V55C2P3 – Dragon’s Treasure
The Earthly Shadows party walked through the forest and quickly descended south.
< In search of the great mage.
Mage of the wind, Ruckledare.
Find the tracks of the great mage spread over the continent.
Ruckledare knows about Kaybern and Landony.
Gathering 7 clues will lead you to her.
Difficulty: S
Reward: Leads to linked quest ‘The Dragon’s Secret’. >
An S rank difficulty quest!
They too, were doing a quest related to the dragon and they were in a rush.
“Weed is going to rob the lair…”
“Their progress is quick. High chance of success too. We can’t lag behind!”
The Earthly Shadows party borrowed a griffon from Myul and flew down to the South.
Midway they resupplied at the desert oasis, crossed the ocean and finally arrived at the Southern Continent!
“Ugh… It’s cold.”
Silver Ring’s body s.h.i.+vered.
Not a single patch of gra.s.s or greenery grew on the ground.
Instead, it was a plane of ice and snow covering the entire continent.
“This place is too cold.”
Ben quickly changed into bear hide clothing. The other two also changed outfits and overcame the cold.
“Adventurer’s Sense!”
Elix used a geographical skill.
It was a skill that informed them of nearby cities, villages or humans within 1 km radius. It also outlined particular traces left on the ground.
“Nothing nearby.”
“We’ll have to go around first.”
They got back on the griffon and scouted the glacial continent.
They discovered frozen valleys that were once streaming with water and also the peaking ice mountains.
Each time they would acc.u.mulate a substantial amount of adventure achievements, but they could not find tracks of the wind mage.
Ben spoke anxiously, “We don’t know just how vast this glacial continent is… Even if the wind mage is nearby, we won’t be able to find her. Maybe we are wasting our time here.”
Elix agreed.
“Usually we would have drawn a map and proceed relatively quickly, but we are already out of time. Weed might finish the adventure before us.”
Silver Ring looked far into the distance but could see nothing other than white snow.
“It’s not like I became an adventurer to compete, but I can’t stand being in second place every time. We have to do something.”
“Then, we have to risk it and split up in our search.”
The Earthly Shadows party took Ben’s opinion and split up individually.
< Extreme cold is setting in.
Due to your survival ability, cold resistance is increased by 80%. >
The adventurer’s survival skill reduced damage from harsh environments.
They were eager to survive in any way and find the tracks, so they only regrouped after three days.
Elix and Ben were out of luck, but Silver Ring had a unique discovery.
“There is a big frozen forest to the east. There is a lake too with trees and animals and even elves.”
“You met an elf?”
“No. They were all frozen.”
“That’s the scent of adventure. Not sure if it’s related to the wind mage though.”
They were indeed adventurers.
A frozen forest in an icy continent!
If they did not find curiosity in such a strange event, they could never have chosen the path of the adventurer.
Ben jumped onto the griffon.
“We have no time to spare, so let’s talk when we get there.”
“I will lead the way!”
***
Adventurer Chase.
He has led other adventurers since Maze Zode.
“Isn’t it our job to a.s.sist Weed-nim in his quest?”
“Yeah. It will be difficult just by himself.”
The adventurers were willing to step up wherever they were needed.
In fact, they were willing to partic.i.p.ate in dangerous jobs.
“I think Weed-nim is preparing against Kaybern… It would be hard for him to take on Landony as well.”
“It’s outrageous for him to be responsible for both.”
Adventurer Spenson agreed.
There were over a thousand adventurers following them.
If the opportunity to join the savior quest arose, they wanted to join without a doubt, but did not want to simply wait for it.
“Orcland. I need that area to be searched.”
“There was a request for a.s.sistance from Seechwi-nim of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult.”
“Mmm. The villages destroyed by Landony need to be investigated anyhow… But, I plan to go further east.
“East?”
The adventurers were surprised by Chase’s words.
At first, the continent was only known from the maps!
Rarely in the antique maps sold in shops, the outline of the Eastern Continent was visible.
It wasn’t as big as Versailles Continent, but it was a mystic land with incredibly tall mountains and amazing forests.
Chase had travelled to the Eastern Continent on a boat, but the constant earthquakes and volcanic eruptions sent him home with fear.
Among the adventurers, it was commonly known as the Ring of Fire.
“Landony came from the Ring of Fire. Its lair may be located there too. I am sure there will be some kind of a trace we can refer to. These are the opportunities available to us and a quest could appear for all we know.”
“Going near the lair doesn’t guarantee that we will find a way to defeat it. It’s also difficult to pull a robbery off as Weed-nim does.”
Weed’s robbery was a possible plan because the dwarves had already dug the mine shaft before.
They a.s.sessed that it was near impossible given the dangerous terrain in the Ring of Fire.
“Even if we have to take a chance, I want to do at least something. I will not hesitate for even the slightest hope. As an adventurer, it’s what I have to do.”
The adventurers were quite touched by Chase.
The Central Continent was a world of warriors.
Even in the battle against the Hermes Guild, the ones with high combat level swept the floor, and in turn, the adventurers took a scratch to their pride.
At times they invested a lot of time into excavations or quests and picked loot, but more often than not, it was not worth the time compared to hunting.
They often forgot the importance of adventurers, that it was that the job cla.s.s that was the pioneer of the establishment in the continent and was always the first to jump into the face of danger.
“I will go too.”
“Let us go together. Chase-nim!”
The adventurers collectively agreed to leave for the Ring of Fire.
***
Three more days pa.s.sed and finally came the D-Day of the ever antic.i.p.ated robbery.
“The sky is clear… It is a good day for a robbery.”
This was the first quest ever that Weed looked forward to.
– Nimble Coldwind: Weed-nim. Kaybern flew up from the lair and is headed west.
An avian user informed him of the situation from the sky.
Weed changed his appearance slightly while he was in the form of a dwarf, making his fingers abnormally long and thick. It was to sc.r.a.pe as much treasure as he could carry at once.
“Make sure to inspect all the gear once more. We don’t have second chances.”
“Yes!” The dwarves boomed.
The dwarves partic.i.p.ating in the robbery kept checking over their bags and items nervously.
‘Is this really going to work?’
‘Will this robbery succeed?’
They dreamt happily listening to Weed’s speech, but reality hit them.
Primal fear swept them away now that they were about to enter the dragon’s lair.
Even with levels higher than 400, there was no way to escape from a dragon.
They’ve heard since the novice days when they were trained in Thor, from the citizens that often spoke of the dragon’s greatness.
For the dwarves, the dragon was an almighty being.
It was proved not too long ago in Garnav Plains, and it was displaying its power by destroying a city every week.
‘I was insane. I got blinded by the treasure and completely lost my senses.’
‘Are we in actual danger?’
The dwarven users felt uneasy but thought they came too far to turn back. It relieved them that the one leading them was Weed.
‘G.o.d of War, Weed… The emperor of the Arpen Empire. The most special individual in all of Royal Road is leading us.’
‘We will pull through because it’s Weed and not me.’
They had faith that Weed would somehow make it happen if they just believed in him.
If they were to forfeit but the robbery succeeded, they were in for years of regret.
The users that joined this robbery bet their lives on Weed who was blinded by the treasure.
“Let us go quickly.”
Weed led the dwarves and ran into the deep part of the mine shaft.
They dug close to the lair and had to dig just a little further.
“Let’s begin!”
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The dwarven users with over intermediate level mining were a.s.sembled in advance and began picking away. The ores crumbled almost instantly and the road extended.
Weed struck down with the pickaxe and dug through the ground.
“Please clean up the debris, so they don’t get in the way.”
“Roger!”
For the past week, the dwarves served well as miners.
It wasn’t just for the exit that led to the dragon’s lair, but they also carried out the overall site expansion for widening the mine.
There was sufficient s.p.a.ce for the wagons to come and in the corners, they had built defensive facilities, bunkers and storage.
– Shovelmoney: The wagons are ready.
The Mapan Council was ready and waiting.
With money on the line, they boasted speed and accuracy like no other.
A thousand st.u.r.dy wagons that could carry anything were on standby!
In the dragon’s lair, there would be heavy mineral ores and miscellaneous items from monsters. The plan was to transport all of them.
– Seasoned Crab: The a.s.sault squad is in position and waiting.
The a.s.sault squad had subdued Calcus and his group recently.
The a.s.sault squad comprised of the Arpen Empire’s elite users excluding the Hermes Guild who were waiting inside the mine.
The moment Weed and the dwarven users enter the mine, the a.s.sault squad will follow.
‘It will be best to avoid the dragon soldiers. But I have to be flexible. Robbery is a 100% off the cuff situation. It may turn out better for us if we force our way through if needed and save time where we can.’
When robbing a place, one cannot think about scenarios where they don’t get caught.
Succeeding even after getting discovered is a true robbery!
No one knew what kind of events were waiting for them in the lair, so he prepared as many countermeasures as he could.
“Let’s move.”
Weed and the dwarven users dug through the ground with pickaxes and advanced onward.
The magic lanterns lit up brightly and darkness was no concern for them. They advanced quickly as planned.
Then it was 30 minutes later when they were just about to break into the lair.
– Mapan: Kaybern arrived at Castle Bawell. It didn’t use its breath right away and instead circled the city carefully.
“We are right on time. The objective is insight. Let’s go in. Finally, it is the dragon`s lair!”
Weed and the dwarves struck down, destroyed the thin wall and created a huge hole in it.
“Enter! Hurry up.”
Through the narrow pa.s.sage, Weed and the dwarves shoved themselves through.
The view that appeared in their eyes the moment they stepped in was indeed breathtaking.
Real gold and silver that they could only dream of were right in front of them in mountains of sparkling gold.
The continent’s most valuable treasures and artefacts were stacked up on top of each other everywhere in this huge lair.
“Woow.”
“Look at all this…”
“This, this is unbelievable.”
The dwarven users had their jaws dropped the entire time.
‘This is insane. This right here is heaven.’
The treasures were so seductive that even Weed lost his senses.
(To be continued…)