Harvest

Time passed bit by bit.

Soren's physical strength gradually recovered. His thigh wound had begun to feel numb, followed by a tingling, itchy sensation.

This meant his 19 points of Constitution were beginning to take effect; the wound was slowly healing, though it had not yet reached the extraordinary level of the Regeneration ability. If he were to rest quietly now, the injury would heal completely in a day or two at most. However, Soren clearly could not wait that long. Disregarding the risk of the wound tearing open again, he continued to explore the treasure cave.

The Marilith Longsword was left at the entrance. The weight of these two swords was too great; carrying them was like wearing a full suit of plate armor.

It severely impacted his speed!

He retrieved the Deck of Many Things. This item was quite special, and it might still prove useful if kept on his person. He pulled the crossbow bolts out of the Marilith one by one and reloaded them. If a fight broke out later, the heavy crossbow mechanism would save him a lot of trouble. The treasure cave had two branching paths; he had only explored one, and the other should also lead to some secret chamber.

The traps in the corridor had mostly been triggered already.

Yet, Soren still dared not be the slightest bit careless. He explored almost inch by inch, and sure enough, he discovered another trap behind a stone wall.

It was a spike trap.

If triggered, a row of sharp blades would thrust out from the ground, coated with a faint layer of poison.

A cold, chilling wind blew past.

This side of the corridor should connect to the surface, as faint light was vaguely refracting through.

The air was filled with the smell of preservatives, somewhat like formalin, though much more pungent, with a hint of blood mixed in. Soren's expression turned serious. He placed his hand on his sword hilt and moved forward along the corridor. Corpses wrapped in bandages appeared in his line of sight.

"Mummy?"

The scene before him instantly activated his memory—data from hundreds of past adventure logs.

Mummy [Undead] (Tier 2).
Challenge Rating 3, Personal Level 6, possesses spell-like abilities.
Highest attribute 18, lowest attribute 5, total attribute points 65-75.
Special Feats: Undead Constitution, Negative Energy Infusion.
Challenge Difficulty: D+.

A slight sound.

Sure enough, as Soren approached, two or three of the corpses began to move.

Their movements were very stiff and slow; their movement speed didn't even match that of a child. These were crudely made mummies without any extraordinary ability enhancements, possessing only the basic talents of undead life. The Dexterity of a mummy is very low, but their strength is above that of an adult, and their Constitution is conservatively estimated to be above 15 due to the extraordinary traits of the undead. Thus, they are the second-best meat shields among low-tier undead, right after the Zombie.

"Thwip!"

A row of crossbow bolts flew out.

The Ancient Mummy at the very front was struck instantly. Six crossbow bolts pierced its body, causing it to sway for a moment before collapsing to the ground, unable to rise again.

Undead lifeforms possess Necrotic Energy; dispersing this energy is the key to killing them.

However.

There is one point that must be noted: many undead creatures carry the Negative Energy Infusion effect. Being scratched by them carries a high risk of contracting diseases or suffering additional damage from Necrotic Energy erosion.

"If only there were a Cleric here."

The thought flashed through the mind of Soren, who immediately drew his longsword and stepped forward to meet them. Mummies are slow-moving, making them the easiest enemies for him to deal with.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Soren's figure moved around the remaining two mummies. Even with his slightly hindered leg, these mummies couldn't land a single hit on him.

The Dexterity of a low-level mummy is generally below 10 points; as long as one utilizes hit-and-run tactics, they can be dismantled slowly.

Of course.

It would be a tragedy if you were to encounter an Ancient Mummy.

An Ancient Mummy has a challenge rating of 12 and a personal level of 18, with a Dexterity score conservatively estimated to be over 21 points.

In many ancient ruins, Ancient Mummies are the nightmare of adventurers!

The brief battle ended.

Soren quickly dismantled the mummies before him using hit-and-run tactics, gaining 300 kill experience points.

He had originally intended to retrieve his crossbow bolts, but after seeing the rotting flesh on the mummies, he abandoned the idea. It wasn't just because it was disgusting; more importantly, undead creatures are truly foul.

Behind the mummies was a door.

As soon as Soren pushed it open, he saw numerous corpses, as well as some humanoid organs soaking in an unknown liquid.

The smell of blood grew thick.

On a workbench, he could see a jar of dark red liquid, inside of which was soaked an eyeball the size of a fist.

"Unknown Eyestalk."

Soren could not determine what this was, so he had no intention of taking it with him. There was a dense concentration of Necrotic Energy within the secret chamber.

Because a Lich had once cast spells here, negative energy would gather to a certain extent, which is never a good thing for any living creature.

Staying for too long would result in exposure to Necrotic Energy radiation!

It would require a Cleric to perform a purification before the negative energy field here could be dispelled.

After checking for traps, Soren began rummaging through the cabinets and chests in search of anything valuable.

He found a few books, some records of strange symbols, over a dozen Gold Thaler, and a peculiar pair of bracers.

The books were all reference materials.

After a quick glance, Soren tucked them away.

He possessed the ability of Eidetic Memory; taking them back to study would likely increase his Lore skill points. Because the Soren of the past had never received a proper education, he hadn't awakened the Lore skill naturally. At the very least, one had to be able to recognize most common languages and scripts to acquire the Lore skill.

In this regard, those with the Scholar profession had it easy, as they were born with 25 points in the Lore skill.

The strange symbols were experimental records.

They were likely written in a special code detailing experimental procedures. Soren's Lore skill was insufficient, and he lacked Spellcraft, so he couldn't decipher the information.

Furthermore, it appeared these were studies on the creation of undead creatures.

These items were of little use to him and would be difficult to sell, so he left them where they were.

Finally, there was the peculiar pair of bracers.

He felt a sense of familiarity with the item. After attempting to identify it, its data was immediately displayed.

Item Type: Ogre Power Bracers.

Item Grade: [Tier 1 Extraordinary Item]

Item Description: A wondrous item crafted from the skin of an ogre. Wearing it increases one's strength, up to the level of an ogre.

Equip Requirements: None.

Equip Effect: Strength +2, maximum increase up to 18 points of Strength.

It was actually this piece of equipment?

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Soren's face. He picked them up and strapped them onto his wrists.

The Ogre Power Bracers were the most popular equipment in the early stages. This set consisted of three pieces: the Ogre Power Bracers, the Ogre Power Gauntlets, and the Ogre Power Belt. Each piece of Ogre equipment could increase Strength by 2 points, but the limit for the bonus was 18 points of Strength—meaning if one's own Strength exceeded 18, the items were of no use whatsoever.

In the past, these items were completely useless to him.

Because players inherited hero-class templates, their initial attributes were as high as 90 points, and most melee-class players started with 18 points of Strength.

Such equipment was meant for spellcasters and magic-oriented classes!

But for the current Soren, these Ogre Power Bracers were incredibly useful, as wearing them would allow him to barely wield the Marilith Longsword.

Even if he still suffered a 2-point Strength penalty!

If a Necromancer had come here, there would likely be many items of decent value, but Soren had no interest whatsoever in those corpse parts. He packed up the books and gold coins to take with him, leaving everything else where it was. Calculating the time, he realized he had already spent half a day here; it must be dark outside by now.

The dry rations Soren had brought had vanished due to the Thief Card, and after a round of fighting, he was quite hungry.

Two Marilith Longswords.

A dozen or so Gold Thalers, three books, three cards from the Deck of Many Things, and one pair of Ogre Power Bracers.

Soren was fairly satisfied with the spoils of this adventure, even though some unexpected events had occurred that nearly cost him his life.

However, if he could offload these gains, he should have enough to secure the status of free citizens for both himself and Vivian.

He would also be able to purchase some necessary items.

For example, a small Bag of Holding with three feet of space—an essential item for any professional adventurer in the wild.

It was worth around 100 Gold Thalers.

They were sold in the Arcane Shop of every city and could hold various odds and ends for daily life. It was impossible to carry everything back when adventuring in wild ruins; a small Bag of Holding had about one cubic meter of space, enough to store a portion of one's adventuring spoils. Otherwise, twenty Gold Thalers weighed a pound, and sometimes the gold coins alone could weigh one or two hundred pounds.

Are you sure you could still walk after carrying all those Gold Thalers?

"Creak!"

The heavy secret door slowly opened, and Soren appeared carrying two longswords on his back, along with a small bundle temporarily wrapped in the clothes of the dead.

He vigilantly scanned his surroundings before heading in the direction of Amber City.

But!

He had barely stepped out of the perimeter of the Mass Grave when he alertly heard faint moaning coming from ahead—the moaning of a woman.

Because the area was very quiet, the sound carried quite far.

He silently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, drew the blade from his back, tensed his muscles, and kept his eyes on his surroundings, fully prepared for combat.

This was a Mass Grave!

Who would come here in the middle of the night for a tryst? Even those seeking thrills and unconventional tastes had their limits!

He feared he had encountered something unclean.