Eagerly, he explored the contents of the first ring. It was mostly filled with crazy items, jars containing preserved monster organs, strange, dried herbs that smelled weird, and a collection of wicked-looking, blood-stained daggers.
He did the same with the second ring, finding a similar crazy collection.
Even though he didn't find anything of noteC he was still happy with the spatial ring.
Finally, he would be free of the cumbersome load he had been carrying. He immediately began transferring his own treasures the various dimensional fruits, and the monster crystals he had collected—into the larger of the two rings.
As he was sorting through their belongings, he found two scrolls in each of the rings, four in total. Two of them were combat techniques, brutal and direct arts that seemed to complement their monstrous forms.
The other two, however, were different. They were bound in what looked like human skin and radiated a faint, evil aura. He unrolled one. The text was written in a jagged, archaic script, detailing a cultivation method.
As he read, his expression turned strange. It was a forbidden art, a technique that involved devouring the blood and organs of other cultivators to rapidly increase one's own power.
It was an evil method that treated other humans as nothing more than livestock.
The second scroll was similar.
Without a second thought, he held the two scrolls in his hand. A crackle of crimson lightning erupted from his palm, and the forbidden techniques were instantly incinerated, turning into a pile of black ash that scattered in the wind.
His work was done. He looked over at the unconscious girl, who was still breathing shallowly.
He wasn't a hero. He had saved her life by killing her attackers, but that was as far as his involvement went. She had her emergency shield; she would be fine.
His gaze then fell upon the Geo-Essence Spring and he grinned widely. He couldn't wish to see how much his physique would grow.
He sat by the edge of the milky-white pool and began to absorb the properties of the energy into cells.
The liquid was cool and refreshing, and as it entered his system, he could feel his cells thrumming, cracking with thunder energy as they were tempered and hardening within him.
It was a gentle, nourishing power that slowly but surely reinforced his body, making his skin tougher, his bones denser, and his muscles more resilient.
For the next hour, he absorbed the essence, and his physique stat slowly increased until it had grown by a full 20 points.
He touched his skin and realized his skin was now as tough as leather, he took out his cleaver and tried to slice through his skin but it was unable to. Not unless he exert twenty percent of his strength.
However, after that point, he felt a sense of fullness. He had reached his current limit and he had only absorbed about twenty percent of the entire pool.
He knew he couldn't absorb any more for now, so he brought out several empty containers from the dark cultivators' rings and began to store the rest.
As he worked, the little mole-like thief watched him, its nose twitching, its eyes filled with desire.
It let out a series of demanding squeaks, clearly stating its claim to a share of the spoils.
Levi looked at the creature, then at the empty spatial ring he had taken from the second cultivator. An idea formed in his mind.
"You want your share?" he said, holding up the spring water. "Fine. But you have nowhere to keep it. This stuff will lose its potency if it's exposed to the air for too long."
The little beast's face fell, its ears drooping in despair.
"However," Levi continued, a sly grin gracing his lips as he held up the empty ring to the tiny beast. "I have a solution. I'll give you this storage ring. In exchange, you only get twenty percent of the Geo-Essence."
The little beast was instantly angered. Its fur bristled, and it let out a furious bout of squeaks, stamping its tiny feet in fury.
As though saying 'Scam! A great scammer!'
Levi simply shrugged. "Take it or leave it. Your choice."
The creature argued for another minute, but it knew it was beaten and gave up. It had a growing hoard of treasures and no way to carry them.
With a final, reluctant squeak, it accepted the deal. Levi helped it bind the ring, and the creature watched in amazement as its twenty-percent share of the Geo-Essence, along with the other fruits and herbs it had earned, vanished into the ring on its tiny paw. It was angry about the deal, but thrilled with its new toy.
With the grotto cleared of all treasures, Levi decided to stay for two more hours, using the safe, hidden location to consolidate his strength.
He cultivated his `Astra Breath Absorption Technique`, but this time, the multipliers were frustratingly low, never surpassing 70x. It seemed his incredible luck had finally run out for the moment.
His strength was stable, and his new treasures were secure. It was time to leave and continue the hunt.
For the next few hours, they followed a new, more aggressive strategy.
Led by the little creature's treasure-sense, they no longer just sought out individual, isolated guardians.
They began to actively hunt. Levi, now a Rank 6 powerhouse with a legendary bloodline, had somehow become the predator in the trial and the beasts his prey.
He tore through packs of Rank 3 beasts and even dispatched a few more lone Rank 4 creatures easily without even drawing his cleaver.
His point total climbed steadily, solidifying his position at the very top of the leaderboard, a fact that was causing no small amount of confusion among the spectators back in the stadium.
The little theiving beast eventually led them away from the dense jungles and murky swamps and into a more desolate, rocky region.
The ground here was strange and barren as though it hadn't rained for days in this region.
Hidden between two towering cliffs was a dilapidated, ancient-looking gate.
It was fashioned from a type of black stone that seemed to absorb the light, and it was covered in intricate, faded carvings that depicted scenes of epic battles between gods and demons.
The gate itself was broken, half-fallen from its joint, yet it radiated a faint ancient aura that made Levi frown.
'Where did this little brat take me to now?'