Chapter 633: The boon within the cave, the real rewards!
They could hear monsters roaring in the distance as if telling them to pipe it down over here. The forest felt a little bit less creepy.
Wu Yan strapped Heaven Gazer on his back and he shook his head when he saw the Black Cats celebrating their victory.
Killing a boss is a cause for celebration, at least for the Black Cats. He gave the boss a C at best for entertaining him a little bit. The boss was far from posing a threat to Wu Yan, as expected of a monster inside a game. He would have celebrated if he was this capable during the Beast King incident.
“Yan! That was awesome!”
Shion jumped to glomp Wu Yan but he shut her down with an arm.
“Hey, aren’t you the one who doubted the authenticity of my solo-boss capabilities?”
Wu Yan chuckled while shaking his head.
“That’s because I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”
Shion wasn’t fazed by his rejection. She continued using her bubbly voice with him.
“That was a boss, you know?! You went swish wish and then you chopped the boss up into pieces even though the boss is on a higher level than you. Your title as a star isn’t wasted on you.”
“You won’t get anything trying to butter me up.”
Wu Yan rolled his eyes at Shion. He saw the same looks on Sachi, Souta, and the others. He helplessly sighed.
“Don’t get so excited yet. I killed the boss on my own and I didn’t party up with you guys. You guys cool if I take all the items?”
The Black Cats were still brimming with elation even if he poured cold water on them. Sachi giggled as she got close.
“Yeah, although we won’t get any items from the boss. I am sure we will get Cors, experience points, equipment, and other items for completing this quest...”
Wu Yan flinched. He forgot about the quest rewards. The quest was considered cleared as he also got rewards for participating in this quest.
“You don’t have to hand in this quest, huh? That’s pretty sweet. Saved me the trouble from running around. I am also very satisfied with the Exp it gave me, that’s about the same amount as a day’s worth of grinding. I don’t know what to do with more Cors though...”
The others exchanged a weird look. They can’t believe the nerve on this guy. That one day’s worth of grinding is relative, it would have taken them at least a week to grind the same amount of Exp. As for the Cors, they got a week’s worth of hard work in one quest.
There is always a taller mountain, huh...
Shion examined her rewards and gains with excitement when she suddenly remembered something.
“Oh yeah, how do we return?”
Everyone was stumped for words.
He glanced at the others and she saw their petrified looks.
“Wait, guys, don’t tell me...”
They nodded in silence.
Wu Yan wanted to motivate them with his speech but he gave up on that thought. Instead, he turned his attention towards the cave the boss was guarding. His eyes had a brilliant flash of inspiration within them.
“Let’s dive deeper into the cave!”
“The cave...”
The Black Cats looked at the cave with tilted heads.
“More like, why wasn’t the boss inside the cave? Why was it at the entrance?”
The others knew something is fishy here. This means there must be something inside the cave. Surely it must be guarding something inside the cave.
Wu Yan scanned the entrance while rubbing his chin.
“It looks like there might be a clue on how to leave this place inside the cave...”
This forest wasn’t that big in terms of area. They came here following a simple path. They discovered this cave almost like someone designed this place in such a way that they have to find this cave no matter what. Aside from the path they originated from, there are only indestructible stone walls surrounding the outer perimeter of the forest here.
This cave appears to be the end of the map.
“Let’s go check out what’s inside!”
Wu Yan decided for everyone since they couldn’t make up their minds. The Black Cats followed Wu Yan as they approached the cave.
They expected more surprises in store for them when they entered the cave. They already got a taste of the nasty-smelling dungeon, the creepy forest, the Footless Raccoons, the Lion-man Boss. They knew better than to let down their guards in this place.
In the end, the cave turned out to be as shallow as it looked. They dived into the cave for about 30 seconds and they found a dead end.
They stopped because they saw a flickering light at the end of this cave. It’s a thin crystal and a small orb that defied gravity by floating in the air.
“What’s that?”
Shion blinked in astonishment. She turned towards Wu Yan after remembering something.
“You go!”
“Me?”
Wu Yan teased Shion with a slightly surprised expression.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid?”
“I am not!”
Shion pouted.
“Those things look like items, it’s probably the true reward of this quest. You killed the boss so you should keep the final rewards. That’s only fair, after all, you pretty much completed this quest on your own.”
Shion turned towards Souta.
“Isn’t that right, Guild master?”
Souta nodded with a formal look.
“We couldn’t have done this without you, the items are yours to deal with!”
“But...”
Wu Yan frowned.
“Sachi found the quest first, that had nothing to do with me...
“Onii-san, please keep them...”
Sachi beamed at him.
“The rewards we got are already more than enough for us. You already saved us so many times, just take the reward, Onii-san...”
The other Black Cats are also very satisfied with this outcome. He nodded after giving in to their overwhelming friendliness.
“Okay then...’
He pulled out a trade tab and he placed a ton of Cors and precious materials.
“Here, take them.”
Wu Yan ordered them to take it.
“If you guys turn down this trade request then I am not taking the items there!”
The Black Cats nodded with faint smiles on their faces.
Inside SAO, things can get ugly when survival is on the line. Humans will show the ugly side of their souls, greed, envy, wrath, players tend to do anything and everything to get their hands on better equipment and items. Even loyal comrades can turn into backstabbing thieves to ensure their own survival.
It’s very rare to see a scene where the players aren’t fighting over the items. In fact, it would be shocking to other players when they see Wu Yan fighting with Black Cats while turning precious items down.
This is what it meant to do treat others with decency and a sincere soul. The Black Cats are happy Wu Yan gave so much thought about them, they are happy Wu Yan’s not treating them like random players off the street.
Wu Yan walked towards the crystal and the orb, he grabbed the crystal to examine it.
He was stunned when he saw the message on the crystal.