The emerald canopy of Dawnlight Island filtered the afternoon sun as Sparrow led the way, clutching the Arcane Geared Wishcompass tightly in his hand. The soultool compass, a peculiar contraption of gears and shimmering crystals, hummed faintly, pointing towards their destination: the treasure cave.
Five days they had spent within the monster-infested northern forest, a monotonous grind of battling and leveling up Caith. Now, finally, they were on their initial objective.
The compass glittered and disappeared as its summoning time had reached the limit. It would take another hour before Sparrow could re-summoned it. But this had already been good enough for them.
As the three realmgate divers kept moving to the direction shown by the compass before it disappeared, they finally reached the cave entrance as dusk began to paint the sky in hues of orange and purple.
A gaping maw in the earth, it reeked of damp earth and something ancient, something distinctly unliving.
Sparrow, ever cautious, held up a hand. "Let's move back a bit further and camp there," he said, his voice a low rumble. "We'll attack in the morning. No need to rush into the unknown in the dark."
Caith, despite her eagerness, nodded in agreement. Even she could sense the oppressive aura emanating from the cave. Canary, already summoning Breeze to scout the area, simply gave a thumbs up.
They quickly moved to the small clearing shielded by thick steelwood trees, the one discovered by Breeze, and set up a perimeter.
A crackling fire soon banished the encroaching darkness, casting dancing shadows on the surrounding foliage. The three took turns sleeping and guarding in casual ease as they had quickly adapted to their current situation.
...
The following morning, the air was thick with humidity. Sparrow, Canary, and Caith stood before the treasure cave entrance, ready to face whatever lurked within.
Sparrow, his dark-green eye narrowed, took the lead. He could sense something… wrong. A subtle vibration in the air, a dissonance in the natural order.
As they stepped into the cave, the temperature plummeted. The air hung heavy, thick with the stench of decay. But the cave wasn't exactly dark. Glowing fungus and beams of morning sunlight outside provide enough light to make them see what had awaited them.
Before them stood a congregation of skeletal pirates, about thirty in all, their empty eye sockets glowing with a faint, malevolent red light. Clad in tattered remnants of pirate garb, they brandished rusty cutlasses, crude axes, and battered maces.
They were Vicious Red surreal monsters, the weaker ones. That was the case individually, but they should be formidable in greater numbers.
"Well, isn't this a cheery welcome," Caith said, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. Despite her bravado, Sparrow could see the apprehension in her amber eyes.
The skeletal pirates lurched forward, their movements jerky and unnatural. The battle began.
The initial moments were chaotic. The undead pirates, though slow, were relentless. They swung their weapons with surprising force, forcing the three to constantly dodge and weave.
Sparrow, with his honed martial arts skills, easily evaded their attacks, his movements fluid and precise.
Canary, nimble and quick, danced around them, summoning her earth diver sprite, Wyrm, to slightly manipulate earth that tripped up the undead.
Caith, graceful and agile, moved like a whirlwind, her extremely flexible body allowing her to twist and bend out of harm's way.
The skeletal pirates were slow, the three quickly realized the fact. They were much less dangerous than the beasts they had encountered within the previous five days. Despite their numbers, they were not that dangerous.
However, it quickly became apparent to the three that conventional attacks were useless. Slashes and blows that would have felled a living opponent had little effect on the skeletal pirates.
Even destroying their skulls did nothing to stop them. They simply reanimated, their bones clattering back into place.
"They don't die!" Caith exclaimed, frustration evident in her voice.
Sparrow, already analyzing the situation with the [Greater Appraisal] of his {Eye of Wisdom}, spoke calmly. "They have a… death point. It's hidden on their bodies. Find it, destroy it, and they'll crumble."
He quickly identified one such point on a nearby pirate – a small, darkened patch on its ribcage.
Almost simultaneously, Canary activated the [Mind Contact] of her {Grand Telepathy}.
"I'll link our minds!" she shouted to Caith over the clatter of bones and steel. "It will show us what Birdbro sees!"
A wave of mental energy washed over Sparrow and Caith, linking their minds together. The girls could now see the faint auras highlighting the death points on each of the skeletal pirates. The tide of battle turned.
Sparrow, grabbing a rusty mace from a fallen undead, became a whirlwind of controlled fury. He moved with a newfound purpose, his blows precise and devastating, each strike targeting the vulnerable death points.
With a sickening crack, bone turned to dust, and the skeletal pirates collapsed into inert piles. He should be a silver stage
Caith, now confident and focused, danced through the ranks of the undead with deadly grace. She unsheathed several sharpened lengths of bamboo from her belt.
Each movement was a blur of speed and precision, her bamboo skewers piercing the death points with pinpoint accuracy. One moment she was there, the next she was gone, leaving behind a trail of crumbling skeletons.
Canary, meanwhile, opted for a more ranged approach. She didn't even bother activating her Dual Arcane Handguns. Instead, she focused on augmenting her already impressive abilities.
Wyrm continued to hamper the movements of the undead, while the re-summoned Breeze channeled gusts of wind, imbuing her sling stones with added force and speed.
With practiced ease, she launched the charged projectiles, each one finding its mark with deadly precision. Thwack! Stone met vulnerable bone, followed by the satisfying sound of crumbling remains.
Working as a team, the three cleared the treasure cave with surprising efficiency. The skeletal pirates, once a daunting threat, were reduced to piles of dust and broken bones. The air, once thick with the stench of death, began to clear, replaced by a faint scent of ancient gold and forgotten treasures.
Sparrow, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, surveyed the scene. His artificial purple left eye, still covered by the eyepatch, remained dormant. It was just a burden here in the realmgate because it could not be activated. Unfortunately, he couldn't just take it out and leave it at home.
"Took care of that faster than I had thought." Caith said with a satisfied smile.
Canary, jumping up and down, said enthusiastically "Now, what is in the treasure here?"
With the undead guardians vanquished, the real prize awaited them. The treasure cave was now ripe for exploration.
"Well, first treasures should be these surreal stones," Sparrow said, his voice a low rumble that echoed slightly in the confined space. He gestured towards the red marble-sized stones lying among the ashen remains of the skeletal pirates.
Caith, ever the pragmatist, raised an eyebrow. "These red stones again? Thought we were here for gold doubloons and jeweled goblets, Big Spark."
Sparrow sighed. "Those are coming, Syrup. You don't need these stones anymore for now. But Tweety and I needed them."
Sparrow an Canary, helped by Caith, started scavenging for the red surreal stones. Once they had meticulously acquired the entire surreal stones in the cave, Sparrow started to consume half of them to push his silver stage arcana class to level nine.
Canary, already a step ahead, had also consumed her shares and had ascended to level ten. Silver stage, the middle ground of arcane mastery, had a total of twenty levels. Canary, with this advancement, would stand at its halfway point, a significant leap towards unlocking the true potential of her powers.
With the skeletal pirates thoroughly looted, their attention turned to the promised treasure pile. They created a makshift torch and moved deeper into the darker part of the cave. And they found it.
It wasn't quite the mountain of gold they might have imagined, but it was a start. In the end of the cave, nestled amid the dirt and rocks in the middle, were three well-worn leather backpacks, perfect for carrying their loot. And the numbers were three, one for each of them.
Other than that, five coin pouches lay nearby, their contents glinting invitingly. Three were plump with gold coins, one held a respectable amount of silver, and the last jangled with humble copper.
"Score!" Caith exclaimed, hoisting one of the gold-filled pouches. "Retirement fund, here I come!"
Sparrow, however, was more interested in the two larger pouches also lying nearby. One was filled with a dazzling array of gemstones, shimmering rubies, emeralds, and sapphires catching the light. The other was filled withn transparent glasslike shards.
"Crystal shards," he announced with glee, picking up the second pouch and tossing it to Canary.
Canary's eyes widened. "Crystal shards! Yes! Now I can finally use my {Fairy of Elements} talent properly!" She eagerly opened the pouch, a look of pure joy on her face.
Sparrow was also grinning with joy. With elemental shards Canary created, their combat power would skyrocket. The adventures in this realmgate should be much more managable now.
Finally, their gazes fell upon three sets of weapons, each seemingly crafted with a specific purpose in mind.
A pair of metal knuckledusters, intricately etched with arcane symbols, rested on the pile, practically begging to be wrapped around Sparrow's fists. He was an
Next to them, lay a pair of bladed combat fans, their delicate silk concealing razor-sharp edges, an ideal weapon for anyone with Caith's lithe grace. These set would also be considered the typical weapons for a fantasy dancer. And, Caith's arcana class, 'coincidentally' was a
And lastly, a practical crossbow, complete with a quiver of twenty bolts. This set also seemed to be specially provided for Canary, as her arcana class was
Sparrow picked up the knuckledusters, testing their weight in his hands. They felt strangely familiar, as if they were an extension of his own body.
"These weren't on the list," he said, frowning slightly. "Neither are the fans or the crossbow. Our info mentioned that the weapons in the treasure caves are swords, sabers, and spears."
"Maybe they're like starter gear?" Canary suggested, drawing back the string of her new crossbow. "Like in a video game, you know? The realmgate gives us a little boost to get started?"
"Initial equipment?" Sparrow murmured, considering the possibility. It made a certain amount of sense. The realmgate was a dangerous place, and a little extra edge could be the difference between survival and oblivion.
As they were preparing to leave the shallow cave, tucking the treasure into their new backpacks, Caith suddenly stopped. She stood still, her eyes unfocused, as if listening to something only she could hear.
"What's wrong, Syrup?" Sparrow asked, his hand instinctively moving towards the knuckledusters.
Caith shook her head, blinking as if waking from a dream. "I... I don't know. I just have this really strong feeling. Like we should stay here. Look around more."
Canary, ever eager for more treasure, bounced on the balls of her feet. "Is it from your Blessed Luck talent, Red Sis? You mean there's more treasure hidden here? Seriously? This is awesome!"
Hearing this, Sparrow immediately activated his [Greater Appraisal], focusing his enhanced vision on the cave's surroundings. The world shimmered for a moment, and then the truth revealed itself.
His gaze landed on a large, irregular stone leaning against the far wall of the cave. Hidden behind it, almost perfectly concealed, was… something valuable.
"There," Sparrow said, pointing towards the stone. "Behind that boulder."
Without hesitation, Sparrow approached the large stone. He could feel the weight of it even before he touched it, a massive slab of rock that would have been impossible for an ordinary person to move.
But Sparrow wasn't ordinary. He was extremely strong due to his {Physique of Giant} talent. He wrapped his hands around the stone and focused his power, feeling his muscles bulge and his strength surge. With a grunt, he began to push.
The stone groaned in protest, scraping against the cave floor. Dust and pebbles rained down as Sparrow strained against its weight. Finally, with a mighty heave, he managed to dislodge it, sending it tumbling to the side.
Behind the boulder, nestled in a short, narrow tunnel, was a treasure chest. Not just any chest, but a sturdy, iron-bound chest, its surface covered in ancient symbols. The promise of even greater riches, and perhaps even greater power, lay within.