Seeker 210

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Chapter 210. Treasure Chest And Seven Statues

As we entered the second room of the dungeon, we encountered a conspicuous treasure chest and 7 gargoyle-like statues surrounding it.

However, the gargoyle-like statues didn't seem to be moving at all.

Now, what should they do?

"Oh, Daichi-kun, there's an inscription over here. It says something."

Kazane-san pointed towards a stone plaque near the entrance of the room. 

Indeed, there was a plaque with text on it. 

Yusefia-san, the Dark Elf heroine, relaxed her guard and approached the plaque.

"They don't seem to be moving for now. Let's see... 'Attack at your peril. Courageously take the treasure,' it says." 

Yusefia-san read aloud the inscription on the plaque.

Though the wording was somewhat abstract, they had a vague idea of its meaning.

"So, um... does that mean we shouldn't attack those gargoyle-like things and just open the treasure chest?"

"That might be it. But this inscription could also be a trap itself."

Yuzuki and Kazane-san shared their opinions, then looked at me. 

In our party, I was often the one to make such decisions.

Yusefia-san shrugged her shoulders.

"It's up to you. Either way, we'll likely need to do something to move forward."

A barred gate blocked the path ahead. 

W assumed trying to destroy it forcefully would be futile, as it was likely a dungeon mechanism.

There didn't seem to be any other useful information in the chamber.

We had to make a decision based on the available information.

So, what should we do?

As Kazane-san had suggested, the inscription could potentially be a trap.

However, based on our previous experiences, it didn't seem common for dungeon mechanisms to play tricks like that. 

With that in mind, I made my decision.

"I think I'll just open the treasure chest. I'll do it. Kazane-san, Yuzuki, Yusefia-san, please be prepared in case something happens."

"Understood."

"Got it. But maybe I should open it instead."

"No, Kazane-san. I'll do it. I have my Gaia Armor now, so I should be fine."

I'm patting his armor.

If those gargoyle-like creatures turned out to be just regular statues, even if all 7 attacked simultaneously, I believed I could handle it. 

Of course, I couldn't rule out the possibility that they weren't ordinary statues.

"Is that acceptable, Yusefia-san?"

"I have no objections. However, in times like this, it's important to show your bravery, isn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose. Both of my girlfriends often call me 'useless,' so..."

I glanced at his two girlfriends, who looked a bit regretful.

Leaving that aside, I approached the treasure chest. 

My companions kept a cautious distance and maintained their vigilance.

The gargoyle-like statues remained motionless.

They showed no reaction as I got a few steps away from the treasure chest. 

I slowly, cautiously approached the treasure chest. Even when I passed right by the statues, they didn't react.

Finally, I reached the front of the treasure chest.

The statues remained still.

The inscription on the stone plaque read, "Courageously take the treasure.".

If I believed in this inscription. We don't need the [Trap Detection] skill.

I placed my hand on the lid of the treasure chest.

The statues didn't move.

I opened the treasure chest.

The statues still didn't move, and no traps inside the chest.

I took what was inside the treasure chest.

It was a short dagger with a wavy blade, resembling Kazane-san's Rune Kris in style but with colors of red and orange, evoking flames.

The statues continued to remain motionless, or so it seemed.

When I took the short dagger from the treasure chest, in the next instant...

The statues, their pedestals, and the treasure chest all simultaneously disappeared into a black mist.

At the same time, the iron gate blocking their path began to creak and rise.

As a result, the entire chamber was now devoid of anything except for their group.

I have a short dagger reminiscent of flames in my hand.

This likely marked the successful completion of this chamber's event.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and his companions approached.

"Good job, Daichi-kun. Everything went well."

"In the end, it was just a bluff. I wonder what would have happened if we attacked those gargoyle-like things." 

"Well, who knows? It said, 'At your peril,'. So something must have gone wrong. We'll never know what exactly, but..."

"Maybe we don't need to know. By the way, Daichi-kun, is that a dagger?"

"Yes, it looks like a Kris or Rune Kris. Yuzuki, could you appraise it?"

"Sure thing. [Item Appraisal]! Oh, this is quite a valuable item. It's called Flame Kris. It has an attack power of +32 and special effects, including +3 to magic power and +2 to fire attribute magic."

"Wow, that's impressive. My Rune Kris has +25 attack power and +2 magic power, so this is a complete upgrade."

After some discussion, we decided that the dagger should belong to Kazane-san. 

While there was also the option for Yuzuki to use it, Kazane-san seemed like the better choice overall.

According to their prior agreement, we could place items we acquired in this dungeon in our inventory without issue. 

Yusefia-san had promised to reward us once she knew the whereabouts of Revenant Cane, but we haven't discussed the specifics of that reward yet. Despite Bargamund-san knowing it, a promise was a promise. 

Taking this into account, we transferred the rights to the items we obtained in the dungeon as a substitute for our reward. 

The only exception was that if Yusefia-san had something she really wanted from this dungeon, they would negotiate about it.

Yusefia-san, who didn't seem particularly interested in this dagger, confirmed the distribution of the items and urged them to continue.

"Well, if you're done with your business, let's move on. If you let your guard down, you might end up mating before you know it."

At that, Yuzuki ran off again.

My kouhai companion gave a small smile in response to Yusefia-san's comment.

"Yusefia-san, are you jealous?"

"What...!?"

Yusefia-san made a surprised face, her mouth opening and closing.

She started to make excuses in a fluster.

"N-no! I'm just... you see, I've been around for much longer than you humans, so I've had plenty of those experiences. I'm completely used to it."

"Really? Sounds a bit unbelievable."

Kazane-san joined in, closing in on her.

Yusefia-san grew flustered and took a step back.

"Unbelievable, I tell you! It's just that we've come to this dungeon, not for those kinds of things!"

"Alright!"

Yusefia-san had also become a toy for the two of them.

For someone so strong, she was susceptible to teasing.

And so on and so forth.

We left the second chamber and continued down the corridor.