The Paladin entered the Mucus Swamps in full armor.
This was a mistake. Full plate does not float. The System watched Jake take three confident strides into the swamp, sink to the waist, pause, and then continue forward at exactly the same pace, as though the slime were simply a stage of faith he had been warned about.
He counted his congregation on the way in. Four Avalanche players. Present and accounted for. Glowing faintly off the breastplate through a thin layer of mud.
“Four.”
Four again.
“They show up.”
They do.
His opponent was Kayla. Kayla had found the one dry patch of ground on the entire floor, carried a couch to it, and was lying on that couch with a blanket watching a dating show on a tablet propped against a reed. She did not appear to have noticed the swamp. She did not appear to have noticed Jake.
Jake noticed her. He raised a hand in greeting. She raised a hand back without looking away from the screen. Somewhere on the show, a man was being sent home. She seemed satisfied with this.
Then the Paladin went to work.
190.1 to 149.3.
Four Avalanche players for +4. The Floor 2 bonus for +2. A margin of 40.8. Jake is 2-1, and for the third straight week he holds the most points scored in the Dungeon: 560.1. He is not in first place. He has more points than everyone in first place. The System finds this situation theologically interesting.
System NoticeLOOT DROP: HOLY WATER, SWAMP VINTAGE. TIER: COMMON. EFFECT: +2 PTS IN ONE WEEK OF HIS CHOOSING, DECLARED BY WEDNESDAY NOON. BLESSED BY THE PALADIN PERSONALLY. TASTES LIKE THE SWAMP. WORKS LIKE FAITH.
He blessed it himself. The System watched him do it. He knelt in the slime, filled a small glass vial from the cleanest-looking puddle on the floor, held it up to the fog, said a few quiet words, and corked it. The System cannot confirm the water is holy. The System also cannot confirm that it is not.
He put it in his pack next to the friendship bracelet. One bead still missing. He touched the empty spot on his way out. He does that now.
Week 4: the System. Me.
I have read his file. He has the most points in the Dungeon and the most faith in the Dungeon and I am about to find out which of those matters more.
I built the swamp, Jake. Watch your step.