Last updated: Jan 20, 2026, 1:13 a.m.
View Original Source →"It really was a Pandora Gift!"
"You did it, Tort!"
『Oh, what a find!』
As I held up the box I’d pulled from the chest, both Halfa and Shiroru cheered.
In hindsight, our excitement was a bit bizarre. After all, a Pandora Gift was the ultimate dud item. We were probably the only people in the world who would be happy to find one.
『What are you going to do?』 Shiroru asked. 『Will you open it right away?』
"Hmm... no, I’m going to save it!"
I felt the urge to open it immediately, of course. But we weren't in any immediate trouble, and a Pandora Gift could serve as a desperate ace in the hole. I had to resist the temptation until the time was right.
Glowing with the satisfaction of a successful haul, we resumed our exploration. Every monster we encountered after that was a Goblin. We plowed through them with ease, continuing deeper into the crag until...
"Ah, another treasure chest!"
"You're right!"
『Make sure food comes out this time!』
"I can't exactly control the contents, you know," I replied.
With everyone’s expectations weighing on my back, I checked for traps. Finding none, I flipped the lid. Inside was a staff I recognized all too well.
"Is that...?"
『It’s the same one you had before!』
"Yeah. It’s a Gambler’s Staff."
I double-checked with my Appraisal Loupe just in case, but there was no mistake. It was the same dangerous item that had been forced on me back at the black market. It wasn't totally useless if I needed to boost an explosion, but for all intents and purposes, it was a dud.
"Even you have off days, I guess," Halfa remarked.
『Mumu... Perhaps you’re just low on energy? Eating something delicious always cheers me up!』
"You just want a snack, Shiroru."
Regardless of my personal feelings, pulling two dud items in a row was considered bad luck by any objective standard. It was rare for me, but I figured everyone has an off day now and then, so we kept going.
"Okay, this is definitely weird," Halfa said, a crease forming between her brows as I opened yet another chest.
That made three duds in a row.
Was it impossible? No. But the probability was astronomically low. Dud items didn't even have that high of an appearance rate to begin with. Unless you were cursed with the world's worst luck, hitting three duds in a row was practically impossible—even for a normal person, let alone me.
For the record, the third chest contained an item called "Whimsical Dice." They looked like standard six-sided dice.
Of course, they weren't ordinary. Apparently, if you rolled one inside a dungeon, a special effect would trigger based on the result:
They were single-use consumables; once the effect triggered, the die would vanish. The small bag I found contained four of them.
I gave them another look... but honestly, they were a hard sell. If I could choose the number, they might be useful, but they were entirely random. I didn't even know what "Whims of the Gods" did, which made it all the scarier.
"The chest spawn rate is high, at least..." I muttered.
『It is meaningless if they only contain junk,』 Shiroru huffed.
"If we're going to get duds anyway, I wish it would at least be another Pandora Gift," Halfa added.
Between the constant stream of junk and the endless Goblins, the lack of a challenge was starting to sap our spirits. It seemed we had stumbled into a "dud dungeon"—a place with plenty of chests but no worthwhile loot.
I started looking for the right moment to suggest turning back, but then we hit a dead end.
"Wait, if this is a dead end, then..."
"What’s wrong?" Halfa asked.
"Well, assuming we didn't miss any side paths, this seems to be the very back of the dungeon."
"What!?"
『It is over already?!』
The two of them were understandably shocked. Compared to the Cygnil Dungeon, this place was tiny. We hadn't even been exploring for two hours yet.
『Muu...』
"How disappointing."
Both Halfa and Shiroru looked thoroughly unsatisfied.
I understood the feeling. I was doing okay since I’d gotten a Pandora Gift, but without that, this would have been a complete waste of time.
"It’s a shame there wasn't even a reward for clearing the labyrinth," I sighed.
"That’s it, Tort! Let’s do that!"
"...Eh?"
『What are you talking about?』
Halfa leaped onto my casual comment with strange enthusiasm. While Shiroru and I were just confused, she looked like she was having the time of her life.
"If there aren't any chests, we’ll just make some!"
"Make them... how?"
"With that item you just found!"
"Wait, are you talking about the dice?"
"Exactly!"
The Whimsical Dice did have an effect that made treasure chests fall from the sky. If we got lucky, we might actually get something good... but...
"There's no guarantee we’ll get a good result, you know?"
"You can do it, Tort!"
『I agree!』
I tried to warn them, but they weren't listening.
Truth be told, I didn't think it would turn out too badly either. I still had the Destiny Reversal effect of my Destiny God's Smile left for the day. Even if I rolled something catastrophic, I could probably handle the fallout.
"Alright. I'll give it a shot."
I told the other two to stand back just in case and pulled a single die from the pouch. I tossed it as far away as possible to make sure we weren't caught in any negative splash zones.
Maybe I threw it a little too far, though. I couldn't even see what number it landed on.
However, I’m fairly certain it was a 2. The effect for 2 was "Compel surrounding creatures to laugh."
The reason I knew this was because an old man dressed in black suddenly materialized from the wall and began shaking with uncontrollable laughter.
...Uh, who is this guy?
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