4.30 – Prismatic Stalker Rewards

The initial sweep of the room left Natalie and her team confused; they found no traces of the boss's loot chest. There was a possibility that the encounter didn't have one, since anything could happen in the dungeon, but she found that unlikely, as did the rest of the team. Odds were higher that they were missing something. But a second look-through of the arena unearthed nothing, either.

Ana, eventually, was the one to figure it out. "Jordan," she said. "Come look at this."

Natalie turned from her own inspection to see Ana peering inside one of the mirrors. Jordan, who had been nearest her, walked over to join her. Jordan's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to identify whatever Ana was pointing at, then they shot up. She turned around, looked at the roof of the arena, then back to the mirror.

"Wow. Good catch."

"What is it?" Natalie walked over to join them, as did the rest of the team. She peered inside the mirror, seeing only the room and themselves reflected back.

"There. On the ceiling." Jordan pointed through the glass.

Natalie scrutinized the reflection. It was awkward through the mirror; Jordan's finger didn't line up perfectly. But her eyes finally snagged on the object of interest.

A small box, nearly camouflaged, hung by a rope from the ceiling. Natalie, surprised, turned to look at it in the real world—but saw nothing where it should be.

"Huh?" Natalie said.

"Invisible," Ana replied. "Except through the mirror."

"Tricky," Sofia said.

"How do we get it down?" Liz asked. All five of them were crowded around the mirror, shooting glances between the reflection of the dangling loot chest and where it should be.

"I can," Ana said. Gauging the location of the chest for a second, she withdrew her crystal ball. Magic hummed to Natalie's sense, and a moment later, a giant black tendril of energy whipped out. It slashed the air where the rope would be.

On making contact, the entire assembly blinked into existence, the invisibility effect dispelling. The box hit the ground with a loud thump, locks rattling and sending a wave of dust rushing outward. Tile cracked around it.

The team approached, excited to see what they'd gotten. As was becoming custom, Sofia finagled the lock open and popped the top. She reached in and withdrew their first piece of equipment.

Natalie paused.

***

Pet Collar

Rare

Lv. 2

Effects

- Minor increase to physical Prowess.

- Minor increase to physical Tenacity.

- Submissive. Declare an Owner. When obeying Owner's commands, Collar will slowly evolve. Demeaning and uncomfortable commands provide more evolution points.

- Hindrance-Free. Leash cannot be tangled in combat and reactively grows or shrinks.

Description

A thin black collar with a gold loop for attaching a leash. A silver nameplate adorns the front, currently empty.

***

The group stared in silence at the item in Sofia's hands. Sofia's expression was suspiciously blank.

"Seems like a great fighter item," Jordan commented, her tone deliberately professional—to the point of being obviously mischievous. "All yours, Sofia. Who do you want as your owner?"

Sofia looked slowly up at Jordan. Her face remained neutral. "And what," she said, an edge in her voice that betrayed her controlled expression, "makes you think I would wear this?"

"A rare? With prowess and tenacity boosts? That evolves? mean, I would take it, but tenacity is a waste on me. It's perfect for a fighter."

"So, Nat could use it."

"Nat already has the overpowered class," Jordan said dismissively. "Besides, I don't think she'd do well with orders."

"And I would?" Sofia said, a hint of a growl appearing.

Jordan shrugged—but wisely didn't respond. Her smirk was answer enough.

Sofia turned the venomous look to Natalie. "This is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Your class's doing."

"Sorry it keeps giving us amazing loot," Natalie said. "I mean, sure. It's weird. But two minor boosts? It's a good item."

"And fashionable!" Liz piped up.

Sofia turned the glare to Liz. Liz, who had been biting back a grin, wiped the expression away. Her eyes went wide, and she frantically waved her hands. "Sorry! Sorry! But, I mean, it is kind of funny. Isn't it?"

"No. And if you think it is, why don't you wear it?"

Liz's eyes widened even more. "It's a fighter item," she stammered. "I can't."

Sofia eyed her scathingly, then said, "It's not funny."

"Right. Totally isn't." Liz took a long, steadying breath, not exactly selling the words. "It's not funny at all."

"Hm," Ana said. "But it is."

Everyone looked at her.

"From an objective standpoint, it's humorous," Ana said. "Beyond that it's simply an unusual item, it's clearly geared for a fighter. For you. Considering your rivalrous relationship with Natalie, it appears to me as if the dungeon is deliberately taunting you. Putting you in a difficult situation. That's amusing."

The two girls stared at each other. Ana with her blank expression, and Sofia, who wasn't sure how to react. Ana had stated it too matter-of-fact.

"I'm glad you think so," Sofia finally said. "But it's not."

"If you want my opinion, I believe Natalie is the best choice," Ana said, "but since I understand that might make you uncomfortable, I could also be your owner. I would treat you fairly." She paused. "Insofar as the item allows. It does say demeaning commands provide more evolution points."

Natalie had no idea if Ana was being genuine or just teasing Sofia, and that made the situation even funnier. She couldn't help herself—she started laughing. Liz and Jordan joined her, with Liz burying her face into Jordan's shoulder to hide her face. Sofia sputtered and growled at them until they finally calmed down.

Even Ana's lips started twitching, though maybe Natalie imagined it. The girl really was hard to read. She had to be messing with Sofia. But Natalie couldn't tell.

"Oh, don't cry about it," Natalie said, wiping her eyes. "Here. I'll put it on for you." She stepped up to Sofia, then grabbed the collar out of Sofia's hands. Maybe from shock, the white-haired girl let Natalie do it. Natalie turned the collar around in her hands, figuring out how it worked. She unhooked it, then slipped it around Sofia's neck and clamped it shut. After situating it so the nameplate faced forward, she hooked the leash around the loop.

Smirking, Natalie patted Sofia on the shoulder, holding the leash in her left hand. "There. It looks good. Now, be a good girl and make me your owner. However that works. We're wasting time."

Natalie expected a storm of outrage from Sofia, but instead, the white-haired girl stared at Natalie, her face going a deeper and deeper shade of red. That, of course, made Natalie herself blush—especially with the collar around her neck, and Natalie holding the leash. She coughed and stepped back, then added, "Please."

"Fine," Sofia said, finally tearing her eyes away. "But only if the evolution makes it worth it. A minor prowess and tenacity boost is not enough for this … this ridiculousness."

"If it's anything like my wand, it'll be amazing," Liz said. "So I don't think that'll be a problem."

"Hmph," Sofia said.

Sofia's brow furrowed as she focused on figuring out how to 'declare' an owner. Slowly, words engraved themselves onto the silver plate on the front of the collar. When the writing finished, the group stared at the result.

"What?" Sofia demanded, fidgeting with the strap of leather, trying to look down at it. "What does it say?"

"Natalie's Pet," Jordan said.

"It is named [Pet Collar]," Liz said faintly.

Sofia had no response to that, and had also apparently run out of glares, because after a long pause, she simply turned back to the loot chest.

Natalie still held the leash as Sofia closed the chest lid, then opened it a second time, seeking their second piece of loot. She clipped the long strip of leather to her belt, freeing her hands.

Her pet.

She liked the sound of that.