The bottom of the pit glowed with a soft, inviting light.
Loot.
It is the one thing that makes the end of the world tolerable. I tossed a rope ladder down, something I had raided from the maintenance closet earlier, and climbed down into the nail-studded carnage of the lower apartment.
The Hobgoblin's legs were still there, twitching slightly, but the rest of it was gone. lying amidst the bloody nails were three items.
A small, jagged crystal pulsing with red light. [Monster Core (F-Grade)].
A dirty leather pouch. [Coin Pouch].
A heavy iron bracer.
I snatched them up. My heart did a little flip. This was the addiction. This was why people played the game.
"What is it?" Silas called from above, his voice trembling.
I climbed back up and tossed the coin pouch to him. "System Credits. Money. You can use it to buy skills later. The Core is for fuel."
I inspected the bracer.
[Bracer of Heavy Hands] [Grade: Common] [Effect: +2 Strength]
"Junk," I muttered, strapping it onto my wrist anyway. Two points of Strength meant I could swing my axe harder or carry two extra bags of cement. For an Architect, carrying capacity was godliness.
"We levelled up," Silas said, staring at the air. "I have points. What do I do with points?"
"Dump everything into Intelligence," I said, walking to the shattered window to check the street. "You don't need health if nothing ever gets close enough to hit you."