CHAPTER 44: [ TREASURE ]

Alexander tried to rest, closing his eyes for a moment that felt brief.

A faint sound cut through the silent room.

He tried ignoring it, until the thought of a surviving undead would be the end if it reached him.

He opened his eyes—it was harder than it should have been.

He could see it clearly, through the obscurity.

Fae.

She was halfway through the room, flat on the ground.

She slowly moved her hand up, it looked as if she could barely manage it, her arm shaking.

She then clawed at the stone, dragging herself inch by inch.

Her head rested sideways on the floor, her eyes staring at him through the mask.

Her fingers were bleeding, yet tightly gripped the tiles as if her life depended on it.

She looked broken. As if her world was about to crumble.

She was desperate.

Alexander took a deep breath, fully opening his eyes.

His head hurt, each muscle in his body aching.

He slowly moved his hands next to his head, pushing against the floor with the help of his knees.

He felt lightheaded, even on all four, as if he was on a ship in the middle of the sea.

He kept breathing deeply, as he pushed once more, bringing himself up to his knees.

Then, with the last bit of stamina he had, he got on one foot, then both.

He felt as if the room was slightly spinning, his full concentration was required to avoid falling back down.

He turned toward Fae, the whole room turning into blurred shapes as he dragged his gaze across.

She was still desperately pulling herself toward him, leaving a trail of blood behind.

"Fae..." he said, his voice quiet.

He took a step forward, planting his feet in the ground in hopes to remain stable.

"Fae."

She was still looking at him, her bloody fingers grasping the next tile.

He took several steps, it felt as if his muscles weren’t listening anymore.

Each time he advanced, he had to force his knees to not give up on him.

He was nearing her, slowly going down to his knees next to her.

She pulled herself forward one more time, before Alexander grabbed her hand.

She tightly held onto his hand with the strength she had left.

Using everything he had, he pulled her up, her arms going around his neck as he held her against him in a tight hug.

"I’m here," he said.

He felt her holding onto him, her arms closing in his back as she rested against his chest.

They didn’t move, remaining perfectly still several minutes that felt like seconds.

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away slowly, feeling resistance that gradually faded.

He took both her hands in his, looking at her fingers with a saddened expression.

"I’m not leaving you behind," he said, looking at her.

He could feel her emotions through her gaze, her pain was easing and her distress slowly fading.

He got up, this time more sure-footed than the first.

Still holding onto her hands, he got her up with him.

She couldn’t stand up, her legs giving up before she could stand upright. He pulled her closer next to him, his hand around her waist while he had her hold onto his shoulder.

Together, they were able to stand.

He glanced at the doors that would lead out the way they came, before noticing something that had appeared in the middle of the room before the Lich’s throne.

A small chest was sitting on the ground, its colors not easily discernible through the darkness, but it looked mostly made of wood with metal bands holding it together.

Holding her firmly, they both headed toward the chest one step at a time.

Once next to it, they got on their knees next to it, Alexander opening it himself.

A slight glow flashed through their eyes, quickly vanishing once it was fully opened.

He rummaged through it, unable to find any potions.

He clicked his tongue, then looked at its contents once more.

There were two sealed scrolls, they looked like old parchments that somehow stood the test of time. They were sealed in red wax that was on top of threads that rolled around them.

He couldn’t tell what the seal was, the symbol on it foreign to him.

There was a small pouch, shaking it slightly made its contents clash.

He sighed, his best guess was that it had to be some sort of currency.

Everything else under it was rocks.

The rocks were short, hexagonal stone plates that were small enough to fit in his hand.

They were horribly cracked, any hit most likely breaking them to pieces.

"We’ve been awarded rocks for completing this dungeon?"

He could feel slight magic emanating from them, but nothing extravagant.

He sighed and looked up, the remains of the Lich were further ahead.

Something was on the ground right before it, he could see a slight glow coming from it.

It was a dungeon core.

Yet, this one was significantly bigger than those they had collected until then.

He helped Fae up, her weight still resting against his side as they both headed toward it.

He felt it—the way her fingers dug into his skin.

Even if it was a couple of meters she wouldn’t let go.

They arrived before it, Alexander’s eyes leaving the corpse and going to the staff right next to it.

The upper end of the staff that had a large circle with inner rings in it was clearly made of some sort of obsidian stone.

It was also cracked and looked tested by time.

Alexander grabbed it, feeling its weight.

He could feel it extremely faintly, the potential of that staff.

As he leveled up and his stats raised, feeling magic got easier.

Despite its appearances, that staff was holding a significant amount of magic in it.

He grabbed the core in his hand, then yanked the robe it wore from under it.

"I said we would exploit everything in this dungeon, so we will..." he said under his breath.

He walked back to the small chest, leaving the core in it before closing it and handing it to Fae who held it with her free arm.

"Everything we’ve left before fighting the boss should fit in the chest, once we have everything we’re leaving," he said.

She nodded, both of them slowly walking toward the exit while holding onto each other.