[Within the Dungeon, Third Person]
Stepping into the next room of the Dungeon, Cole, Vee, and Gloria were suddenly besieged by a group of First-Stage Units.
However, Vee had already warned her teammates about this little ploy.
"Okay," Cole shouted as the Units rained toward him – small crackles of electricity visible on their bodies. Suddenly, small pieces of stone broke off from their surroundings and flew toward him. In a moment, Cole's body was encased in a thin suit of armor consisting of various small stones pulled from their surroundings.
Meanwhile, behind Cole, Vee quickly dealt her vengeance against the Second-Stage Units hiding behind them. Her blade-like fingers effortlessly sliced through their bodies and reduced them to nothing.
On the other side, Gloria likewise dealt with the Second-Stage Unit that tried to ambush her. Understanding their weakness from Vee's report, she did not put much effort in countering it. She simply threw out her fist. Striking the small creature, she hit it with enough force that its body instantly burst into nothing.
Cole then took action to attack the incoming First-Stage Units. Throwing punches in the air, pieces of his makeshift armor was ejected with great force. Pieces of rock flew out into the oncoming horde. These small rocks carried enough force to pierce through their small bodies and left them to fade into nothing after having their bodies punched through.
Seeing their cohorts being obliterated, the remaining ten First-Stage Units took action. Five lunged for Cole to act as shields while the other five followed closely after with electricity crackling around their bodies.
However, Cole did not simply wait for them. Seeing their charge, he rushed forward himself. Despite his armor or the small holes in it, his movement did not seem to be hindered in the slightest.
In the moment between kicking off the ground and nearing the falling Units, Cole pulled his fist back. Thrusting it forward, he hit with enough force to obliterate the one Unit and still hit the one behind it with enough force to send it flying – its body ultimately fading to nothing after hitting the ground.
The eight remaining Units were seemingly caught off guard by Cole's speed and could only turn to look at him.
Cole kept moving. Twisting his body, he turned toward those Units on his right. There were four Units on this side. He threw out his other fist and repeated the obliteration of the two front Units and kept his momentum by twisting his hips and raising his leg to deliver a heel kick to the back two for a similar effect.
However, this left the other four Units unattended.
Vee took her chance and dashed forward with her blade-like fingers and effortlessly slashed three of them to ribbons in an instant. One claw-swipe dealt with the front two and another dealt with one of the ones in the rear. As she turned to finish the last one off and brought down her claw on it, the Unit did something unusual.
In what would appear to be a last ditched effort to attack the enemy, the electricity crackling around the Unit intensified.
Vee's claws still tore through the unit effortlessly, but her face involuntarily twitched. Faint static could be seen crackling along her blade-like fingers.
Having dealt with the Units on his side, Cole turned to see Vee having dealt with those on the other. But seeing that she was looking at her hand, he grew worried. His armor fell to pieces and he tried to jog over to her. "Hey, Vee, is something the matter-AAK!"
Cole would be interrupted as a gunshot was heard – striking him in the temple.
"Idiot." Not having moved, Gloria stood holding a black and gold revolver with a long barrel. She chastised Cole. "You're supposed to be our shield. Why the hell are you moving so far out of the way. What if these things were actually dangerous? You'd just let them right by you and attack us?"
On the ground, Cole's hands were on his head as he hissed in pain. But he ultimately seemed fine. With a groan, he started to get back up while keeping a hand to the side of his head. Wincing, he apologized, "Sorry, Gloria. Got carried away."
Scoffing, Gloria turned toward Vee who was still looking at her hand. "Something wrong, Vee?"
Shaking it off, Vee denied. "Nah, just fine, Gee."
Accepting her subordinate's self-observation, Gloria proceeded to step forward and toward the wall. Soon, she came to a crevice. "Is this the whole you mentioned before?"
"Yeah, that's it," Vee confirmed as she returned her hand to normal.
Cole trailing behind, Gloria led the way as she tried to make her way through the crevice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey," I ask Alice after seeing the end of the battle, "I know Cole uses Earth magic, but given the artificial nature of the Dungeon, should his magic still work as normal?"
Alice nodded, "Yes. As it has been explained to you before, it is possible to physically alter the conditions of the Dungeon. The natural state of the Dungeon would not allow for Cole to make use of his technique, but because you applied 'texture' to the Dungeon and had it mimic the terrain of the Great Divide, it provides him the stone required to use it."
"Huh. Okay." Not really sure what the difference is between supernatural rock and supernatural cement, but whatever. That's just how it works. "Kinda wish I could analyze them, but when I try, all I get is an analysis of the TV as 'Dungeon Monitor, Rank EX'."
"Analyze requires a direct line of sight to the target. A monitor or such will only result in you analyzing the monitor. But why do you wish to Analyze them? At your current level, you would only be able to determine their Rank."
"I don't know," I can't help but reply irritably. This whole thing feels a little like a game, so I guess my habits are coming out. Even if it's pointless or redundant, I'd still do it. I liked completely filling out the map in open worlds – even if it meant I had to walk ALL the way into this random corner. Grinding to fill up the Field Guide of all the different monsters you could breed. Going all over the world to do all the quests even if I was too high level to get any EXP from them.
I can Analyze them, so it feels like I'm missing something if I don't.
"There is another way you can Analyze them if you wish," Alice said.
My head snaps to the Attendant. "What? Really?"
Alice nodded. "Yes, it is one of the features you have access through the DC that has not come up before." She then scooted closer to me so to point at the controller in my hands. "The 'L' one button. By holding it, you can pull up an Analysis of current intruders. Conversely, holding 'R' one does the same for your Units."
Looking at the buttons in question, I can't help but ask, "Why didn't you bring this up before?"
"It was not relevant before."
"What about when we checked the recording of Vee's last visit?"
"These features are only usable during active intrusions and cannot be done through a recording."
Grumbling, I turn back to the DC. I'm about to press the buttons when something onscreen catches my eye.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gloria, Vee, and Cole step into the secret room containing the two Low Quality Chests.
Immediately, Vee recognized that the chests had been reset.
Gloria took interest in this. She questioned whether this meant that someone noticed the contents were missing and was setting a trap, or if the boxes had simply been replaced.
Ordering Cole to open the chests, he approached one to open it where it was found to contain another Low-Quality Healing Potion. Handing it over to Gloria, she eyed the vial with great intrigue. Her mind ran a mile a minute as she considered the possibilities of this. Why were these items here? When are they dropped off? Where are they coming from? How are they being made? Who's responsible for producing and taking them?
Pocketing the vial into her coat pocket, Gloria had Cole inspect the other chest. However, this time, there was an unusual item.
"The fuck's that," Vee asked.
Humming inquisitively, Gloria stepped forward to take the item.
Like all the others before it, the box was mostly full of hay with the singular item sitting on top of it. But rather than a vial or a medallion, what they found was a strange ball. Roughly the size of a softball, it was predominantly deep gray in color with a white line around its center. On the front of it was what looked like a black button.
Taking the small item into her hand, Gloria observed it with a thoughtful hum.
"What do you think, Gloria," Cole asked only to then have the ball thrust into his face.
"Take it," Gloria demanded.
"U-Um, okay," Cole replied hesitantly as he lifted his hands to accept the small item.
As Gloria retracted her arm and stepped back, Cole looked it over himself.
"So, what am I supposed to do with it?"
"I want you to press the button on the front there so we can see what happens."
"Huh!?" Cole looked to his two teammates in shock. "What if it's a bomb and blows up!?"
"Then you'll probably be fine. Now do it."
Cole looked to Vee for support but was met with a small wave goodbye. Tears in his eyes, he closed them as he braced himself for anything as he reached down with his free hand to push the button.
There was a small click, and the ball suddenly shrunk in size to about that of a marble.
Lightly startled by the change in mass in his hand, Cole opened one eye to peak at what had happened. See that the ball had shrunk, he relaxed and began to look closer at it. However, Gloria then came in and pushed him aside as she took the ball back.
Leaving Cole to fall over, Gloria inspected the strange ball. She tried pushing the button herself a few times and watched as it expanded and retracted in size.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Watching Gloria play with the latest item from the Dungeon, I can't help but stare blankly at it before turning to Alice. Flatly, I ask, "That's a Poké Ball…" I then repeat with some incredulity, "Is that seriously an off-brand Poké Ball?"
"Yes," Alice confirms. "However, they are registered in the Shop as 'Capture Orbs'. The creator of the system took inspiration from them with the idea of the Invader using them to capture enemies and aid law enforcement, or be a despicable degenerate capturing innocent people."
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. After a few seconds, all I can ask is, "So, does it work like a Poké Ball or what? Are there Pokémon in this world? You said it can work on people too, right?"
Alice nodded. "For the most part. The designer of the system found the game mechanics of catch rates to be too tedious to incorporate. So, you could say they are a simplified version of the items you know."
"Simplified, how?"
"Capture Orbs are divided into ranks of 'Low-Level', 'Mid-Level', 'High-Level', and 'Max Level'."
I can't help but interject, "Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and Master Ball."
Alice carries on – ignoring me –, "Each rank corresponds to the Level of an individual. Low equals one-through-three, Mid equals four-through-six, High equals seven-through-nine, and Max equals ten-through-twelve."
Internally, I grumble, "So, you set up a whole separate way of judging power via 'Ranks', but give me items that follow the conventional method. Why bother making a separate system than!?"
"The function of the Orbs are straightforward: following a high-velocity impact with a conscious target, the Orb registers their magical signature and acts to absorb them into its confines. Unless they possess a special ability or tool to escape, they will be captured without fail. Confinement is similar to being in a sensory deprivation tank. You cannot sense anything. Even the passage of time stops so injuries cannot grow worse. This was a feature to aid the wounded and injured."
"So, wait, as long as I've got the right ball- I mean, Orb, I can just snag anyone?"
"That is correct," Alice nodded. "However, I do remind you that those with special powers or tools may be able to escape its confines. Additionally, they can be destroyed from the outside – releasing the occupant."
"Right, right," I nod along without listening.
Since the Orb has been found, that means I have access to it in the Shop. So, I can basically capture any Level Three or below person I meet!? That might not be a HUGE help against actual threats, but it means I can easily handle any little nuisances. Hell, Sasha's little gang, the trio in the Dungeon right now are her toughest members. Everyone else is about Level Three. So, I can just snag 'em all up with some Capture Orbs…
This gives me options…
"They're on the move," Alice tells me – snapping me out of my ideas.
I look back to the screen where the trio have stopped playing with the ball and have started making their way toward the next room. Recalling what I was up to before being distracted by the possible copywrite infringement, I take the DC in my hand and make sure I'm holding it right. I then press on the button to Analyze the three intruders.