring that would give me an Energy regen boost," Ignatius said to Siegmund as they both rested in the chamber with their backs to a stone wall that was growing cooler by the moment. "In fact, there are a lot of basic items that would make all of this really easy. I definitely need to make sure I have them before I enter that PvP tournament in three days."
"Indeed," said the Onion Knight, who interpreted all of these words in ways that removed the game-ness from them. "I know that we are seeking ancient treasures in this arcane lair, so that you may strengthen yourself against the tyrannical might of Brightlord Temporix. I believe in you, my friend. Even if we must fight with our bare hands, we will do so together."
Ignatius flexed his right hand, then clenched it again into a fist which glowed with spiritual energy. "In case you've forgotten, I 'always' fight with my bare hands. I don't recommend that you do the same, of course. Later on, we really need to get you some Companion War Skills."
Better abilities would never make the Onion Knight a skilled fighter… but they'd make him a bit more effective than he currently was. It was a bit embarrassing that a single Scab Fiend, an enemy intended to be weak except for its AoE attacks, was a worthy foe for Siegmund.
As he waited for his Energy to recharge, Ignatius checked his character sheet.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼Ignatius
╟─╼Monk LVL 7
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼Health Points: 100
╟─╼Energy Points: 100
╟─╼Power Rating: 235
╟─╼Essence: 757
╟─╼Crystal Coins: 101
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼ATTRIBUTES
║ ╰╼[Vigor] 10
║ ╰╼[Strength] 10
║ ╰╼[Dexterity] 11
║ ╰╼[Intelligence] 16
║ ╰╼[Endurance] 10
║ ╰╼[Luck] 10
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼ACTIVE SKILLS
║ ╰╼[✧Cold Heart] {↷50 EP|⇝0.1 sec|↻0 sec}
║ ╰╼[✧Sacred Fist] {⇝0.5 sec}
║ ╰╼[✧Balance] {⇝2 sec|↻10 sec}
║ ╰╼[✧Purgation] {↷10 EP|⇝2 sec|↻60 sec}
║ ╰╼[✯Draw Energy] {⇝10 sec|↻60 sec}
╟─╼PASSIVE SKILLS
║ ╰╼[N/A]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼EQUIPMENT
║ ╰╼R.HAND: [Empty]
║ ╰╼L.HAND: [☆ Dull Newt's Eye]┋[✧Cold Heart]
║ ╰╼HEAD: [✧Spirit Stone]┋[✧Sacred Fist 2]
║ ╰╼TORSO: [✧Monk Robes]┋[✧Balance 2]
║ ╰╼LEGS: [✧Monk Pants]┋[✧Purgation 2]
║ ╰╼GLOVES: [✧Sarexia's Gauntlets]┋[✯Draw Energy]
╟─╼ACCESSORIES
║ ╰╼BELT: [✧Monk Sash]
║ ╰╼AMULET: [Empty]
║ ╰╼R.RING: [✧Worn Tin Ring]
║ ╰╼L.RING: [✧Worn Copper Ring]
╚═══════════════╛
"Ah, fantastic!" said Ignatius. "My Monk starting skills have all leveled up. I'll get a tiny bit more damage from [✧Sacred Fist] now, and the other two will be more effective."
Since they were going to fight a boss soon, every last bit of effectiveness was needed. Thankfully, players didn't need to spend Essence to level up their skills. They simply needed to 'earn' Essence from killing enemies and completing quests while the Skill Gems were equipped—though Essence gained from selling or trading didn't count toward this.
Players could also spend Essence directly at the Eternal Shrine to level their Skill Gems, but this was usually unnecessary. At any rate, it would take far, far more Essence than Ignatius could get his hands on right now to level his skills any more.
After looking at his sheet, Ignatius stood. His Energy was almost fully regenerated. Being out of combat added a huge bonus to both HP and Energy regeneration, thankfully, though it was still much slower than in many other MMOs. "Come on," said Ignatius to Siegmund.
The Onion Knight scrambled to his feet. Tiny sparks shot off his heavy metal armor as it scraped against the stone below him. "I'm rested and ready to fight, my friend! Tell me, who is our next foe?"
"Before we fight anyone else," said Ignatius, "we're going to search all these furnaces at the beginning of the floor." He looked around at the dozen smoldering constructions of black iron around them. The Scab Fiends had been trapped inside these, and the hellish fire that tormented the bastards was still burning deep within them.
Siegmund shot him a disbelieving look. Or, at least, it was 'probably' an expression of disbelief. It was difficult to tell with the enormous helmet concealing his entire head. "Search the furnaces? For what, our own melted flesh and bones!? I assure you, that is all that will be in them if we thrust our hands in!"
Ignatius shook his head. "They're magical constructs. The heat is designed to torture the creatures stuffed inside. It will be extremely painful, but it won't actually cause permanent damage." He walked up to the first furnace, took a deep breath, and shoved his hand through the open door.
An intense pain bit into his arm. It actually wasn't anywhere close to the pain of a real fire burn, since that kind of agony could, in the real world, make strong men pass out in an instant.
But it certainly wasn't pleasant. It didn't deal any actual HP damage, since the furnace was designed as a test of endurance for players, and so Ignatius gritted his teeth at the pain and felt around inside the furnace until he was sure that nothing was inside it.
When he pulled his arm out, completely unharmed, Siegmund stared at it in amazement. "I take it back, my friend! You certainly know what you're talking about! Very well, I will swallow my fear and will aid you in your search." He paused. "What, um, 'are' we looking for?"
Ignatius smiled grimly, rubbing his hand against his cloth tunic to dull the quickly fading pain. "A unique Skill Gem which you can only get on this floor. If we're very lucky. That probably won't happen. Otherwise, we'll find a random Skill Gem which we can at least sell for some more Essence. One to three of these furnaces will have a Skill Gem in it, with the most likely drop rate being two Common Rarity Skill Gems, which we can at least trade for a healing potion."
So Ignatius searched the five remaining furnaces on his side of the chamber, while Siegmund searched the six on his side.
Sweat poured down Ignatius's forehead at the constant pain of the fire, but he simply clenched his jaw and kept searching.
They passed from one furnace to the other, remaining silent, so that only the sinister machine noises and the distant howls of tortured spirits came to them. Three furnaces, then six, then nine.
All the while, they found no treasure.
Ignatius's heart began to beat heavily in frustration. His Hunger Clock was running out quickly after their long rest and this search, and now he was doubting whether his memory of the Hell-Iron Jungle was even correct. Was it possible that, at this point in the game, the developers or the game's AI hadn't made this encounter guaranteed to reward any treasure to people who searched the furnaces? Were they wasting their time and subjecting themselves to all this pain for absolutely nothing?
Siegmund was a little faster at his search. His armor, though weak to fire damage in general, seemed to protect him a bit better than Ignatius's bare hands. By the time Ignatius arrived at his final furnace, Siegmund was only a moment slower in reaching the final furnace on the other side of the chamber.
Ignatius paused and watched Siegmund reach in, feel around, and then shake his head. "Ouch! By all the gods, that hurts… I'm sorry, my friend. Not a sign of treasure anywhere."
Ignatius gave a long sigh of frustration. So they'd wasted all this time for nothing. If this encounter 'did' give a guaranteed drop at all, it would almost certainly be an item so worthless that it wouldn't even let them buy a single potion.
He thrust his arm angrily into the depths of the final furnace. The magical flames licked at his exposed flesh, stinging and searing him to an extent that somehow felt worse than all the previous ones.
Just before he withdrew his arm, Ignatius's fingertips brushed something hard.
His heart skipped a beat.
Ignatius leaned in a bit further, wincing as the furnace's heat blasted the side of his face, and wrapped his fingers around what was inside.
Then he pulled it out, peered at it, and gave a huge smile.
Resting in his palm was the rarest treasure of the encounter, the power of the Scab Fiends themselves.
[✯Trailblazer].