Chapter 47: A "Difficult" Treasure Hunt

Lu Kuan put down the short sword in his hand and nodded. “It should be credible. In the history of Echoes of the Gods, there really was such a war.”

In the game, the Molten Fortress belonged to the Northern Empire. Twenty years before players entered the game world, the Northern Empire and the Silver Dragon Republic to the south had been at war. The conflict eventually ended with a peace treaty, but the war had engulfed almost the entire territory of both nations, causing countless casualties and claiming the lives of many high-ranking figures.

Of course, since ancient times, war has always been entangled with money, and there were always those who would take advantage of the chaos. Veterans like Ah Tang’s grandfather and father hiding some spoils was only natural.

Qingyi sat by the campfire, listening to Lu Kuan recount the history, momentarily lost in thought. Only when she realized Lu Kuan was looking at her did she avert her gaze in a flustered manner.

“Is all this background story on the forums?” the girl couldn’t help but ask, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Uh… no, I came across it when doing a quest before, in the Molten Fortress library. I’m quite interested in history, haha~” Lu Kuan hesitated, then coughed and explained.

Qingyi nodded, not quite understanding, but didn’t press further.

In fact, by this point in the game’s lifespan, many players in the Molten Fortress didn’t even know there was a library in the city. Reading there wouldn’t give you any experience, only a handful of knowledge-based skills that were, for now, mostly useless.

The cave fell quiet again. Lu Kuan, having finished tending to his weapons, was just considering how to break the awkward silence when a sharp “crack” echoed from outside.

Lu Kuan sprang to his feet, grabbing a blazing firebrand from the campfire. Qingyi followed closely as they made their way to the cave entrance.

In the dim torchlight, they could make out a troglodyte crouched not far away, gnawing hungrily on the hind leg of some unknown animal, blood dripping down its mouth.

Lu Kuan chuckled lightly. “Ha, a loner troglodyte. Looks like it didn’t want its companions stealing its food—must’ve run quite far to eat in peace.”

At that moment, the troglodyte noticed the firelight. It turned its head, fixed its gaze on the two of them, and let out a savage hiss, its ugly maw smeared with blood—a truly gruesome sight.

Lu Kuan was about to deal with it when Qingyi stepped forward, glancing back at Lu Kuan. “Let me try,” she said.

Her voice trembled slightly, but her tone was firm. Lu Kuan raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Go ahead. Watch out for its throwing weapons—troglodytes fight pretty dirty.”

Qingyi nodded to show she understood, unslung her shield and sword, and assumed a fighting stance as she approached the creature.

Lu Kuan watched from a distance, his admiration for the young woman growing. Most girls, faced with a bloodthirsty monster in the dark, would have screamed in terror. Qingyi’s voice quivered with fear, but she forced herself to confront the enemy head-on—far braver than many new male players.

A single troglodyte was no trouble for her. Apart from some initial nerves, her movements grew increasingly fluid—her sword flashed, her long hair streamed behind her, exuding a unique grace.

With a textbook shield bash, the troglodyte was struck squarely, collapsing limply to the ground.

“Nicely done! You only got hit once, right? Soon you’ll be able to take no damage at all. Impressive!” Lu Kuan clapped in earnest, lavish in his praise.

In the faint firelight, Qingyi’s cheeks seemed tinged with red. She ignored Lu Kuan, gathered the spoils, and returned to the cave with her head lowered.

The long night stretched on. Thankfully, Qingyi was eager to learn and Lu Kuan prided himself on being Echoes of the Gods’ walking encyclopedia. The two of them passed the time in question and answer, and boredom never really set in.

When A’Kui finally emerged from the tent, they were both startled to realize it was already 4 a.m.

Lu Kuan had only slept for an hour before waking. After quickly packing up, the four set out again. This time, however, they didn’t head for the mouth of the valley. Instead, they changed direction halfway and ventured deeper into the gorge.

At this end of the canyon was a gentle slope, stretching all the way up to the outer hillside. Lu Kuan led the way with a torch, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

“Try to remember anything else—anything at all that your grandfather told you,” Bai Keke said gently, holding little Ah Tang’s hand, still coaxing for clues.

“Big sister, all Grandpa ever said was that the treasure is at the highest point in the gorge. I really don’t remember anything else…” The boy wore a pitiful expression, brow furrowed. After all, it’s never pleasant to be forced to recall things heard years ago.

Lu Kuan listened calmly, betraying nothing.

He had already recalled the treasure’s location: at the top of the cliff, hidden within an ancient tomb. There was no real danger to the treasure itself, but as for this quest, he doubted it would go smoothly.

This particular treasure was rated C+, a grade higher than the previous Courage Treasure. The loot was worth at least two pieces of blue gear, and starting from C-rank, the gold rewards saw a qualitative leap—a nice windfall for the group.

But these thoughts Lu Kuan kept to himself. There was no way to explain how he knew.

Bai Keke was endlessly patient, helping Ah Tang search his memories, while Lu Kuan simply kept his thoughts to himself, silently wishing the boy luck.

As they climbed, the first blush of dawn appeared overhead. Morning light poured through a great fissure at the canyon’s summit, illuminating the interior and, for the first time, revealing the full expanse of the gorge.

Dark openings dotted both walls, tiered from the base of the cliffs all the way to the top. The sunlight painted massive patches of brightness across the shadowed rock, dazzling their eyes.

By now, the troglodytes were nowhere to be seen. The nocturnal creatures had finished their hunt and retreated to sleep; any stragglers they encountered were easily dispatched by the party.

“We can’t climb up here!”

“This way’s a dead end.”

“Nothing here!”

Nearing the top, they spread out to search but found nothing. Lu Kuan wandered about for a while, then ambled over to the base of a cliff.

The terrain here was sheer as if hewn by a blade—no footholds at all, only a narrow vertical fissure about a meter wide and half a meter deep, running from their feet up and out of sight, splitting the cliff into two.

“I’ll try here,” Lu Kuan called to his teammates. He stowed his hunting bow, slipped into the crack, and braced his feet against either side, beginning to climb.

He moved quickly, choosing the right path at every fork without hesitation. Within minutes, the three girls below had lost sight of him altogether.