Chapter 26: Mottled Ring

"It was him?"

Basement Rat looked up at Raine standing before him. The astonishment on his round face lasted only a brief moment, swiftly replaced by irrepressible gratitude and admiration.

He struggled to stand, words of thanks tumbling endlessly from his lips. "So it was all thanks to you! Please accept my sincerest gratitude! Your noble actions saved me from the Abyss of death!"

His gaze toward Raine no longer held a shred of doubt, leaving only pure respect and gratitude. In the world of Adventurers, strength was the ultimate credential. No matter what rumors had circulated about him before, the outcome of this life-and-death struggle said it all.

"No need for formalities. We were already quite interested in this cave to begin with," Raine said, waving a hand slightly to signal the Half-Elf to focus on himself. "Tending to your injuries is what's important right now."

Basement Rat's extinguished torch was soon relit, brightening the cave's main hall considerably. Raine and Kaelin took the original torches from Matthew and David, splitting up to search the spacious hall for loot.

The flickering firelight danced across Raine's profile as his gaze swept over every corner of the cave, not sparing even the damp mud, gravel, or bones on the ground. Since the cave's description in the *Exploration Chapter* mentioned a Kobold's hoard, it had to be hidden somewhere in here.

Kaelin's search, however, was much more targeted. With a trace of imperceptible urgency, she sometimes tapped lightly on the cave walls and other times crouched to brush away the dirt on the ground. Her eyes lingered mostly on the crevices in the rock face or depressions in the floor, as if she were looking for something specific.

It wasn't long before Matthew hurried over, holding a torch aloft.

"Mr. Raine, Your Excellency Armless, Basement Rat has been escorted to the cave entrance to regroup with Flea." After reporting to Raine and Kaelin, he rubbed his hands together, his tone carrying a hint of cautious inquiry. "May I ask what we should do with the Demon's corpse outside? Once a massive beast like that goes stiff, it'll be very difficult to process. Its hide, fangs, and the spikes on its back are all valuable goods!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he hastily added, terrified of a misunderstanding, "Of course, all the loot belongs to the two of you! It's just that my family has been Hunters for generations, so I have some experience processing these things. If you'll allow it, perhaps I could be of some assistance!"

Raine paused, catching the urgent desire flashing in Matthew's eyes. He turned to look at Kaelin standing nearby, silently asking for her opinion.

Kaelin was using her scabbard to poke through a pile of dry grass. Without even looking up, she gave a slight nod. "You decide."

"Understood." Raine mused for a moment before turning back to Matthew. "We will claim the spoils as agreed, but your group discovered this cave first, and processing that Demon's corpse will take quite a bit of effort. Go ahead and handle it. You may keep a portion of the harvested materials for yourselves."

Matthew froze, then frantically waved his hands, overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. "How could we! We hardly contributed anything. Escaping with our lives and rescuing Basement Rat makes us lucky enough, we couldn't possibly take your things!"

"Go on," Raine said, looking him in the eye with a tone that brooked no argument. "Hurry up. Try to make it out of the forest before dark."

"Thank you both so much! We'll harvest it perfectly!" Matthew's face lit up with excitement. He eagerly grabbed the still-dazed David and sprinted out toward the cave entrance.

Having sent the two away, Raine resumed his search.

He eventually stopped in an inconspicuous corner of the main hall, where an intact, humanoid skeleton sat leaning against the cave wall. The skeleton was small in stature with a distinctly protruding snout. On its Sen Bai forehead, a few dull, lifeless scales still lingered.

It was unmistakably the corpse of a Kobold.

It had died in a slightly curled posture, as if guarding something. Right in front of the Kobold's remains, a slightly raised mound of dirt stood out, looking quite conspicuous.

Raine's heart stirred. Using a bone rod he had picked up as a makeshift tool, he carefully brushed the dirt aside. Soon, the corner of a rotting wooden box was revealed.

He continued digging with his scabbard and the bone rod until a tattered little wooden box was fully exposed. The lid was slightly warped; with a forceful pry, he successfully popped it open.

What met his eyes was a messy, disorganized heap of "collectibles," all giving off faint gleams of light. There were metal buttons of various sizes, a few old Copper Deer, several rusted daggers, a small, heavily cracked mirror, a pile of smooth pebbles, and several metal belt buckles.

The box reeked of dampness and rust. Mildew spotted both the container and its contents, causing Raine to frown.

Kaelin walked over as well. She took a single glance at the items inside and gave a slight shrug.

"It seems this used to be a Kobold nest." Clearly uninterested in these "collectibles," she turned away and added, "Only they would hide this junk away like treasure."

Raine had long heard tales of Kobolds.

The blood of the Dragon Race flowed through the veins of these low-level Demons, albeit exceedingly thin. This not only covered their bodies with fragile scales but also endowed them with an obsessive hoarding habit for shiny objects, much like a Giant Dragon. Whether it was a metal button or a piece of ordinary glass, as long as it reflected light, it possessed a unique Charm in their eyes.

Of course, because a Kobold's strength was so limited—their individual combat prowess was even weaker than that of a Goblin—it was incredibly rare for them to acquire any genuine treasure.

"But since the description specifically mentioned it, perhaps there is something to gain after all," Raine said.

Gathering his focus, he patiently sifted through the junk. His fingers brushed past cold coins and buttons, pulling out large chunks of rusted metal and pebbles one by one. The vast majority of the items here were truly worthless. The only things that could even be considered a harvest so far were those few Copper Deer and rusted daggers.

That was, until his fingertips brushed against a small object carrying a hint of metallic coolness.

He pinched it out and rubbed away the mottled dirt on its surface, discovering it was an exceedingly ordinary-looking metal ring. The ring's surface was a dark gray. It lacked any Gemstones, the band was covered in tiny scratches, and it was even partially rusted. Mixed in with a pile of clutter, it had been completely unremarkable.

Raine turned it over and over in his hands for a good while. He even held it up to the torch to bake for a moment, hoping some Runes would appear on the band or that it would activate some Magic. In the end, nothing happened.

"Should I try putting it on?" Raine stared at the homely ring, momentarily unsure of what to do.