Chương 30: Loot

Well, he might have overdone it. Adolin nodded as he wiped his forehead. He was already sweating from the heat wave coming off Clay's skill. It did look cool, and it was effective. Now his state wasn't ideal, but at least he pulled off a cool last stand. Adolin could respect that. Clay lay unconscious where he had cast it— Final Ember, as Adolin had heard him call it. What lay in front of him was… interesting. The creatures were cooked. Literally. And the stone along the path of the arc had melted.

It was a high-tier skill. He still wasn't sure what tier it would fall under. One thing was certain, Luc would love to train him. And make sure he could use it at full power without passing out.

"Flaming Sword," he muttered. It made sense. That was what Lord Ashvale had called him. It was probably a family-related skill. He would have to find out. Looking at Clay's unconscious body, he started whistling. He had made it easier for him. He wouldn't have to escape or use a spell to put him to sleep. He wouldn't have to feel guilty for it. He chuckled and stepped closer to Clay, careful to avoid the melted rock that had the color and consistency of magma. The spark was still there, but it was dimming.

He crouched next to him and touched his forehead. Life. He cast, flooding his body with life force. That would keep him alive and help him fight the poison until Adolin was done collecting reward chests. Then he would heal him and act as if nothing had happened. Yes. That sounded right. What if he questioned what he was doing during the fight? He had to get rid of any suspicion on his part. Clay would question him when he woke up. He was certain of that. It would be bad to tell him the truth.

That could wait until he got everything the dungeon had to offer. The reward chest. Now, where was he supposed to find it? He should have gotten more information about that. There was one way he could do it. Explore. His lips curled upward. That wasn't a bad idea; it might even be interesting. He started walking around the cave. Clay. What if not all of the big cats were dead? He broke into a run, sprinting toward Clay. This could be bad. How could he have forgotten such a basic rule?

You never leave your wounded members alone without any protection on the battlefield. Was this world making him too soft? Probably. But he did like it. The Demon Continent had made him too hardened. He had to keep it balanced so he didn't get himself or others killed. It took him five minutes to return at a full sprint. Clay was still in the same spot where he had left him. The bleeding had stopped, and his life force had stabilized.

The life force he had given him was slowly helping him heal his wounds and fight the poison. He exhaled. The mistake hadn't cost him anything, but he could never allow himself to repeat it. He needed to make sure he would stay safe. There were a few options he thought of, and had enough mana for. Earth Trap, a spell that would create earthen spikes that would trigger if something came close to him. Air Barrier would create a barrier around him, but the problem was that if he ran low on mana, it would break.

And if enough enemies, or powerful ones, attacked him, it would break before he could get there. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. There were a few others, but all of them had the same problem. Well, he could always carry him with him. And there was no risk if he did. Now for the spell. He had already used Levitate a few times, so another one. Ice Sled, that would work. The spell was one of the few convenient ones he had.

He had learned the spell to carry wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Then his equipment at the Demon Continent. He cast Ice Sled. Next to him, a sled made of ice formed. He reduced the mana usage so it was just big enough to carry him and not get stuck in tunnels. Now he had to put him on it. He should have formed the sled beneath him. How did he mess that up? He cursed inwardly and used Levitate to place Clay onto the sled. Now that one problem was out of the way, it was time for gold.

He started moving, while the sled followed closely behind him. It took him twenty minutes to search the cave on their side of the chasm. And there was nothing. Using levitate, again he crossed the chasm and started searching the other side. There were no tunnels on that side of the chasm, so it was fast. This part was filled with them, and so was the entrance to the next room, he guessed. Searching with Mana Pulse, it took him just over ten minutes to find the entrance and the chest. The treasure chest.

It sounded better that way. A few minutes later, he was in front of it. The entrance was cave-like, overgrown with thick roots. Was the next room a jungle? He didn't care enough at the moment and strode toward the chest. It stood a few meters away from the entrance. It was small, as chests went. The chest was made of dark wood, reinforced with iron bands. He inspected the area around it, but there wasn't any trace of mana. He stepped next to it and crouched.

His hands moved along its edges, feeling the hard cold, surface. This is it. He moved his hands slowly to the sides of the chest and opened it, closing his eyes at the last moment. Something good. Please. He opened his eyes. A… dagger? That's it? The dagger lay on a pillow. He grabbed it and tossed it aside, lifting the pillow and searching the chest inside out. There was nothing. Just the dagger. Nothing. Where was the treasure? The gold coins. He cursed. Why was his luck so bad?

Why would the chest give him a dagger? It wasn't like he needed it; he needed gold. Gold to buy himself a house with a nice garden, just like the ones he had seen in the capital. Enough gold so he wouldn't need to leave his house too often.

"Shit." The first room. He needed to go there, get rid of the creatures, and claim the reward chest. That one would give him coins. Yes. He looked at Clay and placed three Earth Traps around him. He had been told that once the creatures were dead and the chest spawned, the room would be a safe space. But he didn't want to risk it and strode toward the rabbit room. He was going to get his gold. One way or another. Moving through the entrance to room one, he was met with the same valley.

The ice crystal was gone, along with the damage around the place it had been. It was far, but he was sure he should have noticed the corpses of the rabbits. Arriving at the spot where the ice crystal had been, there was nothing. The place was just like it had been before the fight. The rabbits had already opened their eyes and were staring at him. But he ignored them. He was wondering how the place was the same. Did the dungeon fix it when they left? He had so many questions about dungeons.

The rabbits were already charging at him. He pondered for a while, but didn't find an answer. He could research it in the future, when he had enough mana for his research and analyze spells. Now, dealing with the rabbits. They were almost upon him. He waited for them to get as close as possible. He needed all of them, or at least most of them, within a five-meter radius. Two meters. One meter. He waited a moment longer and cast Frost. The area within five meters around him froze. His mana drained, just under half.

The spell was higher-tier and used a lot of mana, but the effect was instantaneous. Every rabbit around him was frozen. There were other spells he could have used, but they would have made a lot more of a mess than this. He started moving toward the entrance. When he was a good distance away, he cast Wind Blades, adding a little more mana than it usually required. The frozen rabbit statues shattered into pieces. Moving toward the entrance, he saw a chest appear just before it. His lips curled upward. Gold.

He stepped forward and opened it.

"Fuck," he screamed.