Chapter 78: Opening Treasure Chests After returning to the inn, Alex took out the six treasure chests he had gotten from his expedition in the Floating Forest. The first chest contained, of course, the Silent Striders, which he had set his sights on since his arrival at the Town of Thaloria. —— < Silent Striders > Item Grade: Rare Stats: +2 Stealth, +3 Agility Effect: Reduces noise while walking, making sneaky approaches easier. —— He didn’t hesitate to equip the shoes before opening the next treasure chest he had acquired with the help of the Fairies. —— < Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng > "Not all treasures glitter. Some grow in silence." Item Grade: Rare — A very precious ingredient that is highly sought out by Alchemists. — This item can be exchanged for Arcana Points in the Arcana Shop and is worth 200 Arcana Points. —— "Only 200 Arcana Points?" Alex blinked before opening his Arcana Shop to search under the ingredients tab. He vaguely remembered that the Arcana Shop also sold ingredients useful for alchemists. However, when he saw that the Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng was being sold in the shop for 500 Arcana Points, he decided not to sell the ginseng in his possession and store it for future use. The young man once again performed his good-luck ritual before opening the third treasure chest. He hoped he would get something useful that he could use immediately. —— < Donger Pill > "Eating this pill will make your little guy rise faster than a necromancer’s army." Item Grade: Super Rare — Not for the faint of heart. Or the faint of hips. — A pill that will cure erectile dysfunction instantly! — Permanently increase stamina regeneration by 50%. — Side effects may include smug grins, sore thighs, aching hips, and suspiciously happy spouses. — Legends say it once took down a succubus... thrice. Warning: May cause walls to shake and neighbors to complain. —— The corner of Alex’s lips twitched after reading the information of the Donger Pill. Although it was a super rare item, the young man had mixed feelings about the treasure he just acquired from the treasure chest. A moment later, he coughed lightly and looked at the pill as if he was some kind of food aficionado professionally giving it a critical appraisal. "The permanent increase in stamina regeneration isn’t bad," Alex said, trying to sound objective. "I’ll keep this for now." While it was not a lie, it wasn’t the whole truth. Dim Dim looked at him with a smug smile on its adorable face, as if understanding what Alex was thinking. "Ahem, next!" Alex opened the fourth treasure chest in an attempt to sweep the subject under the rug. —— < Boots of Minor Levitation > "At least your feet won’t get dirty. Unless, of course, you suddenly trip." Item Grade: Rare — The wearer constantly floats two inches above ground level. — Allows the wearer to walk over water. — You cannot jump or fly while wearing these boots. — Perfect for those who wish to become 2 inches taller. —— ’Not bad,’ Alex thought. ’This can be useful under certain situations.’ If there was a time when he needed to fight in water-type terrains, the Boots of Minor Levitation would definitely be of big help to him. "Only two left," Alex muttered. The items he received were all useful in their own ways, including a certain life-saving pill, so he was looking forward to checking what the other two treasure chests contained. —— < Traveler’s Lantern > "Light that never dims, even in the deepest shadows." Item Grade: Rare — A magical lantern that never runs out of fuel. It provides bright light in a 30-foot radius, even in total darkness. —— "This is indeed very useful," Alex remarked after turning the lantern on to see how bright it was. A few moments later, the young man nodded in satisfaction. The brightness of the lantern was just right, neither too blinding nor too dim. ’Now, for the last one,’ Alex placed his hand on the lid of the last treasure chest. ’Give me something good.’ —— < Map of Forgotten Paths > "Not all paths are meant to be found. But some definitely are." Item Grade: Super Rare — Reveals hidden or secret rooms, passageways, and shortcuts within dungeons or surrounding areas. — When within the vicinity of any dungeon or ruin, the map automatically highlights hidden doors, secret passages, or concealed stairways within a 300-meter radius. — The paths are clearly marked with glowing symbols or lines on the map, visible only to the holder of the map. — Hidden treasures, traps, and even specific enemies’ locations may be revealed. — This map can only be activated once per day, and its effect lasts for three hours. After this period ends, the map resets and will not be usable again for the next 24 hours. [Note: The Map of Forgotten Paths can be merged with the Player’s personal map.] [Would you like to merge the two maps together?] [Yes / No] —— Alex didn’t think twice and merged the Map of Forgotten Paths with the one he already owned, so he no longer needed to worry about it getting stolen by others. This would also grant his map more flexibility because he could summon it anytime and anywhere. ’Sweet.’ Alex couldn’t help but smile because he hit the jackpot with the treasure chests he had taken from the Floating Forest. After carefully storing everything inside his storage ring, the young man decided to take a short nap. "Dim Dim, please wake me up before sunset," Alex said. Dim Dim nodded. "Dim." The young man then closed his eyes to sleep. Although he didn’t look like it, he was actually quite tired from the recent battle, and his body was aching in many places. But since the healers were busy healing those who had serious injuries, he decided to just drink a healing potion and let his injuries heal naturally. It didn’t take long for Alex to fall into a dreamless sleep, snoring softly as he lay on the bed. Dim Dim, on the other hand, crawled toward the window of the room and looked at the town that was suffering greatly from the aftereffects of the monster stampede. It looked at the places where he and Alex had visited. It looked at the places where it had played with the children of the town. Those places were all in ruins after the Goblins and the Orcs had invaded the city. But Dim Dim believed that the Town of Thaloria would regain its former glory and become the hub where future Heroes of Arcana would visit at least once during their stay in the Kingdom of Avalon.