[Chapter 62. Unexpected Loot]
Now that Iris was back, he didn't need to sit idle in the tower anymore, the restless energy that had been coiling in his gut finally finding an outlet. Without hesitation, he summoned his travel drone and ascended into the air. The familiar noise of its propulsion a welcome sound as he shot toward the Webbed Tunnels. The flight gave him time to think, to plan his next moves. The wind whipping at his dark coat as the forest blurred beneath him. It was clear she could clear the Burrowing Depths alone, but the cost in resources and time was far too high. A lesson he would not soon forget.
He thought,
He considered various approaches as the drone descended toward the dungeon entrance, the swirling blue portal before him. By the time he touched down. The rough stone cool beneath his boots, he had reached a conclusion. They would follow Iris; she would train them. They would farm that dungeon until he told them to stop, grinding them into competent weapons or broken husks—he didn't particularly care which.
Less than half an hour later. Searanox emerged from the Webbed Tunnels with disappointing spoils, the dim light of the outside world a stark contrast to the darkness within. The only things he had to show for his efforts were a handful of coins—seven, to be exact—and a shield that looked marginally better than the trash from the System Shop. Its surface scarred and its leather straps already fraying.
He thought with a flicker of contempt.
He headed toward the Howling Caverns next, the familiar path almost second nature as he considered the value of running these low-level dungeons again.
The thought was a small, cold comfort as he navigated the winding tunnels. The echoes of his own footsteps a lonely sound in the silence. It was as he reached the bone pit inside the dungeon, the scattered remains of unfortunate creatures crunching under his boots. That he shook his head with a simple thought.
He shook the thoughts from his mind. The memories of his previous run through this dungeon, the raw desperate fight for survival against hulking beast. Still lingered like a bitter taste at the back of his throat. Every corner had held a threat, every shadow a potential ambush. It was then that he noticed the warm breeze instead of the biting cold winds from his previous time, a subtle change that set his instincts on edge.
With a mental shrug, he put it aside. But curiosity got the better of him. The last time he was here, he hadn't had the time to look around. To see what else was in here, his focus solely on survival.
This place was twice the size of the Burrowing Depths, at least. Searanox frowned as he sent out seven recon drones, watching them scatter into the darkness like metallic insects. They vanished down different tunnels; they were quickly swallowed by the darkness within.
He didn't even have time to lean against the wall before the first ping hit his mind. One drone had found something. Something that didn't belong. The same odd feeling of knowing he had felt in the Burrowing Depths when his drone detected that loose dirt wall. This was different, though—more deliberate. As if placed by design rather than accident.
He walked into the tunnel where his drone had made the discovery. The drone hovered silently, its lens fixed on the object ahead. A small wooden chest rested against the damp stone wall. Its surface scarred and darkened by time, the grain raised in places where moisture had warped the wood. It wasn't locked; the simple metal latch lifted with ease, a soft click echoing in the silence. Inside, he saw three small familiar silver coins. Their dull gleam a stark contrast to the darkness of the chest. His palm touched the coins and they vanished into his ring in a soft blue light.
Another ping interrupted his thoughts, sharper this time. One of his recon drones had found something else, near the center of a tunnel intersection. He quickened his pace, the familiar knowing sensation intensifying. A silent thrum in the back of his mind. The drone hovered motionless, its light cutting through the gloom. Aimed at a section of the wall that looked no different from the rest, though something in its texture seemed subtly off to his enhanced perception. He raised his rifle and fired a single shot. The wall crumbled, a small cascade of rock and dust revealing another hidden cavity. The air within stale. Inside, nestled against the dark stone. Was another small chest.
This chest wasn't as weathered as the first one. He lifted the lid and found a bracelet nestled inside, made from a dull silver-like material with a small green stone set into its surface. Its smooth surface cool against his fingertips. As his fingers closed around it, a System window materialized in his vision.
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Searanox grunted, a low guttural sound of mixed approval and dismissiveness. Not bad, but nothing revolutionary—barely a drop in the bucket of his ever-growing power, a trinket that might make him slightly faster. Slightly more fluid in his movements, but hardly a game-changer. He slipped it onto his wrist, noting with disdain the cheap. Almost tinny feel of the metal against his skin, its dull sheen a poor imitation of true craftsmanship. The green stone at its center seemed to pulse with a faint, almost imperceptible light.
The thought nagged at him, a persistent itch at the back of his mind. Maybe the dungeon wasn't just about clearing it, about rushing from point A to point B and gunning down everything in his path with mechanical efficiency. Maybe it was about exploring every dark corner, about peeling back the layers of stone and shadow to uncover what was hidden beneath. He waited, his mind reaching out to his scattered recon drones. But their reports came back one by one, a chorus of negatives—nothing of value. Nothing but the same damp stone and darkness.
The Alpha was dispatched in a few precise shots from his drones, their crimson beams cutting through the gloom. The creature's howls cut short as its body crumpled to the ground. The cavern fell silent, just like before. The echoes of battle fading into nothingness. He retreated from the chamber, his boots making soft careful sounds on the stone floor as he observed from a safe distance. The darkness of the tunnel a comforting cloak around him.
But this time, instead of the biting cold that had frosted the chamber. That had crystallized his breath, a blistering heat washed over the space as flames erupted. Consuming everything within in a roaring inferno. The Elemental Dire Wolf stood just as tall as he remembered, a towering monstrosity of muscle and rage. But its fur was no longer coated in ice and snow, no longer shimmering with the cold light of winter.
Flames licked its fur, a living fire that seemed to burn without consuming. While embers danced through the shimmering heat-distorted air. The ground beneath it slowly melting under its paws, the stone turning to slag that oozed and bubbled like lava. The System still identified it as a Greater Elemental Dire Wolf, Level 19. Its name a stark, glowing contrast to the fiery reality of the beast before him.
The question hung in his mind, a puzzle piece that refused to fit. A variable that made each encounter a unique challenge. With a mental command, all eight of his offensive drones swooped in. Their metallic forms cutting through the haze of heat and flame and opened fire, a coordinated volley of crimson beams that struck the beast from multiple angles. He lost drones intermittently, their blue sparks dying against the inferno. But he kept summoning new ones. His mind a cold calculating machine as he managed his resources, his Tech-Points draining at a steady. Almost comforting rate. This time, the beast didn't have the upper hand; it took visible damage with every shot. Its fiery fur blackening and smoldering, its roars of pain echoing through the cavern. As he watched from the tunnel, the cool air a welcome relief against the heat.
He hit himself on the head, a sharp percussive sound in the relative silence of his hiding spot.
The thought was a bitter pill, a stark reminder of his own inefficiency. Of the tactical blunder that had cost him precious resources and time.
Shaking off the thought of inefficiency, of the wasted potential that gnawed at him like a persistent hunger. He watched the fight between his drones and the swirling flames, a dance of technology and primal power. Eventually, the Dire Wolf collapsed lifeless to the ground. Its form slumping into a heap of smoldering fur and cracked stone, the fire in its eyes finally extinguished. The System notification for the clear appeared in his vision, its text a stark glowing confirmation of his victory.
The chest before him was a familiar sight, nearly identical to the ones he'd found in the Webbed Tunnels earlier that day. It was plain and unremarkable. Made of wooden planks that had darkened with age, held together by simple iron straps whose surface showed faint traces of rust. The lid was flat and featureless, devoid of any ornamentation save for a simple metal latch that had been worn smooth with time. With a flick of his wrist, he lifted the latch. The soft click echoing unnaturally loud in the cavern's stillness.
"Figures." he muttered, the sound barely disturbing the cavern's profound silence. The words hanging in the air like puffs of smoke before dissipating into nothingness.
Inside lay a small pile of silver coins, their dull gleam a stark contrast to the dark wood of the chest and a single dagger resting atop them. He scooped up the coins first, their cool weight familiar against his palm. Letting them vanish into his storage ring with a soft blue light that briefly illuminated his face before fading away. His fingers closed around the dagger's hilt next. It had a dull polish to it, the dark metal reflecting what little ambient light reached it from his drone hovering overhead. Creating small, dancing highlights along its blade. Unlike the cheap, poorly crafted gear from the System Shop. This felt solid and properly balanced in his hand, the grip comfortable and substantial. He slid it into his ring as well, the blade disappearing without a trace. Leaving only the memory of its satisfying weight behind.
Once outside, the warm forest air a welcome change from the cavern's oppressive atmosphere. He checked the timer for the coming Mana Infusion, the glowing numbers in his vision ticking down with inexorable certainty.
