Chapter 47: Golden Boy

Another instance opened on Floor 1.

Zion noticed the notification but ignored it at first. Several parties were still moving through the pasture, and after watching enough sheep fights over the last few days, most of them had started blending together.

Then a familiar head of golden curls appeared near the entrance. His attention shifted immediately.

It’s the golden-haired guy from before!

For a moment, Zion almost didn’t recognize him without the sword hanging at his side. Then he noticed what the adventurer was carrying instead.

A shovel?

The wooden handle looked old and worn smooth, while rust had started spreading around the edges of the metal blade.

He leaned forward slightly on the throne. "You don’t mean to tell me this guy is about to fight a monster with a shovel?"

The young man adjusted it against his shoulder and started across the pasture.

That answered the question.

Zion laughed and closed the other system windows still floating around his awareness so he could focus properly.

Whatever discussion he had been reading on the Dungeon Network could wait. This was already more interesting.

Finn didn’t rush toward the nearest sheep this time. Instead, he slowed near the first hill and started moving with enough care that Zion barely recognized him as the same person who had charged straight into battle the day before.

Both hands stayed wrapped tightly around the shovel handle, and every few steps his fingers readjusted around the wood as though he was afraid the tool might somehow disappear if he loosened his grip.

Apparently, losing the sword had taught him something.

Finn eventually spotted a sheep grazing halfway up the hill and immediately focused on it.

He bent slightly at the waist as he approached, placing each foot carefully into the grass like staying low would somehow keep a tall man carrying a shovel from being noticed.

One of the sheep’s ears twitched.

Zion laughed under his breath. It noticed him. It just didn’t seem particularly concerned.

While Finn continued creeping forward, Zion’s attention drifted toward the dungeon inventory.

The collection of abandoned equipment from defeated adventurers had been growing steadily since the dungeon opened, and among the weapons resting there was one he recognized immediately.

The old rusted sword.

Zion looked between it and the young man inching up the hill with a shovel and felt another laugh building.

"All right, golden boy." He opened the sheep’s reward settings. "If you actually beat that thing, I’ll give you your sword back."

The weapon moved from the dungeon inventory into the sheep’s conditional drop table.

[Rusted Sword assigned as conditional loot.]

None of the ordinary monsters in Zion’s dungeon dropped equipment so far. He had intentionally kept most rewards around bosses, hidden caches, and specific encounters instead of handing something out every time an adventurer killed a sheep or slime.

This felt different.

Finn had already entertained him more than most of the people who entered the dungeon, and the fact that he had returned one day later with farm equipment made Zion want to reward the effort.

Not that he expected to lose the sword. After watching Finn’s last attempt, the chances of him defeating the sheep with a shovel seemed very low.

Zion settled back slightly and watched him close the remaining distance.

Then another possibility occurred to him. "Does he plan on throwing this one too?"

Finn reached striking range and stopped.

For several seconds, he stayed behind the sheep with both hands locked around the shovel while his shoulders rose beneath a slow breath.

Then he lifted it.

Zion sat up straighter.

Finn swung downward with everything he had.

The sheep stepped to the side. The shovel struck the earth with a heavy thud, tearing open a patch of dirt in the middle of the green hillside.

Zion nearly slipped off the throne laughing.

Finn remained bent over the shovel for a moment, staring down at the hole he had just made while the sheep lowered its head and calmly continued eating.

"You missed a sheep that wasn’t moving."

Finn pulled the shovel free.

His face had gone red, but instead of giving up, he tightened both hands around the handle and shifted a little to the side.

His eyes stayed fixed on the sheep as though he was trying to work out exactly where he had gone wrong.

Zion watched him adjust his footing.

The sheep had moved left the first time.

Finn had apparently decided it would do the same thing again. He raised the shovel and aimed slightly off-center. This time, the sheep didn’t move at all.

The blade buried itself into the dirt beside its front legs.

Finn froze.

A clump of loose soil bounced up from the impact and scattered across the grass. One small piece landed directly in the sheep’s mouth while it chewed. The animal stopped.

Its jaw moved once. Slowly, it lifted its head and turned toward Finn.

"BAAAA!"

Finn jumped so hard his shoulders snapped upward.

He stepped back in a panic, still clutching the shovel in both hands, and his heel landed directly against a small rock.

Zion saw what was about to happen before Finn did. "Brace yourself, Golden boy."

Finn’s foot slipped. He threw both arms outward and nearly lost the shovel as he tried to catch himself, but keeping hold of it only twisted him farther sideways.

A second later, he hit the grass and started rolling down the hill with the tool clutched against his chest. He disappeared briefly behind a small rise before coming to a stop near the bottom.

The sheep watched the entire thing. Then it took several quiet steps away from the disturbed patch of dirt and lowered its head over a cleaner section of grass.

Zion stared at the scene for a few seconds before another wave of laughter rattled through his skeletal body.

If he still had eyes, he was certain tears would have been running down his face.

Finn remained flat on his back at the bottom of the hill, one hand still wrapped around the shovel handle.

Zion leaned against the side of the throne, trying to recover.

"Yes," he said, looking down at him again. "This guy is my favorite."