Chapter 8: The Treasure Chest of Darkness

Chapter 8:
The Treasure Chest of Darkness

 

I TRIED TO WARN Uuck that the treasure chest was actually a monster in disguise, but she didn’t listen. She just kept humming and striding over toward it. I braced myself to save her, but then it occurred to me—if she wasn’t human, perhaps it was better to leave her. Before I could decide one way or the other: ktchnk! A latch opened and two, long black arms shot out from the crevice between box and lid.

“Whaaaaa?!”

The arms seized hold of Uuck and dragged her into the box. It was pitch black in there, and she vanished completely. I suppose maybe it led to another dimension? While I stood there stunned, the box slammed back shut.

What should I do? “Attack” was the obvious option, but what would happen to Uuck if I broke it? She was probably trapped in that thing, so I pulled up Editor to investigate.

 

Prison of Darkness: The ability to pull a target object into subspace.

 

Changing “ability” to “inability” would cost 5,200 LP—far too much. I could probably have made up the difference by converting items and money, but I wasn’t even sure that extreme measure was the right call.

As I wrestled with my options, a voice came from the box.

<Do you wish to save your friend?>

I stumbled back in shock. It could talk?!

“O-of course I do. If you let her go, I won’t cause any more trouble.”

<Very well, I shall release her if you can answer my questions.>

“Your questions?”

<I will ask three. If you answer them correctly, you win. But get even one wrong, and you must present yourself to me.>

It clearly wanted me in its prison, too, but I didn’t think it could reach me from where it was. That was probably why it wanted me to come closer. More importantly: why did a box have such a feminine voice? It was probably best not to ask.

“How can I be sure I can trust you?”

<The terms of this agreement are absolute. If you are victorious, I shall release your friend.>

Best not to take the box’s word for it. It was time to have a look at the skill in question.

 

Three Questions: Terms are set in advance. If the target loses a three-question quiz, they will be forced to comply. If the target wins, the skill holder must uphold their end of the deal.

 

Welp. Guess the box was telling the truth. In an emergency, I could always remove the phrase “forced to comply” from the skill, but it would cost me a hefty 2,800 LP. But the important thing was, it was definitely an option!

“All right, I’ll play. This quiz sounds hard, but I guess I don’t have a choice.”

<Negotiations are complete. Let the game begin. Question one: do char swim in the Karisen River far north of here? Yes or no.>

I’d heard of the Karisen River, but I’d never been. It was a long way away. I was already in trouble, wasn’t I?

Eh, not so much.

Great Sage, do char swim in the Karisen River?

<They do.>

“Yes, they do!”

<Correct,> said the box. <Question two: do fire bears live on Euphrix Volcano? Yes or no.>

I’d never even heard of that volcano, but of course the Great Sage knew the answer. I could feel a tingle of a headache brewing.

“No, they don’t!”

<Tsk, correct.>

I guess monsters could get frustrated, too.

<Question three: What type of monster am I? A treasure-chest type? A wooden type? A tentacle type? Answer!>

Now that I was curious about. The obvious answer was treasure-chest type, but it was better to err on the side of caution and ask the Great Sage. These questions weren’t difficult, but asking three in a row was really hurting my head. I’d have to lay off any more consulting for a bit.

<The Dark Box is a mimic type monster.>

Now that was unfair. What a scumbag move, Dark Box! It gave me three options to throw me off, and none of them were right.

<You seem stumped,> said the box. <How about a hint? Just tell me what you see. I’m not trying to trick you.>

“Well,” I said. “If I believed you, that would make you a treasure chest type…”

The Dark Box smirked. Somehow. Don’t ask me.

“Fortunately,” I said. “I’m not that stupid. You’re a mimic type.”

<H-how…>

“I have the Great Sage on my side. Now fulfill your end of the bargain.”

The box clicked sulkily and its long black hands retrieved Uuck from inside. For reasons I didn’t want to think about, Uuck was covered in sticky fluid. She was panting and red in the face.

“D-did something happen?” I asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to.”

Best not to press her any further. That way only lay danger.

“Anyway,” she said. “You really saved my butt. Let’s get out of here.”

We headed for the door, but I turned back to look at the box.

<What do you want with me?> it asked.

“You can’t move,” I said. “Can you? That’s the reason for all this quiz nonsense, right?”

<I am more than capable of defending myself against your puny attacks. And besides, you won’t gain anything from felling me. You already have what you want. Why don’t you just leave?>

“Because someone else might come here,” I said. “And you’d just try that evil quiz on them, right? I think their lives are more important than some monster’s.”

I used Magical Fusion to combine Stone Bullet and Holy Flame, and fired off a Holy Flame Stone. It was a useful combo, and I was coming to rely on it. Shockingly, it seemed like the box wasn’t lying about being able to defend itself. It opened its lid and grabbed the flaming stone with black hands.

<Ow, hot…but I can handle it.>

“Unfortunately for you, there’s more where that came from.”

I produced a Stone Bullet about a yard in diameter.

Bwam!

The treasure chest was smashed to bits. The roar echoed down the hallway, and I leveled up! I kept that to myself, but I was proud of my surprise attack.

“Hey,” said Uuck. “Get over here, this is incredible!”

She really hadn’t learned anything, had she? She’d already entered the second room. If she was a monster, then this was the dungeon’s doing, but why?

Anyway, I followed her into the second room. It was much the same as the first, but the chest there was open and packed to the brim with coins! No wonder Uuck was dancing for joy! Gold, silver, and copper, all in incredible quantity. Next to it, there was a lance and a vial of red liquid.

“Look at all this!” said Uuck. “We hit the jackpot.”

“Y-you can say that again.”

There were no monsters or traps to speak of. I checked the treasure to be sure—the money was real. There must have been over ten million rels in there!

“This is incredible,” I said. “If we split it between us, that’s five million a piece.”

“I don’t need it,” said Uuck. “You can have it all.”

“Huh? Are you sure?”

“I owe you for saving me. Now we’re even.”

“Well, thank you very much!”

I happily stuffed it all into my Pocket Dimension and moved on to investigate the remaining two items.

 

Piercing Spear (Grade B)

Skills: Piercing

 

It was a simple design, but its Piercing skill more than made up for it. It might be useful against stone and scaled monsters and the like. As for the vial…

 

Gale Potion (Grade B)

Skills: Bestows Swift Foot (Duration: 60min)

 

This room really was a winner!

“All right,” said Uuck. “We’ve just got two rooms left. Keep your spirits up and let’s get moving.”

“Yes ma’am!”

I was very pleased with myself as we moved on.

I hope there’s treasure in the third room too!