Chapter 8

Fang Yi quickly rummaged through the corpse, pulling out a few pieces of trash, and watched as the body slowly turned transparent and disappeared. He then continued on his way. When a regular monster was killed, if the drops were not taken, the corpse would remain for 20 minutes; for a regular wave boss, it would be one hour. If the three corpses were left lying there, there was a 100% chance that other dog-headed men would discover them, which would alert all the monsters in the mine.

After a perilous but successful battle against over a dozen dog-headed men, Fang Yi had collected enough iron ore from them. The 1.5 points of experience per kill had already increased his experience bar by a third, but his strong curiosity drove him to continue deeper into the cave. In "Miracle," the rewards for exploring a new area for the first time were often the most generous. This cave, far from the newbie village, was clearly undiscovered, and no player could resist such temptation.

Even the slightest sound in the darkness seemed jarring, let alone speaking loudly. Fang Yi carefully avoided a patrol of dog-headed men, peeking at the "chattering" dog-headed men and ogre on the open ground, and then at the treasure chest at the end of the clearing, frowning and clenching his teeth.

The ogre, surrounded by dog-headed men, was at least eight feet tall, with a thick brown hide covering its body. It held a massive club, and even from a distance, Fang Yi could smell the disgusting odor emanating from it. This creature was not to be provoked; a single blow could easily kill him and three dog-headed men.

However, there was no reason to miss the treasure chest in "Miracle," especially in the wild, where the chance of finding one was much lower than in dungeons. It could yield many good items. During the beta test, someone had even obtained an item that triggered a hidden quest from a high-level treasure chest. In essence, opening a treasure chest was like buying a lottery ticket, always keeping players entertained.

If he were playing a warrior, Fang Yi would likely choose to grind a few levels before coming back to try again. But now, as a rogue, he felt it would be a shame not to take the treasure chest. He carefully observed the terrain, called up the skill panel, and activated "Listening," "Scouting," "Silent Movement," "Hiding," "Trap Setting," and "Lockpicking." He then took out his rogue tool kit and set a simple flash trap where the patrolling dog-headed men would pass.

Fang Yi held his short sword and slowly moved forward along the right wall. Although the monsters in front of him had low perception, he knew the dog-headed men had a high natural bonus to their listening skill, and he could be discovered at any moment while moving stealthily.

Fang Yi took small steps, carefully avoiding the loose stones and puddles on the ground, while observing the dog-headed men's reactions. When he saw a dog-headed man's ears twitch, he immediately pressed himself against the wall, and the effects of hiding and stealth kicked in. The dog-headed man turned its head but did not notice the human standing just a few feet away from it.

After several attempts, the dog-headed man closest to the wall became angry and let out a "roar," which sounded more like a dog's bark but still caused a small commotion among the monsters.

Fang Yi thought the more chaotic the situation, the better. He wiped the sweat from his palms and continued his snail-paced advance. The 60-foot distance took him nearly 30 minutes.

The dark brown wooden treasure chest was within reach, but Fang Yi did not dare to act rashly, patiently crouching in a corner.

After a while, just as Fang Yi was thinking the patrolling dog-headed men should be coming, he heard a sharp noise from the entrance of the tunnel, followed by a blinding white light that illuminated half the hall. The dog-headed men, who were extremely sensitive to light, were instantly affected by a brief blindness.

The irritable ogre, however, did not care. It swung its club, sending several dog-headed men flying, and roared at its subordinates. The dog-headed men, having learned from past experiences, pushed and shoved each other toward the source of the light.

Fang Yi had been waiting for this moment and immediately used his lockpicking skill on the treasure chest. After 3 seconds—System message: Lockpicking skill failed. Your efforts have loosened the lock, but it is not enough to open it. Damn!

Sweat appeared on Fang Yi's forehead as he glanced at the ogre, who was still facing away, thankfully not noticing him.

He tried lockpicking again, counting 1, 2... Each second felt like an eternity. Fang Yi felt time had almost stopped. "Click," the lock finally opened, and the ogre let out a shrill scream, having detected the thief behind it the moment the chest was opened.

Fang Yi quickly grabbed the items from the chest, keeping his eyes on the ogre, and darted toward the tunnel leading deeper into the mine. The enraged ogre had already taken out a giant crossbow and fired an arrow at the thief.

Seeing the ogre switch to ranged attacks, Fang Yi stopped and moved quickly, using his agility to the fullest, making two sudden changes in direction. He cursed his parents for not giving him more legs.

As he landed, Fang Yi felt a chill on his shoulder. He gritted his teeth and cursed: "How did it hit me? It's just a few levels difference, does the hit rate correction have to be so harsh!?"

The rapid footsteps echoed in the tunnel, mixed with heavy breathing. Fang Yi's agile figure darted through the tunnel, taking any path available, and soon found himself in another independent cave.

The moment he saw the ogre, Fang Yi deduced that there must be more to this cave. The system would not place a wolf in a mouse's den. The mine entrance was so small that the ogre must have another way in, which is why Fang Yi dared to steal the treasure and flee deeper into the cave.

However, the situation clearly exceeded Fang Yi's expectations. As the tunnel widened, signs of artificial reinforcement began to appear. Fang Yi could vaguely discern the style of the dwarves from the surrounding ruins.

As the ogre's "unique" smell grew stronger, Fang Yi had a bad feeling.

The chase continued, and the number of ogres pursuing him increased from one to two, then to four. With his stamina almost depleted, Fang Yi was in a panic, thinking, "Am I going to die at the hands of these ogres? During the beta test, I fought a four-headed fire snake for 300 rounds before dying—albeit a weakened one..."

While lost in thought, Fang Yi, whose listening skill had not been interrupted, heard a few light sounds behind him. Having become familiar with the ogres' tactics, he quickly accelerated, leaped off the left wall, and rolled into a side tunnel, leaving three crossbow bolts embedded in the wall behind him. But when he looked up, he immediately understood the meaning of "chilled to the bone."

A nearly 30-foot-wide, fast-flowing underground river lay across the tunnel, with a natural stone bridge slightly to the left. Fang Yi's 16 points of perception were not high, but he could tell that the figures on the other side of the river were not friendly dog-headed men—he had run straight into the ogres' lair.

Fang Yi turned around, and the dog-headed men who had been chasing him were nowhere to be seen, but three more ogres had joined the pursuit. The large group of monsters on the other side of the river had also noticed the commotion, as evidenced by the rumbling footsteps.

Two ogres quickly took out their crossbows and aimed at the small thief. Fang Yi glanced at his nearly depleted stamina bar, knowing there was no way out. He gritted his teeth, took a few quick steps back, and dove into the fast-flowing underground river, hearing the "thud, thud" of the giant crossbow bolts hitting the ground just before he submerged.

Fang Yi had a deep water phobia since childhood, always fearing something sinister in the depths. But in the game, he knew there would be unfriendly creatures in the water, yet he was not as nervous as he expected.

The cold river water gradually calmed his heightened state, and he swam a few strokes to keep himself afloat.

The underground river was pitch black, and the smooth stone walls on both sides offered no place for his high agility to be useful. Fang Yi cast a hiding skill on himself, praying there were no high-level monsters in the water, and remained motionless, letting the current carry him forward.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Fang Yi was almost losing track of time. His stamina was not depleting to zero in the floating state, but it was not recovering either. The character status panel already showed the negative effects of stiffness and hypothermia. Fang Yi thought, "Though every corner of the realm is an adventure, I really have no interest in fighting underwater. Am I going to freeze to death?"

Note 1: Due to their extreme rarity and high acquisition difficulty, treasure chests in the game often yield items of the same quality as those dropped by elite monsters of the same level. Similar to killing monsters, the fewer players and the lower their levels, the higher the quality of the items that randomly spawn in the treasure chest, and vice versa.

Additionally, treasure chests are the only items with a fixed chance of spawning items that trigger hidden quests.