DCO- Dungeon Core Online

Chapter 34

“A pitchfork?” Oak turned back to the party, motioning at the massive, obsidian pitchfork. “The final boss on this floor is a pitchfork?”

The object in question was sitting atop a pile of hay, like some discount pulp fiction version of Excalibur. It’s golden runes glowed along the shaft, while crimson pulsed all around it. The fist sized skull gazed at the party, and even though its sockets were empty, James could feel the intensity of that gaze.

“A platinum coin says grabbing it does something.” Z offered, looked back towards James and Rue as he spoke. “Anyone want to give it a go?”

James eyed Ifrit, really tempted to make his summon grab it. Technically the Unique Floor Boss that was Hokey Pokey could only be drawn by boss tiered creatures, aka Old Man Jenkins, or adventurers. Ifrit, wasn’t either, but considering the Djinn was a unique summon for a special adventurer class, James was curious if the Djinn could pick it up. Old Man Jenkins… sadly, had succumbed to the zombified sheep horde before they could clear a path to him, meaning that route was no longer an option.

“Anyone at all?” Z scanned around the party. It was clear there was power radiating from the pitchfork. But as it stood, it couldn’t do anything just yet. Unless it was freed by someone grabbing it, or it took damage, it had to sit there, waiting patiently, for something to happen. To that degree, James and the others could easily just walk out of the dungeon, without having to face the creature.

But where was the fun in that?

“You want to pick it up?” James asked Ifrit. The Djinn glanced at the object, and then back at James, a thoughtful expression on his face. Then, he shook his head.

“I can sense powerful magic coming from it,” he said, his normally boisterous nature subdued, “I’d rather not pointlessly waste the kill stacks I’ve been gaining during this run. Already I have sacrificed my own progress for the good of the adventurers. This time, I’ll not risk my life so pointlessly.” His blades flashed with fire, as he grinned at James. “Besides, I wield proper blades. A pitchfork, is not the weapon of a warrior.”

“Technically,” Z countered, “pitchforks were commonly used in combat during the medieval ages.”

Everyone looked at the elf, and he just shrugged and grinned. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. Any who,” he looked back at the pitchfork. Above it, its name, and level, glowed for all to see. “Should we just attack the thing and see what happens? I’ve a feeling it’s waiting for us, either intentionally or not, to make the first move.”

“If you really want someone to grab the damned thing,” Rue interrupted then, walking cockily towards the gleaming pitchfork. She had a mischievous glint to her eyes. “I can sacrifice myself as tribute.”

James looked at her, and she shot him a smile and wink. The description had been… less than specific about what would happen if an adventurer grabbed it. It was pretty much a given that it would unleash the power of the sealed demon, Olmac Con’ald, but how, and in what way, hadn’t been specified.

James was willing to sacrifice any of the actual adventurers in that regard. They were players, through and through. Other than being awesome gamers, there weren’t any strange secrets or settings applied to their forms within DCO. Meaning, James figured the mechanic would work just fine.

For him, and especially Rue though… that wasn’t the case. These new ‘developer avatars’ were newly introduced to the game. There was a chance something could go wrong with the coding. James wasn’t a computer expert, but he knew well enough that a single bit of code, the slightest tweak or unforeseen change, could cause catastrophic problems.

Past that, was the fact that Rue was the only being in existence who was fully, one hundred percent, a part of the digital world. If something went wrong, there were no safety procedures. Her mind couldn’t be immediately extracted from the game and returned to her body. While slight, perhaps even an impossibility, there was a chance the unknown surrounding Hokey Pokey could cause her actual harm. Or… more likely, if James was being honest with himself, he just didn’t want Rue putting herself in pointless danger.

“One of the party’s healers probably shouldn’t put herself at risk pointlessly.” James said, trying his best to keep his emotions in check. Rue scowled at him, and placed her hands on her hips.

“Where’s the fun in playing it perfectly safe?” She asked, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him. “There’s a thrill in taking risks.” She winked at him, “you should know that.”

Whistling and chuckles from the Knights Who Go Ni made James blush. Or at least, if he’d been in his real body it would have. He still wasn’t sure if his Archon race could blush, with its bestial face.

“She’s got you there,” Z said once he was finished laughing, “though Rue, I have to side with Nyx on this one. Healers shouldn’t be doing reckless things. At least, not when it comes to boss encounters. Against normal mobs and whatever else, I have absolute no care how you play, as long as you’re having fun.” He looked back at the gleaming pitchfork, “but considering all of the unknowns this floor has already thrown our way, I’d feel much safer knowing you’re not in danger.”

“Fine,” Rue said with a huff, marching back towards James and Med Ic. “Be a buzzkill why don’t you.”

Z chuckled, looked at the rest of the party, and I saw the famous twinkle in his eyes that told me he was about to do something completely reckless, and stupid.

“Don’t hate me Rue,” he said as he turned his back to the party and sized up the pitchfork. Then, with a laugh on his lips, he dashed forward, his bow disappearing into his inventory as he raced up the hay, his hand reaching for the pitchfork. “But if anyone’s going to do something reckless and stupid right about now,” his hand wrapped around the black, glowing shaft. He turned, triumphed, and looked down at the party.

“It’s going to be me.”

And then. Just like that. Z was gone.