"hyaa!?"
Cassian, even before he heard Yefeng's panicked voice, was moving, he too had a bad feeling as soon as he saw her heading towards the flute.
"Ufff, close."
Luckily, he stopped her in time. Cassian put his hand on the dragon woman's head to stop her by force, stopping her just inches from reaching the small golden hill.
"ugh!Cazzy, why did you let go of me so abruptly?"
In fact, Cassian—without warning—released the hand that was holding Naelune and used it to hold the dragon woman, hence her complaint, although he thought it unnecessary to respond to the obvious.
"How dare you hold me like that?! Let me go! I have to take that ancient object and inherit it, as heir to—AgH!"
On the other hand, the culprit didn't even seem to understand that she had done anything wrong, so Cassian applied a little more pressure with his hand, though carefully—he would stop if he heard anything crack.
"Agh! Don't squeeze me! More! It hurts! Stop, stop! I'm sorry!!"
Finally, the woman apologized, and he loosened his grip, though he didn't let go. She was still dangerous.
"They're spiders... All the coins are spiders."
In the midst of it all, it was Ellys who spoke, finally giving a name to the danger they felt.
"Huh? All the coins!!!?"
Cassian was surprised. It was a huge room, filled with mountains of gold coins. If each of those coins were spiders, it was an astronomical number, and they were completely surrounded.
Now even he understood that they were screwed, unless he did everything he could to run to the door.
He was thinking of grabbing everyone and running with everything he had, but just then, Valeriane spoke:
"Ah! I know what they are! There's no need to worry. Although they are not common in my kingdom, I heard that in neighboring kingdoms there is a small variant of trap spiders. They are a species that does not attack first... unless you approach them. For now, they should all be in an inactive state."
"Oh! Is that why nothing has happened? Nothing will happen if we don't approach them."
"Yes, Sir Cassian. Even so, we must be careful. I've heard that they are more problematic than the large ones, as they are poisonous. Although I don't know if the ones here are too. I've also heard that they are deadly traps for the greedy, as their size makes them indistinguishable from real coins when they only show their backs."
"Oh! So if you had allowed that demon to approach, she would have been swallowed and poisoned by thousands of those things before even touching the flute. Ugh, honestly, that trident over there was tempting me a little... What would we do without you, little angel?"
"..."
"Yes, Lys. You really are a lifesaver. Your skill is great."
"T-thank you! I'm glad to be useful."
"ey,little angel, stop making the difference in treatment so obvious. I have feelings too... Feelings that make me say: Cazzy, how much longer are you going to hold the little angel? There's no danger anymore, right?"
"Oh, that's right! Sorry, Lys."
"..."
"Hee~ don't look at me like that, little angel. I already told you that you're not intimidating at all. Instead, will you let me squeeze your cheeks?"
"No!"
"Tsk, stingy."
"Well, let's not waste any more time on nonsense. This test is obviously something to control our greed. All you have to do is reach the door and that's it. Since everyone understands the danger involved, no one will go near anything... right?"
"Yes."(all)
"..."
When Valeriane spoke everyone responded positively,except one person and Yefeng's sister—who nodded in her place—, earning everyone's attention and a firmer squeeze from Cassian.
"Ugh! Wait, I don't want to be eaten by spiders either, but I was thinking that if you held me carefully above... ahem, I mean!, you will all cooperate obediently with me! And you, big guy, you will help me get to the legacy. That's an order!... Wait, it's going to break, it's going to break... I get it! I won't do anything."
The dragon lady, who even knowing the danger did not seem to want to give up, was restrained by Cassian. He did not allow her to endanger the rest, and as he was still holding her, he tightened his grip again.
She seemed to be struggling to free herself, and Cassian had to admit that he felt some strength, but not enough, and he kept his iron grip firmly on her head.
"Let's go to the door, I'll keep her under control."
"Thank you, as always, Sir Cassian. Let's go."
Under the guidance of Valeriane, who naturally took the lead, the group followed the path cautiously, alert for anything else. ..
.
Plack!!
That was easy
Cassian thought when he saw the door close behind him. The test seemed to be just walking up to the door.
It seemed a little too easy, but on second thought, it was lucky that they had two people with convenient skills like Yefeng and Ellys.
Cassian thought that if they hadn't been there, he might not have had the same result, although he felt something himself, he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't approach those chests out of curiosity.
Well, it's too late to think about it now, and that would have endangered the rest of us.
In the end, Cassian decided to think of the chests as typical background objects—clearly not meant to be opened—so he could put aside any thoughts about what might be inside.
Rather, he didn't have to think about it much because at that moment...
[Congratulations on passing the tests. You have proven yourselves worthy Ascendants. Well, you all made it this far by facing situations and your greed, proving that you value the goal more than vain treasures... agk... ahem... Now comes the best part: the rewards.]
The room lit up and a screen with Plouthys appeared in the center of it, although Cassian didn't understand why he bit his tongue in the middle of his speech. It made no sense to think about that when he keeps changing between races; Cassian still doesn't understand how it works.
[Well, the reward is clear from the start: the fruit of Varnorr. But if that were all, I would not be called the god of generosity. Now, each of you will have a key. Throughout this trial, this key will open the chests that belong to you.]
While Plouthys continued to talk non-stop as usual, the ground in front of each of them split open and, like a drop of water, rose up and molded itself into the shape of a key. Each one was a different color; Cassian's was gold.
[Throughout this trial, there will be large and small tests that, upon passing, will grant you chests like the ones in front of you. Each key opens its respective chest based on its color. It's easy to understand, isn't it? Obviously, each chest contains a reward based on your participation. So those who don't specialize in combat can rest assured. I am a fair god, and the reward is not based solely on who caused the most damage.]
Pluthys, as always, seemed to enjoy talking nonstop and praising himself. After a pause, as if waiting for praise —which did not come—, he continued...
[What's in your chest is what that person deserves by right and by karma, so I wouldn't recommend giving or stealing, as bad things could happen, although non-essential things are ok.. Oh, and don't worry about the keys: even if you lose them, they will reappear when you have a chest to open, and they can't be stolen either. So that's it. Good luck until I see you again, remember my genrosity].
With that, Pluthys—who remained an enigma to everyone—left, leaving behind a room with seven people, ten fruits, and seven chests that at some point had simply appeared.
"You know what? I don't get a good feeling about that god. Hey, Yefy, can you sense any danger or anything?"
"Hm... no, I don't feel anything coming from him or this situation."
"Oh, how curious... Huh!!?Cazzy!? What are you doing?"
"Opening the loot?"
Click!
While Naelune, who seemed distrustful of Pluthys, talked to Yèfēng, Cassian—who had already released the dragon lady , as it was no longer necessary to keep her under control—took the key and went straight to his chest.
He didn't understand Naelune's obvious question: if there was a chest with a key, it was obvious that it had to be opened. He no longer needed to restrain himself as before. This was the loot.
Right now, Cassian had a good feeling, so he didn't hesitate. By the time Naelune noticed, he was already putting the key in the hole, about to open it.
Fwooosh!!
"Oh, it even has an opening effect. Let's see what's in here!"
Finally, without caring about anything else, he opened the chest without hesitation, and after a sudden intense glow—like the effect in some games—it disappeared.
When the light faded, it showed that the chest had disappeared and left some objects in its place.
"Some gloves, a book, a potion, a piece of paper, and three pieces of wood?"