There was a small pile of objects where the spider had been. The most noticeable thing to Robin’s eye was a green curved dagger with a black, wooden handle carved to have tiny spiders over the entirety. Maybe it’ll be really powerful, but… it looks like mallninja bait. Robin crouched beside the pile, though he didn’t touch any of the objects.

The second was a gem, red and sparkling in the fluorescent dungeon lighting. He wasn’t sure if it qualified as large, small, or something else, but it looked to be about the size of a pinball machine ball, or a quarter if it were a sphere. Gems are always a good thing, unless they’re cursed. This one probably is not cursed, though… Robin grimaced at the suddenly all-too-real possibility of a magic-wielding spider.

The last object, or rather objects, was a small pile of coins, roughly the size of a half-dollar. There were five, stacked very neatly for having materialized from a giant spider. The coin on top had a picture embossed on it. Robin leaned in to inspect it, his suspicions aroused, and sighed when he saw the image of the facility owner leering at him. He looked odd, though, not quite his normal businessman-self. The owner, Mister Lye, or at least the coin version of him was wearing a huge set of goggles on his forehead, and his hair was sticking out in every direction. To Robin, it looked like a style heavily inspired by Albert Einstein and Digimon, but… If the owner is the Mad Scientist… What does that mean? Is he not leveling skills like me?

Robin picked up the coins, concentrating on activating his Identify skill.

Mad Scientist Laboratory Lair Coin You have defeated a guardian of the Laboratory of the Mad Scientist. The coins are a fraction of the power invested in the inhabiting monsters by the Mad Scientist. Gather as many as you can before you complete the Lair!

WHY ARE THESE SO VAGUE!? Robin screamed a few more times, although he did so mentally, not having forgotten about the ominous hole above him. Having thought about it, Robin glanced up at the hole. Nothing there. He reached over and picked up the gem, trying again to use Identify.

Crystallized Eye of the Regal Jumping Spider This gem contains the essence of the Regal Jumping Spider.

It didn’t seem to do anything, or at least, there was no information. Robin stuck it into his satchel. Maybe I could use it with my Tinkering skill. Robin shrugged to himself and reached out for the dagger.

Dagger of the Bloodbrood The user of this dagger may spend mana to transform any blood spilled within the last minute into spiders. The type of the spiders are chosen by the wielder. Effectiveness, amount of blood transformed into spiders, and power, capability, and potential venom of the spiders created is dependent on the WILL of the user and the amount of mana spent. The user does not possess control of the spiders, though they are dramatically easier to bond, tame, and reinforce. The spiders are permanent, living creatures.

Robin dropped the knife and backed away. It made out-of-control spiders!? Why would he ever use that? But even more than that… It actually created life? Robin pondered what that could mean. He had to snap himself out of his thinking when he got stuck on the idea that the Ysari System might confirm or deny the existence of a soul. Not that people would accept or believe a negative answer to that… but… He stared at the knife on the ground. That knife that came out of a GIANT SPIDER can create life.

He reached out and picked the knife back up, testing the weight of it in his hand. It felt a little better than the machete, but Robin was not sure that he was not imagining that. He stuck it into the satchel, dropping it handle-first. It disappeared without a sound. Robin dropped the coins in, as well.

Robin stood up and inspected the room, including a quick peek at the hole again. Now that he was fully in the room and was able to take a moment to inspect them more closely, the two large gray cables were huge strands of web, probably used as safety lines by the jumping spider. Aren’t spiderwebs super strong? I should collect these. He found that he was completely unable to cut the thick webs, though, even when he used the spider knife. He gave up after about ten minutes of sawing and cutting at it from various angles. By the end of his efforts he had worked up a decent sweat, and he stood back for a moment to let his PHYSTAM recover.

I wonder if I could burn it with mana or something. Maybe lightning? That would be awesome, and would probably work really well against any more spiders…

Robin placed his hand on the web strand and closed his eyes. He focused on the sensation of mana he had felt before. It was just a tiny sensation, like a lit cigarette on a distant hill, but he could still feel it. He concentrated on moving the sensation, the tingle (though he didn’t like that word) through his hand and into the web. Robin felt a small jolt and saw that his mana was fully depleted, right before he received a text box.

Imbue Mana You may reinforce nonliving objects with your mana, increasing their durability/relative strength by 1% per mana point spent. Effect increases marginally with skill level.

As you have already learned a spell, the Imbue Mana skill has been upgraded to Enchant Object. All prior benefits and skill levels will be retained.

Enchant Object You may permanently imbue mana into an object of sufficient quality and make. The type of base material or materials used will affect the final outcome. The scope, potential, and power of potential enchantments increases with skill level. This skill does not grant any ability to craft.

Yes! Yer a wizarrrrrrd, me! The web didn't seem damaged at all. If anything, it might be a little more solid than before. He shrugged and turned back to the cabinets. We'll call that a partial success. Robin glanced down at his belt. It would likely be one of the first things he tried to enchant, if he could figure it out on a test object or two.

...maybe three. Wasn’t things that an enchanter failed to enchant properly exploding a trope? It might be a better idea to try it out on some trinkets before trying the belt. But, he thought, that comes later. First, the cabinets. Why is that one so big? Most of the cabinets had two doors that opened in the middle. The towering wooden cabinet closest to the room entrance had a larger door that swung open from one side, like a refrigerator. Robin moved over to it and opened it, immediately wincing as he did so.

That’s how mimics or needle traps in the latch get you.

Luckily, this particular door was either not a mimic or not hungry, and swung open, a light creak coming from the hinges. Robin thought idly that it was odd that they would already be squeaky. Weren’t they … created… er … formed? just a little while ago…?

He didn’t devote the brainpower to that thought, however, as the three shelves, overloaded with vials, wax-sealed beakers, and other strange glass, clay, stone, and ceramic containers (each with a small paper and string tag) demanded his absolute attention. Robin reached out to grab a short, round bottle that had a rust-colored swirl of vapor repeatedly rising and settling below the metallic cork. The alert was negatively phrased, but as far as Robin could see, it could only be a good thing in the long run.

Your Identify skill does not have a high enough level to identify this item.

He put the first potion in his satchel without reading the label. Maybe I can try and grind my Identify skill with that one. Robin reached out to grab another bottle with a wispy vapor inside, this one a iridescent white.

Your Identify skill does not have a high enough level to identify this item.

Wow, again? Robin stuck it in his pack before he could give in to the temptation of reading the tag. He grabbed another, and another, both giving him another denial as he focused his Identify skill. His initial joy at finding overpowered items dimmed a little, but at the very least, he still had the tags.

I wonder if I could do two at once? Robin reached out and grabbed two bottles, one a dark green bottle with a black wooden cork containing a sludge with an unidentifiable color, and the other a cobalt bottle that contained a dark blue gas with tiny white specks swirling in a spiral. Robin wasn’t sure how he could tell the color of the liquid inside through the dark glass, but he was positively sure; in the same way that a child is sure they are being chased when they go up a dark staircase alone.

Your Identify skill does not have a high enough level to identify this item. Serum of Consumptive Recovery

Created by a Mad Scientist and abandoned as a failure in the bowels of his lair, this serum will allow the drinker to absorb fresh, non-living biological matter into their person, healing them of an amount of BODY proportional to the matter absorbed. If the source of the absorbed matter is an organism drastically different from the drinker, the drinker risks mutation. This risk increases proportional to the biological differences between the drinker and the absorbed matter. This risk is cumulative per dose. The serum has ten sips.

Ugh. That one was ...gross, and kind of risky. Robin had always liked “vampiric” powers in games, but the idea of actually “absorbing” (whatever that meant) biological matter made his stomach clench. He dropped it into the satchel. Better to have healing than not. I guess.

Scanning the shelves, he decided that he was going to take everything. After all, the satchel could hold them all, and things didn’t seem to move around in it much. He glanced above him, assuming Opal would be there. “Look at how much stuff we found!” Opal hopped to the cabinet, then directly to Robin’s person in a burst of motion. Robin accepted it; he was growing used to her jumpy behaviour. “ And this is only the first cabinet! There are a bunch…” Robin trailed off as he received a notification.

Stealth You have become well-versed in the art of remaining unnoticed. You have a 1% per skill level decrease to noise produced while sneaking. You have a +1% per skill level decrease in silhouette size while sneaking. Hunter You have learned how to remain unseen despite the presence of prey or foes. You automatically know the direction of any creature that you have wounded in the past, provided it remains within 1 kilometer/skill level. While tracking a creature you have wounded, you gain +2 RUN, LEAP, and SWIM. Bushcraft The skills “Stealth” and “Hunter” have merged! You have gained the “Bushcraft” skill! While in the wilderness, you have a slightly easier time finding food and water. Effectiveness rises with skill level. All prior benefits and skill levels will be retained.

Well, that was great. Skill mergers seemed highly beneficial. At the moment, though, Robin could not care less about the alerts. He willed the box behind the first three to close before he read it while reaching slowly over his shoulder into his pack and drawing out the machete. An analytical part of his brain that was not currently screaming at him noted the word "class" in the alert he dismissed. It did not seem relevant at the moment. Robin slowly turned, trying to control his wildly pounding heart.

He wouldn’t have gotten the “Stealth” skill unless something was there to notice him.