G0blin_Sl4yer

"Platinum!"

Brunar's exclamation startled the entire party. They all marveled at the lustrous coin in Brunar's hands, struggling to recognize any difference with a silver coin.

"It's heavier than silver and has a completely different stamp than all the coins I've seen," Brunar explained, refusing to let the others inspect it themselves.

Before anyone could complain, a coin was thrown to each of them. Jack stated, "It's definitely platinum."

Jack's confirmation shook everyone's hearts as they examined their coins. It was hard to believe, but those were indeed the nearly nonexistent platinum coins of legend. Ecstatic to have such a valuable treasure of the past, everyone expressed their joy in different ways, be it through shouting in excitement, jumping for joy, or just staring deeply at the coin.

Thinking to himself, Jack instantly deduced that G0blin_Sl4yer was a cash player. In "A Hero's Tale" there were always cash options for things like platinum, rare weapons, special quests, and more. This would explain having platinum and the ornate dagger that was mostly rare for its looks rather than its level. Jack couldn't blame him though because he too had spent a decent amount on the game; there were plenty of achievements that required some kind of cash item or quest.

Thinking back, one platinum was worth ten gold in "A Hero's Tale." But that was back then, if platinum was nearly nonexistent now then it must be worth even more. Jack was glad that he got to the chests first, securing the different items and the five platinum coins remaining after his gift to the party members.

"What else is there?" Brunar soon came to his senses and wondered what else might be in the chests. If there was platinum, then surely there must be some good items.

"Not much. There were some potions and elixirs, a storage bracer, some broken armor. I think he was looted before he died." Jack didn't understand how that player's character got in a tomb, but Jack guessed that he was killed and looted before the body somehow ended up in the tomb. Why else would there be nothing else in a low leveled cash player's inventory?

"That's it?" Troni asked, wanting evidence just like Brunar.

Without batting an eye Jack retrieved the set of broken armor and the knife. "Here, I only want the storage bracer."

The party was amazed that Jack gave up the armor, especially since it was a complete set of lv. 15 high tier armor, despite being damaged. Maynard stepped out and said, "No, ya should keep this Jack. We can't use it, so it's pointless for us to take it when you'll be able to wear it soon enough."

"Then give it to Troni. It may have some cracks here and there, but it's still better than what he's got equipped now. Besides, he'll be a big part of phase one and could use the defensive boost," persuaded Jack, not wanting to bother with the armor.

"If you say so," said Troni with a quick bow and a smile. "Give me a minute or two to equip it."

Troni walked over to the dark corners of the room and started changing his armor in silence. Everyone took a second to inspect their new favorite coins, debating whether they should spend them or keep them.

Jack took this time to open his system notifications, jumping straight to the achievement list.

[Find the tomb: completed]

[Find the tomb of G0blin_Sl4yer within the second level of the azure mine. Reward: 18 skill points, access to his saved data. Would you like to claim the reward?]

In a heartbeat, it was claimed and Jack was given the eighteen skill points. He thought it was unusual for him to get eighteen skill points and not fifteen or twenty, but he wasn't given a chance to spend them just yet.

The system took him back to the main menu and a new option appeared, [Save Log.] It was selected by the system and opened up G0blin_Sl4yer's activity log.

Astounded that this information was still available, Jack eagerly opened it. It only showed his last forty-eight hours of gameplay, but that was enough information there for Jack to learn plenty.

Most of the activity was what Jack expected like purchase history, location updates, and player chats. From this Jack learned that G0blin_Slayer was a lv. 18 rogue that had recently joined a goblin slaying guild. It was obvious that he was trying to chase fifteen minutes of fame from his name and actions.

What caught Jack's eye was the last update, the one about his death. There were two things that Jack thought was suspicious: the fact that G0blin_Sl4yer wasn't resurrected after the fact and that G0blin_Sl4yer was killed by trolls. Jack had never heard of trolls being inside an azure mine before but facing powerful trolls ranging from lv. 20 to lv. 30 would explain the broken armor and how G0blin_Slayer died inside a low leveled mine.

Putting the troll irregularity aside, Jack checked the date and time of G0blin_Sl4yer's death. It was labeled as July 22, 2021, at 1:46 AM. That was more than two years after Jack had completed the achievement list and left his original world.

From everything, he was able to learn a few things. The skill points he earned from finding the tomb was equal to G0lin_Sl4yer's level, meaning that PleasantLilly98 was probably lv. 10 based on the ten skill point reward for finding her tomb. Jack learned that something must have happened to the ancient heroes after he had finished the achievement list, otherwise he would have a clue as to what happened. Also, he guessed that the game had started to change a lot after he was summoned, trolls in a low-level mine was a good example.

"Ok, I'm ready." Troni walked back, seemingly more confident as he wore the ornate armor and equipped the dagger as a sidearm. It was chipped and battered in some places, but the silver armor with dark red trim was far more appealing to the eye than Troni's generic green kimono.

"Whoa," said Brunar, a little jealous that the armor wasn't lv. 20 so he could get it instead.

"You look great!" Slivia gave her approval with two thumbs up.

"Thanks," said Troni. He smiled back to Slivia and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad you like it." Slivia blushed slightly, unsure what else to say.

Maynard and Rydel read the situation, both sighing and shaking their heads. They looked to the distracted Jack and Rydel slapped the hero's back. "Come on kid, we've waited long enough."

"Just a second," Jack grunted as he ignored the hand hitting his back. In a hurry, Jack returned to his skill tree and looked it over. He was torn about what to upgrade; he wanted to upgrade things like hearing, intimidation, or perception because they might help him a lot.

However, Jack was also itching to upgrade his companion bloodline skill after seeing Bowser dominate the Light-tailed Lizards. If he could somehow double his level like Bowser, that would be amazing! Jack hadn't tested the bloodline skill and he was mad at himself for not doing it before entering the mine. He had no clue that the bloodline was so powerful, both creating a massive flame body and doubling Bowser's strength in an instant.

There were drawbacks for using this technique for long periods and it was very taxing on the young Bowser. It would be a while for Bowser to fully embrace his bloodline's potential, not to mention Jack who was just Bowser's companion with a low leveled bloodline skill.

In the end, he didn't upgrade anything, hoping to get some skill points and upgrade his bloodline skill to lv. 2 as soon as possible. After making a mental note to practice the bloodline skill that night after setting up camp, Jack turned his attention back to the party.

"Sorry for the wait, I'm ready now," said Jack, who was a little confused by the slight blush on Slivia's cheeks.

"Alright, let's head out!" Rydel took the lead. Now that they had found the tomb, he would resume the lead and take them to the third level as fast as possible.

Everyone followed closely behind, not wanting to get separated from the group. Some looked back at the tomb, still stunned that they were able to find such a thing. But when they look back at the tomb's entrance, it was no longer there. The cave walls had returned to normal as if their discovery had happened only in their imagination.

Under the glow of the kari crystals, they shuffled through the tunnels of the second level. As they stuck close to the walls and neared the central parts of the second level, clusters of azure embedded in the cave walls became a common sight.

The young adventurers were tempted by the azure crystals' allure, but they were always silently stopped by Rydel, who wanted to avoid all loud noises and anything that would attract attention to the party.

Not being allowed to speak, they were forced to accepted Rydel's interference and hoped to find some good deposits in the next level.

Jack was busy going over phase three in his mind, always adjusting it in hope to perfect it. The more accurate the plan, the better his chances of success. And if he could just advance to lv. 10 before reaching the city, the extra skill points and the skills he would gain would greatly increase those chances.