Chapter 6 - Who runs dungeons for the experience?
Scarlett examined the items on the altar. The largest of them was a head-sized dark metal casket with an interesting coiled design on its side. If she remembered it correctly, that was filled with old Zuverian gold coins. Worth a modest amount, but nothing unique. More of them were usually spread around in small amounts through the dungeon and she was planning on gathering them before they left.
Scarlett's attention was focused on the other two objects on the altar, however. At the center of the ancient stone that the altar was made of lay a small black wand. It had a glossy, rounded-off tip at its bottom and a garnished wood handle that covered half its length. Closer to the head of the wand it looked to be made of some dark metal that arced around itself, forming a kind of curved latticework. At the top of this frame sat a vaguely jade-colored crystal with a swirling pattern in it. It looked almost like a cat eye bead.
This was the [Wand of Fireball]. An item—or rather an 'artifact', as any old magical items were referred to in the game—that allowed one to cast a free [Fireball] spell a few times every day.
Artifacts in the game were separated into seven different categories: common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, divine, as well as unique. Divine artifacts were some of the best items in the game, while unique artifacts varied highly depending on what level they were for. The special thing about the unique artifacts was, firstly, that they were unique — as the name implied. Although this also applied to many of the Divine artifacts in the game, there were a few examples where you could get more than one instance of the same divine artifact. Secondly, most unique artifacts had some kind of special property to them that was either rare or non-existent in other items in the game. And thirdly, unlike divine artifacts which was a late-game thing, unique artifacts could be found throughout the whole game. Scarlett's main goal with clearing this dungeon was getting hold of the [Wand of Fireball], which—despite not being a unique artifact but rather a rare one—would give her at least some way of defending herself in this world.
But the wand wasn't the only artifact on the altar. Resting on both sides of the wand was a pair of tiny earrings. Made out of silver, they were shaped like a half-circle with an oval amber gem affixed to the center that gave off a light glow. These were the [Charms of Apperception]. A unique artifact from the game that gave the player a 15% critical chance against all enemies under level 50 — which covered almost all low-to-mid-level enemies. Although they didn't give any stat increase, because they had such a good effect that scaled with your level and had been in the relatively hard-to-find earring-slot, Scarlett had originally used the artifact all the way up till late mid-game in her first playthrough. So even though the wand had been the main reason she chose to start with this dungeon, she was curious about how the unique artifact worked now that this wasn't just a game anymore. It didn't feel like a game concept like critical chance had a clear translation in real life.
Scarlett first picked up the wand. A window suddenly appeared above it.
[Wand of Fireball (Rare)]
{Casts [Fireball]. 4/4}
She raised an eyebrow. That was a convenient feature. Putting the wand into a hole in the belt she'd worn specifically for this outing, she picked up the earrings.
[Charms of Apperception (Unique)]