Chapter 95: Treasure room

As Simon had taken to calling his spider, Bitsy was skittering at a sedate pace while Liz, the cat, and Purr, the lizard, followed by the sides. Finally Stone(he could not think of a better name so the monster girl was stuck with a very bland and generic one) followed up the rear.

He was wary of another fight, but in the last 30 or so minutes there had been none but as these things went the moment he let his guard down there would be a pounce. The fact that there were some things about the last combat encounter that he did not understand only added to this dilemma.

In the midst of it all, nothing felt out of place but now that he had put some distance from it he realized that he had acted out of character again. It had not happened in months and he had all but forgotten that this had been an issue he had been dealing with.

He had been so overwhelmed by everything that he had forgotten about the bestial outbursts he was prone to having in the midst of combat. This time it had worked well, but he had not forgotten what had happened the last time he fell into this state. Amy and Stella were still not completely what they used to be.

Flora had said it was just growing pains and it would settle in time and it had not happened in months so he too had gotten complacent. So fate made sure he did not forget.

His ruminations were broken by a loud rumbling sound.  The way he was sitting on Bitsy's carapace made it impossible to see forward so he turned and peaked around her upper human half to see what was going on.

What he saw was extremely exciting and at the same time worrying. The straight stone pathway was shifting and every slab of stone seemed to come alive as the hallway changed before his very eyes.

In less than ten seconds he was now in a stone room, with a heightened platform with a silver chest sitting at the very center of this platform.

"...This is ominous..."

He mumbled and the spider he was sitting on agreed by nodding her head as she too looked at the glittering box that looked way too fancy to not be a trap.

There was absolutely no way this was not a trap. Every cautious cell in Simon's body yelled at him that this was a trap. But the curious part of him was looking at a new very shiny chest and he desperately wanted to see what was inside.

"To open or not to open."

Simon was having a hard time trying to decide either way.

The logical part of him told him that even if it was a treasure chest, this was a tier 2 dungeon, meaning that the treasure itself would not be worth the trouble it cost.

However(this was a very very small chance) there was a chance that there might be a legendary chest.

What was a legendary chest?

Similar to the monster girls whom the name was derived from, it was a chest that contained treasures that did not fit the normal structure of loot(the colloquial term for treasures) available. The rule of thumb was that It would always give something worthwhile. And not in a small way either, in a very life-changing way.

It was the biggest contributing factor as to why Tamers tried opening every chest despite the risks. They only needed to get lucky once and they were set for life.

Simon had only read about these great treasures. Referred to as mythical items(very original) they made the cornerstone of top-end dungeon loot. The most well-known of these was the legendary monster gem, a gem that turned any monster housed inside into a legendary monster(temporarily at first, but spending enough time in it turned that effect permanent).

He took a large calming breath and walked through it in his head. The chance of it being a legendary chest was one in a million and the chance of it being a trap was all but guaranteed.

And if he was really thinking about it, he was already way more special than he knew how to handle. If this was some mythical item, it would most likely be more trouble than it is worth.

Also, treasure traps were the worst kind and given his current team, it would almost be a guaranteed loss.

Finding a path that made the most sense, he said to his group.

"Let's turn back."

As one his entire party left the chamber leaving the chest untouched on the pedestal-like platform.

Curiously, the room did not mesh back into the dungeon when the Tamer left. It remained in its pristine condition.

Another person entered the room minutes after Simon left though the spatial distortions in the dungeon guaranteed that they did not meet. This person had no such reservations as him and quickly opened the chest to find a single vial of glowing amber liquid sitting inside.

What it was would soon be felt by everyone who delved into this dungeon and Simon would be its first victim.