Chapter 4: The Treasure Cave

Ethan turned and left as he had no intention of traveling with the group.

As he walked, he opened the map.

His gaze swept across it before stopping on a familiar location: The Spirit Vein Cave.

In his previous life, everyone from Earth believed they had been transported into a game.

They were wrong as the world had a name: Elaria.

Long before Earth arrived, Elaria had already existed for countless years.

It had its own kingdoms, races, factions, academies, and countless powerful lifeforms, including humans, dragons, phoenixes, titans, goblins, and many other races Earth had only known through myths and legends.

Earth was merely the latest world chosen by the System.

This time, one hundred million people had been selected.

They were scattered across Elaria in groups of one thousand, each beginning their journey in a different region.

The people here were only one of those groups.

Back then, while exploring as a Pathfinder, Ethan had discovered Spirit Vein Cave hidden behind a cliff covered in thick vines.

Inside were rare herbs, precious ores, and many other valuable resources.

Although similar resources could be found elsewhere, no place nearby compared to Spirit Vein Cave.

In his previous life, he had shared its location.

Within days, everything inside had been taken.

Ethan’s gaze remained fixed on the marker on the map.

"This time... it’s mine."

Ethan continued to his destination and then have the shadow wraiths legion spread out..

Even without seeing them, Ethan could clearly sense every Shadow Soldier.

Their vision, what they sensed, and everything happening around them flowed directly into his mind.

As he continued, some monsters saw him and charged over, but it never managed to get close.

A black figure would silently emerge from its shadow.

Slash.

The monster fell before it could even let out a cry.

Most of the time, however, the monsters simply walked past him as though he didn’t exist.

Ethan gradually noticed the strange phenomenon.

"..."

Not once had a monster discovered him through its senses alone.

Only those that looked directly at him reacted.

His thoughts drifted to the Shadow Veil skill he got from summoning the shadow wraiths legion

"So that’s how it works..."

Not long after, one of the connections in his mind suddenly stopped.

The Shadow Soldier had reached its limit.

No matter how it tried, it couldn’t move another step.

Ethan immediately understood.

"So there is a distance limit."

After a brief moment of testing, he arrived at the answer.

One kilometer.

Any farther, and the connection could no longer be maintained.

It wasn’t a flaw. His legion simply hadn’t grown strong enough yet.

"Still more than enough."

Several minutes later, one of the Shadow Soldiers suddenly came to a stop.

The scene before it instantly appeared in Ethan’s mind.

A towering cliff rose before him, its surface concealed beneath thick vines.

At its base stood almost a dozen figures.

Most wore leather armor and carried crude swords, spears, and bows unlike anything brought from Earth.

Standing at the front was a young girl with long silver hair tied into a ponytail.

She appeared to be directing the others as they searched around the cliff.

Ethan wasn’t surprised.

"So they’ve found it."

In his previous life, Spirit Vein Cave hadn’t remained hidden for long.

Finding the cliff was never the difficult part.

The problem was entering it.

A Level 3 beast guarded the cave.

Back then, no one in the novice region had been capable of defeating it until they arrived.

As a result, although many people discovered the cave, none of them could enter.

The treasures inside remained untouched until much later.

He quietly headed toward the cliff.

...

"Still nothing."

A young man wearing leather armor emerged from the vines, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"We’ve searched every inch of the cliff," he said tiredly. "The eastern side, the western side... there’s nothing. The entrance doesn’t exist."

One after another, the scouts returned with the same report.

The silver-haired girl lowered her gaze to the worn parchment map in her hand.

The marker pointed directly at the towering cliff.

"No, that can’t be. My grandmother gave me this map. Our maps have never been wrong."

Just then, one of the guards frowned as he noticed the bushes rustling.

"...Someone’s coming."

Instantly, every head turned to see Ethan approaching them unhurriedly.

He didn’t even spare the drawn weapons a glance.

Instead, his eyes rested on the vine-covered cliff.

"So..."

"No one has found it yet."

The silver-haired girl’s brows knitted together.

"You know this place?"

Ethan didn’t answer.

He simply continued walking.

"Stop."

Several warriors immediately stepped forward, blocking his path.

One of them lowered his spear.

"This area is under our control."

Ethan finally looked at him.

"Is it?"

The warrior’s face darkened.

"Take one more step, and don’t blame me if I strike."

"Enough."

The silver-haired girl raised a hand.

The warriors reluctantly stepped aside.

The silver-haired girl looked at Ethan.

"You know where the entrance is."

Ethan didn’t answer.

He simply looked at the vine-covered cliff.

"If you did..."

"You would’ve found it already."

The girl’s brows furrowed.

After a few seconds, she stepped aside.

"Let him through."

"But Lady Aria..."

"If he’s lying," she interrupted calmly, "he won’t get far."

Ethan walked straight past them.

He stopped before the cliff and crouched beside several ordinary-looking three stones.

He shifted them into a strange pattern before pressing the last one into the ground.

Click.

A dull sound echoed through the cliff.

The vines slowly parted, revealing a narrow stone passage hidden behind them.

Everyone froze.

"...He actually opened it."

"We searched this place for hours..."

Even Aria couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes.

Without another glance at them, Ethan walked inside.

Aria watched his back for a moment before speaking.

"We’re going in."

...

The moment they entered, Aria’s eyes widened.

Her gaze swept across the cave.

Rare herbs.

Ore veins.

Spirit crystals.

Resources that were difficult to find outside appeared everywhere.

There were simply too many.

"We’re rich..."

A bright smile spread across her face.

"No..."

"We’re very rich."

She immediately waved her hand.

"Collect everything."

"Leave nothing behind."

Only then did she notice Ethan.

He didn’t stop.

He didn’t even slow down.

Shadow Soldiers silently emerged from the surrounding darkness One after another, the Shadow Soldiers emerged from the darkness carrying herbs, ores, and spirit crystals. They handed everything to Ethan before disappearing once more.

Ethan casually stored everything inside his inventory as he continued walking deeper into the cave.

Aria’s smile gradually stiffened.

"..."

This guy...

He picks way too fast.

Wherever Ethan passed...

The place was practically cleaned out.

She suddenly felt as though someone was stealing meat right out of her bowl.

"Grr..."

Her cheeks puffed slightly.

"Hurry up!"

"We can’t let him take everything!"

Not long afterward, Ethan stopped.

His eyes settled on the end of the cave.

A gigantic figure was curled up against the stone wall.

Its breathing was deep and steady.

Every breath caused the ground beneath it to tremble slightly.

It was asleep.

Ethan focused his thoughts.

"Appraisal."

A translucent panel appeared before him.

[Name]: Earth Vein Ape

[Level]: Peak Level 3

[Characteristics]: Born within a spirit vein. Possesses immense physical strength and naturally hardened skin. Extremely territorial.

[Skills]: Stone Skin, Ground Slam

Ethan’s expression remained calm.

"As expected."

The Earth Vein Ape slept against the cave wall, its heavy breathing echoing through the tunnel.

Ethan looked at it calmly.

"Shadow Bind."

The shadows on the ground suddenly spread toward the ape.

Black restraints wrapped around its arms, legs, and body.

Its eyes flew open.

"ROAR!!"

The ape tried to stand, but its body barely moved. The more it struggled, the tighter the shadows became.

Ethan watched quietly.

"Shadow Strike."

The shadows beneath the ape twisted.

Fifty Shadow Soldiers burst out at the same time.

Dark blades slashed across its body from every direction.

The ape let out a painful roar, but it couldn’t even raise an arm before another wave of attacks struck.

Blood sprayed across the stone floor.

A moment later, the Earth Vein Ape’s massive body crashed heavily onto the ground.

It didn’t move again.

The familiar voice echoed inside Ethan’s mind.

[Shadow Soldiers have killed Earth Vein Ape (Peak Level 3).]

[Experience +100]

[Level Up!]

[Current Level: Early Level 2]

[All Attributes +10]

[Unassigned Attribute Points +10]

A warm current instantly spread throughout Ethan’s body.

The fatigue from traveling all morning disappeared.

His muscles became noticeably stronger, and even his senses became sharper.

Ethan glanced at his panel before closing it.

"There’ll be plenty of time to distribute the attribute points later."

The Earth Vein Crystal was far more important.

Without another glance at the ape’s corpse, Ethan walked deeper into the cave.

It wasn’t long before he reached the end.

There, embedded in the stone wall, was a crystal about the size of a human head.

Its entire body glowed with a deep golden light.

The surrounding earth essence flowed toward it without stopping.

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

"So that’s why..."

He stepped forward and placed a hand on the crystal.

Compared to the Earth Vein Crystal he had found in his previous life...

This one contained far more energy.

Back then, its light had already become dim.

Now...

It was still as bright as ever.

The Earth Vein Ape hadn’t had enough time to absorb much of its energy.

That was why it had only reached Peak Level 3 instead of the Level 5 monster Ethan remembered.

A faint smile appeared on Ethan’s face.

"I arrived just in time."

Without any hesitation, he pried the Earth Vein Crystal from the stone wall and stored it inside his inventory.