A Treasure hidden in a residential area... It’s strange just thinking about it, Alka mused. He looked at the beam of light on the map, making sure he was heading in the right direction.
The residential area they were in seemed untouched. As they ventured deeper, various skeletons emerged from the corners of the houses. These animated remains launched attacks at them. Facing the skeletons’ assault, the group easily cleared them away.
Alka detached the entire skull from a skeleton in front of him, noticing blood-red patterns on the bone. The blood-red patterns on this skeleton were similar to the blood that had wreathed the Evil Spirits they had encountered earlier. This seems to be a characteristic of the island’s creatures, he thought. But it’s unclear whether it was due to something before they died or a change after death.
I can’t figure it out, Alka thought, then crushed the skull to powder with a single grip.
He passed through the scattered bone fragments on the ground. Alka arrived at the dilapidated house in front of him. According to the map, the Treasure was inside. After checking around the house, he generally confirmed there were no major issues.
As Alka stepped inside, he immediately saw where the Treasure was located. Just openly placed in plain sight.
It was in a corner of the room. A skeleton lay against the wall, sitting there as if holding something. In the skeleton’s arms was a Treasure Chest covered in stains. It looked very ordinary, making Alka uncertain whether it actually contained a Treasure.
Is the Treasure really just placed inside this? Wouldn’t that be a bit too careless? It’s hard to imagine anything around here protecting this Treasure.
With this in mind, Alka examined the surroundings. He indeed saw nothing peculiar and found no traps or defensive measures. A Bat appeared in his hand, and he used it to nudge the skeleton holding the Treasure Chest. With a light nudge, the skeleton collapsed, its bones burying the Treasure Chest. The skeleton, it seemed, was not alive either.
"I don’t detect anything unusual here. There shouldn’t be any traps set," Julia said from the side, watching Alka’s actions.
Hearing this, Alka used the Bat to clear away the bones from the Treasure Chest and then picked it up. They all crouched down to look at the small Treasure Chest placed on the ground. The Treasure Chest was small enough for an adult to hold easily in their arms. It looked more like it contained some precious small object.
A flow of water gushed from Alka’s hand, cleaning the stains off its surface. As it was cleaned, the full appearance of the Treasure Chest was revealed. The Treasure Chest was entirely made of an unknown metal. This metal was light gray, looking very ordinary and lacking any distinct features. The Treasure Chest was engraved with very regular and simple lines. These lines appeared extremely orderly but had no remarkable characteristics.
Julia reached out and gently touched the Treasure Chest. A faint glow of Magic Power flickered.
"This is probably some sort of metal used for Magic Power Isolation; it’s usually used to contain items with strong Energy," she explained. "However, this metal is also very sturdy. Don’t even think about trying to break it open with force."
Listening to Julia, Alka nodded. Since she advised against using force, it seemed that without achieving Six Spirals, they shouldn’t even consider that approach.
The front of the Treasure Chest had a very obvious keyhole, clearly indicating that they needed to find a key to open it and claim the contents inside.
Pororo looked at the Treasure Chest, knocked on it, and couldn’t help but ask, "So what’s actually inside?"
Alka shook his head. "I don’t know, but definitely something very, very valuable."
I certainly can’t say it holds a Treasure, Alka thought. Being sensitive to a Treasure’s hiding spot and being able to directly find a Treasure are entirely different concepts. I’ll show some of my special traits, mainly because I’m too lazy to explain, and some things simply can’t be hidden anyway. It’s better to proactively reveal a part of it. That would actually be more convenient and safer, making it easier to earn others’ trust. This way, more crucial aspects can remain hidden without being noticed, allowing me to better protect myself.
Chadite looked at Alka and asked, "So, are we heading back to the ship now?"
Alka didn’t plan to return immediately. After all, he hadn’t truly obtained the Treasure yet; it remained locked inside the Treasure Chest. I need to check the map again to see if there’s more information about the Treasure for us to explore.
"Danger! Danger is coming!" Lucilia’s voice suddenly rang out. She had sensed something terrible, and her tone was filled with surprise and panic.
Hearing this, everyone reacted instantly. However, Alka and the others couldn’t discern where the danger was coming from; they only adopted a vigilant stance.
A halo appeared behind Julia. Several bandages shot out, binding everyone, and then she leaped backward forcefully. She smashed through the rear wall, rolling out and dragging everyone with her, causing the entire wall to collapse.
Once they landed, they all rolled on the ground a few times before scrambling to their feet. The fallen rubble and dust left them extremely disheveled.
A loud crash followed as the house they had just been in was completely smashed to pieces.