The fight against the Voidfang Hydro was finally over. The beast collapsed with a thunderous thud, a gaping hole in its head, while Grey landed smoothly, hands tucked casually in his pockets.
"Not like you even stood a chance," he muttered, turning his gaze toward the state of the cave. Broken terrain stretched across the ground, walls bore deep cracks, and debris littered the area. But honestly, he didn't care as he calmly walked forward.
"Everyone okay?" he asked.
"You could have at least asked like you ant it!" Scarlet shouted before coughing up blood. Vanica rushed to her side, quickly healing the internal injuries with a burst of light magic.
"Ah, thank goodness!" Arthur exclaid, collapsing with a dramatic thud. He looked up to see the others giving him odd stares. "Don't look at
like that. I really thought we were going to die here."
"Weakling," Vorden comnted, brushing past with trembling hands.
"So… who's extracting the magical core?" he asked.
"No one," Scarlet replied, prompting a wave of raised eyebrows. "Since the beast went berserk, its core won't be useful. It might not even count when we get back, so let it be."
"Whatever," Grey muttered, striding toward the looming black door at the back of the room. He eyed it briefly and gave it a gentle push—but it didn't budge.
Putting in more force, it still didn't move an inch.
"How are we supposed to know what's in there when this damn door won't open?!" Grey growled in frustration, turning to face his teammates, who rely shrugged. He looked back at the door, then again at his uninterested teammates.
"Perfect," he mumbled, as earthy energy gathered around his hand, encasing it like a gauntlet. Drawing his arm back, he slamd his fist into the door, the impact creating a deafening bang that startled everyone. A mont later, the door was seen flying off its hinges.
"How… how did you do that?" Scarlet asked, staring at Grey's now-empty hand as the earth gauntlet dispersed.
"Hmph," Grey shrugged, walking in.
His teammates scrambled up and followed closely, entering a surprisingly pristine chamber—clean floors, no webs, no dust. It felt as though soone had been maintaining it regularly.
Inside, several small platforms stood, each concealing mysterious items. The group fanned out, gazing curiously at the displays. But sothing in the far corner drew Grey's attention.
He stepped toward it and saw the sa strange writing he'd encountered earlier.
"What is this now?" he murmured to himself when Noir interpreted.
"To whoever manages to get past the guardian and open the door—these are your rewards. I hope they help in the coming war, whenever it begins. And I hope it's not too late," Noir translated as Grey scanned the script.
He continued reading until he spotted a smaller ssage beneath the main one.
"Note: So items here will only activate for specific individuals, based on conditions placed upon them. Others will only awaken under the right circumstances. However, this does not an they are useless," Noir added.
With no more text in sight, Grey turned back to the group, who were still observing the artifacts but refrained from touching them, cautious not to trigger anything accidentally.
Grey casually approached two platforms set beside each other.
'Since the ssage said these were ant to help us, they won't harm us… And I feel a strange aura coming from this one,' he thought as he stepped closer to a platform bearing a ring.
The ring was small, black with red accents, and covered in unrecognizable engravings. A mysterious aura pulsed from it, and just as Grey stepped back, a sudden urge made him reach out and pick it up.
Sliding it onto his finger, he closed his eyes, expecting sothing dramatic—but nothing happened. Disappointed, he tried pulling it off… but it wouldn't budge. No matter how hard he tugged, the ring remained stuck.
"What gives?!" Grey shouted, still struggling. His teammates rushed over, finding him locked in a comical fight with a ring.
"Tch. Pathetic," Scarlet scoffed, then glanced toward the adjacent platform, where a book lay.
She picked it up and, to her surprise, understood the title clearly.
"Introduction to All Types of Fusion magic."
"Fusion Magic?" the whole team echoed, quickly gathering around to see.
Even Grey, montarily distracted from his ring dilemma, leaned in eagerly. Scarlet opened the book but was t with indecipherable symbols.
"Huh? This is gibberish!" Vorden complained as the others struggled to make sense of it.
"That's because of this warning here," Grey said, reading aloud. "To prevent this book from falling into the wrong hands, it has been transcribed in an ancient language incomprehensible to the new generation of evil."
Everyone turned to him in shock.
"Huh?! How can you read that?" Vanica asked.
"I… don't know. I just found myself saying it word for word," Grey lied smoothly. In truth, Noir had translated everything for him.
"Then it's useless to us," Scarlet sighed, tossing the book toward Grey, who caught it delicately, holding it as if it were a priceless artifact.
'Fusion Magic, huh?' Grey thought, grinning wide as he eyed the book. 'This could push my magic to the next level... especially since I have four affinities.'
"Guys! I found sothing!" Vorden called from a corner of the room, pulling out a dagger embedded in the wall.
It was slender and light, with a magical aura radiating from it. Blue in color, the blade featured intricate, scaly patterns.
"But mages don't use weapons. It's useless unless it boosts magical power," Scarlet pointed out.
"I don't know… I feel like keeping this," Vorden replied.
"Suit yourself," Scarlet said with a shrug, and they all continued exploring the chamber.
That's when Vanica spotted a softly glowing pendant, almost as if it were calling out to her. She walked toward it instinctively and picked it up. Instantly, she felt a strong connection.
'This... this pendant is radiating healing magic!' she realized as she slipped it on, a bright smile spreading across her face.
Next was Arthur, who noticed an ash-colored bracelet. He didn't hesitate—he put it on. A strange sensation coursed through his mana. Curious, he cast a shield and shouted for Scarlet to hit it with fire magic.
She did, and when the dust cleared, the shield remained completely intact—without a single crack.
"Huh?! The useless support finally got sothing useful," Scarlet remarked with a scoff.
'I had a good feeling about that bracelet… and I was right,' Arthur thought proudly.
"So I'm the only one who didn't get anything cool? No fair!" Scarlet huffed as she stord out into the large cavern they had entered from. The others followed behind.
Grey, anwhile, slipped the book into the pendant Randin had given him—his personal storage space.
As they stepped back into the cave, their eyes imdiately landed on the decomposing beast. Near its head, a red crystal shaped like a ring pulsed with heat and energy.
Scarlet walked over, picked it up, and slipped it onto her finger.
"This looks good on ," she smiled. "Wait a second… doesn't this place feel like a dungeon? According to the stories I've heard, dungeons have beasts… and after defeating them, you usually find treasure."
"Well, you dumbass woman, clearly this isn't a dungeon," Grey retorted as he headed back the way they had co.
"Who are you calling dumb, you muscle brain?!" Scarlet shouted, chasing after him as the others trailed behind, sighing in exhaustion.
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