Chapter 27: A Fortune in Crystals

Chris shook his head. It wasn’t the time to think about rewards, and he didn’t care much about them anyway. The most important thing was to increase his level, and he had succeeded.

He approached Azreon and jumped onto his back.

"Let’s go and pick up Aldric and Serena."

*ROAR!*

Azreon flapped his wings and took off into the sky. Chris quickly grabbed his scales to keep himself from being blown off by the wind.

He started wondering whether he should get a saddle for the dragon. Adventurers usually bought custom-made saddles for their mounts, especially when they used them for flying. Chris decided to ask Aldric for one when they returned to the city. Considering how wealthy the old man was, buying a saddle shouldn’t be a problem.

After barely a minute of flying, Azreon landed in front of the cave where Aldric and Serena were hiding.

The ground shook from the impact of the enormous dragon landing nearby.

"Aldric! Serena! It’s time to go!"

Chris shouted toward the cave.

A moment later, Aldric and Serena slowly emerged, but when they saw Azreon, they stopped and stared at him in shock.

"This... Is this really Azreon!? How did he grow so much?"

Aldric practically yelled.

Serena could only nod repeatedly as if agreeing with Aldric, still unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Yeah, my buddy evolved again."

Serena opened her mouth, seemingly about to ask a dozen questions, but something unexpected happened before she could say anything.

*CRACK!*

A large crack suddenly appeared in the space just behind her.

Serena screamed and jumped away from it.

"W-what is that!?"

Chris looked at the crack in surprise. It looked exactly like the one the demons had been trying to break open inside the dungeon.

He quickly looked around and noticed several more cracks appearing in the surrounding area. Some appeared between the trees, while others formed high in the sky. The ground began shaking, and the sky itself seemed to tremble.

Chris’s expression darkened.

"I think this dungeon is about to collapse! Quickly, come here! We have to leave!"

Aldric and Serena hurried toward Azreon and climbed onto his back.

"Go!"

Azreon flapped his wings and took off toward the portal at full speed.

Aldric quickly grabbed hold of Azreon’s scales, but Serena was caught off guard by the sudden acceleration.

"Kyaaa!"

She screamed as the wind nearly swept her off the dragon’s back.

Just as she was about to fall, Chris reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her toward him.

"Hold on to me tightly!"

Serena quickly wrapped both arms around Chris’s waist, hugging him with all her strength.

Azreon sped toward the portal, and Chris noticed more and more space cracks appearing all around them. The entire dungeon began shaking violently, making it clear that they didn’t have much time left.

They soon reached the portal, and Azreon flew straight through it.

Their vision darkened for a moment before they found themselves back in the Wilds.

Chris jumped off Azreon’s back, still unconsciously holding Serena, and turned toward the place where the portal had been.

There was nothing there.

"Shit... That was close. Who knows what could have happened if we’d stayed inside?"

He cursed while looking at the empty space.

Aldric looked at it as well, his expression serious.

"That is strange. Dungeons don’t just crumble like that."

Chris turned toward him, making Aldric confused.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Chris shook his head.

"No, it’s just that there were so many strange things in that dungeon. I’m not even sure where to start."

He released a deep breath, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

At that moment, however, he finally noticed the soft sensation against his body. Looking down, he realized that he was still holding Serena around the waist, while she was still hugging him tightly.

He had been so focused on escaping the collapsing dungeon that he hadn’t noticed anything earlier. Now that they were safe, though, he became much more aware of how close they were.

Their eyes met, and Serena seemed to realize the same thing at that moment. Her entire face turned bright red.

She immediately released him and jumped backward like a startled cat.

"I-I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to..."

She covered her face with both hands, stammering in embarrassment.

Chris awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"No, it’s not your fault. The situation caused it..."

Serena nodded, still hiding her face.

"Cough... As much as I’d like to watch you two lovebirds interact a little longer, I still want to ask you something. What happened in the dungeon?"

Aldric suddenly spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"Grandfather!" Serena yelled, stomping her foot against the ground.

Chris looked at Aldric.

"Well... it’s like this..."

"You too!? Are you just going to ignore what he said?"

Serena turned toward Chris in disbelief.

"What?"

Chris was genuinely confused.

"You! Nothing..."

Serena turned away, not knowing what else to say.

Chris looked back at Aldric.

"We should probably sit down and talk about this. We might as well eat something while we’re at it."

He turned toward a nearby clearing and took out several rocks, sticks, and pieces of wood from his storage ring. After arranging them into a small pile, he created a small fireball and tossed it onto the wood, quickly starting a campfire.

He then took out several wooden chairs and placed them around the fire, followed by a grill that he positioned over the flames.

All these items had been given to him by Aldric. Chris was grateful for them, as he hadn’t owned any proper camping equipment before. Grilling meat was now much easier, and after spending so much time on the ground, he could finally enjoy sitting in a comfortable chair.

Once he placed the meat on the grill, he looked at Aldric and Serena.

"So, it’s like this..."

He began explaining everything that had happened inside the dungeon. He told them how the demons had gathered crystals and used them to cause an explosion around the space crack. He also explained how the demon leader had managed to increase its level by consuming live beasts that were much weaker than itself.

Finally, he told them what he had learned from the demon leader about the demons being imprisoned inside countless dungeons and their plans to break free.

Aldric and Serena listened in silence, their expressions growing more serious with every passing moment.

When Chris finished, Aldric’s expression darkened.

"This is not good news. So the demons weren’t completely eradicated during that war. They were sealed inside numerous dungeons, and now they’re trying to break through the barriers..."

He paused, clearly thinking about the consequences.

"I must return to the country as soon as possible to report this. We need to prepare for the possibility of another war against the demons."

Chris nodded.

"Yes, that would be best. Although I managed to clear this dungeon, we have no idea how many others there are. And that Demon King the leader mentioned... it said he would be able to bring it back, which means the Demon King might have the ability to revive demons."

Aldric nodded gravely.

"Yes. That is troublesome. We don’t have much information to go on, but we know enough to understand that we must prepare. This also explains why the demons didn’t have beast cores."

Chris looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean?"

"The existence of dungeons is complicated. I won’t go into too much detail because it’s not the right time for you to learn everything, but think of it this way - demons aren’t beasts. They’re different from beasts, just as humans are different from beasts, so they don’t have beast cores. Those demons weren’t born inside the dungeons either. They were placed there to be sealed away, which also explains why the dungeon boss didn’t have a Dungeon Boss Core."

Chris thought about it for a moment before nodding. It made some sense, even if he still had plenty of questions.

They remained silent for a while, thinking about what they had learned. Then Aldric suddenly remembered something from Chris’s explanation.

"You said the demons were gathering crystals to cause an explosion? Could you describe what those crystals looked like?"

Chris reached into his storage ring and took out one of the small blue crystals.

"Something like this?"

His storage ring was still completely full of them, and he had been wondering whether he should find somewhere to dump them all.

However, the moment Aldric saw the crystal, he was completely stunned. He quickly jumped to his feet and practically ran toward Chris, taking the crystal from his hand.

"This! Brat, you’ve struck gold!"

Serena was also surprised and approached to get a better look. The moment she recognized the crystal, she stared at Chris with wide eyes.

"What do you mean? Is that crystal worth something?"

"Worth something!? This single crystal is worth enough for an average family to live comfortably for their entire lives!"

Chris was stunned.

"What!? That tiny crystal is worth that much?"

Aldric looked at him with a strange expression.

"You don’t know what this is?"

"No?"

Aldric slapped his forehead.

"Listen carefully. This crystal is called an energy crystal. It’s used as a source of power for..."

"What!?"

Chris jumped up from his chair.

He knew what energy crystals were. They were used to generate electricity, power vehicles, and operate many other machines. However, the energy crystals he knew were white, with blue energy glowing inside them.

"How can that be an energy crystal? Aren’t energy crystals white with blue energy inside?"

Aldric shook his head.

"Those are low-grade energy crystals. This one is a much higher grade. High-grade energy crystals can power large military-grade flying ships or even supply entire cities with energy."

Chris was stunned. So that’s what they were.

"Even a single crystal this small is worth a fortune?"

"Exactly. You can get a lot of money for just one of these."

Chris slowly sat back down, trying to process the information.

"So, what if I had more of these crystals?"

Aldric immediately looked at him.

"You have more? How many?"

Chris waved his hand, and one crystal after another appeared on the ground beside him. Soon, a small mountain of blue crystals had formed.

"This is insane!" Aldric and Serena exclaimed at the same time.

Aldric stared at the pile before turning toward Chris again.

"With this many high-grade energy crystals, an entire country could be powered for several years!"

"What? That much? If I’d known that, I would have asked you for more storage rings! I couldn’t store any more than this."

Chris was stunned once again. Now he regretted not asking Aldric for additional storage rings before entering the dungeon.

Aldric shook his head with a sigh. If he’d known what Chris would find, he would have given him every storage ring he owned, including his own.

"So, what can I do with these? Where can I sell them?"

Aldric waved his hand and stored all the crystals in his ring.

"You’ll naturally sell them to me. I’ll give you a good price, and I can sell them in smaller quantities to make a profit."

Chris looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Fine, just leave me a few pieces. I might find a use for them in the future."

Aldric tossed a few crystals back to him, and Chris caught them.

"All right, then. Let’s eat and head back to the country."

"Excellent!"

Both Chris and Aldric returned to their chairs with big smiles on their faces.

Serena looked at them with a strange expression.

’Did these two guys forget about the danger of another demon war the moment they saw money?’

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Only a few minutes ago, they had been discussing a possible war that could threaten the entire world, and now they were celebrating their newfound fortune.

When they finished eating, they packed everything away and climbed onto Azreon’s back.

"Let’s go, buddy."

Chris pointed in the direction of the country, and Azreon quickly took off, flying at great speed while keeping his pace low enough that the people on his back wouldn’t be thrown off.