After a restful night at The Restful Glade in Serene Hollow, Kaz and his party felt somewhat refreshed—though Grumm still complained about the bed being too soft for his rocky frame. The squirrel, now unofficially named "Nutjob" by Pippa, scampered along with them as they headed back to Glitchhaven. Kaz figured it was time to pick up a proper quest; their pockets were heavier from selling spoils, and the group needed better gear to survive Aetherion's quirks.
Back at the guild hall, the chaotic energy had returned. The bard was still looping his tune, and adventurers milled about, sharing tales of glory and near-misses. Kaz approached the quest board, scanning the postings. One caught his eye: "Newly Discovered Dungeon: Echoing Caves. Reward: 500 gold, exclusive loot rights. Warning: Uncharted, potential glitches. Seekers wanted!"
"Echoing Caves?" Kaz muttered, tapping his debug console. "Sounds like a grind fest. But 500 gold? We could use that for upgrades."
Liora's eyes lit up. "A DUNGEON OF MYSTERIES! WE SHALL CONQUER ITS DEPTHS AND EMERGE AS LEGENDS!" she proclaimed, drawing cheers from nearby adventurers.
Pippa fluttered excitedly, eyeing the reward. "Shiny gold! Pippa likes!"
Grumm sighed. "More walking. My knees are gonna file a complaint."
Sys materialized, scrolling through her clipboard. "It's a fresh spawn—Developers just patched it in. Could be buggy. Or fun. Mostly buggy."
Kaz accepted the quest from the clerk, who stamped their party card with a glitchy seal. "Good luck. Last group came back missing eyebrows."
The party set out toward the Echoing Caves, a jagged mountain range a few hours' hike from Glitchhaven. The entrance was a yawning maw in the rock, echoing with distant drips and whispers. As they stepped inside, torches flickered to life automatically—game-like mechanics at work. The air grew cool and damp, and the walls shimmered with faint, pixelated veins.
The adventure dragged on longer than expected. The dungeon twisted like a labyrinth, with corridors that looped illogically and rooms that resized mid-step. Combat started small: packs of shadowy bats swooped down, forcing Liora to swing her sword in dramatic arcs while yelling, "BEGONE, FOUL FLIERS!" Kaz used his debug console to spawn a light source, but it glitched into a strobe effect, disorienting the bats—and everyone else.
Deeper in, they faced tougher foes. A horde of crystal golems lumbered toward them, their bodies reflecting light in blinding flashes. Grumm tanked the hits, his stone form cracking but holding. "This is why I hate overtime!" he bellowed, smashing one with a fist. Pippa darted around, stealing shards from the golems mid-fight, weakening them. Kaz typed commands frantically—"weaken_enemy: golem"—but it only made one explode into harmless confetti, while another grew spikes.
Hours blurred into a grueling trek. Traps sprung everywhere: pitfall floors that glitched into trampolines, poison darts that turned into water balloons, and illusionary walls that hid ambushes. They battled slime variants that split when hit, spider-like weavers that webbed up the paths, and even a mini-boss: a roaring echo beast that mimicked their voices to confuse them. Liora's monologues backfired when the beast echoed them louder, but Kaz hacked a silence command to shut it down temporarily.
Exhausted and battered, the party reached the dungeon's core—a vast chamber glowing with ethereal light. In the center sat a ornate chest, untouched and pulsing with energy. "Finally," Kaz panted, wiping sweat from his brow. Nutjob chittered nervously from his shoulder.
Pippa zipped forward, but Kaz held her back. "No stealing until we check for traps." He scanned with the debug console: "analyze_object: chest." It beeped, revealing no immediate dangers.
Liora opened it with a flourish. "BEHOLD, THE TREASURES OF THE ABYSS!" Inside lay gold coins, a few potions, and a peculiar pair of glasses—sleek, rimless frames with faintly glowing lenses.
Kaz picked them up, slipping them on. The world shifted. Hovering text appeared over everything: the chest read "[Ancient Relic Chest: Durability 100/100, Contains Loot]." He glanced at Liora: "[Liora Vayne, Female, Human Noble, Level 12, Curse: Dramatic Speech]." Grumm: "[Grumm, Male, Sentient Golem, Level 10, Personality: Grumpy]." Pippa: "[Pippa, Female, Fairy, Level 8, Trait: Kleptomaniac]." Even Nutjob: "[Nutjob, Male, Rabid Squirrel (Tamed), Level 3, Likes: Nuts]."
"Whoa," Kaz whispered. "These are like appraisal glasses from games. They identify materials, people, animals—names, gender, basic stats. This is huge!"
Pippa tried to steal them, but Kaz swatted her away. "Mine. This could change everything—spotting glitches, valuing loot, even reading enemy weaknesses."
As they exited the dungeon, the glasses revealed hidden paths and items they'd missed. Sys appeared, intrigued. "Nice find, user. Those are a rare drop—Developer oversight, probably. Don't break them."
Back at the guild, they claimed their 500 gold, the glasses proving their worth by appraising the clerk's ring as "[Fake Gold: Value 5 Copper]." The party celebrated, but Kaz knew bigger challenges loomed.