Chapter 18 - Dragon's Lair Liam paused at the junction where the brook joined a huge turbulent river and then started walking in the northeastern direction towards a cluster of mountains. He climbed the winding pathways and then paused at a particular cave near the base of one of the taller mountains. Surprisingly, there was also another cave besides the first cave. He stopped and stared at both the caves, his lips curling into a big smile. "I am glad I found it." Liam chuckled, at the unbelievable sight in front of him. "Now let me see… the cave on the right should be the dungeon entrance, and the cave on the left should be the lair." The person who first uncovers a dungeon entrance received bonus points and additional drops, but Liam was rather interested in the second cave. This cave was in fact the lair of one of the lesser dragons called Niria. Like all dragons, Niria also had the fetish of collecting gems and treasures. However, Liam knew that it also had an additional fetish. The lazy dragon loved to lure travelers into its lair by showing off its treasures and eat them when they least expect it. It particularly enjoyed the look of ecstasy and euphoria which appeared on the faces of its prey because of the treasures right before it changed to complete and utter terror on realizing the fate that awaited them. There was also a specific spell inside the cave which made everyone lose everything in their possession if they died inside the cave, thereby slowly growing the treasure mound of the dragon. However, it was only a lesser dragon and it was not too smart. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this close to a starting area. The solution was also an extremely simple one that anyone can try. In his previous life, there was a player who outsmarted the dragon by only taking half the treasures in its lair and escaped before Niria could lure him all the way to its nest which was at the back of the cave. The dragon hadn't expected this because it knew all living beings were inherently greedy and it counted on this greed to lure its unsuspecting victims all the way to the back where it laid in wait for them. So after the player escaped with its treasures, the dragon was outraged and it came out of the cave, permanently settling in front of the dungeon to wreak havoc on anyone who passed by. It became the Elite monster that players had to tackle before entering the dungeon behind it. However, its lair and the treasures in the lair were never accessible once the event/ scenario was triggered. Though this became quite a popular topic of discussion, no one exactly knew the complete details of the treasures inside the lair. Some players had hyped the whole thing spreading rumors that legendary items were available but no one bought it considering that this was a beginner area elite. Liam's purpose for coming here, however, was entirely different. Of course, he was interested in the treasures but he was more interested in the various skill books which were said to be strewn across the cave. Since he was not selecting a class at the moment, skill books were the things Liam needed the most. He was confident enough to be able to pick up some of the sword skills on his own but when it came to spells and magic, he was a beginner who had to start from scratch just like the others. He, of course, knew about some tips and tricks but unless and until he achieved a deeper understanding of the various elements and the mana itself, it would be impossible for him to achieve mastery. "Hello again, Niria." Liam sucked in a huge breath of air and entered the cave on the left. Instantly, he could feel a vague ominous aura in the air, his fully trained and honed senses screaming at him that terrifying danger laid ahead, but Liam behaved as if he was casually strolling. He looked around the cramped and moldy cave walls and cringed at the dusty webs in the corners. He then whistled and walked a bit forward, stopping abruptly at the sight of something glittering and sparkling. "Woah!!" Liam shouted, acting completely surprised. He went over to the nearest pile of what looked like a mound of copper coins and quickly shoved everything inside his inventory. He then turned around and went deeper into the cave, once again acting completely stunned and elated on seeing the second treasure pile, which was mostly silver coins, but it also had some equipments. Liam quickly tossed everything in his inventory without bothering to inspect it. However, he left behind a few silver coins, moving onto the next pile which was almost blinding to look at. This was a pile of gold coins. It also contained some old archaic-looking books and Liam did not have to look at them twice to know that these were the skill books that he was looking for. There were even several of them and Liam hurriedly pocketed everything, including the gold coins. He raised his head again, his face was now almost livid with happiness and excitement that he was grinning from ear to ear. Up ahead laid a pile of gems dazzling in multiple colors. There were once again equipments, skill books and Liam even spotted a few scrolls which could only be recipe scrolls. He clapped his hands loudly and then rubbed them together as if he was ready to snatch everything for himself. However, he suddenly turned around. "Ahhh. It looks like I have left behind some silver coins. I should pick them up also." He spoke out aloud and casually walked back to pick up the few silver coins that he had purposefully left behind. And as soon as he reached the small scattered bunch of coins, he tripped and fell, losing his balance, some of the gold coins in his hand flying to the entrance of the cave. "Ah! Damn it.. My gold coins." Liam let out a surprised yelp and then chased after them, but as soon as he reached the entrance…