And after sleeping, the group walked towards a Treasure Cove at east where the Poseidon's Bell should be.
"So… This is the place?" Zeke asked.
Luka checked his map, where there was a marked spot at north-east in Ilias Continent, then he looked in front of him. "Yeah, this should be it."
It looked as if someone attempted to replicate the tunnels in the middle of the road to pass through mountains back in Zeke's world.
But this was just dug through the rock…
"Alright, wait a bit." Zeke knelt down and took out some parts of Pumpkin, before he took the Imperial Arm itself from his back and laid it down. He put away some pieces and recombined others… And Pumpkin in its Long Barrel mode came out!
Zeke passed it to Luka and said. "Use it as a bludgeon weapon, it should be hard enough. And whatever happens, don't pull the trigger, unless you want to cause a cave-in."
Luka looked down on Pumpkin and held it. "So I just need to slam it on the monsters' heads?"
"Yep, now let's go in." The three entered in the Treasure Cove. After a bit, Alice, in her human form, said in disgust. "Hmm… It smells like a fox."
Luka was curious and asked. "What does a fox smell like…?"
"Thin fried tofu."
Luka was dumbfounded at the weird answer, and shrugged.
Meanwhile, Zeke placed his hands on the well-made walls. Unlike the entrance, the road here was like a house's hall, a long and empty hall…
"This place is made very well… Be careful Luka, there might be traps."
"Why just me?" Luka asked, and Zeke pointed to Alice. "She is strong enough to come out uninjured from anything that is in Ilias Continent…"
Then he pointed a thumb to himself. "As long as the traps are physically lethal, I'm alright."
Then he stepped forward, and coincidentally activated a trap by stepping on a thin wire. A giant blade came out from one side and fell down on Zeke at high speed.
Luka panicked and yelled. "ZEKE!"
He wanted to push him away from the way, but Alice held him back. "Don't worry, he isn't slow."
As he saw the blade reaching Zeke, he was full of despa-
*Crack!*
The blade snapped in two as soon as it reached Zeke's shoulder.
""...Ah?"" Luka's despaired face shifted into a confused one. But it seems Alice has the same face, not expecting this outcome.
She was conscious that Zeke was able to dodge it, but she didn't expect to tank the attack instead, and also breaking the blade…
Zeke turned around and extended his arms at his sides. "I have the Sun Authority: Leo. Thanks to that, no weapon in the world can harm me, no matter what weapon it is."
"...Woah…" Luka was amazed at that ability, while Alice got confused. "...Did you mean with that when you said 'Cheat'?"
"Yes, even if I fight Granberia now, the only thing she can do is punching or kicking me, her sword is completely useless thanks to this skill… Speaking of which."
Zeke snapped his fingers and the Spin screen appeared in front of me. "Now, Luka, this might be new to you, but this is how I arrived at this point."
Zeke clicked Daily Spin and the entire party watched the slot being colorful with curiosity.
C.
"Huh, another one, neat." Zeke mused out with a smile, and Alice raised an eyebrow. "Another one?"
"Oh, right. You don't know yet…"
Zeke opened his inventory and showed Alice and Luka the Awakened Dream Nail. "This is a C-ranked item, the Dream Nail. It can slice open the boundaries between Reality and Dreams, but since it is all it can do, it is ranked as C. Jackal is also a C-ranked item because it is out of normal."
"So… Now?" Luka asked with a curious face, and on cue, another screen appeared at Zeke's side.
[You have received: Energy Drain(Minor)]
"Now this… Energy Drain, huh?" This was the second time he got a skill reward. But let's test what it can do…
"Hey Alice, you mind if I try this on you?"
Alice shrugged and let Zeke grab her arm. She waited, but nothing happened…
"Do you even know how to use it?" Alice turned around and looked at Zeke, who was looking at his Profile with Luka.
"I'm already using it, my stats are increasing too."
Alice looked at the stats.
[Name: Zeke Conquest
Age: 15 years old
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Title: Hero
…
Strength: 57 (37+20)
Endurance: 55 (35+20)
Constitution: 52 (32+20)
Dexterity: 53 (33+20)
Magic: 2 (1+1)
Bonus Stats: 0
…
Skills: Sun Authority: Leo, Energy Drain(Minor).]
"Oh, then it must be because you are taking an unnoticeable amount of my energy." Alice said with a smug face, while the numbers kept increasing. Soon, Zeke let go of Alice, feeling pretty much full.
[Name: Zeke Conquest
Age: 15 years old
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Title: Hero
…
Strength: 74 (37+37)
Endurance: 70 (35+35)
Constitution: 64 (32+32)
Dexterity: 66 (33+33)
Magic: 2 (1+1)
Bonus Stats: 0
…
Skills: Sun Authority: Leo, Energy Drain(Minor).]
It seems it can't exceed the double of his own stats. However, he still had doubts on the speed of the skill.
"Anyway, let's go…"
"Ah!" Suddenly, a voice echoed in the stone halls, scaring the shit out of Zeke. "Fuck!"
He held his chest and took deep breaths. "Shit… I'm not good with scary things…"
"Huh? Really? I didn't expect that from you." Luka commented.
"Well, I can't do anything about it… I will be scared to death if a ghost comes out from nowhe-"
"Ghosts?!" Alice almost yelled in panic.
"Uh… Are you okay?" Luka asked Alice, who froze like a statue and bit one if her lips, trying her best to hold a fearless face. "T… T-There is nothing wrong… I don't care about ghosts."
Zeke sighed, remembering that Alice was in worse conditions than him when scary shit appears. He turned around and said. "Let's keep on, the faster we get the bell, the better it is…"
Suddenly, Zeke felt two soft cushions on the back of his head, he didn't need to think to guess who it was. "Alice, too close."
"Who's too close?! You are too close to me!"
At the back, Luka sweatdropped at the comical scene Zeke and Alice were doing, before something caught his eyes in the corner of a crossroad.
"Hey, what's that?"
Alice and Zeke looked at the direction where Luka was pointing, and found a white fox ear peeking out from the corner.
After a while, Alice frowned and said. "That's not a ghost."
"Nooooo, for real?" Zeke asked sarcastically, receiving a punch on his head. "Ouch, bitch."
"Asshole." Alice muttered before she vanished. Luka jumped in surprise and yelled. "S-She disappeared!"
"Yeah…" Zeke rubbed his head in pain and continued to talk. "She doesn't want any monster to see her, she is a bit… infamous."
"I see…" Luka trailed off while pulling out Pumpkin from his back, and holding it from the Imperial Arm's butt like a baseball bat.
Zeke pulled out Angel Halo and took a deep breath, focusing on the monster hiding behind the corner.
"Get out from there."
From the corner, a little girl stepped out, she was dressed in a pink kimono with short skirt, sandals with white socks, black shorts… And two pairs of white fox ears and tails respectively on her head and on her back.
"Wawawa… I got caught…"
And so the little kitsune appeared, blocking the way of the travelers.
[STATUS UPDATE]
Name: Zeke Conquest
Age: 15 years old
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Title: Hero
…
Strength: 37 (Max: 74)
Endurance: 35 (Max: 70)
Constitution: 32 (Max: 64)
Dexterity: 33 (Max: 66)
Magic: 1 (Max: 2)
Bonus Stats: 0
…
Skills: Sun Authority: Leo, Energy Drain(Minor).