1. DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON
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2. I'm so tired.
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3. These stairs go on and on
and it's exhausting.
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4. Food tastes better
after a little exercise.
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5. A little?
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6. Sword, please.
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7. Sure.
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8. There should be a switch here.
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9. I don't think I've ever seen
this chamber before.
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10. And we saved a lot of time getting here.
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11. Hm?
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12. Damn it.
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13. What's wrong?
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14. The decoration
from my cross guard fell off.
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15. Why'd you have to be so rough with it?
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16. I-- I didn't mean to break it.
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17. It's not your fault.
It's been loose for a while now.
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18. I tried tying it on a string,
and gluing it,
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19. but nothing worked.
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20. Oh, well.
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21. Did it have some special purpose?
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22. Nope. Not really.
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23. It was a memento, wasn't it?
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24. A memento? Yeah, I guess in a way, it was.
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25. Three years ago,
my sister and I were new adventurers.
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26. To learn the ropes of the dungeon,
we joined a group of gold strippers.
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27. Gold strippers?
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28. This castle was covered
in gold way back when,
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29. parties would get rich
scraping off the gold.
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30. Hmm.
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31. Another party
already stripped this place clean.
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32. Let's see if they hit the inside too.
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33. Okay.
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34. Laios, if there are monsters in there,
we're not ready to handle them yet.
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35. Yeah, but we can't make it back
by ourselves either.
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36. Huh?
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37. Would you look at that?
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38. Poor guy.
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39. Eh, the armor's all rusted.
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40. That's what happens
if you die in a place like this
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41. and no one finds you.
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42. Over here! Look what I found!
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43. I wonder how much we'd get
for all this armor.
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44. They're all in good condition.
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45. We could sell them as it is
or melt them down.
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46. The armor is alive!
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47. It's a monster! Run!
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48. We can't fight these. Come on!
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49. -
-
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50. -
-
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51. It broke.
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52. Oh, no.
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53. I killed it!
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54. - Look out!
- Huh?
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55. -
-
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56. Anyway, that's what happened.
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57. And that's how I got the sword.
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58. But you died for it.
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59. It was my first death,
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60. and for a while afterwards,
the sight of armor would freak me out.
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61. You know, I've read books on Living Armor,
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62. but not one of them mentions
anything about their flavor.
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63. I wonder what they taste like.
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64. What do you think, Senshi?
How would you cook it?
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65. What? You can't eat armor.
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66. Living Armor is a suit of armor
controlled by magic,
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67. it's not some creature.
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68. Yeah, I know,
but what about the leather on the straps?
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69. Ever try and eat leather?
It's damn near impossible to chew.
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70. Go catch a monster, less of a pain.
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71. If you're so hell-bent on eating armor,
you can always eat your own.
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72. Hmm.
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73. That's a shame.
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74. I guess eating Living Armor
is out of the question.
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75. Come on, let's go.
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76. Let's avoid fighting them if possible.
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77. We'll just run past them.
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78. I think we could do it easy.
They don't move that fast.
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79. That's true.
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80. What do you think? Sound good?
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81. Sure.
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82. Any one of them could move.
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83. So stay alert.
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84. Here we go!
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85. Oh!
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86. Get going!
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87. Huh?
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88. -
-
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89. -
- Huh?
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90. They blocked us!
We can't get to the other door!
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91. What do we do now?
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92. There's only one thing we can do now.
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93. Go back the other way as fast as we can!
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94. Run for it!
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95. -
-
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96. They're unusually aggressive.
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97. I wonder if we did something
to tick them off.
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98. That's silly.
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99. They don't have any feelings.
They're empty suits of armor.
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100. The only way to stop them
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101. is to find whoever it is
that's controlling them.
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102. If someone was controlling those things,
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103. I didn't see 'em.
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104. Usually, what happens is,
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105. you get too close to them
and then they attack.
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106. USUALLY
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107. But these ones,
they moved to block the door.
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108. TODAY
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109. That means there could be something
on the other side of that door
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110. they have to protect.
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111. Like whoever or whatever
is controlling them.
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112. That's gotta be it.
It's the only explanation.
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113. Then you think it might be a monster?
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114. I don't know. Maybe.
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115. Normal folks wouldn't have access
to magic that powerful.
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116. What now? Unless we can get past them
and through that door, we're stuck.
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117. We'll have to find the mage or whatever
that's controlling the armor.
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118. Once we take them out,
that should break the spell.
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119. Obviously.
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120. - I got it.
- Hm?
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121. If three people distract the armor,
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122. one of us can sneak right on by
and get through the door.
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123. Hm?
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124. Good luck sneaking by.
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125. Actually, I thought you'd do the sneaking,
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126. since that's kinda your thing.
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127. But fighting definitely isn't my thing.
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128. Living Armor doesn't have eyes or ears
'cause it doesn't need them,
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129. stealth skills don't work on things
that aren't alive.
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130. They don't have eyes or ears...
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131. Hm.
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132. - Are you ready?
- Mm.
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133. - Let's do this!
- Yeah!
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134. Come on, you rusty buckets!
I'm right here!
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135. Come and get me!
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136. Ah! Bad idea!
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137. Don't fear, missy!
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138. -
-
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139. Aslam!
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140. -
-
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141. Oh, fantastic. There's one in here too.
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142. This one looks different
from the armor in the other room.
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143. There doesn't seem to be anyone here
doing the controlling.
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144. I get the feeling
this one's the strongest.
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145. I can't call the others for help.
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146. I'll have to fight this thing on my own
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147. and figure out
what the armors are protecting.
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148. -
-
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149. I'll try chopping off
an arm or a leg,
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150. maybe that will slow it down.
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151. -
-
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152. Dammit!
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153. It was protecting its shield.
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154. What the...
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155. What's that stuck to it?
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156. Wait. I've seen something
like that before.
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157. That's right.
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158. It's a...
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159. An egg case!
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160. That's what it was protecting.
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161. Eggs!
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162. What kind of eggs are they?
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163. Do they belong
to whatever is controlling the armor?
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164. Living Armor
doesn't have eyes or ears
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165. 'cause it doesn't need them.
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166. I knew it.
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167. There's more to these things.
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168. If it has no eyes or ears...
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169. why did it bother picking up the helmet
and straightening it?
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170. Why did it turn its head
to track our movements?
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171. Why has it got eggs?
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172. I know why. There's a creature in it!
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173. There's no outside force controlling them.
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174. They move instinctively
and deliberately to protect its eggs.
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175. They're alive!
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176. That means they can be killed.
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177. That means...
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178. we can eat 'em!
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179. -
- Take this!
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180. There's too many of 'em!
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181. Ah!
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182. Oh, no!
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183. -
- Keep moving! If you stop, you're dead!
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184. - Behind you!
-
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185. - Aslam!
-
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186. Huh? Wait! Wait, no!
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187. They can share their parts?
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188. Not fair!
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189. How is that possible?
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190. -
-
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191. Hurry up, Laios!
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192. We're getting swarmed in here
and things are looking bad!
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193. It doesn't stop
if you chop off its head.
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194. But if it's a living thing,
it can be killed.
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195. My options are slashing at its organs,
make it bleed to death,
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196. suffocate it, starve it.
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197. What am I saying?
Those will take too long.
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198. First things first, I need to find out
what kind of creature is inside.
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199. Maybe it's a Slime,
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200. but they don't move with precision,
they just ooze.
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201. Maybe it's a horde of insects?
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202. No, I would've heard them
scuttling around inside.
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203. Maybe there's a big spider in the helmet
using its legs to move the armor.
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204. I wonder if that last one is it.
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205. I'm not gonna find out standing here.
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206. I can't overpower it, so...
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207. I'll outsmart it.
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208. Yeah, this will do!
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209. I'll draw its attention
and get right up next to it.
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210. I got it!
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211. Now, let's see.
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212. It's empty!
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213. If there's nothing here,
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214. why'd that other one
even bother picking its helmet up?
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215. It's coming.
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216. Uh-oh. What do I do?
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217. -
-
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218. Huh?
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219. Wait. How can it not see me
hiding over here?
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220. There's something about the helmet then.
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221. What's this?
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222. -
-
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223. What the heck? It's a mollusk!
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224. And right between the layers of plating.
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225. That's why cutting parts
off the armor didn't work.
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226. There's a colony of these in it!
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227. It's still looking for its head.
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228. All right, then...
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229. Here!
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230. Now we're talking.
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231. This must be filled with them.
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232. Looks like they connect
to each other at the joints,
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233. then expand and contract
like muscles to move around.
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234. But which one laid the eggs?
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235. Guess if they're hermaphrodites,
they all could've laid them.
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236. -
-
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237. Now is not the time to think about that!
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238. Give me!
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239. Let go already!
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240. Hey, guys! Get over here!
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241. Do we look like we can?
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242. - Huh?
- Uh?
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243. Hm?
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244. What was that?
And why did they go chasing it?
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245. Whoa.
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246. - So, it was a mage after all?
- Nope. There was no mage.
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247. This so-called Living Armor
isn't controlled by magic,
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248. - but by the creatures inside.
- Huh?
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249. Check this out.
The armor has two layers,
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250. and look what's sandwiched between them.
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251. That makes the armor move.
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252. -
- Hmm.
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253. In the armor,
these things link together,
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254. they form groups that act just like
the muscles do in our bodies.
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255. On their own, they're weak,
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256. but together,
they use the armor like a structure,
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257. and that is how they can move like us.
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258. -
- They were aggressive with us,
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259. 'cause we happen to show up
after they laid their eggs.
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260. Seriously?
Those icky things hatch from eggs?
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261. Uh-huh! Born from eggs!
Isn't that amazing?
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262. And I'm the one
who found out about their secret!
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263. Until now, everyone thought
Living Armor was controlled by magic!
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264. Wait till we tell the world about them.
We're gonna blow some minds!
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265. You see that?
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266. How when he talks about monsters,
he gets crazy eyes?
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267. It creeps me out.
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268. Hey. Don't be rude.
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269. Senshi.
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270. We can't eat the armor,
but I bet we can eat these guys.
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271. They look pretty dang nutritious,
don't they?
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272. Huh?
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273. Whoa!
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274. There's no way anyone's eating
that mysterious gooey gunk!
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275. Oh, Marcille.
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276. The first bite of a new food
is always mysterious.
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277. Where's your sense of adventure?
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278. That's a stupid adventure!
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279. I'll fix 'em up.
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280. Never cooked them before,
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281. so I can't promise it'll be any good.
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282. Aw, thank you, Senshi.
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283. Hell no!
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284. What if those things
are loaded with poison?
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285. I'm pretty sure
any creature that poisonous
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286. wouldn't bother with hiding
in a suit of armor.
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287. What the heck kind of meal
do I make out of them?
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288. See that part?
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289. When I tried to pry it open with my hand,
it wouldn't open.
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290. I ended up making a cut right along there,
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291. it couldn't close after that.
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292. You know how a mollusk
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293. has that adductor muscle thing
to close their shells?
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294. That's what that is.
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295. So these are like shellfish.
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296. I got an idea.
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297. We'll need to pry them out
of the armor first.
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298. -
-
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299. Oh, no.
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300. It drowned.
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301. I guess we can't clean off
the sand that way.
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302. And they didn't come from the sea,
so maybe we don't need to.
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303. Not sure if its organs are safe to eat,
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304. so they're going in the trash.
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305. I'll slice these ones up to make soup.
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306. Then, heat some oil,
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307. add critter, seasoning,
and medicinal herbs for a stir-fry.
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308. - Hm.
-
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309. The helmet critters...
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310. - Ah!
- ...steamed.
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311. And these, classic style all the way.
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312. It's ready!
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313. 384
GRILLED LIVING ARMOR
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314. STEAM-BAKED LIVING ARMOR
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315. What are you gonna try first?
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316. Uh... the soup, I guess.
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317. Wait, does anyone have
an antidote for food poisoning?
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318. Well, it doesn't smell bad.
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319. Pretty sure what I'm smelling is iron.
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320. Laios.
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321. - Here.
-
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322. -
- Ow!
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323. Hm?
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324. Why is everyone looking at me like that?
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325. You wanted to eat Living Armor,
so there it is, eat up.
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326. You discovered them,
you get the first bite.
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327. Such an honor.
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328. We'll leave his corpse
if he dies, okay?
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329. Okay.
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330. - Did he die?
- Did he die?
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331. It's delicious!
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332. Oh, my god!
The flavor, it's so good!
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333. It didn't taste like anything at first,
but then, oh, man!
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334. How long does food poisoning take
to make you sick?
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335. It depends on the food.
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336. - Mm.
-
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337. Hm? Hm, not bad.
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338. Could use a condiment or three maybe.
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339. How did those come out?
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340. - Uh...
- Huh? Uh...
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341. Well, at least these were stir-fried
with medicinal herbs.
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342. Hm.
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343. Uh, and?
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344. - It doesn't taste bad.
- Uh?
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345. Huh? Uh-huh.
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346. How is it, Marcille?
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347. They kind of taste like mushrooms.
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348. I know, right?
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349. I'm trying the steamed ones next.
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350. I bet these will taste better
than the grilled ones.
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351. It tastes like mold.
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352. Guess the helmet's stink
got cooked into 'em.
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353. - Here.
- Mm.
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354. In all my years of eating monsters
in this here dungeon,
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355. I never would've dreamed
I'd eat critters like those.
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356. I doubt anyone dreamed Living Armor
was really a type of shellfish,
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357. a weird type born from an egg case.
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358. Wouldn't it be neat to see
what they're like right when they hatch?
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359. I bet they're so small
you can barely see them.
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360. As they mature,
they form their outer shells,
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361. and find others like 'em.
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362. They figure out how to move,
start exploring, make colonies.
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363. Maybe they line up like we saw 'em
right before they mate.
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364. Something tells me they're hermaphrodites
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365. and the biggest, healthiest colony
lays all the eggs.
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366. Wait! I just thought of something!
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367. Whenever I saw suits of armor
holding hands,
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368. I thought it was a dungeon prank!
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369. But maybe that was a mating ritual!
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370. Someone needs a nap.
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371. I was scared
of Living Armor for so long,
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372. turns out it was just a fragile,
delicious monster.
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373. Hey, I'm sorry your old sword got broken.
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374. - That one's pretty neat though.
- Hm.
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375. - Hey, Laios!
-
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376. If you're taking that,
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377. want me to check it
to make sure it's not cursed?
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378. No! Don't trouble yourself!
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379. It's not cursed at all! Really!
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380. Totally not cursed!
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381. Like you can tell.
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382. Don't blame me
if it turns out you get cursed.
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383. Wait up! I'm coming!
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384. So, with a new sword in hand,
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385. their journey continues.
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386. And as they descend into the dungeon,
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387. the other three have no idea
their party has gained a new member.
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