Inept Lantern...?
I thought with a raised eyebrow after the system spoke.
[Inventory:] Inept Lantern: Merely a broken torch. This Common Item has the Effect; Irradiate.
[Effect:] Irradiate: In exchange for a flux of the World Energy, this item radiates light.
I guess I was right...it was merely made as a test...but by who?
Despite the fact that I asked myself that question, I intuitively knew the answer.
"Galter Droet."
The man who wrote the entries of the Quill-Book and most likely, the one who ended up as the Lost Skeleton. It seems that the man had also been here.
Ubiquitous much?
I thought as I summoned back the Lantern, once again the chasm was illuminated and the irritating feeling returned.
I lingered for a moment, staring at the Lantern when suddenly, I got hit by a realization.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! If we go with the fact that Galter Droet is the Lost Skelton then... that means he-he escaped this place!",
My eyes shone as my face took a baffled expression.
That means there's hope...
My mouth hung slightly ajar before I clenched it and chuckled.
"Pfft! There was always hope from the start...I was going to definitely get out of here, even if I had to claw my way up these walls.", I spoke with dark determination when I glanced at the walls.
Under the illumination of the Inept Lantern, I saw the walls in all their horrid glory.
At first glance I realized one thing. The walls were huge, frightenedly so. So huge that I couldn't even see the hole which I had fallen down from.
Another thing I discovered was how old and ancient they were, along with one disturbing fact.
The chasm was artificial.
It wasn't caused by a natural occurrence but was instead invoked by the actions of someone...or something.
It seemed like they had burrowed their way here before coming to a halt several hundreds of feet below the mountain chain. If one were to ask me about this whole ordeal, I would have concluded that whatever creature did this was trying to hide.
But then that begged the question...
What could have frightened such a dreadful creature?
A god maybe...
Or the devil.
I paused at my inner voice's startling suggestion before saying in a hoarse voice, "You may not be wrong."
Tss...all the more reason I have to get out of here soon...
I concluded as I turned back to the Inept Lantern's description.
[Inventory:] Inept Lantern: Merely a broken torch. This Common Item has the Effect; Irradiate.
[Effect:] Irradiate: In exchange for a flux of the World Energy, this item radiates light.
'Merely a broken torch'
I laughed lightly at the description before dismissing it and then summoning it again.
From an outline and several shards, a somewhat plain yet ethereal lamp weaved itself into existence.
Once I weighed it on my hand, a flame blazed from within it chasing away the darkness and with that light came a familiar irritating feeling.
I twitched uncomfortably before calming down.
I don't think I'll be adapting to that feeling any time soon...
I said with a sigh before taking a long glance at the Lantern.
"'Merely a broken torch'? In the real world, this shit will sell for millions even without its magical effect...that Galter Droet...is a bloody perfectionist.", I spoke before clicking my tongue.
I gazed at the Lantern for a moment, admiring it before my eyes slowly wandered down to my new clothes.
Veil of the Moon was a lightweight attire made from black leather and a sliver lustrous metal. It had a leather breastplate with metallic pauldrons and vambraces, black gloves as well as black leather pants. True to its name, it had a black shroud that could be used to cover the wearer's face.
In short, it looked like an armor straight out of medieval fantasy.
I look really slick...
I thought, half expecting my inner voice to chime in.
Oh well...
I looked myself up and down before smiling.
I guess I don't dislike you, Untethered.
With that thought, I turned to the wooden box.
"Chest...rather."
I corrected myself as I walked towards the wooden chest.
Stopping in front of it, I took a surveying glance at all its contents; each of them were such alluring eye candies.
Licking my lips, I thought.
This is definitely going to be one long inspection.
...
A couple of hours later, I finished inspecting most of the chest's contents and came to one conclusion.
"These are all of Galter Droet's trash."
I spoke in a tone of finality.
Indeed, they were.
In the past two hours, I had examined every item in the chest - well except a few - and had concluded that these were items that Galter had discarded.
Alright, let's take a look at everything again.
Inventory.
[Inventory:] School Uniform, Blade of Grass, Rock Pebbles, Twigs, Acolyte Leaves, Glass Bottle, Box of Seasoning, Hunting Knife, Quill-Book, Leather Map, Silver Lining, Veil of the Moon, Inept Lantern, Worthless Bowl, Maladroit Ax, Arch of Error, Featureless Quiver, Empty Goblet
I skimmed over all the items in my inventory and then heaved a sigh of satisfaction, the Lantern bobbing in my left hand with its flickering flame.
Good. Good.
Wow, you sure seem happy to own another man's shit.
Haven't you heard the phrase 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'.
Only for the homeless.
I grimaced but didn't let him get to me. The bastard was probably jealous because he couldn't have any of it.
"Hmph."
I turned away from the interface and turned to the chest where the rest of the items I hadn't stored in my inventory laid.
"Am sure I could take all of them but...there's something I want to try.", I said as I put a hand on the chest and thought.
Store.
Just as I uttered that command, the system's unfeeling voice spoke.
[Max capacity reached.]
[Store failed.]
"Ha...", I said with a disappointed expression.
Well, that'll make sense...the system still abides by logic.
I shrugged before turning to the chest's interior, staring at an object in it. It was a long-rolled paper or so I thought.
"HRRNGH!"
Even with my Level 5 strength, I still struggled to pull out the long sheet which seemed more like a hide rather.
A monster's hide.
Damn...why's it so heavy...?
I struggled more before finally pulling it out and throwing it to the ground with a loud thud.
THUD!
Dust escaped the confines of the hide as it slammed the ground, causing several particles to swirl into the air like a whirlwind. With a swat of my hand, they fled.
"What is in it?", I asked myself as I took a step forward.
But suddenly, the mundane rope that bound it, snapped, and as a result the sheet rolled open.
"O-oh", I took a step back slightly startled.
Using the shimmering Lantern as a source of light, I gazed upon the sheet.
"H-huh?!"
I blurted out in a startled tone when I witnessed its contents.
On the large monster hide was something I had never expected to see down here.
"I-it's-a magic circle!"
Undeniably, drawn on the large monster hide was an idiosyncratic illustration of a magic circle.
"HAHAHAHA!"
I approached it with the Lantern aflicker, eager to examine and decipher it when suddenly...
I slumped and the world turned black.