The dungeon suddenly erupted into chaos, with people rushing hurriedly toward the cave entrance. The dungeon shook violently, the ground trembling, and it might collapse at any moment. No one wanted to be buried underground, but the rope ladder exit was incredibly narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.
People shoved each other, scrambling to climb the rope ladder first, everyone desperate to escape the dungeon, turning the crowd into a total mess.
"I'm the captain, let me go first! Let me go first!" Steve Damon yelled loudly, trying to push through the pile of people and grab the rope ladder.
EeDechi reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt collar, tossing him back into the crowd. Then EeDechi pushed through the mob with force, carving a path through the shoulder-to-shoulder throng.
"You damn bastard, you're actually going first! The strong should stay behind to cover the rear!" The crowd, now split into two groups, immediately started cursing and grumbling, shouting filthy, sarcastic taunts from their dirty mouths.
EeDechi gave them a cold glance, and the people were instantly intimidated, falling as silent as cicadas in winter. Without a word, EeDechi stepped onto the wooden rungs of the rope ladder, pushed off with her foot, and leaped up, being the first to rush out of the cave.
This wasn't EeDechi rushing to escape for her life to avoid being buried by the collapsing dungeon, but because she understood that she had to immediately deal with the source of the ground's tremors to prevent the dungeon from caving in and save everyone's lives.
The first person to spot the relic's guardian awakening was outside the cave, which meant the so-called guardian was on the surface.
Sure enough, on the dusty ground, a weird-looking massive stone man was pounding the earth fiercely, and the people on the surface were already scattering in panic.
This stone man was even bigger than EeDechi's stone golem, but it couldn't be called a Construct at all—it was just dozens of mountain rocks driven by magic into a creation.
If EeDechi's controlled stone golem was a exquisite statue carved by a master sculptor, then this bizarre, jagged stone giant in front of her was just a humanoid toy piled up from stones by a child.
On the ground was a massive crater; no doubt this stone giant had just crawled out from the pit. It had been hidden damn well at first, no different from a busted pile of rocks. EeDechi still remembered sitting on those stones herself.
EeDechi didn't hesitate, immediately pulling out the Constructs Storage Box, and shouted at the top of her lungs: "Storage Box which hides the powers of the dark, reveal your true form before me. I, EeDechi, command you under our contract. Release! Come forth, Savior Titan!"
From the pale blue crystal panel of the Constructs Storage Box, a steely blue streak of light shot out like a bolt of lightning. In a flash, the light transformed into a massive steel Construct—a hulking iron giant.
Savior Titan, a metal Construct, its whole body built from tough, thick steel armor. The armor curved smoothly all over, gleaming with the cold, harsh shine of metal.
Behind its metal faceplate, red lights flickered on and off like a pair of eyes. Through the joints in the armor, you could faintly spot the blazing red glow of its magic furnace core, a sign of its overwhelming power, surging like a tidal wave.
Savior Titan's rugged iron-gauntleted hands had sharp iron claws that glinted like dragon talons. Its right forearm even had a heavy, brutal blade forged onto it, cold and menacing. When it swung its arm, the air itself seemed to get sliced apart by the edge.
EeDechi stood off to the side with her arms crossed, ready to watch Savior Titan's first battle show.
"Don't let me down," EeDechi murmured.
As if it understood her words, the steel giant Savior Titan exploded into action, its solid, dependable iron frame charging like a raging bull. With a thunderous boom, it slammed straight into the stone giant, smashing it right back into a heap of raw rocks.
The scattered boulders on the ground linked up again through magic, starting to pull together into a humanoid shape. Savior Titan stepped up, its massive steel palm stomping down on the stone giant's freshly forming head, shattering it into a spray of stone dust.
Then Savior Titan clenched its left hand into a fist, pounding each of the other rocks one by one, while the long blade on its right arm cleaved the mountain stones into powder.
The effect of steel smashing stone was beyond question—in less than a minute, the stone giant's body turned into piles of crushed gravel, unable to rise again.
"WHOA, WHAT A TALL, MASSIVE IRON GIANT!" "Just how many Construct golems does this adventurer control?" "If it wasn't for EeDechi, we'd all be dead in that dungeon..."
A chorus of gasps and exclamations rang out as the people from the cave crawled out one after another like moles. On the surface, the other members of the Golden Aquarius merchant group hid behind crates and camels, peeking out timidly at EeDechi and Savior Titan.
Dust swirled in the air, sand whipping across the sky.
Once it confirmed the stone giant was taken out, Savior Titan turned its massive steel body toward EeDechi and dropped to one knee. It lowered its metal head, like a knight paying homage to a king.
"Hmm..." EeDechi thought for a moment and said, "You did great. By the way, were you created by the Eight Greed Kings as a Construct?"
The iron golem Savior Titan nodded gently.
EeDechi followed up, "Do you know about the Eight Greed Kings' great expedition?"
Savior Titan shook its head gently.
"Alright then." EeDechi propped her chin in her hand, pondering, "Looks like this is a puzzle that needs some answers hunted down."
Sensing EeDechi's mental command while still on one knee, Savior Titan's form turned into a steely blue streak of light, zipping back into the Constructs Storage Box and reverting to a metal statue in the crystal compartment.
With the danger over, the rowdy crowd settled down again. After witnessing EeDechi's badass strength, their confidence in exploring the ruins skyrocketed—it seemed like with her around, any monster or relic guardian would be no sweat.
"Captain" Steve directed the workers and merchants to dig through the sand, while "First Mate" Bill Hades, a hot-tempered man, swung his curved blade around, barking orders for everyone to speed up the exploration of the ruins.
Many hands make light work—if it were just EeDechi and Barrett searching the ruins, who knows how long it would take in this vast underground space.
But with the profit-driven Golden Aquarius merchant group on board, people bustled about the ruins like ants hauling food, and soon all the valuable items in the ruins were scavenged out.
On the ground, various exquisite gold and silver vessels, dazzling jewels and diamonds, magical gadgets of unknown purpose, tattered and corroded parchment scrolls, and bronze engravings piled up into small mountains.
Everyone present was covered in dust, looking like they'd just rolled around in a sandpile, but their eyes gleamed with the joy of a big haul. Still, they all knew who should get first pick of this batch of unearthed gold and treasures.
Steve stepped forward, brushing the dust off his striped shirt, and cleared his throat lightly. "I believe the one most qualified to pick the treasures is our bravest and most esteemed adventurer—EeDechi!"
The surrounding crowd immediately burst into a wave of hearty applause and cheers, clapping away enthusiastically. EeDechi was pushed forward by Barrett toward the jewels, brushing back the hair from her forehead, a bit embarrassed.
"After you," Steve said with a gentlemanly bow, extending his arm in a welcoming gesture.
EeDechi scanned the dusty heap of treasures, her sharp gaze like an eagle surveying its territory. Soon, her pupils narrowed as she spotted the item she wanted most.
EeDechi crouched down, reached out, and from under a pure gold jewelry box studded with diamonds, picked up an ancient copper can adorned with golden patterns.
5th Tier Magic: Artifact Appraisal, activate!
A string of warm characters appeared in EeDechi's vision:
[Item Name: Advanced Resurrection Device
[Material: Eternal Copper, Moonlit Essence, Crystal Reed, Divine Alloy.
[Quality: Divine Artifact
[Function: Revive any low-level character from memory.
[Note: The magic that calls back the deceased is our longing for the departed.
[Additional Note: The only rule resurrection follows is Equivalent Exchange.]