Dungeons and Dalliances Ch. 090-099

***

Stone Smasher

Uncommon

Lv. 1

Effects

- Minor increase to magical Prowess.

- Minor increase to physical Tenacity.

- Smash. Greatly empower your next attack.

Description

An oversized two-handed stone hammer engraved with arcane markings. Clumsy if devastating in strength.

***

"Now that's a weapon," Jordan said, sounding vaguely impressed.

"No kidding." Resting the gigantic slab of stone on the ground, so the shaft stuck straight up, Natalie confirmed the two-handed beast was quite literally taller than she was. She grabbed the shaft and grunted as she heaved it up. The weight was seriously unwieldy. Even she struggled to control it.

She gave the weapon a test swing, and while she admitted there was a certain satisfaction in the cumbersome monster, it was frankly too heavy for her, even strengthened by her class. Maybe with some gear that boosted her further it would be a viable option, but as it stood? No chance.

"It'll sell well, for sure," Natalie said.

"Don't wanna use it?" Jordan asked. "Has magical prowess and tenacity buffs. It was made for you."

"Can't," Natalie said, a bit reluctantly. "Just too heavy." She set the enormous thing down with a thump. "Plus, maybe not the best tank weapon."

"There's merit in tanking through sheer inavoidability," Sofia said. It didn't sound like she was disagreeing, just pointing it out. "Swinging that thing around, even a boss would be forced to deal with you before moving on."

Natalie chewed her lip. If she were completely honest, that sort of fighting style appealed to her more than the smaller hammer and shield set-up she had right now. She'd more than adapted to it, but the pairing didn't sing to her either.

"Seems more you, too," Sofia said, mirroring her thoughts.

Natalie chewed her lip before sighing. "Maybe. But not this one. Just too unwieldy." It was the frank truth of the matter.

Sofia eyed it, nudging the block of stone with her boot. The white-haired girl hadn't even been able to pull it out of the chest, and while Sofia was more of a fighter focused on prowess and technique, she wasn't some weakling, either. Nobody with a physical class was. "Yeah, that's fair."

"Just feels like a shame to get a weapon like that and none of us can use it," Liz chimed in. "If you want to give it a test run, that's fine?"

Natalie wrinkled her nose. She was tempted, but it simply didn't feel safe. "Not in the dungeon. Maybe I'll try it out back at Tenet. Might take some getting used to."

She rummaged out a monster core, then sucked the item into the orb. She turned the glass ball back and forth, intrigued despite how many times she'd used the convenient feature of the magical core. A tiny copy of the stone warhammer floated inside its depths.

"Maybe a level up will help, too," Liz said. "There's good odds some of us will hit that, tonight."

After so many diligent trips into the dungeon, and taking down a boss, it was within the realm of possibility to be advancing to level two, come midnight. Not guaranteed, though. And Liz was right--the boosts to her stats that came with a level up might make the unwieldy weapon usable. She perked up at that. She'd gotten used to her hammer and shield, but she would admit the idea of swinging around an oversized weapon had instantly appealed to her.

She paused, finally making the connection. Oversized weapons. Well, this would be the second one, if she chose to use that fighting style. She coughed and ignored the inappropriate thought. Though really--her first skill was called [Heavy Weaponry]. Maybe it was fate. Was there even some kind of hidden bonus for it? That might be too hopeful--she hadn't felt anything when testing the warhammer out.

More items were being lugged out of the chest by Sofia, so Natalie turned her attention that way. Her final decisions on a potential weapon swap could come later.