Vol. 7 - Chapter 384 - Treasure chest time! Int-mid dungeon Edition!

"Who wants to open the ‹Treasure Chest›~?"

" " "Me~!" " "

"Leaving aside Hannah, why are you participating, Lana!"

"It's called riding on the mood! It wouldn't be like me if I don't join in for this! My hand just automatically raised up hearing about the treasure chest."

"What riding on the mood!"

Once we defeated the field boss ‹Meowrrior›, it left behind a ‹Silver Chest›. Having scored it was already lucky instead of drawing ‹Wooden Chest›.

And since field bosses couldn't be fought continuously, only a few members among us would be able to open them. Truly annoying.

Either way, when I raised my voice to ask who would want to open the treasure chest like usual, Lana and Hannah, who hadn't even participated in the fight, raised their hands. Hannah was contributing by collecting materials and alchemy in our exploration, so she might be qualified for it but Lana was obviously out of question. If she wants to, she should defeat a boss on her own.

Well, Lana understood that as well as she just wanted to appear a part of the moment and soon pulled back. Indeed, enthusiasm was indeed important. Not to say, that's how sinful the treasure chests were. It would be strange to not get excited.

"Alright, let's see who will open it this time. You might have the chance as well, Hannah."

"Zephyr-kun, I haven't opened any treasure chest lately at all!"

"Woah there, why does that sound so convincing!?"

Hannah raised her voice. Uh, so we have another person entranced by the treasure chest! No wait, was it the effect of withdrawal symptoms? Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy to hand her the treasure chest.

"Ahem, I do understand you, but wait. This is quite a delicate matter. After all, it's a treasure chest, right? The treasure chest that we obtained after defeating the boss and going through so much trouble. Maybe it should be Team A that opens it, after all?"

Not that we had gone through trouble, and the boss battle was quite fun as well. Though I kept my thoughts to myself and instead said that. I also wanted to open it! All that said, this was the first Intermediate-mid dungeon treasure chest after all. It's a special occasion!

No way the chance could be handed so easily.

"Zephyr-kun, then what about me?"

"............Well."

"Answer me, Zephyr-kun, won't you?"

Crap, her eyes were gradually becoming more intense!? Think of something, me! Fast!

Hanna wasn't part of the combat team. She's in charge of gathering ingredients and alchemy while wearing the ‹(Guest) bracelet›, which naturally puts her outside of the boss battles because the bracelet would break if she fought. So, there's no way she could get her hands on the treasure chest.

But she won't accept that answer so easily. And it's not very Eden-like. Eden's motto first and foremost was to open a treasure chest with everyone and 'to have fun'. This goes against that motto if she wasn't happy. Alas, there couldn't be more treasure chests. What to do......?

"Oh, how about the treasure chest from hidden doors or dead ends? I will give you priority on it?"

"Hmm, that's alright I guess."

Phew, the threatening atmosphere surrounding Hannah finally lessened as I offered her an alternative. It seemed like I needed to check out dead-end etc more often when together with her. I doubt there would be any ‹Golden Chest› but she should understand. And I should check hidden doors more frequently too. Where was the next hidden door again?

Anyway, since the ticking bomb had been diffused, it turned to face the main issue. for new novels

"Who would like to open ‹Silver Chest› among Team A?"

"Lulu wants to! Lulu wants to open it with Celia onee-chan!"

"Hn, then I would like to open it together with Rika."

‹Eden› was all about equality; two people stepped forward when I once again posed the question. Lulu and Karua raised their hands, showing their desire to open them together with Celia and Rika.

Haa, what a lovely sight. I really wish for Lana and Hannah to learn from them. I suddenly had the fleeting thought 'the previous matter could have been solved by Hannah and I opening the treasure chest together, no?' but the thought disappeared just as quickly as I had thought about it. Of course, it shouldn't be, right? Must be my imagination.

My gaze happened to catch what seemed to be Sierra giving me a stern 'you should learn them too' gaze. Ahaha, I seemed to be hallucinating a lot lately.

In the end, we decided to settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissors, though the developed went beyond my expectation. The match happened between me, Karua and Lulu, but I, of all thing, lost. In just one round... Grh, what was I doing, I should have chosen a scissor there!

And with that, Celia's dream came to an end before they could take shape. I guess she let greed take over her. It was a normal sight in the game. In the world, the greedy ones tend to lose.

That being said, her relationship with Lulu has deepened with this as she pulled Lulu into a hug, overcome with emotions. ......Err, all's well that ends well?

"Rika, I won."

"You're amazing."

"Yeah. I wanted to open it with you."

"I, I see. Yeah, I am looking forward to it."

"Hn. Then, let's open it."

"Alright."

On the other hand, Rika blushed at the honeyed word of Karua who said so very naturally. What a heartwarming sight.

Both of them crouched in front of the ‹Silver Chest›. Karua holds the right side, while Rika supports the left. After locking eyes, they open the treasure chest in perfect harmony.

" "One, two, and—" "

Everyone leans in quietly to get a glimpse of what was inside. The most exciting moment was, after all, the moment you opened the treasure chest. I wish I could have been the one to open it, but it seemed like lady luck wasn't on my side today.

"This is...socks?"

"And, geta?" (T/N - Wooden clogs, the same wooden sandals you might have seen in the anime's summer festival scene)

Rika and Karua take out pure white socks, which inspired a sublime feeling, and blue coloured geta with a white cat symbol picture drawn on it. After that, everyone turned their gaze toward me, and followed with 'What's this?'.

Fufufu, it's my time now.

"It is ‹Cat Paw Set›. Try flipping the geta."

"Hn. Cat's... paw?"

As I told her, Karua flipped the geta, revealing an illustration of a pink colour cat's paw drawn on its sole.

"This it it. Since it's a combination of cat's paw socks and sandals, it is called ‹Cat Paw Set›. When equipped, it muffles footsteps and conceals your presence. On this note, both the sandals and socks combined make up one piece of equipment."

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Leg Equipment (Cat Paw Set)

‹DEF 27, MD 16, Thunder Attribute Resistance +10%, Fire Attribute Resistance -10%›

‹Cat's Leg LV4› ‹HP +40›

――――――――――

And we finally have our first piece of equipment with attribute weakness. It reduces damage by 10% from Thunder attribute attacks but increases damage by 10% from Fire attribute attacks. Needless to say, it was necessary to be cautious against fire attribute opponents, but it should be quite effective against thunder attribute only opponents.

The skill ‹Cat's Leg› had the same effect as a scout's ‹Stealth Step›, and as I said earlier, it suppresses the sounds of one's footstep and erases their presence.

The extra 40 HP is also a welcome addition. Once I was finished explaining, Rika looked troubled.

"Presence erase ability is a bit troublesome. So it sounds impossible for me."

Well, yeah. She was a tank after all. Someone who needs to draw attention, not divert it.

"Hn, cat paw looks cute......but I already have ‹Extreme Star Boots›. What a pity."

Her leg equipment was from ‹Gold Chest› after all. It's a very powerful piece of equipment, making it not worth the trade. So, she was naturally out of the question.

After the discussion, the equipment ended up moving to Hannah. As a matter of fact, it did sound perfect for her, considering she would want to circle around the enemy without giving out her presence. And HP was the cherry on the top.

With that, we proceeded for the 20th floor—our goal of the day.