The portal to the exit.

Chapter 12- The portal to the exit.

In the next room, they saw a strange-looking altar and two chests on the sides. From that sight, greed seized the minds of the adventurous team. Only Cain didn't care. He was far more interested in what was behind it.

"It's like a video game. Ha ha. We kill monsters, get rewards, then get stronger and richer!"

The fat man rejoiced as if today, was his happiest day. You could tell right away that he spent all his free time playing games. At first, he wasn't too happy about being forced here and made to fight and suffer in these smelly and filthy catacombs.

He was drooling all over the floor from the anticipation. But no one had ever made the first move. The dungeon had already taught them the basics. They were well aware that at any one time, they could die from a random arrow or a rebellious skeleton.

Looking at the whole situation, Cain asked the whole team with a smirk: "Well? Who's going to risk it?"

"I'll go. I have to at least answer for what I've done...", — the old man volunteered in a sad tone.

Cain raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then he remembered what had happened recently. He didn't stop him. He had learned one lesson. In this new world, everyone makes choices.

Cain wasn't a hero, he was just a simple guy who wanted to survive and be free. But now, even though Cain has his young body back, his accumulated experience and wisdom will not allow him to make the mistakes of youth.

In this limitless new world, everyone makes his destiny. That was the beauty of the Abyss. For that, he loved it.

Slowly, the old man moved forward. There were no traps. No one rose from the ground. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; they just wouldn't have the energy to disarm the traps.

"Let's go. It's clear, you're safe to approach", — the old man sat down on the pile of gold with a blank stare.

Everyone rushed to grab the gold, stuffing it into the avatar's pockets and inventory. Completely ignoring the second tab of the inventory.

Cain can't even imagine how upset and angry they will be when they realize they left empty-handed. When they had such jewels lying in front of them.

Lots of gems, scrolls, and gear lay right in front of them, but no one could carry more than one item away.

Such were the treacherous plans, of the endless dungeon.

Slowly approaching the altar, he lightly touched it with his hand. The stone altar began to glow with a scarlet light attracting everyone's attention. A slight smile appeared on his face.

"Hey! What are you doing there?! Get away from him now!"

The mage, ridiculously swollen with gold, saw Cain turning something around behind their backs.

"That paladin didn't even look at the gold. This altar is probably times more valuable than this pile of gold!", — it suddenly dawned on the fat man.

"Why aren't you talking?! Didn't I tell you? Get away from the altar in a nice way! And from me...", — The mage glanced meaningfully at the warrior, nodding toward Cain.

The warrior stopped and frowned, but did nothing. He merely observed the paladin's every action.

The old man didn't care, he was simply rummaging through the gold in his lonely place. Always looking for something. He was still reeling from the incident.

With a smirk on his face, Cain said calmly and confidently: "Calm down. It's just an altar that opens the way out. And there's no need to worry about me. There's enough gold for everyone. You won't carry it all anyway."

Still smiling happily, Cain whistled merrily. He was clearly in a good mood today.

Finished with the altar, Cain stepped back to observe the scene unfolding before him.

After a while, everyone quieted their greed and finally noticed the two wooden chests near the altar.

"They are locked. Old man, see if you can open them?"

With a strange look at the warrior, the old man slowly began to examine the locks of the chests. After a while, he shook his head in the negative.

"Damn! Todd, get on the key search now!"

"But..."

"I don't care if you're tired! You gotta find those keys!"

Cain remembered that Tod, that was the wizard's name. The two had a complicated relationship. They might say they were lucky to meet someone they knew in the endless dungeons.

To be exact, Tod was lucky. To the warrior, the mage was most likely a burden.

Turning around, the warrior looked strangely at the paladin, a note of menace you could hear in his words: "Hey kid, let's get to the search too! Otherwise, what's inside won't touch you!"

"No problem. I'm not interested in what's in there anyway. And I'm already very tired. So I'm not going to do anything", — Cain replied dismissively.

Such a tone annoyed this military man, but there was nothing he could do.

Angered by the lack of keys and food, the warrior approached the chest. He raised his long sword with all his might and slashed one last time at the seemingly fragile wooden chest. But all he got in return was a dull, thudding sound. There was not even a scratch on the chest.

Gritting his teeth, he began to scatter the gold pile with everyone else.

Another half hour passed. They were all exhausted, digging through the pile of gold coins all the time. The keys were nowhere to be seen. Tired and angry, they looked enviously at Cain.

And when they saw that he took an occasional bite of bread. Anger overwhelmed the hungry mage and warrior. The old man was still digging for gold with trembling hands like a dead fish.

When a slight hum distracted everyone from their business. At last, the portal to the exit opened!