Chapter 18 - Looting Anomaly

[You have slain a Level 1 Kobold. You received 5 experience points!]

The kobold fell after enduring a barrage of attacks from Loki and Leo.

"That… That was easier than I thought it would be," Leo stated, then collapsed on the ground.

Loki panted as he too slumped like Leo. "Well, we cooperate much better than last time. Don't you remember what Gerald taught us? Good cooperation can change the flow of any battle."

"A-are you guys okay?" Pandora asked while walking out from behind the tree.

"Yes! Good job with your skill; you have perfect timing!" Leo gave Pandora a thumbs-up.

Soon, the kobold corpse disintegrated right in front of the three kids, leaving behind a claw—at least that was what appeared.

But in Loki's eyes, there was another item floating beside the claw. It was a small green flame. And that was what confused him. The green flame was far smaller than what he had previously witnessed.

Do humans and monsters have different sizes of souls?

Loki stood up and approached the items. He pretended to grab the Kobold's claw, but in reality, he went there to touch the small soul without making it too obvious. As expected, a notification popped up before him.

[Do you want to harvest a Soul Fragment of a Kobold, Yes/No?]

Soul Fragment? Is that why the green flame is so small? What even is the difference between a Soul Fragment and a complete Soul?

"Are you okay, Loki?" Leo asked, noticing Loki lingering for a while.

"Ah, no, I'm just thinking about the reason for this Item Loot Anomaly. Think about it: a Dungeon is a place filled with danger. But seeing this makes me feel that it is trying to reward me for killing a monster. After all, the Dungeons could just absorb the body of the Kobold without leaving anything."

"I don't know; why think about that too much? Let's just focus on our victory."

Of course, what did I expect from Leo?

Loki put his concern in the back of his head and picked up the claw. However, when he did, a notification appeared before him.

"What the!" Loki let go of the claw in bewilderment.

Leo stood abruptly. "What? Is there an enemy?"

"No." Loki grabbed the claw again and tossed it to Leo. "Here, see for yourself."

When Leo caught the claw, he let out the same reaction as Loki and let go of the claw. "What was that?!"

"I-is there a problem?" Pandora tightened her hold on her staff.

Leo did the same. He hoisted the Kobold's claw and gave it to Pandora.

"W-what's wrong?" Pandora glanced at Loki and Leo with confused eyes.

"Can't you see it?" Leo asked.

"Y-you mean, the Blessing?"

"Yes! Why did our Blessing react when we touched the claw?"

Pandora sighed in relief. "I-it's normal. An item that came from a monster is always like this."

Loki didn't react; instead, he contemplated.

Why? I thought a lot of my questions would be answered when I entered a Dungeon. But more and more questions popped within me. Dungeons are indeed interesting.

"What? Why?" Leo asked the question Loki wanted to ask.

"I-I don't know. It's part of an Item Looting Anomaly, so no one knows the answer."

Loki finally couldn't resist and walked closer to Pandora. "Is there a purpose to this?"

Pandora nodded. "Items that have Blessing Description are mostly used in Artifact Creation."

Loki raised his eyebrows and extended his right hand to Pandora. "Can I hold the claw again?"

Pandora gave it to Loki with no hesitation.

A notification showed up the moment the claw landed on Loki's palm.

[Kobold's Claw.

Type: Material

Description: A sharp and sturdy claw that Kobold uses to attack and rip out the flesh of their enemies.]

"So, this Artifact that you mentioned. What are they exactly?" Loki inquired.

"I-I don't exactly know, as I've never seen one before, but I heard it's an item or piece of equipment that can raise any Blessed stats when wielded," Pandora explained.

Loki glanced at Pandora's staff. "Like that staff of yours?"

Pandora shook her head. "N-no, this staff isn't an Artifact. The only reason it can boost my healing ability by 1% is the rune inscribed on it."

Loki widened his eyes. "Wow, the price of that staff is 10 silver, and it only boosts your healing ability by 1%."

Pandora lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry."

"What are you saying, Loki? We bought that staff because there are no better alternatives!" Leo reprimanded.

Realizing his words came out wrong, Loki immediately waved his hands. "No, no, that isn't what I meant. I'm just thinking that if a staff that could boost one's ability by 1% is already 10 silver, what about those Artifacts that can increase stats? How much are they?"

Loki bowed his head to Pandora. "Sorry if my words came out wrong."

Pandora shook her head intensely. "No, it's true that my equipment cost more than all the things we bought."

"You don't have to feel guilty about that. We can easily earn that kind of coin. I would rather buy expensive equipment than die because of the lack of it."

Leo nodded in approval.

"Anyway, let's continue the search; we've been lingering here for too long," Loki suggested.

Leo sat down. "What? Why not rest for a bit? It's almost noon anyway."

"You're right, let's eat lunch, but we can't eat here. Who knows, the commotion of our fight might attract something or someone? Let's move to a much more secluded area."

Leo touched his stomach and sighed. "Fine."

With that, the group moved out, searching for Azure Flower and a place to rest at the same time. Soon, they found the perfect place to rest. It was a cave. However, before they set up the things they needed to cook, they noticed something.

"It seems this place has been used by Crawlers before," Loki stated after seeing a mark of a campfire and scattered trash here and there.

"Should we stay here?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. The place appeared okay, but the cave was deeper than expected." Loki turned to Pandora. "Do you think there's a monster inside? Should we check it?"

Pandora shook her head. "I-I don't know; there's no plant inside, so I can't hear any whispers."

Ah, I forgot that Pandora needs plants for her skill. So, that skill will only be useful if a place has a lot of plants. We better not check the cave then.

"I guess it should be okay to set up a temporary camp here. It's better than sitting out in the open," Loki remarked.

Upon deciding, the three kids took out their bags from their CC and began preparing their meals. Fortunately, they only had simple ingredients, so the preparation was simple. Unfortunately, they only had simple ingredients, so the only thing they could make was the same food as yesterday.

Soon, the group each held a wooden bowl filled with meat soup that Leo had cooked. The visual wasn't appetizing, but the smell was good enough to awaken their stomach. More importantly, even with limited ingredients, Leo still managed to bring out the taste of the meat, thanks to the herb found in the Kobold Forest.

After eating, the trio rested and slept, if they could. However, while resting, an ominous feeling struck their hearts.

All of Loki's hair stood straight. He didn't know why, but something told him to run as far away as he could from the cave. When he was about to warn the two, a deafening roar shook the cave, halting him from speaking.

Nevertheless, Leo and Pandora were smart enough to know that there was danger inside the cave; thus, they both slowly backed away.

While stepping back, Loki felt a rumble beneath his feet.

Something is coming. Something massive!

"Run!" Loki screamed with all his might while running.

Then, from the darkness, a claw emerged and clawed at Loki.

Loki was fast, but the creature was much faster. Because he had no time to think and the attack was coming, he used [Evading Blink], not realizing that in doing so, he would put himself in a more dangerous situation.

Loki's body disappeared, only to reappear in the embrace of darkness. He was behind the creature. Fortunately, after he disappeared, the beast continued chasing Leo and Pandora, giving him time to breathe.

Luckily, when Leo and Pandora came out of the cave, the creature stopped just before the mouth of the cave, guarding it. The beast had brown fur, long sharp claws, and a ferocious maw. It could run with its four limbs and stand with its hind legs. It was a bear, but it wasn't the same kind of bear in the real world because this bear was twice the size of a normal bear.

Everyone was safe; the problem was that Loki had nowhere to go. The only exit had been blocked by the bear, and he knew that no matter how good their cooperation was, they wouldn't be able to defeat it. Because the bear wasn't only terrifying with its appearance but also the number on its head.