Chapter 62: Treasures [50 PS Bonus Chapter (1)

Leon crushed every single treasure cube, then looked at the items gotten from them. The first was called a Tamer’s Whistle, perfect for giving commands to tamed creatures from afar. The second was called a Frostguard Bracelet. It added an additional 10 Mana points to the user’s stats when equipped, and reduced mana consumption for ice abilities by 5%.

"Impressive." Leon muttered, then tossed the bracelet to Selene.

The silver-haired girl caught it and examined the bracelet. Then, she locked it around her wrist without saying a word.

Leon moved on to the next item. It was a pair of thick red gauntlets named Ironfang Gauntlets.

According to the description, they increased the user’s Strength points by 10, and also increased the grip strength of the user.

Leon pondered for a while, then passed them to Miguel. The blonde guy wielded a big hammer, so the gauntlets were perfect for him.

Next on the table was a small device with a compass on it. Leon picked it up and saw the needle shift ever so slightly.

"Hunter’s Compass, huh..."

Whispering the name, Leon placed it down after seeing that it was merely a utility item without any special benefits.

Then, his eyes shifted to the largest piece of clothing on the table. Unfolding it, he realized it was a black cloak, and the effects surprised him. It granted the wearer an additional 7 agility points, and also reduced movement noise made by the wearer.

’A perfect assassin item.’

Without hesitation, he called Cassie over and handed the cloak to her. The girl thanked him with a bow, which he believed was completely unnecessary, before stepping back.

Leon picked up the next item—a glowing blue crystal that looked completely mysterious. When he checked the description, he was slightly amazed.

"A degraded version of a voice recorder?" He asked no one in particular.

Beside him, Gwen shifted and looked at him. "Can I see?"

Leon shrugged and passed the crystal to her. Then, he picked up the next one—Ring of Vigilance. This one was a ring similar to his own, but it had a cat’s eye drawing on it. Unlike his own Force Ring, it only added 5 points to the Agility stat and increased the wearer’s reflexes.

’Not bad...’

Placing it down, he picked up a pair of black boots with silver lining along the sides, then checked their description.

[Windrunner Boots - Wearer gains +8 Agility points when equipped, and reduces stamina consumption when running by 10%]

’Oh? This is definitely interesting. But...’

It didn’t suit him, as his fighting style focused more on overwhelming enemies with raw force, not speed. Instead, it was more suited for someone like Cassie or Reymond.

After a bit of consideration, he passed it to the guy. Reymond also read the descriptions and nodded, feeling slightly grateful.

Selene, on the other hand, was frowning inwardly. ’Most of the rewards here are probably from the others, and not him. After all, he’s much stronger than the mutated cats and wouldn’t receive any rewards. But since they all forgot about it, he’s monopolizing the rewards and sharing the ones that aren’t useful to him or his team. This guy is... cunning.’

She sighed, leaned back, and closed her eyes. ’Well, I’ve already picked up my own rewards as soon as I finished killing them anyway.’

Unaware of this, Leon continued to check the rewards. The next one that caught his attention was a curved white dagger crafted from the fang of a wild beast.

’+10 strength points and 15% increase in damage against bleeding enemies, hm? Interesting.’

Without even pondering deeply, he passed the dagger to Cassie.

Now, only one treasure remained on the table. It was a sleeveless protective vest stitched from the hide of a mutated beast.

Checking the description, it read:

[Beast Hide Vest - Grants +10 Stamina points to the wearer and provides slight resistance to claw attacks]

The description was pretty simple, and he decided to give it to Fel. At least it’d cover her exposed tummy whenever she was fighting.

’Why did she suddenly switch to such bold clothing, though? Still, I have to admit that she has a nice curvy figure.’

Leon thought to himself, then kept the Hunter’s Compass and the blue Echo Stone to himself. The Ring of Vigilance was handed to Gwen, while the Tamer’s whistle was given to Richard.

The only thing left on the table was the Overdrive trait. Then, he quietly claimed it without letting anyone know what it was.

After the scroll had disintegrated into ashes, he stood up and said, "Marie, you didn’t get anything, right? Next time, you’ll have the right to choose what you want."

The auburn-haired lady flinched, not expecting him to actually notice that she was saddened by that fact.

’I guess I didn’t hide it well.’

She smiled and nodded at him. "No problem, boss."

Shaking his head, Leon glanced outside the windows.

"It’s just noon. Someone should inform the students who came with us that we’re leaving tomorrow. If they want to stay behind, then no problem. The police would take care of them."

"Hm, alright." Selene said shortly, then crossed her legs. "I’m curious, and there are some things I’d like to ask you."

Leon turned back in puzzlement. "Questions? Let’s have it."

"No, they are private questions. Perhaps, later."

Her tone remained cold, though he could sense that the disgust in it had lessened.

"Alright." Leon shrugged and turned away.

Picking up the Windrunner Boots, Reymond wore them and checked how fit they were. To his surprise, they fit his size perfectly.

"Wow. With us being geared up like this, I can’t help but think of this as a Virtual Reality game."

Leaning against the wall, Miguel scoffed. "I hate those. This isn’t any virtual reality. Instead, it’s simply zombies running around and trying to eat anything they see alive."

Reymond frowned, his gaze sharp. "You think so? Then how can you explain things like the Star Stream and these status windows we see? Obviously, everything looks like a game."

"A game. That’s the word that doesn’t sit well with me." Miguel grunted, displeasure on his face. "I know how I almost lost my cheeks to a zombie when it all started. It was horrific. Comparing that to a game is just like dismissing all our struggles and calling it a lie when it’s not."

His words made everyone fall silent, and Reymond realized his mistake.

"Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. I was just trying to point out the similarities. Not dismiss the danger and problems we’ve faced, and are facing."

Standing by the window, Leon had his back turned to them.

"Game or not, survival is important. And that’s the common goal that keeps everyone striving. We all yearn to survive, don’t we?"