Shane half expected multi-colored glowing lights emerging from the chest, representing lots of loot. Instead, he got a wave of dust that threatened to make him sneeze. Closing his airways shut and shutting his eyes while focusing on holding it in, thankfully kept his historically loud sneezes at bay. Looking down into the shallow metallic chest made him think it was some kind of "Lost-and-Found" bin.

Rusty tools, clothing, and even a rotting bag of someone's lunch were all that could be seen. Or maybe, he thought, feeling clever for remembering his new [Loot Sense] ability. If anything could make something feel like loot, it would be what he was now using on this chest. Suddenly, a bright orange light beamed upward in front of him. Woah! A Legendary?! He couldn't believe it, what luck!

"Please, master, take your time. I will-urgh…protect you," Sharlot said to him while obviously struggling with the heavy boulders ready to drop onto him if she hadn't been there. Shane recalled her agility far outweighed her strength, with the same being said for her growth potential in those areas. Shane shifted through various tools and miscellaneous items until he found the orange glowing amulet at the bottom of the chest.

Nullifying his loot sense feat showed the amulet for what it was in his hand. It was a scuffed mithril cog wheel with the intricate patterns of that metal making an appearance with enough light and squinting. The cog itself was connected to a golden chain that looped through an iron oval loop that was welded on the cog. Now the fun part! He thought while inspecting the item for its gamified properties.

-Crusader's Cog Medallion of Sharing-

(Legendary)

+6 Physical Attack

+10 Magical Attack

+5 Physical Defense

+5 Magical Defense

+7 Intellect

Modifiers:

Crusader's: Receive an overshield based on 10% of max HP while summons are active

Overshield starts recharging 10 seconds after taking damage and restores to full within 3 seconds

Fire Enchant: Boosts Fire Spells by 30%, and the user takes less damage from heat

Sharing: Summons take 25% of the damage inflicted on you

Destroyer: Single target spells acquire moderate area-of-effect properties

Spell Gained:

-Grand Imbibe-

(Legendary)

Allows the user to absorb a spell or feat from an item permanently 1 time every 24 hours

Cost 200 Mana

Range: Self

Cooldown: Once every 24 hours

Requirements: 40 Intellect

Shane wanted to shout and pump his fists in the air to celebrate such an incredible find. It admittedly sucked that he couldn't use the fantastic spell socketed into the amulet. After all, upgrading and morphing [Skeleton Crew] would be so remarkable that his mind ran wild with the possibilities. His skeletal minions could finally get the TLC they so deserved. Shane wasn't far from making that a reality, thanks to the amulet. Another level or two was all he needed to make sure he had enough [Intellect] and total mana.

After equipping the amulet in his inventory, Shane observed his changed stats.

Name: Shane Carther

Race: Human

Class: Sage

Level: 8

Exp: 648/2,164

HP: 147/180

Mana: 190/190

Fatigue: 05/143

Soul Points: 5

Attributes:

Strength: 30

Agility: 24

Vitality: 23

Endurance: 25

Intellect: 36

Wisdom: 28

Luck: 22

Physical Attack: 63

Magical Attack: 10

Physical Defense: 38

Magical Defense: 44

Aspects:

Way of The Barbarian

Shane felt satisfied with the statistical improvements the amulet gave him. He turned around with a smile and instructed Sharlot that she would let the boulders fall once he was clear. Then they would all dash in the other direction towards the woman in need. All while being careful of Cain, who would surely rush to the noise.

At this point, Sharlot's legs had begun wobbling under force and pressure.

"That sounds l-like a good plan, m-master."

Shane didn't waste any time getting out from underneath her slowly crumpling form. Alabaster and Liz were standing guard from near the fork in the tunnel and watching with mild amusement.

"Okay," Shane whispered. "Let it go, and get ready to run!"

She instantly shrunk in size at her master's command and hit the ground, literally running. It was only a half second later that she was back to being perched on his shoulder, and the four of them were bounding in the other direction as the rocks fell. The trap itself was crude, but the sounds those large mineral deposits made as they crashed against one another were deafening. There's no way Cain can ignore something like that!

"Friends! Frrriends!!"

Right on queue! Shane thought smugly. That thought stopped dead cold in its tracks as Cain's voice wasn't behind them. It was in front of them and was rapidly approaching to boot!

"Scatter!" Shane shouted as quietly as he could. Argh! How could I forget that this dungeon loops around?

Shane hoped hiding was at least possible between the falling rocks piling up behind them and Cain making his own sounds. Frantically looking around proved that concealment wouldn't be as easy as in the last bigger chamber. The hallway, lined with copper tubes, was beginning to open up to a small room. Inside the small space was a winding mass of the same, now tangled, pipes.

If the room was four meters wide and three meters long, the coiling pipes took up roughly seventy-five percent of it. It was dark, but some dim light from up ahead helped Shane find his way through the many-layered tubes within the room. He and Liz quickly clambered up onto three pipes fused on each side—she kept her eyes shut to hide the light they gave off. Shane laid on his back with his nose to the ceiling in order to fit in the cramped space. While Alabaster hid underneath a particularly thick copper duct hugging the floor in his bat form.

It didn't take more than a second later for Cain to come barging into the small space, all while shouting broken sentences.

“Wwwant Friends! Meeet Frieends!”

That's definitely still me in there. This Cain was actively spouting how Shane felt at the lowest points in his life. Depression began seeping into his mind with that sad realization before his pants dulled the emotion's effects.

Shane watched the bony man slither through the many pipelines that hung from the ceiling. The hanging conduit's crowded "L" and "U" shapes that coiled around one another seemed effortlessly easy to navigate. Cain quickly made it through to the other side of the room without touching a single copper aqueduct.

I've never been that flexible, Shane mentally remarked while imagining the difficulty he would have trying to hit the warped version of himself that could move like that.

Without a moment to spare, the group softly came out of hiding and slowly passed the rest of the hanging tubes. They proceeded into the only other opening that led to the hallway Cain came from. Where Shane could see the flickering light more clearly.

The distant sounds of a woman in distress beckoned them to advance. Why her cries weren't attracting Cain was something Shane would have answered soon enough.