Three Chests

Murloc Guard Skoda erupted into action.

Waves churned beneath her tail. An endless sea surged from behind, sweeping hordes of Murloc Killer Crabs out into the open water.

Though the Murloc Killer Crabs were naturally unafraid of water and didn't drown, the waves' immense force slammed them senseless and left them with internal injuries.

Then Murloc Guard Skoda swung her trident with all her might. Drawn by a mysterious force, the waves formed a massive whirlpool that tore apart the Murloc Killer Crabs caught inside.

But there were simply too many Murloc Killer Crabs, and Murloc Guard Skoda's mana had its limits.

After casting spell after spell, Murloc Guard Skoda's mana was soon completely spent.

But she kept fighting the Murloc Killer Crabs at close quarters.

Though her skin was thick and her flesh tough, she was soon covered in wounds.

Though covered in wounds, she still fought bravely.

Though she fought bravely, her injuries grew worse and worse.

Though her injuries grew worse and worse, she still managed to hold back the Murloc Killer Crabs' attacks.

The Murloc Killer Crabs in this stretch of sea were finite, after all.

Murloc Guard Skoda had finally protected her honor and refused to let herself fail again.

Though utterly exhausted, covered in wounds, and out of mana, though she could barely stand, she had still won in the end.

At last, she could return to the deep sea and tend to the wounds on her body and in her heart.

But just then, a spell that had been charging for ten seconds finally arrived.

"BIU!"

It was a fireball, the kind that ordinarily would have been nothing at all—Murloc Guard Skoda could have snuffed it out with a casual wave.

But now, with her body torn open and bloody, her mana exhausted, she could no longer defend herself.

The fireball struck Murloc Guard Skoda, roasting the flesh on her body.

But that wasn't the end.

The moment Shawn had cast the first Fireball, he had already begun channeling Arcane Missiles.

One Arcane Missile after another struck Murloc Guard Skoda in the chest, hitting the same spot again and again. Each attack brought another stab of pain, until she could no longer feel it.

Murloc Guard Skoda opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came.

With a loud crash, she fell to the ground.

Murloc Guard Skoda's honor had ultimately gone undefended, but she had died fighting, and that was a worthy end. She had finally escaped the shadow of failure, because she was dead. In death, all was settled; everything was finally over.

Shawn let out a long breath.

In that short time, he too had exhausted his mana and stamina. He slumped to the ground and rested for five minutes.

Only half an hour remained of the three-hour time allowance. Shawn had no time to waste.

Just then, Shawn heard a pleasant notification.

"Ding!"

"Instant Quest: The Wrath of Murloc Guard Skoda (Complete)."

"Reward: Gathering."

"Note: Only usable in dungeons."

A stream of information flowed into Shawn's mind.

Shawn hurried toward Murloc Shoal.

The Murlocs, Kobolds, Murloc Killer Crabs, and Murloc Guard Skoda—tens of thousands of corpses had left Shawn with a fortune's worth of loot.

There was no way he could gather everything, so he could only choose the most important items.

First was Murloc Guard Skoda.

This Naga warrior, whose class level was at least 6, had left Shawn a great many good things.

"One intact Naga hide, two Naga claws, 120 intact Naga scales, one trident, one Murloc Guard Amulet."

Naga hide could be used to make fine leather armor, Naga claws to make weapons like clawed gauntlets, and Naga scales to craft fine scale armor.

Most important of all were the two pieces of equipment.

"Skoda's Trident, green quality, excellent equipment. Strength +10."

"Imbued Spell: Tidal Vortex. Summons a massive wave from the Elemental Plane of Water, creating a high-speed whirlpool that tears enemies apart."

"Murloc Guard Amulet, green quality, excellent equipment. All Attributes +1."

Shawn could wear the Murloc Guard Amulet. But Murloc Guard's honor was no use to him, so he could trade it for a decent sum of gold.

After putting on the Murloc Guard Amulet, Shawn felt a little more refreshed in both body and mind, then continued gathering.

Shawn first chose the spellcasters: Coldlight Oracles, Coldlight Seers, Darkscale Oracles, and Kobold Shaman Witch Doctors. In the end, he collected fifteen ordinary white-quality staves and one excellent green-quality staff.

Besides those, he also found several tattered, filthy robes.

Then he gathered the combat specialists among the Kobolds and Murlocs, and finally the larger Murloc Killer Crabs. He got plenty of Murloc scales, candles, iron weapons, shells, pearls, gold ore, and an assortment of miscellaneous gems.

At last, Shawn hauled three chests out of the Murloc camp. With only a few minutes to spare, he returned to his spawn point and left Murloc Shoal.

Lying on the soft bed in a room on the second floor of the Lion's Pride Inn, Shawn grinned from ear to ear.

Though his trip to Murloc Shoal had been fraught with danger and incredibly difficult, the rewards had made it all worthwhile. The trip had gone perfectly!

Besides the fine materials and two pieces of green equipment he'd gotten from Murloc Guard Skoda, he had also collected plenty of materials and equipment from the Murlocs, Kobolds, and Murloc Killer Crabs, along with three chests.

These three chests weren't some Space Garrison product like a "Novice Chest." They were real, physical boxes, storage chests the Murlocs had salvaged from various shipwrecks around Murloc Shoal and filled with treasures they'd brought up from the sea.

Shawn rubbed his hands together and settled in to enjoy the pleasure of opening chests and finding loot.

The first chest was made of solid wood. Though it had spent years underwater, there was no sign of water damage. It was as fragrant as thousand-year-old agarwood, and radiated an ancient charm. A rustic iron lock held it shut, but there was no key.

Shawn took out a battered iron hammer he'd looted from the Kobolds and brought it down once. The lock snapped.

Inside, gold, silver, and copper gleamed...

The chest was filled to the brim with gold, silver, and copper coins!

The coins came in all kinds of designs, clearly from different countries, races, and eras. Shawn even spotted a familiar symbol among them: a gold coin from the Arathor Empire!

Shawn plunged both hands into the chest and scooped up a huge handful of coins, tossing them into the air. Three different colors of light flashed across them, nearly blinding his hardened, Kryptonite-loving eyes.

"Hahaha, I'm rich! I'm rich!"

Shawn laughed out loud and started counting the money.

One, two, three...

There were 42 gold coins, 365 silver coins, and 2,475 copper coins in all!

All right, it was certainly a tidy sum. But when he thought of Gryan Stoutmantle's Lightforge set, which had cost 800 gold, Shawn immediately felt like a dirt-poor beggar!

Then came the second chest.

This one was made of iron, forged from refined steel and coated to prevent rust. It had beautiful patterns and a massive alloy lock. The whole thing was a work of art.

Inside the second chest was a warm glow of white, blue, black, and every other color. Within it lay pearl after pearl, smooth and lustrous.

Shawn laughed even louder.

"Hahahaha, I've struck it rich! Now I'm really rich!"

A whole chest of pearls! They were worth far more than a chest of coins—far, far more!

The black pearls, silver pearls, gold pearls, and pearls of every other color were especially valuable, worth more than ordinary pearls. They were all exquisite treasures, sure to be loved by women and jewelers alike.

Shawn could practically see heaps of gold coins flying toward him.

With the first two chests to set the stage, Shawn was even more eager to see what was in the third.

Torn between nervousness and anticipation, Shawn turned his gaze to the third chest.