Lin Mo followed the sound and approached. In the firelight, he could vaguely make out a dust-covered dark gray treasure chest.
At the opening of that treasure chest, a red beast-shaped mark was slowly fading away...
Evan tried to open the treasure chest, but it remained completely motionless as if locked.
Only when the red mark completely disappeared did the treasure chest suddenly spring open, causing Evan, who had been using too much force, to fall flat on his bottom.
It seemed that mark might represent the magical creatures in this secret room? Only when the magical creatures died could the treasure chest be opened.
Lin Mo nodded thoughtfully and looked inside the treasure chest.
Inside the not-very-large chest were neatly arranged fifty silver coins and two rather plain-looking daggers.
After testing to confirm there was no danger, Lin Mo took out the silver coins and looked closely - the patterns on these silver coins were indeed different from those he had seen before.
"These are currencies from another world."
Compared to this, what made Lin Mo more curious was: who built this dungeon, and who placed these treasure chests inside?
"The reasons for dungeon formation... this is one of the topics scholars love to research. Currently there are various theories, but several mainstream speculations have gained acceptance from most schools of thought."
The experienced Bern was like an encyclopedia; after Lin Mo raised his question, he quickly provided corresponding explanations: "The first theory is that they were built by magical creatures with high intelligence and powerful strength. These types of dungeons are often enormous in scale, like Nasadok Dungeon, which most likely falls into this category."
"The second type are tombs - for noble royalty and powerful adventurers, with the latter being particularly common. Perhaps out of interest or some cultural custom, these powerful adventurers often build their tombs in the form of 'dungeons,' placing various magical creatures and rewards inside to inspire future generations and pass on techniques."
"The last type forms naturally - due to concentrated magical power or suitable terrain that attracts magical creatures to gather. These secret realms often appear as caves rather than true dungeons..."
The secret realm they were currently in was clearly not the third type, so it could only be the first or second.
Between the two, Lin Mo hoped it was the second type, as the first type seemed dangerous no matter how he thought about it.
With the second type, not only was the possibility of finding an exit higher, but they might also gain substantial rewards.
Focusing on the present, the fifty silver coins were insignificant, but those two short swords seemed to be of decent quality.
[Iron Dagger] (Slightly Damaged)
Grade: Common (White)
Attributes: Durability +30%, Sturdiness +20%
Description: A standard, unremarkable dagger. Having been forged some time ago, the erosion of time has made it less sturdy than before. Fortunately, the craftsmanship is good and the foundation excellent, still capable of handling most battles.
Besides the Wolf Bone Sword, Lin Mo occasionally used short knives to play the role of assassin.
The short knife he used before was picked up in a goblin nest - not exactly proper assassin weaponry, making it somewhat awkward to use during assassinations.
These two daggers were quite suitable.
"I'll take these two daggers. You can divide the silver coins among yourselves."
Because they use less material, daggers are generally quite inexpensive. These two daggers would be worth about 50 silver coins combined at Edgar's shop. Read complete versıon only at novel~fire~net
Bern nodded. A four-person team cooperating with a solo adventurer might seem unreasonable with a fifty-fifty split, but if that solo adventurer is a professional, then there's no issue at all - it might even be considered a concession.
Lin Mo's contributions in previous battles might have exceeded fifty percent.
Cody had no objections either. Before setting out, he thought a seventy-thirty split between the team and Lin Mo was unreasonable, but now, even if it were reversed, he wouldn't see any problem.
As for those two daggers... as a professional assassin, his weapons naturally weren't picked up like Lin Mo's. His own daggers were slightly better than these two.
After confirming there was nothing else in the secret room, the group set out again.
The other end of the secret room was still a dark gray iron door. Pushing open the door, what appeared before them was indeed another fork in the road.
This time, there were even three paths.
Cody shrugged his shoulders - now even coin tossing wouldn't work.
Bern frowned, recalling the direction the other path pointed before entering the previous room. It clearly didn't connect with the paths before them now.
Finally he could confirm that this secret realm wasn't a straightforward path with simple forks, but something much more complex than that.
Rather than a dungeon, this place was more like a...
Lin Mo met Bern's gaze - he had thought of the same possibility.
This wasn't good news. If the secret realm's structure was simple and direct, they could just move forward. But if this secret realm was truly a complex, massive maze, leaving here probably wouldn't be so simple!
"Can there only be one entrance and exit to a secret realm?"
Lin Mo asked with a frown.
Bern shook his head: "Actually, both the number and locations are unfixed. The entrances and exits of secret realms are essentially caused by boundary entanglement phenomena formed through magical resonance... it's too metaphysical, I don't really understand it. But according to predecessors, except for those secret realms with clearly distributed magical patterns, exits can exist in any area of a secret realm."
That's what they say, but this thing is random after all - there might be multiple exits, or only one, or possibly no exit at all...
This is what makes secret realms dangerous. Even with powerful strength, you can't necessarily act recklessly.
Otherwise, that legendary-level adventer wouldn't have disappeared without a trace after entering a secret realm.
Overthinking was meaningless. For now, they had to choose a path.
Since they couldn't toss a coin this time, Lin Mo simply decided to use rock-paper-scissors.
After briefly explaining the rules, he played against Bern and Cody.
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Lin Mo and Cody both threw rock, while Bern threw paper. The path he represented was the middle one.
"That method from your hometown is quite interesting. I should remember it - we can use this method to decide difficult choices in the future."
Bern lightened the mood slightly, easing the oppressive atmosphere, then became serious again and took the lead at the front of the group.
The journey was similar to before, and they soon reached the end of the path.
However, this time what appeared before them was a bluish-gray door...