Treasure Chest

Chapter 5 - Treasure Chest

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Zwei approached the treasure chest and opened its lid.

The treasure chest wasn't particularly large. At the very least, it was far smaller than the supply chests.

There weren't many items inside the treasure chest, either.

There was an inconspicuous ring, a palm-sized piece of paper, and a red crystal similar to the Return Crystal. These were all the items inside.

Like the red gemstone he collected from the goblin spellcaster's corpse, Zwei couldn't see the stats of the ring.

The red crystal, though, revealed its stats as soon as he picked it up.

…

[Lesser Identification Crystal (Consumable)]

Tool

Can identify an item upon use. There is a certain chance of failure when identifying Fine grade items or above.]

…

In other words, this thing is something like an appraisal scroll, right?

Zwei immediately defined the function of the red crystal based on his many years of gaming experience.

"That means…" Realization dawning upon him, Zwei took out the red gemstone and ring. "It's not that these two items don't have stats but that they haven't been identified yet?"

After thinking it over for a while, he still couldn't decide which item he should identify. In the end, he chose to put the Identification Crystal aside for now and look at the third reward first, which was the least conspicuous piece of paper.

When Zwei picked up the old-looking piece of paper, he couldn't help his elation.

…

[Proof of the Strong (Night Forest · Outskirts)]

Please choose one of the following effects:

1. Return a life block.

2. Completely master a skill that meets the activation requirements.

…

Based on Zwei's understanding, the so-called life block should be related to the tattoo on his hand. In that case, having a life block returned meant he could live for an extra month!

Sure enough, this Magic Academy System isn't trying to kill me. Now that I know this thing exists, I can just exit and reenter this dungeon to grind for this item indefinitely, right?! With this thing's help, whether it is a Master Magician or the world's number one academy, all of them are no different from trash!

However, Zwei quickly calmed down.

Given the fraudulent system's actions thus far, obtaining this Proof of the Strong item most likely wouldn't be such a simple task.

"The name of this dungeon is noted at the end. Does this mean every dungeon has only one Proof of the Strong?"

The possibility of this being the case was high. After all, it would be too easy if he could obtain such a reward just from killing three goblins.

After glancing at the 11 remaining life blocks on his hand, Zwei decided to use this Proof of the Strong as a skill point.

After all, he still had a full 11 months of life left. He wasn't in a hurry for more. On the other hand, if he wanted to continue raiding dungeons in the future, he would need stronger skills.

For example, if he had the same strength as his predecessor today, he could've taken care of those three goblins with a single Flame Burst and received the rewards. He wouldn't have had to suffer that injury, either.

After Zwei selected the second option, an image appeared on the originally blank paper in his hand. He immediately recognized the image as a miniature version of the Skill Book panel's first page.

Of the skills displayed, only Magic Bullet was activated. And branching out of Magic Bullet were five skills: Mage Hand and Minor Mastery over Water, Fire, Wind, and Earth.

According to the memories Zwei's unlucky predecessor left behind, water magic tended toward healing and control, fire magic toward strong, destructive power, wind magic toward fast attack speed and buffs, and earth magic toward defense.

As for Mage Hand, although it was useful in many situations, the improvement in strength it could provide Zwei's present self was basically negligible.

After a little consideration, he spent his skill point on Minor Fire Mastery.

After all, he currently had the Emergency Potion for healing, while buffs wouldn't be effective without a strong body. As for defense, there was a saying that the best defense was a good offense.

Hence, Zwei chose to prioritize fire magic first. No matter what, defeating the enemy was his first priority. This was the path he decided to take.

In the next moment, the grayed-out Minor Fire Mastery suddenly gained color. The text "Minor Fire Mastery" also changed to "Lesser Fireball."

Immediately, a ton of information about the Lesser Fireball flashed across Zwei's mind like a slideshow, giving him a real sense of having mastered the skill.

Of course, he would still have to use the spell in combat to determine his exact mastery over it.

"Well, it's the same as my memories, as expected. When combined with an elemental attribute, the Magic Bullet can transform into elemental magic." Zwei was overjoyed. At the same time, he felt relieved that his gamble had paid off.

If obtaining Minor Fire Mastery only allowed him to perceive the fire element, then Minor Fire Mastery wouldn't have been as useful as Mage Hand.

Meanwhile, even though his Fireball skill had the "Lesser" modifier attached to it, it shouldn't be underestimated. In a situation where his opponent lacked any fire resistance whatsoever, the Lesser Fireball, which consumed as much mana as a Magic Bullet, could display three times the power of a Magic Bullet. Moreover, the skill had a certain chance to burn the target!

When comparing the power of first-circle magic, apart from the incredibly slow Drifting Electric Eel, the Lesser Fireball would be considered the strongest.

Not only that, but perhaps as a system benefit, Zwei could actually cast Lesser Fireball near-instantaneously, similar to Magic Bullet! This was simply the perfect weapon for murder and arson!

After being used, the Proof of the Strong shattered like glass. The fragments then transformed into particles of light and disappeared.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Zwei finally realized that the bonfire that originally burned in the middle of the camp had long since died out. Meanwhile, the starless night sky also ushered in the dawn of a new day, the dark sky brightening into a sapphire blue.

As sunlight scattered through the forest canopy, the beast path that previously looked like a devil's cave to Zwei now looked like a park's jogging trail. It was quiet and tranquil.

"Now that the path has turned into such a state, it means I've cleared this dungeon, right?" Zwei picked up the Identification Crystal and ring from the ground.

After giving the matter some thought, he decided to identify the ring first.

The red crystal gave off a flash and disappeared. Meanwhile, the ordinary bronze ring also finally revealed its stats.

…

[Restless Bronze Ring (Fine)]

Accessory

Defense: 1~3

Uneasy Characteristic (Level 1): Increases magic power slightly in exchange for a concentration -1 penalty.

…

Zwei's impression of concentration was very vague. It seemed to be related to the success rate of spellcasting.

However, the spells he currently had were only Magic Bullet and Lesser Fireball. It was impossible to fail at casting them, so he wore the ring without hesitation.

As for how much his magic power increased by… Who would know?

Anyway, Zwei tried casting a Magic Bullet. However, he found that its power was roughly the same as before.

After confirming that there was no way to go forward and there was nothing else left in the treasure chest, Zwei used the green Return Crystal and teleported back to the starting camp.

At this time, the bonfire in the camp had also died out, though the red and blue boxes remained.

After some consideration, Zwei placed the five Rusty Broken Blades he collected into the red box. Upon doing so, the number displayed beside the Metal symbol changed from 0 to 5.

"Sure enough, I can use the collected items to exchange for various resources."

Whether it was the Magic Academy System or Zwei's personal wish, he would be taking the path of a mage from now on. Even if the Rusty Blade Fragments could be used to craft a good weapon, he wouldn't have any use for it. Hence, he had chosen to convert the fragments into resources without hesitation. He only got five points for them, though.

After doing all these things, Zwei focused his attention on the tattoo on his hand, intending to leave this place. However, upon doing so, he discovered that something else had appeared above the [Exit] option.

…

["Night Forest · Outskirts" conquest completed.] [Evaluation - B] [Receive reward]

…

What's this? The treasure chest before wasn't the reward for clearing the dungeon? It's this one?!

Pleasantly surprised, Zwei chose to receive his reward without hesitation, though there really wasn't anything to hesitate over in the first place.

Afterward, a slowly spinning roulette wheel resembling the tattoo on his hand appeared before him. However, unlike his tattoo, the spinning wheel only had six blocks, with each block corresponding to a prize. Three blocks represented a +10 to the Money, Wood, and Metal resources. As for the three other blocks, they awarded a construction blueprint, a black mage robe, and a bottle of green potion.

Zwei ignored the resources and construction blueprint, as he currently didn't have a use for them. What he deemed the most valuable among the listed rewards were the last two items!

The mage robe was definitely equipment. If he won it, it would raise his strength to a new level!

Meanwhile, the green potion's appearance highly resembled the Emergency Potion. If the green potion's effects were similarly amazing, he would basically gain an additional lifesaving charm!

Under his expectant gaze, the revolving wheel gradually slowed down before eventually coming to a stop.