LINKED | Brothers Online Series | BK #1

Chapter 10: A Quest

December 24, 2022 Floor 3 - Misty Forest

Thomas (Thom) Min'

I swear, this entire trek into the woods was a bad idea from the start. How often is it that you run into a cave filled to the top with traps? How often do you acquire a flipping global quest and have to stick around with a bunch of strange females on the first day you meet them? Not often I hope. If this sort of thing is the norm for you, I would seriously reconsider your life choices. Gah, I'm not making any sense now am I? Of course not, I'm ranting again. Alright, let's start where we left off.

After the little sandwich mishap, I led the party deeper into the forest. The worn dirt path wound through the trees and snuck its way across the mossy and grass covered ground. A couple of treants spawned nearby and attacked us as we walked. I let the rest of the group do all the work. Karim was more than happy to slice up a few tree limbs and smack a couple of bark covered faces. Zara too seemed to be having a bit of fun. That was a good sign. It means that I didn't annoy her that much.

Go me.

Any who, we were still walking when it happened. Yumi suddenly swerved to the right and bolted through the forest. With a curse, I beckoned for Karim and Zara to follow along. Together, we ran after the insane black-haired thief. She seemed to glide across the floor and her small feet barely made a sound. Her raven hair streamed behind her, mocking and daring us to keep up.

Annoyed by her mad dash, I picked up speed by stretching out my stride. I reached out with every step and pushed my muscles to move faster. After about fifteen seconds, I caught up to Yumi and matched her pace. I looked over to see the determined look in her eyes. Her green orbs reflected the dull light of the shaded sun and revealed the state of concentration that she was in. About three minutes later, we arrived at an open clearing. Yumi skidded to a stop and sucked in a deep breath. I slowed down besides her and scanned the field. My eyes picked up a dark cave about thirty yards away with a few smaller openings on the side. The entire design looked exactly the same as the Monster Spawn Area from a day ago. Yumi walked quietly forwards only to be stopped by my cautious hand.

"Hey, wait a minute. This place doesn't feel right. Don't go any further."

The thief turned her eyes to me before shaking off my hand. She kept walking in a calm and controlled manner. My right eyebrow rose up as I stared at her figure. I growled once before turning to Karim and Zara.

"Come on. Let's move. We've got to cover her ass."

The two both nodded and walked forwards. I held my breath as we made it past the halfway point and no monsters spawned. I kept it held in until we made it to the mouth of the cave. Only then did I slowly release my pent up air. Hearing the noise, Karim glanced over at me and grinned. I rolled my eyes and smirked, waving my staff around. As I watched the tip of my weapon, I noticed a strange circular device situated in a dusty corner of the cavern walls. I expanded my view and noticed odd perpendicular lines criss-crossing multiple times on the floor. Frowning, my hand instantly sought Yumi's shoulder. I gripped it firmly and said, "Stop. Don't go forwards. Something's honestly not right here. Why'd you even run off in the first place?"

"Treasure," she responded in a soft tone. Both eyebrows shot up this time and I frowned.

"What? Treasure? How do you know?"

"Skill," came the same soft voice.

I nodded before looking at Zara. "Does she have the «Loot and Chest Finding» skill?"

Zara blinked a couple times and nodded. "Yeah. It's the second highest leveled skill she has."

'That makes sense,' I thought as I examined the walls. 'She's a thief. It'll be obvious that she has that skill.'