Chapter 4: Crowd-Funded Weapon
The crimson light grew brighter the deeper Asher walked.
The damp, heavy air pressed against his bare chest, carrying a chill that made his skin prickle.
He activated [Feline Agility].
Instantly, a soft, pale blue vapor wrapped around his ankles, and the wet sloshing sound of his bare feet in the mud vanished entirely.
He was a ghost in the gray-and-silver world of his night vision.
His chat box was a steady, rolling waterfall of text. The viewer count had climbed to 480.
[NoobSlayer]: Look at that stealth buff. The blue mist effect around his feet looks so clean.
[GamerGuyX]: Streamer, you’re walking into a boss room with a bent iron bar and no shirt. You’re going to get wiped.
[MinMax_Andy]: Let’s calculate the stats. He gained +2 to all attributes from Leveling Up, and +1 Strength from the extraction. His Strength is at 11, Agility at 11. That’s decent for Level 2, but his gear is terrible. He needs a real weapon.
Asher stopped just before the tunnel opened into a massive, hollow chamber.
He leaned against the damp stone wall, peering around the corner.
The cavern core was massive.
Giant, blood-red crystals sprouted from the ground like jagged teeth, pulsing with a slow, rhythmic light that matched the heavy pressure in the air.
In the center of the chamber sat a cracked stone sarcophagus.
And right next to it, chewing on the remains of a glowing moss pile, was a massive, armored skeleton.
It stood over seven feet tall, its bones a dull, weathered gray.
It wore pieces of shattered black chest plate, and gripped in its skeletal right hand was a massive, rusted iron greatsword.
[Warning: Entering Dungeon Boss Zone.]
[Monster Name: The Crypt Keeper (E-Rank Elite)]
[Health: 500 / 500]
"Five hundred health," Asher muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing.
"My normal attacks with this pipe do maybe ten or twelve damage if I hit a weak spot. It would take me fifty clean hits to bring that thing down. One swing from that greatsword will cut me in half."
[User_Tim99]: 500 HP?! Yeah, this is a boss fight. Streamer, open the shop! What did you do with that 50 SP I sent earlier?
"I used twenty for the healing salve, Tim. I only have thirty left," Asher whispered back to the camera drone.
He opened the [Stream Point Shop] menu mentally, letting the transparent blue interface broadcast to his viewers.
[Stream Point Shop - Rank F]
* Low-Grade Healing Salve: 20 SP
* Rusty Iron Dagger: 50 SP
* Standard Steel Vanguard Sword: 100 SP
* Light Leather Chest Guard: 150 SP
[Current Balance: 30 SP]
"I’m seventy points short of a real weapon," Asher said, looking directly into the blue camera lens.
"If I go in there with this pipe, it’s going to snap on that skeleton’s armor. I need a crowdfund if we want to beat this guy."
The chat instantly reacted to the explicit request.
To the viewers on Earth, this was the ultimate interactive stream experience.
[LootGoblin]: A hundred points is only ten bucks, right? I’ll pitch in. I want to see what a steel sword looks like when it spawns.
[GamerGuyX]: Come on guys, let’s pool it together. Don’t let the stream end here.
Ding!
[User_LootGoblin sent a Gift Rocket! "Get that sword and crack some bones!"]
[User_NoobSlayer sent a Small Gift x3! "Don’t die streamer!"]
[Received 100 Stream Points (SP) from User_LootGoblin.]
[Received 30 Stream Points (SP) from User_NoobSlayer.]
[Current Balance: 160 SP]
Asher’s eyes lit up as the notification flashed. "You guys are legends. Watch this."
He immediately clicked the [Standard Steel Vanguard Sword] for 100 SP.
[Purchase Successful. Item has been sent to your temporary mailbox.]
A sharp, silver light condensed right in front of Asher’s chest.
The viewers back on Earth watched as the particles of light wove together, solidifying into a clean, double-edged steel sword with a leather-wrapped hilt.
It dropped into his left hand, its heavy, balanced weight instantly making him feel ten times safer.
[Item: Standard Steel Vanguard Sword (Rank F)]
Type: One-Handed Sword
Damage: 22 - 28 Physical Damage
Durability: 50 / 50
"Beautiful," Asher whispered, discarding the bent iron pipe into the mud.
He gripped the hilt of the steel sword, feeling the cool metal anchor his nerves.
He had sixty points left over, just enough to buy another healing salve if things went wrong.
[Whale_Watcher]: Holy crap, the spawning animation is seamless. No clipping, no glitches. This stream’s production value is insane.
[MinMax_Andy]: Okay, 22-28 base damage. With his 11 Strength, he should be hitting for around 35 damage per clean strike. That drops the required hits from fifty to about fifteen. This is winnable.
"Fifteen hits," Asher said, adjusting his stance. "But I still can’t take a direct blow from that greatsword. I’m going to have to rely on my Agility and use the red crystals as cover to break its line of sight."
In the center of the room, the Crypt Keeper suddenly stopped chewing on the moss.
Its hollow eye sockets, glowing with a faint, dark red flame, snapped directly toward the entrance of the tunnel.
It sniffed the air, letting out a deep, rattling groan that vibrated through the stone floor.
It had detected him.
The giant skeleton gripped its rusted greatsword, lifting the massive blade onto its shoulder with terrifying ease.
It took a heavy, clanking step forward, its crimson eyes locking onto Asher as he stepped out from the shadows of the tunnel and into the light of the crystals.
"Alright, chat," Asher said, raising the steel sword in a classic duelist guard. "The boss fight is live. Don’t blink."
The Crypt Keeper didn’t wait.
With a heavy, metallic CLANG, its armored feet shattered the stone floor beneath it as it charged.
Despite its massive size, it moved with terrifying, unnatural speed.
The rusted greatsword came down in a brutal, vertical slice, tearing through the air with a loud whistle.
Asher’s eyes went wide. "Shiit!, its way too fast!".
