Chapter Eighty-Three: The Mysterious Treasure

After Roya climbed onto the carriage, his face was still pale, drained of color. That night, after being struck by the wraith, he not only lost health points but several of his attribute scores were damaged as well.

Usually, when Arthur’s residents suffer attribute loss, they simply recover by resting. Attribute restoration follows the same pace as health: one point after eight hours of rest, two points after twenty-four hours. Maple and his companions, after witnessing the wraith’s form and failing to resist the “terrifying visage” curse, lost some attributes, but after a few days’ respite, they had mostly recovered. Only Roya, who was actually attacked by the wraith, still hadn’t fully regained his constitution, as if he’d been through a severe illness.

The carriage was spacious enough, and after finding an empty seat, Roya coughed lightly and began, “Originally, this was not part of our plan. But something happened suddenly, and I received a message from the leader through a ‘Sending’ spell.”

At these words, everyone in the carriage furrowed their brows. Maple and his group didn’t know what Sending did, but Roya’s grim expression made it clear something was amiss.

“The leader wants us to change course and first go to a secret underground city to retrieve something, which we’ll deliver to Kaso and Butan,” Roya said. “Normally, our party should avoid such situations, but this is urgent, and the dungeon isn’t far—just half a day’s detour.”

“So I’d like to fulfill the leader’s request and hope for your help as well,” Roya said seriously, bowing his head.

Zhao Xu and his four companions couldn’t overpower Roya’s dozens of men in a group fight, but individually, they ranked among the party’s top ten, except for Youyou, who had lost her abilities.

“Is it so urgent that communication through Earth adventurers logging in and out isn’t enough?” Zhao Xu asked directly, setting aside any concern for etiquette given the unusual circumstances.

Roya nodded solemnly. Zhao Xu frowned; the leader, Ys, had players by her side. Maple logged in and out daily, relaying the party’s status to Ys’s player, who would then pass it on to her. Thus, the leader knew their situation in real time. That’s why Roya had to bring Maple’s group along.

This mode of communication was only feasible if a major guild had people logging in and out on shifts, otherwise it happened only once or twice daily. Now, Ys couldn’t even wait for the scheduled communication that night, and instead used a “Sending” spell—which could only convey a sentence or two—to contact Roya from afar?

Sending is a fifth-level arcane spell, or fourth-level divine spell. The same spell requires a wizard to be level nine to cast, but only level seven for a cleric. Even so, hiring a level seven cleric to cast Sending was costly, nothing like how players could send messages for a few silver coins.

Zhao Xu sensed something critical beneath the surface, but he held his composure and listened as Roya continued.

“The specifics of the dungeon will be relayed to you tonight by your people, as the leader ordered. We’ll camp outside until Maple receives the information, then we’ll explore the dungeon.”

“As for compensation, the leader couldn’t specify due to Sending’s limitations, but I can promise here: Maple, your group’s reward will be doubled, and as for you, Mr. Midsummer, once we reach Kaso, I will see that you’re satisfied.”

Zhao Xu merely shrugged at this. In the end, reputation mattered; if Roya said he would be satisfied, then the reward would surely be substantial. Maple’s group, hearing their pay would double, were already grinning with delight, causing Zhao Xu to shake his head—was a handful of gold coins really worth it?

The dungeon was nothing like the wild plains. Beyond the traps laid within, the layout itself could easily plunge them into deadly close-quarters battles. In his previous life, Zhao Xu had survived a magical trap in a dungeon, lucky to live, but he never sought a cleric for full recovery, and every rainy day his leg ached.

After the battle with the wraith, Maple no longer dared decide on his own; he looked to Zhao Xu, waiting for his opinion.

“Let’s go take a look first. As for what we do, we’ll decide after tonight’s briefing,” Zhao Xu finally agreed. After days spent lying in the carriage, it wouldn’t do to refuse outright without even hearing the details.

And so, as their carriage wheels clattered along, the party’s direction shifted, heading toward the dungeon.

Zhao Xu watched the landscape outside and compared it with the map, calculating their route. When the three blood moons rose again, shrouding Arthur’s main material plane in night, Roya’s convoy arrived near the dungeon. They were only an hour’s journey from Lightning Canyon, marked ahead on the map.

Roya sent his men to search the area and eventually found an old, long-abandoned mine. According to the Sending’s instructions, the entrance to the dungeon lay deep within, well hidden. Ordinary people passing by would never venture inside—who knew what undead creatures might be lurking?

Once Roya organized the camp, Maple logged in again, bringing his friend’s message—Ys’s instructions.

Zhao Xu, Roya, and a few of Roya’s trusted men gathered in the tent, listening to Maple relay the information, all frowning.

Ys’s subordinates had intercepted this dungeon’s existence by chance, and could only preliminarily judge there was some sort of secret treasure inside, though the risks were unclear. More troubling, the information might not stay secret for long—other factions could learn of it at any moment, and some might already be on their way. That was why Ys had urgently used Sending to notify them.

“What do you all think?” Roya asked after Maple finished, looking at Zhao Xu and his companions. “Don’t worry—if you choose not to join, it’ll only mean waiting a day. If we don’t return within a day, my men will resume the original plan and take you to Kaso and Butan.”

A day was the limit Ys had set; if they couldn’t reach the treasure within that time, they would abandon the attempt.

Few players had ventured into dungeons yet. Maple had just searched the forums and found nothing but confusion. Zhao Xu gazed into the deep, dark pit, silent.

For Ys to delay smuggling between cities like Kaso and Butan just to pursue this dungeon’s treasure, it had to be real—and valuable. Using a fourth-level spell just to secure the timing? If the treasure wasn’t worth at least ten thousand gold, Zhao Xu would smash his own Aen Stone.

The question was, should he go inside as well?

Zhao Xu paced around the tent, noticing how Maple’s group seemed restless. He touched the mark on his back.

“I accept the task,” he said.

Recalling Antinoa’s advice, Zhao Xu decided to see what this secret treasure was. At the same time, he thought to himself: if the reward at Kaso and Butan isn’t up to par, he’ll simply take the goods they’re transporting as payment.