Minor Update to Discount Dan Chapter 25

Hey y'all. This isn't a new chapter, but I added a short scene to chapter 25 that will relevant in the next chapter. I'm not going to post the entire chapter again, but rather just the small updated portion with a little bit of the surrounding context.

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I still didn’t trust Nikoli and having an ace like this tucked up my sleeve could come in handy if he tried to fuck us over. Besides, I didn’t have the mental energy for it. Not after fabricating both Slippery When Wet and Scalding Torrent.

That had taken a bigger toll on me than I wanted to admit.

Still, there was one last thing I needed to do.

Although I’d crafted Sigil Stones for everyone on the team, including Croc, I realized there was one fatal flaw in the plan: the mimic didn’t wear gear. Didn’t have any Artifacts of its own. And without an Artifact, the mimic wouldn’t be able to equip the new Sigils. Period. End of story. Sure, I could’ve pick up a run-of-the-mill Artifact from the shop—a pair of glasses maybe or a stupid top-hat—but this would be Croc’s first Artifact ever and I wanted it to be something truly special.

And with the Mana Infusion Table at my disposal, I could make that happen—even if it cost me.

With a heavy groan, I shuffled away from the Fabrication workstation like a half-dead zombie and made a beeline for the crystalline Artifact table. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harper wave at me, but I didn’t stop. I was on a mission—and I knew if I paused now, I’d never find the will to start back up again.

I opened Spatial Storage and scanned through my inventory until I found what I was looking for. A bright red dog collar that I’d picked up down on the third floor. It wasn’t an Artifact—had no special arcane abilities at all—but it had made me think of Croc, so I’d taken it. Now, I could finally put it to good use.

I set the collar down gently on the tabletop and pressed my palm to the surface. It was surprisingly cold, almost like ice, and if not for the new Chillblister Core Sigil, I was pretty sure it would’ve hurt like hell. I pushed past the sting of discomfort and turned my focus inward, searching for a memory I was willing to give up. It had to count. If I wanted the collar to come out Uncommon-grade—with enough slots to make it useful—I needed to sacrifice something with real weight behind it.

My mind cycled through possibilities, before finally landing on one that felt right. As with crafting Golems, I suspected the intention mattered.

The memory that floated to the surface was close to my heart, but tender to the touch. Like an open wound that had never quite healed. The last day I’d spent with my dog, Macaroni. He’d been my first dog—a black pug with bulging eyes, who looked like he’d fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every single branch on the way down.

Mac had been a stray that my dad had found rummaging around in our garbage can. He was a poor malnourished looking gremlin and we’d taken him in when I was just a kid—maybe seven or eight, I wasn’t sure which—but I couldn’t think about my childhood without remembering the snorky pup. He’d been dumber than a box of rocks, but I’d loved that dog with every ounce of my soul. There were so many happy memories that I could’ve picked from, but the most powerful had been on the last day.

He’d grown old, his fur slowly morphing from black to gray at the onslaught of time. In the end he was deaf and mostly blind, though he would still follow me around the house like a ghost of his former self. Curling up by my feet or snuggling in the corner of the couch. He was never much of a cuddler, but he always liked to be nearby.

He snuggled me on that last day, though, his head in my lap while the vet gently administered a shot in his leg. He blinked wide, hazy eyes at me as he slowly drifted off. Less than a minute later his chest went still and he closed his eyes to the world.

I was never much of a crier, but I cried then.

Big, wet ugly tears that ran down my face as I stroked his matted fur and his too still body.

I cried now, too, as I recalled the event in minute detail.

Truth was, I didn’t want to lose the memory, but I also didn’t want to lose Croc. My heart broke the day we put Mac down and I didn’t want it to break again. This collar would help keep the mimic safe. Mac was a good doggo—the best—which is why I knew in my heart, he wouldn’t mind if I gave this precious gift away.

The table flared bright beneath me, a blinding glow that I couldn’t look away from as it ate through me, devouring a piece of my soul and feeding it into the offering on the table. I could feel the memory flowing out of me. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the glow faded.

My head ached and I felt strangely lacking. Empty. As though I was missing something important, but I couldn’t quite recall what. I reached up with a curious hand and found tears staining my cheeks. I didn’t know why they were there. I shook my head as though to clear away the cobwebs of a long night of restless sleep, and lifted the collar from the altar, examining my creation with the Researcher’s Codex.

Man’s Best Friend

Rare Artifact

Type: Collar (Beast Companion Only)

Some artifacts can blow up mountains. Others freeze time. This one sits beside you in the dark and reminds you you’re not alone.

Man’s Best Friend is a rugged, rune-stitched collar made for that four-legged friend who follows you into hell without a second thought and would probably do it again for half a sausage link. When equipped, it deepens your bond to your canine companion—not just in the mechanical sense, but in the quietly devastating, emotionally gut-punching way that only dogs and dead siblings in flashback scenes can manage.

On its own, this Artifact doesn’t make your companion faster, meaner, or more vicious. But it does make them braver, because it reminds them of your love. It grants them the kind of stubborn, loyal bravery that ends with bite marks on the ankles of your enemies and a broken body curled protectively over yours.

Just don’t abuse that unconditional trust and always remember that although you might just be passing through your dog’s world, you are his whole goddamned universe.

Effect 1, Lethal Injection: Once per day, if the wearer detects incoming lethal damage to you, they may intercept it, redirecting 75% of the damage to themselves. They do this without hesitation, because we genuinely don’t deserve dogs.

Effect Slot: Empty

Effect Slot: Empty

As I read over the description, I was beginning to understand the tears. I took out my engraver’s awl and carefully chiseled the name “Croc” onto the front of bone-shaped name tag, dangling from the front. On the back, I added the words “Dan’s Best Friend.”

I slumped forward, emotionally drained and more tired than I ever remembered being, then slipped the new Artifact into my bathrobe pocket.

With that, I knew I was done. Spent.

I wasn’t sure exactly how long we’d been working for, but dusk had come and gone long ago, and the day had officially turned into full night. With a start, I also realized that I hadn’t heard anything from Temperance or Croc, which made me more than a little anxious. Where in the hell had they gone? We’re they okay? I was half-tempted to radio them then and there using the Etheric Walkies, but that was another secret I wanted to keep close to the chest.

Stifling a yawn with one hand, I blinked with heavy eyelids and reluctantly collected my pile of Common and Uncommon-grade Relics, slipping the whole lot of them into Spatial Storage for later.