Matthew looked at the cloth bag in his hand.
It was a pouch sewn from some thick, dark brown beast hide, about the size of a palm and oval in shape.
The bag was tightly tied with a leather cord of the same color, the knot securely fastened.
This leather pouch... has a really nice texture, and it's quite new.
Matthew rubbed his fingers over the leather surface, estimating in his mind,
It was probably brought back by the goblins recently, maybe plundered from some slain adventurer or caravan member.
He untied the sturdy leather cord, turned the bag upside down, and poured the contents into his palm.
The first things that caught his eye were several silver coins, five in total.
In addition to the silver coins, there was also a small piece of dull yellow, soft metal, about the size of a fingernail.
Matthew pinched it hard with his fingers and brought it closer for a careful look, his heart stirring. Gold?
Though it was very small and its purity might not be high, it was undoubtedly gold.
Matthew felt a surge of joy. Although the gold was tiny, based on market value, this small piece of gold should be worth about the same as a standard gold coin.
“The total harvest this time is one small piece of gold, five silver coins, and one hundred and twenty-two copper coins,” he calculated silently, the corners of his mouth curling up unconsciously.
For his current wealth, this was absolutely a considerable fortune, far exceeding his expectations.
He would definitely be considered a wealthy man back in the village.
He properly stowed away the gold, the silver coins, and the previously counted copper coins, tucking them into the inner pocket of his clothes.
Having done all this, he then looked at the remaining two items in the bag:
One was an irregularly shaped, dark red crystal about the size of an egg, with a rough surface.
The other was a black iron bar, about three inches long, ice-cold and heavy to the touch, with a blurry, unrecognizable symbol carved on both ends.
When Matthew saw these two items, his newfound joy was replaced by confusion.
He frowned, placing the dark red crystal in his palm to examine it closely.
“It looks like some kind of crystal or ore...”
Just as Matthew muttered softly, a faint but distinct stinging sensation came from his palm, as if an extremely subtle electric current or energy was stimulating his skin.
The feeling was fleeting, but it made his heart tighten.
This is no ordinary crystal... He immediately thought of the dark red crystal at the tip of the kobold priest's staff that could gather fire energy.
And the stinging sensation caused by the scattering mana.
Could it be... some kind of magic material fragment? Of the same origin as the crystal on that staff?
He couldn't be sure, but intuition told him this thing was definitely not simple. Still, not daring to keep holding it, he put it back into the cloth bag exactly as it was.
Next, he picked up the pitch-black iron bar.
The iron bar felt ice-cold and heavy, far exceeding the weight of ordinary ironware, with a very dense texture. The symbols carved on both ends were blurry and hard to recognize, their lines ancient and bizarre, unlike any common writing or decoration.
Matthew turned it over and over, tracing the indentations of the symbols with his finger.
“I don't understand it, but something kept together with a crystal like that probably isn't simple.”
Matthew put the dark red crystal fragment and the pitch-black iron bar back into the dark brown leather pouch, carefully tied it up again with the leather cord, and tucked it into his breast pocket, separate from the coins.
He stood up and looked around the goblin leader's cave once more, his gaze sweeping over every corner.
“Looks like that's all,” he muttered to himself, already feeling satisfied.
He gripped the Finely Forged One-Handed Sword in his hand, preparing to leave this foul-smelling underground nest along the path he came.
However, just at this moment, an extremely faint sound of footsteps came from the direction of the dim passage he had come from!
Matthew frowned, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
The owner of these footsteps was clearly trying to conceal their presence as well. Moreover, this was a goblin nest, which was already fraught with danger.
He quickly scanned the cave. Although the space here was large, there was nowhere to hide. Once trapped inside, he would be in an extremely passive position.
Making a swift decision, he hesitated no longer. His body darted out of the leader's cave as silently as a leopard, returning to the “hall” piled with goblin corpses.
He quickly assessed the terrain and stealthily made his way toward a slightly elevated corner on one side of the hall, where a pile of jagged rocks lay.
Just as he crouched low behind the rocks and held his breath, the footsteps reached the entrance of the hall.
Aided by the faint glow of the glowing moss on the walls, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance—it was Brody.
Brody had now shed his conspicuous crimson hunting attire, wearing only his undergarments and chainmail, with his steel rapier gripped tightly in his hand. The usual fake expression of greedy fanaticism on his face was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating alertness.
He made his steps even lighter and began to move slowly through the hall, his gaze constantly scanning the ground and every corner.
He's looking for someone... Matthew realized, a chill silently rising in his heart.
He had anticipated this. After witnessing Brody's cold selfishness in dragging the entire squad into danger just for a staff, he had foreseen that this man might take action after the battle to cover things up.
He just hadn't expected the other party to act so quickly.
The young noble is indeed ruthless, but this is just as well. We can settle both old and new scores together.
And... Brody has good things on him.
An uncontrollable wave of greed also sprouted in the depths of his heart.
Brody was a young noble and was excellently equipped.
That chainmail, that steel rapier, and other supplies he might be carrying on him, like coins, potions... every single one of them was highly valuable to the current Matthew.
He probably looks down on the “trash” in this goblin nest. Adventuring deep in here... he must have noticed that I left alone, or... he simply wants to kill the witnesses?
It seems that staff is even more valuable than I thought.
...
Meanwhile.
Brody stepped into the hall, his gaze sweeping over the mountain of goblin corpses.
His eyes were cold and focused, like a venomous snake searching for its prey.
“That kid Matthew... indeed slipped in alone,” Brody sneered in his heart, tightening his grip on his rapier. “It plays right into my hands.”
And as for why he wanted to kill, there were three main reasons.
First, in terms of interest, Brody was already short on funds.
If they went by the normal process, he couldn't produce enough gold coins to settle the payment at all.
And according to the unspoken rules of adventurers, this precious staff remnant would have to be split based on contribution, especially Calm, who deserved a share.
How could Brody be willing to share such a treasure with others? Rather than being forced to cut his own flesh, it was better to make the “witnesses who needed a share” disappear forever.
Second, it was because Calm had damaged the staff. Although Calm did it unintentionally, Brody still wanted him to pay the price.
The final point was to conceal the news of the staff.
Brody knew the value of this staff very well.
A magic item that could significantly boost spellcasting and even trigger defensive spells was “rarely seen” even in the county seat, and could even bring disaster upon Brody!
Yet he couldn't openly speak of this treasure's importance, so silencing them by killing was the best option.
Rate on N.U.
