As it turns out, whoever was monitoring me for parole didn't actually know that I left the country, or else didn't care. Of course, they really should have been upset with me over going back into the dungeon, considering it made me a better killer and they couldn't monitor me and so on, but considering I had to cross a military checkpoint in and out, I could only guess they didn't actually care that much. Did that make sense? No, but I guess that's just America.

I mean, Dungeoneers were rich, so there was that. I sold off a lot of my lower-level loot on eBay over the next week, and all of it got decent prices. I'd gotten richest my first time through by grinding a whole lot of mob bodies, which turned into various crafting items, foods, and whatever else when processed by crafting types, but on this run through I kept that to a minimum, for time's sake. Of course, none of that got me all that excited; even the most rare boss loot at low levels was interesting but it wasn't a long-term investment. By the time I got through a thirty-to-eighty or fifty-to-one-hundred dungeon, the equipment I had today would be pretty meaningless. By design, only rare-drop final boss loot was meant to last you through the entire next dungeon, unless it had some special utility for you.

Those were, of course, my main weapons, and I'd gotten my first one halfway through my first run.

But now, I had three brand new pieces of rare final boss loot--not counting the never-to-be-mentioned-aloud Devil's Garbage-Ass Trash Sword, which I received abilities from but didn't actually get an item prototype for, thanks to that Unstable Item attribute. First was the Fallen Angel's Halo, which was now fully identified, thanks largely to the Cursed Truth Aura:

[ FALLEN ANGEL'S HALO - Lv 50 ] [ WISDOM +10 ] [ INTELLIGENCE +10 ] [ RESISTANCE +10 ] [ CONSTITUTION -2 ] [ AURA OF MAJESTY - Lv 10 ] [ AURA OF LOST SOULS - Lv 5 ] [ AURA OF DISCORD - Lv 10 ] [ WINGS OF MALICE - Lv 15 ] [ CLOAK OF SHAME - Lv 5 ] [ AURA DRAIN - Lv 1 ] [ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE - Lv 0 ] This item contains the regret of one who could have been a saint, but fell from grace. If his will passes on to you, it may mean that salvation is out of your grasp as well.

Soulforged: Projector. Absorb time 6H. [ AURA OF MAJESTY ] The aura of a natural born leader divides the world into those who act and those who falter. May inflict [ Hesitation ]. [ AURA OF LOST SOULS ] An aura of suffering and rebirth strongly attracts those whom the world has crushed beneath its heel. Acts as [ Leadership ] [+5] on [ Lost Soul ], [ Slave ] only. [ AURA OF DISCORD ] Amplifies the doubts that even the closest allies feel towards one another. May inflict [ Strife ]. [ WINGS OF MALICE ] Wings that draw the ire of the Holy Ones, so they may see what their own deeds have created. [ Acts as [ Flight ] [+5]. [ Evil ]. ] [ May cause [ Environment: Wither ]. ]

Soulforged: [ 2 ] Absorbed Effects. [ CLOAK OF SHAME] Your will to escape notice is strong, and the magic of the world reacts. [ Acts as [ Stealth ] [-3]. ] [ Transparent to [ Empathy ]. Sneak attacks from [ Stealth ] do [ Minor ] [ Death ] damage. ]

Soulforged: [ 2 ] Absorbed Effects. [ AURA DRAIN ] There is barely enough magic here to grant you access to a skill. To do more than that would be too much. Acts as [ AURA DRAIN ] [-1].

Apparently my improved ability to analyze things helped my ability to determine which abilities came in pairs, which was helpful. The biggest surprise there was that there was still no definition for Projector, the pseudo-tag specific to Soulforged. Other than that, the most interesting new appearance was the last ability, now finally decoded:

[ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE ] If you see this, I want you to understand something. Administrators love and hate solo divers. You are the only ones who fight on even terms with our creations, but you also make us look like idiots. Never forget that I let you live. We can always choose to kill you. The next Administrator you meet may not be so kind. It is dangerous to go alone.

Soulforged: [ 0 ] Absorbed Effects.

I studied the halo in my hands for a good hour, thinking. It was... kind of obvious in retrospect. Hell, it was obvious at the time. When the administrator interfered with the final boss battle, gave it ridiculous stat boosts contingent on an item that only I had, changed the timer... of course he could have killed me, and who would have known? For all anyone else knew, I'd have died from my own stupid bullshit. Unless they had some kind of auditor come in and review dungeon deaths to ensure everything was aboveboard, but why would they do that?

In time, I just absorbed the halo. As it turned out, I did fail to absorb the Evil Flight +5... but I had enough telekinesis that I didn't really care about that anyway.

The second item was the pristine version of the Devil's Garbage-Ass Trash Sword, which was not nearly as interestingly named:

[ HEAVEN'S EXECUTIONER - Lv 50 ] [ STRENGTH +20 ] [ AGILITY -5 ] [ SINNER'S DOOM - Lv 20 ] [ CRUEL ANGEL'S RUIN - Lv 20 ] [ HERO'S BANE - Lv 20 ] [ JUDGEMENT - Lv 10 ] [ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE - Lv 0 ] To those the heavens have deemed unworthy, this sword will end their reign.

Soulforged: Absorb time 7H

Fully half of the abilities were usually useless to me, unless I wanted to go hunting specific enemies:

[ SINNER'S DOOM ] Increases critical rate and damage to unworthy mortals. [ Blooded ] [ Bane ]. [ CRUEL ANGEL'S RUIN ] Increases critical rate and damage to fallen celestials. [ Lost Soul ] [ Bane ]. [ HERO'S BANE ] Increases critical rate and damage to higher level opponents. [ Level Difference: >10 ] [ Bane ]. [ JUDGEMENT] Active ability. Acts as [ Empathy ] [ +10 ]

In addition, there was another note:

[ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE ] Even we wonder sometimes if there is meaning to this whole charade, but we can only play our roles. I know you seem to think we are equals, in some strange way, but it is not true at all. That is why we want to see you succeed, and why we cannot stand to be humiliated. You are beneath us.

This sword was very interesting for a lot of reasons. First, "Bane" was a powerful enhancement, and it was given at a high level; that was only really helpful for 'Hero's Bane', although the name suggested that the titular "heroes" were the enemies I was fighting. Second, if the sword the Devil was using was actually literally this sword, he almost certainly would have crit if he had hit me, and the extra damage (considering our level difference, and that I was Blooded) would have been substantial. If on the other hand, I had thought to use his own sword in the fight, two abilities on the sword would have stacked damage against him. Most likely, that was the intended strategy.

Also, if he had Empathy, my emotions before that fight would have been extremely strange to him. Fearless, confident, genuinely amused. Granted, he wasn't holding his sword the entire time, but... well, maybe he just had it naturally. Perhaps more interesting, now that I knew the Halo's stealth carved out an exception for Empathy, if I (or another diver) absorbed and used it right away, I would not have been able to hide from him in later fights. That was an interesting trap.

The last item was a trip all on its own. It was a long black whip-like rope that seemed at first to be made out of rubber, but it was warm to the touch, and the item description made it clear why:

[ DEVIL'S TAIL - Lv 500 ] [ SPECIAL: LIMB ] [ SPECIAL: PREHENSILE ] [ SPECIAL: EXPANDING ] [ SPECIAL: CLAW ] [ EVIL ] [ ABSORBABLE ITEM - Lv 450 ] [ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE - Lv 0 ] A highly distinctive look that just screams 'Devil', complete with a black spade tip sharp enough to stab people with. Cannot be unequipped once worn.

Soulforged: Channeler. Will become [ Racial Feature ]. Absorb time 3H ] [ ABSORBABLE ITEM ] The effective level of this item for the purposes of the Soulforged's [ Absorb ] ability is reduced. [ Absorb time ] reduced.

And that was it. It was a limb, that just did double duty as an item somehow, or possibly an item that was expended when you put it on to become a new limb. It didn't have abilities, it didn't give you stats--but it was an extra grasping limb with (I assumed) its own variant stats to track how well you could control it. There was no immediate explanation of the Channeler psuedo-tag, just as there wasn't one for Projector. The note was brief and incredibly cryptic:

[ ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTE ] I know you consider all of us to be devils, but humanity must reflect on its own sins if it is to survive.

The only problem with the item (aside from not really digging the aesthetic) was the [Evil] system tag--that would make me detect as evil whenever priestesses, gods, or similarly sensitive people looked at me. I already had a strike against me for being a blooded diver and a murderer--I didn't like that the Administrator was trying to paint me as being unrepentant and evil.

Either that, I suppose, or he just really wanted to create a good themed loot set. I had to admit that the false halo, tail, and big fuck-you sword were a good themed set, and this one piece of loot was damned fine--except that I didn't want to have a devil's tail, didn't want to be tagged as evil, and frankly, didn't want an obvious piece of loot from the only dungeon I'd been in that I couldn't hide, which would drive people to figure out where I'd gotten it. For the same reason, I also couldn't sell it, in spite of being high level, and quite possibly a unique item.

The item description made it pretty clear that the item would be a permanent feature, whether worn or absorbed. Doing anything with it now made it perfectly clear where I got it. It was too much of a risk. And also... most likely, in the end, I'd end up selling it. It had to be worth far more on the open market than any utility I'd ever get out of it. That left me the unpleasant option of sitting on a piece of loot high above my level... or... possibly giving it to someone who already knew where I got it. Someone high level, with a lot of money.

In any event, having absorbed the halo I also took in the sword, and with regret put the tail into storage for now. I was in for a shock when I tried to equip the halo, though: instead of the dollar-store-knockoff metal wire halo that the item had been in my hands, I got an actual floating, spinning energy halo over my head, one that flickered with erratic spikes of energy that looked in the mirror a little like phantom devil's horns. Around the halo was also a translucent blue fog, one that probably would have been deep devilish black if I'd equipped the item normally.

"Neat," was all I really had to say about that.

Later in the week my out-of-dungeon Messenger item appeared, and I quickly sent Harry a note telling him I'd like to anonymously auction off a high level item, which I didn't know how to do, since both eBay and the Dungeon Marketplace were traceable.

I took hours after that trying to figure out how to best manage my inventory and pseudo-item abilities. My lists had grown enough that I had to bump a few lower-level buffs and items out of their slots, and consequently I started looking for replacements. In particular, I had an intention to get a good throwing weapon and put the Garbage Sword's multi-debuff aura on it. I was keenly interested in seeing what happened if I stabbed someone from across the room and they got a toothache, incontinence, or the musical number.

I didn't want to be close if the musical number started, though. Having been in an end town now twice, the concept of being forced to dance was a little creepy. So yeah, throwing weapons had to be the way to go.

The other thing that might become an interesting toy was the +0 skill booster for Aura Drain, a skill I had no idea the point or purpose of. Eventually I found a Reddit thread that suggested that if there was a +0 booster, it was a normally unavailable skill, which I could now activate. I wouldn't be able to use Skill Sage to get information on it, though, until after I figured out how to use it, and gained a skill level in it. So, it went on my primary sword, bumping off a small damage buff.

In terms of weapons, although the Executioner was a dangerous weapon, and easily took third place away from the Skeleton Lord's Flamberge, I was growing used to my two-handed fighting style. Even if the Executioner had no real weight, the sword was comically large, and after using it a little it was pretty clear I'd catch the blade guard on myself at some point when I was swinging it around like an idiot. So the pair of lesser Devil swords had to make do for now, even though they'd only get me part of the way through the next dungeon.

I did have to wonder what the next step ought to be. This 'Dungeon pass' I'd been given was only ability level 10, which probably meant I'd act as Level 40 for the purposes of getting into a dungeon--still too low to jump from a zero-to-thirty to a fifty-to-one-hundred. I'd need to spend at least some time in a thirty-to-eighty, which might mean trying to full-clear it, or it might mean dipping in for ten levels or so.

In the meantime, I was curious about the Galveston Wharf Dungeon, which had been referenced in the Full Clear Quest--but it was a hundred-to-two-hundred dungeon, not yet in my wheelhouse even if I tried. So all I could really do was pick a thirty-to-eighty, and the most convenient one of those was Armand Bayou Dungeon, next to what had been the NASA Johnson Space center before they had evacuated the place for security reasons, as well as the University of Houston which had not been evacuated and was now kind of a... party college.

Get it? Never mind.

The only problem that reared its head when I visited was a small matter of a giant sign on the wall, guarded by and apparently enforced by armed guards. There were a lot of signs on the wall that I would have understood and begrudgingly accepted, but this really seemed to be going to far, to me.

It said "CLASS C DANGER ZONE. STATE LAW, MINIMUM GROUP SIZE 3. RECOMMENDED GROUP SIZE 7."

"Well, nuts to that," I said quietly to myself.