Cracked Rage Elemental Mask

The stats of this item have been weakened to account for the mob kill mob penalty.

Do you know that one Earth movie where Jim Carrey dons a mask that gives him the powers of slapstick? Well, let’s just say that this mask is more like the comics, if you know what I mean. And if you don’t, I’ll tell you: This mask turns you in an unstoppable homicidal madman! Unless they hit you really, really hard, of course! We’re not making you as impossible to kill as the mob you had to defeat to get this item.

As Rage Elementals don’t leave much behind, your loot is obvious. And it’s something that you can immediately equip without crafting! Which is nice, because let’s be real; all of those chumps wasting their time levelling their crafting skills died, while Chads like you survived by buying or stealing their stuff after grinding levels like a boss!

This is our little present for you awesome simpletons; an item that you can actually use! And I’m sure you can get a decent mask after killing a dozen or so rage elementals, unlike this shitty drop! This junk would only be valuable on the eighth floor and below, and it’s not as if Borant would ever allow Rage Elementals to appear way back on the second floor. That would be positively… game-breaking. *Mad laughter*

+25 Str, +25% to Str, +20 Con, +5 Too Angry to Die!, +1 Scarring Up Nicely, +3 to all Barbarian, Rager and Berserker skills (up to lvl10), +3 Through Blood and Tears, and one special surprise~!

119/666

Holy shit this item was great.

As the AI was still laughing like a crazy villain in the background, as far as a voice in your head could be in the background that is, Darryl just stared at the stats Thomas sent through. They were better than anything Elise had. Hell, this item was better than everything she had combined. It was half a miracle that she managed to hold down the kid at all with such a strength difference.

The AI called it shit, and the item’s name was in grey which in most videogames meant that it was the lowest of loot drops in quality, but this was a thirteenth floor item. Even the description itself all but outright stated that it was a superb item for the next six floors to come.

The downside was obvious, even if Thomas couldn’t see it despite his Corpora Glasses. This item would make you go feral, and circumstance provided a clear example of what that meant. They weren’t sure about the specifics, but this obviously wasn’t an item that you could spam. Even if it wasn’t for the limited amount of uses.

They checked the area where the Rage Elementals killed each other, but the brindle grubs already ate all the other masks and claws. The cleaning mobs ignored what exactly they ate, if it was a dead mob then the maggots would somehow manage to swallow it.

Well, one Rage Elemental Mask was still better than none.

They gave it to Elise, that was beyond doubt. She already had a barbarian build, with several skills that got buffed when wearing the mask. Bashing, Smashing and Thrashing, of course, and her bracers’ Blunt Grunt skill making her hardier. She also had the highest strength score to benefit from the percentile boost, and the feral state would have a nice synergy with her bloodlust abilities. She wasn’t actually going to use it, of course, until they ran out of other options.

Still, it was always wise to double-check with the expert.

Volos was sleeping in his armchair when they came in, a creepy sight as his large fish-eyes were wide open.

“Remember guys; don’t open your loot boxes.” Thomas said. “Let’s keep those just in case we want to change race and need new gear that fits our new form.”

Volos shook awake when Thomas spoke up, quickly grabbing a spray-can and moisturising his eyes before greeting the party.

“Don’t mind that. I usually have a fish tank to sleep in, but they don’t give us anything that we didn’t already own before we became crawlers.” Volos said. “It’s annoying, but I’ll cope. Not your problem anyhow.”

“Uhum. So, how can I help you?” Volos said, sitting up straight and turning one eye to the party.

Elise took out the mask and showed it to him.

“Ah. I don’t know how you managed to kill one of those party killers, but it seems the AI screwed you on the reward. This is a great item, but it should be even more amazing.” Volos said, studying the mask from all sides like he was an antique collector. “Like, the stats should be at least doubled and the percentile 5% higher, despite the mob kill mob penalty. Not that I ever got this item myself, only one person ever made it to the thirteenth floor where you can find these monsters. But the monster drops per floor are pretty easy to extrapolate after a while.”

“We never fought it. People pissed themselves when the first Rage Elemental came close and the Rage Elementals fought each other to the death until only one remained.” Thomas said.

“Oh, like that. I can see the item being this nerfed if you weren’t even involved in the fight.” Volos said. “It’s still amazing, as I said before, but if you somehow killed it all by yourselves we’re talking quadrupled stat boosts, 40% and the skill buff limits raised to 12 at the very least. Not that I advise you to try, don’t come anywhere near those monsters.”

“Still, this is a great item. Good right now, great once you actually get to distribute your stat points to get even more strength, and a premium item for several floors to come. A ‘Press button to win’ item, if you will.” Volos continued.

“But what about the feral state?” Ben asked.

“How do you know about that? Wait, Thomas’s glasses…” Volos said, his fins waving at invisible screens to look something up. “No, even you shouldn’t be able to see that part of the description.”

“We found this mask on the face of a small child. We managed to take it off, but we got a good showing of the hidden effect before doing so.” Elise said.

“Ah. Sorry to hear that you had to kill a child, but it does help immensely that you guys know of the term ‘feral’ and that this mask causes it.” Volos said. “I’m not allowed to tell you about any of that until you find out about it yourselves.”

“We didn’t kill the child, did we?” Darryl said. “He did fall into a catatonic stupor that was almost like he mentally died, but that should just be the traumatic event. Are you saying he…”

“Wait, so the kid didn’t die when you pulled off the mask, and his face with it?” Volos interrupted his train of thought.

“I pickpocketed the item from him.” Ben said.

“You managed to steal something that was currently equipped, meaning you managed to raise Pickpocketing to level 5 already? Good job, Ben!”

Ben preened while Volos contemplated something.

“Yes, I suppose that is a valid way to remove a cursed item, if unlikely to work.” Volos said. “The odds of stealing equipped cursed gear are usually lower than the interface says, but against a young child relying purely on the item itself it might be doable. Cursed items cannot actually be targeted for pickpocketing, but random theft is a loophole in that regard.”

“Cursed?” Thomas asked.

“Cursed.” Volos nodded. “I already told you that loot boxes will never contain cursed items. By extension…”

“By extension cursed items exist, and everything else is fair game.” Darryl said. “I guess the feral state is the curse?”

“Jup.” Volos nodded. “Like most cursed items it comes with the additional issue that the cursed item cannot be taken off freely, though in this case that only applies to others trying to remove it. Around the thirteenth floor you wouldn’t actually die when someone rips off your face and you’ll probably have the potions to regrow it too, but cursed items are more a flavour of the sixth and seventh floor when the mobs start dropping worthwhile items with hidden curse effects.”

“Rare are the cursed items that are only impossible to be removed without other downsides, though. They exist, but only to create that little kernel of doubt that maybe this one awesome item you found might not have any hidden catches.” Volos said. “Never think like that. If it’s cursed and you don’t know the specifics, then don’t use it. Especially if it has amazing boons.”

“So this item…” Elise hesitantly brought up.

“Is an exception. A thirteenth floor item gained on the second? If you wouldn’t know what it did or if it’s the kind of curse that you’re tempted to wear at all times, then still no. But this one is extraordinarily good for your level and you know exactly what it will do.” Volos said.

“We do, once we know exactly what the Feral state entails.” Thomas said.

“Pretty much what the word suggests; you go feral.” Volos said. “You retain the stats and boons of the gear you have equipped, but you cannot cast spells, use quickslot items like potions and generally speaking you will only use natural, bestial and berserker skills. If your pants can create a force field or your sword is best used with finesse and grace, your feral self won’t use those. You’ll use the sword as a cudgel and die before popping a potion.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad…” Elise tried.

“And of course you lose all reason and attack everything in sight including party members. And other ferals, I should add. While wearing this mask you wouldn’t hesitate to charge at a City Boss, or spend hours smashing brindle grubs.” Volos said. “There are feral exceptions that don't attack everything that moves, but those are always narrative NPCs. Never crawlers. Never crawlers.”

“And there’s the issue.” Elise said. “But it’s still worth it, you say?”

“Yes. Many cursed items still come with some tricks and exceptions that entice people to use them.” Volos said. “This one for example sticks to your face harder than your skin clings on to your skull, but the feral one can remove it themselves without the whole ripping off the face thing.”

“Which they won’t do.” Elise said.

“Not in combat, no. Not in a million years.” Volos said. “But one of the psychological twists of feral creatures is that they grow calm and introspective when they’re all alone. Absolutely and completely alone, with nothing left to attack. Most feral creatures usually break down in tears realising what they did or how they’ve been cursed to live the rest of their life, mostly to draw in compassionate crawlers. Once they notice the company, they instantly grow aggressive again and bite their face off. Such events usually entertain the masses greatly.”

“Like the Witch in Left4Dead, got it.” Ben nodded.

“So if the rest of us manage to get away while the mask-bearer is occupied with a mob and we make sure nothing comes close, then…” Thomas said.

“Yes. Eventually you'll be able to take off your mask. Ferals have a habit of running around chasing every sound while their rage dies down, so it’s not easy but still possible to do that.” Volos said. “Remove Curse spells and items are much better and more reliable, but the dungeon usually doesn’t start handing those out until the eighth floor. Just to make sure people have some ‘fun’ with cursed items first.”

“Definitely an item we won’t be using unless we’ve got absolutely no other choice.” Ben said.

“Yeah. Too bad, but this mask is too good to be true.” Elise sighed.

“Actually, I think that Darryl might want to use it. And soon.” Volos said. “Though for a completely different reason than what the mask is meant for.”

“Me? I know I haven’t been able to grind as much as the others with my arm, but I’m not that far behind.” Darryl said.

“This is indeed about your arm, but not about catching up. The mask grants you three skills.” Volos explained.

“Too Angry to Die is a skill that reduces damage based upon how much is inflicted relative to your health, essentially the opposite equivalent of damage reduction passives. Where damage reduction could for example reduce all attacks by 5 points meaning that 6 damage becomes 1 and 100 becomes 95, this skill reduces damage relative to how powerful the attack is while almost ignoring weak ones. 100 becomes 65 while 6 becomes 5, for example. And at fifth level the skill also assures you to survive one fatal hit, assuming it takes the equivalent of a quarter of your health or more.

“Through Blood and Tears is a skill that you only ever find on weapons or as a racial boon, except for cursed items like these, allowing you to gain temporary health and bolstered strength by inflicting damage on enemies without killing them. Preferably the kind that makes them bleed. It’s pretty much just a skill to keep going in the heat of the moment, allowing you to throw yourself into a horde of weaker enemies and defeat the boss at the end of it because of the minions they sent to wear you out.

“But the one that matters for you is Scarring Up Nicely. It’s a regeneration method superior to Regeneration with clear downsides. With it you’re almost impossible to put down, until you’re so dead that not even the AI can keep you alive. But until you hit that limit, it prioritises the worst wounds first and cuts as many corners as it needs to in order to keep you alive.”

“But don’t we already have regeneration, even if only a little?” Ben asked. “Why would we ever want something that does a lesser job faster?”

“Uhm… How to best explain it?” Volos said. “This skill will make sure that you keep functioning. If you lose one eye, it’s going to make it heal into a badass scar because you don’t really need both eyes as far as the AI is concerned. But if your other eye were to be injured, that one will start regrowing immediately even if plucked out. If the wound is particularly bad, your scarred eye will recover instead. The skill makes sure you stay alive and functioning, but usually not much more than that.”

Darryl thought about the child’s skin, how it was rendered a sickly white with the veins and muscles clearly visible. His face had been unblemished, but there were two circles around the eyes where the acid reached as well. The kid’s eyes were fine, but the eyelids never regrew. He no longer had fingerprints either, or a belly button. And there was a good chance that a gap in his side was a wound that went straight through one of his kidneys and destroyed it. While this had been remedied to not kill the body itself, the kidney was gone.

The group was silent, not sure how this skill was a good thing exactly.

“Right, the important part for you guys.” Volos said. “The skill makes sure you survive, by the skin of your teeth if necessary. But in most cases it’s a kind of regeneration that makes sure you remain in optimal condition, it won’t eject the finger to heal a paper cut. It heals you back to fighting fit, leaving a scar that doesn’t hamper you but still marks the wound forever.”

“So where regular healing screwed up my arm, this skill would heal my right arm back to what it was but leave a scar.” Darryl said.

Volos nodded. “You would just have to open the wound and don the mask, and it will work even if you’re completely restrained. After a while, you can take it off and have a fully functioning arm again. Considering that you guys don’t get much time per floor and you're going to need at least another week to heal this naturally, you might want to take the scar.”

“The problem lies in the 25 strength, it’s going to tear through most ropes and chains.” Elise said.

“But magical chains tend to be very difficult to break. A good mask’s 100 strength is going to break through even gold box chains unless specified to be indestructible, but 25 is too low to work on anything but the unenchanted stuff.” Volos said.

“Too bad we don’t have magical chains.” Ben sighed. “So we can’t really do it.”

“If it’s possible, I suggest you’ll do it.” Volos said. “But not unless you can restrain Darryl first. That’s all the advice I can give you.”

“Thanks Volos.” Darryl said. “But I think that we’ll have to hurry and start going south looking for a Staircase now, we still haven’t found one.”

“No? Shit, that’s bad. Your time is almost up already, so hurry!” Volos said.

“Yeah, we know. Don’t worry, we’ll find one!” Ben said, as they walked out of the Tutorial Guild.