Chương 17: The Unopened Chests

Owen's tuneless humming echoed through the Core Chamber. He was tallying up the day's earnings, and while he was at it, planning to prepare a few more little surprises for the adventurers later.

"Hehe, let's see how much I made today!" [Soul Energy: 6, 248] Owen froze. His entire core trembled twice.

"H-How is there this much?" He hurriedly pulled up the earnings record and scrolled through it item by item. It did not take long for him to find the main source. During that morning's expedition alone, Rayne's party had contributed nearly two thousand five hundred Soul Energy.

"But… that doesn't make sense, does it?" Owen could not help muttering to himself. Because he had far too much free time, he usually flipped through the earnings records whenever he had nothing better to do. Rayne's party in particular, as the current daily check-in regulars of Blackstone Dungeon, had long since been placed on his priority watchlist. It felt just like playing management simulation games in his old life, where he would deliberately mark certain little people with star icons over their heads.

Owen compared the records carefully for a while, and finally found where the issue was. That old man. Greer. Greer alone had contributed nearly sixteen hundred Soul Energy. From the moment Greer charged forward to tear open that gap, the record for Emotional Fluctuation Yield had almost climbed nonstop. Especially at the instant of near-death and Trial Return, that line of fluctuation had shot straight to its peak.

As for Death Threshold Yield, it had reached a number Owen had never seen from a Bronze-rank adventurer before. The total was almost four times Rayne's personal yield. Owen stared at that line of record for a long time. They were clearly both Bronze-rank. So why was the difference so huge?

"How did that happen?" Owen thought seriously for a few seconds. Then, little by little, his attention drifted toward the unfinished treasure chest category off to the side.

"Forget it." The light across the surface of his core brightened again.

"More earnings aren't a bad thing for me anyway!" Cheerfully, he tossed that abnormal record aside for the time being. In any case, now that this Soul Energy had entered his account, there was no way he was spitting it back out. Compared with numbers he could not figure out for the moment, there were more important things waiting for him right now. For example, something no proper dungeon should ever be without. Treasure chests. And the little surprises to put inside them.

"Hehe. Little gifts, little gifts." Owen hummed happily under his breath. He liked the feeling of secretly preparing surprises, especially when he imagined what kind of reactions the adventurers would have when they discovered these carefully prepared little gifts. Just imagining it made his entire core tremble faintly. Owen called up the Reward System interface and found the treasure chest option. Empty. There was not even a default template. It was exactly the same as the previous guard templates.

"What the heck? I have to design even this myself?" Owen grumbled.

"This lousy system really came with nothing installed." He began imagining the most classic treasure chest design. First of all, it had to be a wooden chest. He had seen them so many times in games that he could picture one with his eyes closed. Gray-brown wooden planks, iron edging, and a small latch. The kind of chest that made you know at a glance there were probably only a few silver coins inside, yet players would still feel compelled to walk over and open it. Then Owen's mood suddenly froze.

Because beneath that treasure chest, a line showing the cost had popped up.

"What the hell!" Owen could not help snapping.

"Even a treasure chest costs Soul Energy?!" As he cursed, his voice gradually grew smaller, and the light of his entire core dimmed by quite a bit.

"Sigh… being a conscientious dungeon really is hard." Fine. It was not as if one treasure chest cost all that much. Owen had only been unable to resist complaining about how stingy this system was. Or perhaps if he repaired the core further, he would unlock more convenient functions? His gaze drifted toward the bottom-right corner of the system interface despite himself. However, the moment he thought of that number still far beyond his reach for now, Owen quickly tossed the thought aside. No more thinking.

Thinking about it would only make his core hurt more.

"What should I put inside the treasure chests?" Several ideas flashed through Owen's mind. Putting only money inside was quickly rejected. Money was useful, of course, but it offered limited help during exploration inside the dungeon. At least for the first batch of treasure chests, he should put in things that could be used immediately after being obtained, or things that could serve as backup supplies. For example, weapons. A few extremely cool-looking swords surfaced in Owen's mind without his permission.

Glowing inscription grooves. Ornate, finely carved guards. Ideally, they would even come with a few completely unreasonable special effects. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that might be a little too flashy.

"Beginner weapons should be a little plain, right?" A longsword slowly took shape. A double-edged blade, a cross-shaped metal guard, a grip wrapped in dark leather, and only a few simple decorative lines along the blade. Overall, there was nothing exaggerated about it. It was simply an ordinary longsword with excellent workmanship and a suitable weight. At least, that was how it looked.

"Mm. Now let's add a name." Owen thought for a moment, then very cautiously stuffed in a tiny bit of sharpness and weight reduction enhancement. Really, only a tiny bit. He looked in satisfaction at the finished product he had created.

"This should be a little better than the ordinary gear they prepared themselves, right?" [Lovenhill Standard Longsword] Standard-issue equipment forged by the blacksmiths of the Kingdom of Lovenhill according to uniform specifications. It has no lavish decoration and no exaggerated enchantments, but the materials are solid, making it far more reliable than longswords produced by ordinary small workshops.

It is more than sufficient for High Black Iron-rank adventurers, and even newly advanced Bronze-rank adventurers can use it temporarily in combat. Aside from this longsword, Owen also casually designed several pieces of equipment from the same series. The dagger was short and neat, its blade gleaming with cold silver under the light. The greatshield was thick and sturdy, with a ring of iron wrapped around its edge. Just looking at it made it seem built to take a beating.

The wooden staff was straight and slender, its shaft carved with fine magical patterns. The shortbow had smooth lines along its body, and its taut bowstring faintly carried a sense of resilience.

"To be honest, I actually quite like Rayne's party." Owen adjusted the details of the equipment while muttering to himself. Of course, he would never admit these pieces of equipment had been designed specifically for them.

"Every adventurer has a chance to get them, after all." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The sentence sounded exactly like he was making excuses for himself. The moment he said it, even Owen himself went quiet. After a while, he added the longsword to the treasure chest list as if nothing had happened. Next came the placement of the treasure chests. If they were too obvious, there would be no thrill of discovering treasure.

If they were hidden too well, the adventurers might never find them at all.

"Eh… I didn't expect even treasure chest placement to be a whole field of study." Owen sighed.

"If I'd known, I would've watched more game design videos before ending up here." After saying that, he gave a snort of laughter despite himself.

"Haha. Who could've known I'd turn into this thing?" He looked over the side passages one by one, then placed the first batch of ordinary wooden chests in several locations he felt were rather clever. One was hidden behind a corner, where it would come into view as long as someone took two more steps forward. One was placed at the end of a side passage, half-covered by several chunks of rubble, with only a gray-brown corner of the chest showing. Another treasure chest was tucked into a recess by the wall.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary patch of shadow, but once someone drew closer, they would discover the surprise.

"Very good." Owen looked at those positions in satisfaction.

"If you want to find treasure, you'll have to keep your eyes open and walk around a little." The things inside the chests were not particularly expensive. Sometimes it was a few pieces of ordinary equipment. Sometimes it was several magic crystals. Sometimes it was a small bundle of arrows. As for anyone who opened a chest and got only arrows, that could only mean their luck had hit rock bottom. Aside from those, the most valuable item was probably that roll of special bandages.

It could help wounds heal a little faster, and could also give someone's nearly exhausted stamina one last kick. It was not some divine item capable of reversing the entire battle, but when an adventurer was almost at their limit, perhaps it could buy them a few more minutes. And sometimes, those few minutes were enough to make the ending entirely different. Of course, it was not cheap to produce either. One roll cost him more than fifty Soul Energy.

Owen stared at that number for a while, and the light on the surface of his core dimmed faintly. But since he was giving out rewards anyway, spending a little more was fine. After all, once Soul Energy was spent, it would come back to his pocket sooner or later. Probably. Owen watched as the treasure chests were placed one after another, and the light on the surface of his core brightened slightly.

"Finally done." His voice sounded a little tired, but it could not hide that small trace of pride.

"Haha. Now my dungeon finally looks a little more proper." The next instant, he glanced at his Soul Energy. The little wallet that had finally started to bulge had shrunk by nearly a third again. If a core could swell up from shame and anger, Owen believed he would have already tripled in size by now. The Core Chamber was silent for a moment.

"…"

"Being a conscientious dungeon is really expensive!" ◆ ◆ ◆ After temporarily finishing the treasure chest arrangements, Owen still had quite a bit of Soul Energy left on hand. [Soul Energy: 4, 142] He turned his gaze beyond the portal. It was already deep into the night. Most of the adventurers had long since returned to their tents to rest. The firelight scattered throughout the camp was sparse, and only a few night watchmen still moved about outside. Inside the dungeon, there were no visitors for the moment.

Owen looked at the remaining Soul Energy, and the urge to expand that had only just been suppressed began stirring restlessly again. His gaze turned behind the bronze gate. That was where his Core Chamber was located. For the sake of future dungeon expansion, Owen had originally planned to gradually move the Core Chamber deeper in. Although it was not truly time to move yet, pulling out a new area behind it first should not be a problem. He extended a narrow path from behind the bronze gate.

One side of the path clung to the mountain wall, while the other was carved by him into a sheer cliff. Looking down, there was only a deep valley hidden beneath mist, which gave the place quite the atmosphere.

"Mm. Very good." Owen looked at the path in satisfaction.

"This is exactly the kind of place that makes people walk carefully." Next, he raised the road upward and drew out a slanted, steep slope. On both sides of the slope, he decorated the area with several twisted trees. Their roots drilled out from cracks in the rock, while their branches slanted into the air. Even though they were only decoration, they gave the entire path a somewhat desolate flavor. Finally, he flattened a stretch of ground at the top of the slope.

Here, he planned to design the first safe zone later.

"Although I don't know what other dungeons look like, I should be allowed to do whatever I want with my own place, right?" Owen hesitated for a moment. All kinds of strange thoughts slowly surfaced. Surely there wasn't really some kind of dungeon management organization, right? If a dungeon misbehaved, they would send someone over to deal with it. Or perhaps there was some dungeon construction convention, requiring cores to build their dungeons according to a standard format.

"Haha. There's no way something like that exists." By the time he finished speaking, Owen himself sounded less than confident, and could only laugh dryly twice. Just as he was about to sink into a new round of self-inflicted anxiety, the system alert suddenly rang out. [Dangerous Targets Detected: Bronze-rank Adventurers ×5]"Oh!" Owen's attention was instantly pulled back.

"Now that's a big fish." This was the first time he had seen this many Bronze-rank adventurers at once. Although the system used the term "dangerous targets," in Owen's eyes, Bronze-rank adventurers were practically the same thing as a huge pile of Soul Energy. Especially right now. He had just spent so much energy. The timing of these adventurers could only be described as perfect. Owen temporarily set aside his expansion plans and hurriedly shifted his view to the dungeon entrance.

At that moment, five adventurers had already entered the stone chamber. They did not stop at the entrance to observe like other adventurers, nor did they show any surprise at their surroundings. The five of them simply stood quietly in the center of the stone chamber. Their gazes swept over the surroundings, finally landing on the path leading deeper in. Owen looked carefully and realized that all of these faces were unfamiliar.

They were not any of the parties that had been visiting regularly lately, nor were they Rayne and the familiar faces from his group.

"New customers…" Owen suddenly felt a little emotional. How long had it even been? And already, completely unfamiliar adventurers were actively coming to his door. Did this mean— His Blackstone Dungeon's reputation had slowly begun to spread? At that thought, Owen felt an inexplicable sense of accomplishment, like a boss watching his little shop grow bigger and bigger.

"Not bad. Looks like this shabby little shop of mine is finally getting off the ground." His attention slowly shifted to the treasure chests he had just placed.

"Even if the first ones to experience them aren't Rayne's group, at least I can still collect data." Owen muttered reluctantly, and the light on the surface of his core brightened faintly.

"Fine. This is a good chance to see how they react when they discover the treasure chests." However, this party's pattern of movement looked a little strange. When they saw the Desiccated Corpse blocking the center of the road, they did not even slow their steps. The muscular man charging at the front laughed wildly as he raised his longsword, cutting off the Desiccated Corpse's neck with a single stroke.

The head rolled to the ground, and before the body had even fully fallen, the five had already swept past beside it. No one looked back. No one lowered their head to check the drop. They simply rushed straight toward the depths of the canyon.

"Mm?" Owen scratched at a head that had never existed to begin with, stunned for several seconds.

"What is this? Some kind of speedrun strat?" Clear everything first, then come back to collect the drops? Owen approved of that. After all, back when he used to play loot-grinding games, he had often gotten greedy and gone to pick up things from the ground, only to be caught by monsters by accident. In the end, both his character and his entire bag would evaporate together. Later on, he had slowly started playing this way too. Pick things up later. It was not as if they would disappear.

However, when those five people swept straight past even the ordinary treasure chest placed in the corner of the wall, Owen finally felt that something was not quite right. That was a treasure chest. How could any normal adventurer see a treasure chest and not even let their gaze drift toward it? Owen hurriedly pulled his view closer, trying to hear their conversation clearly.

"Route confirmed?" The dual-blade assassin who led the group asked the question as one short blade pierced into a Desiccated Corpse's throat, while his other dagger casually flicked aside a crossbow bolt shot by a Desiccated Corpse on the nearby steps. The slender female rogue in the party swept a glance over the surroundings, her tone calm.

"Straight ahead. Through the canyon. The gate boss is in front of the bronze gate."

"What about the side passages?"

"Don't get distracted." The female rogue did not even glance to the side.

"Don't forget our objective." The light of Owen's core stalled slightly. In the next moment, the dual-blade assassin spoke again.

"Break through the gate boss and find the core as fast as possible. Move. Don't give the Guild time to react." The Core Chamber was silent for half a second.

"…"

"Oh, crap." Owen murmured.

"These people are coming for me!" By the time Owen truly reacted, those adventurers had already charged into the wooden encampment and engaged the two Black Iron sub-bosses inside. The shieldbearer in their party carried a greatshield and actually met the Garrison Captain head-on. The heavy shield face slammed violently into the Garrison Captain's shield, producing a deep, muffled boom.

The Garrison Captain's strength was not weak, but that shieldbearer only took half a step back before forcibly suppressing it in place. On the other side, the Dual-Blade Executioner burst out from a tent, attempting to strike directly at the rear of the party. But the moment it appeared, it was intercepted by the dual-blade assassin leading the group. Four short blades flashed and crossed through the dim encampment, the sound of metal clashing so dense it almost became one continuous note.

The mage at the rear of the party had already begun casting. A purple orb of magic gathered in his palm. In the next instant, it shot out with a roar and smashed directly into the Dual-Blade Executioner, forcing it back several steps. Meanwhile, the muscular swordsman and the female rogue closed in on the Garrison Captain from the rear side. One attacked with raw force, while the other cut into its openings.

After several exchanges, the Garrison Captain's rhythm was clearly thrown off, and flaws gradually began to show in its defense. Owen's core was trembling nonstop now.

"This… this is the advance speed of an all-Bronze party?" Although after the core repair, Cassandre's strength had already risen from Low Bronze to High Bronze, the other side was not a single person. They were five Bronze-rank adventurers with practiced coordination and a clear objective. Whether Cassandre could hold them off, Owen had no confidence at all.

"Maybe I should hurry and strengthen Cassandre while I still can." Owen hurriedly opened the system list, pulled up Cassandre's interface, and prepared to invest Soul Energy directly. The next second, a bright red prohibition symbol suddenly popped out, blocking his way. [Cannot Enhance Guards During Combat.] The enhancement was forcibly interrupted.

"H-How can that be!" At this moment, the Bronze party had already passed through the wooden encampment and entered the circular plaza before the bronze gate. They did not immediately charge forward. Instead, they observed Cassandre, who stood before the gate, from a distance and quickly began discussing tactics. Owen was so anxious that his entire core was in chaos. He wanted to temporarily create new guards to fill the gap in combat strength, but the system interface soon produced another prompt.

[Cannot Create Guards During Combat.]"Damn it! What kind of bullshit setting is this?!" In desperation, Owen could only issue orders to The Whisperer and Bonecrusher, commanding them to hurry to the bronze gate immediately and provide support. Fortunately, this time, the command was successfully sent. Owen finally let out a slight breath of relief. He looked at the five adventurers in his view, then at Cassandre, standing alone before the bronze gate. The light on the surface of his core flickered violently.

"Make them regret it, Cassandre!"