Harvest

Time passed bit by bit. Soren's stamina gradually recovered, and the wound on his thigh had begun to feel numb, with a faint tingling itch.

This meant his 19 points of Constitution had begun to take effect. The wound was slowly healing, though it had not reached the extraordinary effects of his abilities. If he rested quietly now, the injury would heal completely in one or two days at most. But Soren clearly could not wait that long. Ignoring the risk of tearing the wound open again, he continued exploring this treasure cave.

The Marilith Longswords were left at the entrance. Those two swords were so heavy that carrying them felt like wearing Full Plate Armor.

They greatly affected his speed!

He took the Deck of Many Things back. This item was rather special, and it might prove useful if he kept it on him. He pulled the crossbow bolts from the marilith one by one and loaded them back into the Heavy Crossbow launcher. If a battle broke out later, the launcher would save him a great deal of trouble. The treasure cave had two branching passages. He had only explored one of them, and the other passage should also lead to some hidden chamber.

Most of the traps in the passage had already been triggered.

But Soren still did not dare relax in the slightest. He searched forward almost inch by inch, and sure enough, 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 little Venom.

A chilly wind blew past.

This side of the passage should have connected to the surface. Faint traces of reflected light could be seen.

The air was thick with the smell of preservatives, somewhat like formaldehyde but much stronger, mixed with a faint trace of blood. Soren's expression turned solemn. His hand rested on the sword hilt as he advanced down the passage. Corpses soon appeared in his sight, their entire bodies wrapped in bandages.

"Mummies?"

The sight instantly activated memories from hundreds of past adventure records.

"Mummy."

"Challenge Rating 3, individual level 6, possesses Spell-like Ability."

"Highest attribute 18, lowest attribute 5, total attributes 65–75."

"Special Feat: Undead Constitution, Negative Energy Erosion."

"Challenge difficulty: D+."

A faint sound stirred.

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

Their movements were stiff and slow, and they moved even more slowly than children. These were ordinary Mummies, without any extraordinary abilities, possessing only the basic talents of Undead creatures. Mummies had low Dexterity, but greater Strength than adult humans. Thanks to the extraordinary traits of the Undead, their Constitution was conservatively estimated to be above 15. Thus, among Low-Tier Undead, they were second only to Zombies as meat shields. "Whoosh!"

A volley of crossbow bolts shot out.

The foremost Mummy was hit at once. Six bolts pierced its body, and it swayed before collapsing to the ground.

Undead creatures possessed Necrotic Energy. Dispersing that energy was enough to kill them.

However.

There was one thing that had to be noted. Many Undead creatures carried Negative Energy Erosion. If they scratched someone, that person could easily become infected with disease or suffer additional Necrotic Energy Erosion damage.

"If only I had a priest."

The thought flashed through Soren's mind. He immediately drew his Longsword and charged forward. Mummies were slow-moving, making them among the easiest enemies for him to deal with.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Soren circled around the remaining two Mummies. Even with his leg somewhat impaired, the Mummies could not touch him at all.

Low-tier Mummies generally had less than 10 Dexterity. As long as one fought them while moving, they could be dismantled slowly.

Of course.

If one encountered an ancient Mummy, then things would turn tragic.

Ancient Mummies had a Challenge Rating of 12 and an individual level of 18, with a conservatively estimated Dexterity of over 21.

In many Ancient Ruins, ancient Mummies were an Adventurer's nightmare!

The battle was brief.

Soren quickly dismantled the Mummies before him through mobile combat, gaining 300 Slaughter Experience.

He had originally planned to retrieve the crossbow bolts, but after seeing the rotten flesh on the Mummies, he gave up on that idea. It was not merely because they were disgusting. More importantly, Undead creatures really were disgusting.

Behind the Mummies was a door.

The moment Soren pushed it open, he saw many corpses, as well as organs from Humanoids soaked in an unknown liquid.

The smell of blood became stronger.

On the workbench sat a jar of dark red liquid, with a fist-sized eyeball soaking inside.

"Unknown eye stalk."

Soren could not determine what it was, so he had no intention of taking it with him. The chamber was thick with Necrotic Energy.

Because a Lich had once cast Spells here, Negative Energy had accumulated here to some extent. This was not a good thing for any living creature.

Staying too long would expose one to Necrotic Energy radiation!

Only after a priest performed Purify could the Negative Energy field here be dispersed.

After checking for traps, Soren began rummaging through boxes and cabinets for anything valuable.

He found several books, records written in strange symbols, more than ten Gold Dalers, and a bizarre pair of gauntlets.

The books recorded only information.

After glancing through them, Soren put them away.

He possessed Eidetic Memory. If he brought them back and read them, they should increase his Knowledge Skill Points. Since the former Soren had never received the appropriate education, he had not awakened any innate knowledge skills. At the very least, he needed to recognize most Common writing before he could gain the corresponding knowledge skills.

Those with scholar professions had it much better, naturally possessing 25 points in knowledge skills.

The strange symbols were experiment records.

They should have documented the experimental process in a special code. Soren's knowledge skills were insufficient, and he did not understand Spellcraft, so he could not read these materials.

Moreover, they appeared to be research concerning the creation of Undead creatures.

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

Lastly, there were the bizarre gauntlets.

They looked somewhat familiar to him. When he tried to identify the item, its information immediately appeared.

Item Type: Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

Item Level:

Item Description: A Wondrous Item specially crafted from Ogre skin. Wearing it increased the wearer's Strength, potentially up to the level of an Ogre.

Equipment Requirement: None.

Equipment Effect: Strength +2, up to a maximum of 18 Strength.

It was actually this piece of equipment?

A trace of delight appeared on Soren's face. He picked it up and put it on his wrist.

Gauntlets of Ogre Power were among the most popular early-game equipment. This set had three pieces: Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Gloves of Ogre Power, and Belt of Ogre Power. Every Ogre item could increase Strength by 2 points, but the limit was 18 Strength. In other words, once one's Strength exceeded 18, they were completely useless.

This item had once been entirely useless to him.

That was because Players inherited Hero-class templates, with starting attributes as high as 90 points. Most melee Players began with 18 Strength.

Such equipment was meant for spellcasting and Spell-like Ability classes!

But for the current Soren, these Gauntlets of Ogre Power were extremely useful. With them equipped, he could barely wield the Marilith Longswords.

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

If a Necromancer had come here, there should have been many valuable things to take away. But Soren had no interest whatsoever in those corpse parts. He packed up the books and Gold Dalers, taking them with him while leaving everything else behind. By his estimate, he had already spent half a day here, and it should be dark outside by now.

The rations Soren had brought had vanished because of the Thief Card. After several battles, he was quite hungry.

Two Marilith Longswords.

More than ten Gold Dalers, three books, three Deck of Many Things cards, and one pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

Soren was fairly satisfied with the gains from this adventure, though a few accidents had nearly gotten him killed.

But if he could sell these spoils, he should have enough for Vivian and himself to obtain Freeman status.

And buy some necessary items as well.

For example, a small Bag of Holding with three feet of space. This was essential for a professional's wilderness adventures.

It was worth around 100 Gold Dalers.

Every city's Arcane Shop sold them, and they could hold some miscellaneous daily necessities. When exploring wilderness ruins, it was impossible to carry everything back by hand. A small Bag of Holding had roughly one cubic meter of space, enough to store part of an adventure's gains. Otherwise, twenty Gold Dalers alone weighed a pound. Sometimes, the Gold Dalers gained from an expedition could weigh one or two hundred pounds.

Could you still walk while carrying that many Gold Dalers?

Creak!

The heavy hidden door slowly opened. Soren emerged with two Longswords strapped to his back and a small bundle behind him, hastily wrapped in a dead person's clothes.

He cautiously observed his surroundings, then headed toward Amber City.

But!

He had only just left the boundaries of Potter's Field when he alertly heard faint moans coming from ahead. They were the moans of a woman.

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

Silently, he placed his hand on the sword hilt and drew the Longsword from his back. Every muscle in his body tensed as his eyes scanned the surroundings. He was ready for battle.

This was Potter's Field!

Who would come here in the middle of the night for a wild tryst? Even chasing thrills and heavy tastes had limits!

He was probably about to encounter something unclean.