Tess's gaze burns on the back of my head the entire time we are moving towards the city, and I don't know why she does that. I did nothing wrong.

Everyone would have done the same. Everyone SHOULD do the same and throw a few fire orbs into the tunnels.

As we enter the city, Obelia gives me a small mana stone that contains the address of her guild and different ways to contact her. It can also be given to the guards who should let her know that it's me looking for her in case it happens.

She also mentions that Elydor's death will create a lot of mess and looks at me as if expecting me to do something.

Knowing how much trouble it would be to get involved in this mess, I just wave my hand, not bothered by her look that tries to guilt-trip me into doing something.

“I will see you around and thanks,” she says, and then leaves with her guild members.

Our guild does the same, and we quickly rush to our house. When we finally get there, everyone disappears to take long showers, leaving all the loot in the middle of the living room. Items most likely worth more than some people can imagine just sit there: on the carpet, against the wall, thrown on the table.

Without a care in the world.

It's somewhat amusing to see items that caused so many deaths and took so much time for Serpent's Eye to plan and acquire. We suffered over two weeks in a dark tunnel, constantly worried about getting killed, yet right now, they aren't even worth more than a shower.

I look at Biscuit, “What do you think?”

(Sustenance?) the small corgi asks.

“Yes, we will buy you a lot of food,” I tell him.

He woofs, and it somehow sounds thankful.

Then, after checking that everyone is still away, I kneel down to get my face closer to him. For a moment, I just look at this cheeky, yet gentle doggo and remember how they treated him while I was deep in [Focus] and blocking my emotions to protect everyone.

“I'm sorry I let them do those things to you,” I whisper carefully, still worried someone might hear it. Then I carefully touch and pet his head.

That makes Biscuit stop swinging his tail, and he looks directly into my eyes.

I continue to pet his head, once again feeling the rage for how he and others were treated. I know I did it to protect them, but it still feels wrong.

“I would never let them treat you like that, without really good reason.” I continue to whisper, after once again checking that no one is around.

Telling anyone who could respond normally would feel way too weird and be too difficult for me. But with Biscuit, it's somewhat easy.

“So, thank you for enduring,” I finish and boop his nose, but only once.

In response, Biscuit starts hovering and slowly floats higher until his eyes are at the same level as mine.

For a while, he just looks at me in that way, his eyes feeling much more intelligent than back then on the 1st floor.

Then he lifts up his right front paw and touches my nose with it, a movement similar to how I always boop his nose. He doesn't say anything, but his eyes seem gentler than ever.

I wait until everyone is back in the living room, and only then do I tell them to wait for me and not to touch any items until I'm back.

The boys seem to be extremely unhappy and excited to go through the items, but their slightly angry looks that follow me as I walk upstairs only make me more powerful.

I need to do something petty like that to feel manly once again.

Damn, who would have known that the best manipulator of group 4 isn't Sophie, Isabella, or Tess? Nope, as always our animal overlords beat us even in that. Biscuit is the most dangerous being here.

Should I just give up, lie down, and wait for the end? I bet if I did, Biscuit would clear this floor for me. Heck, he's probably even manipulating people in the Community who long since learned that he is actually a cute, burrito-shaped corgi.

Dangerous, everything here is dangerous.

Inside the shower, I turn up the heat and close my eyes, replaying the past two weeks. Going through everything that happened with my emotions not weakened is a weird experience and at times I almost get angry at myself, but in the end, I can't help but agree with everything I did.

Thanks to my decision, no one from our group died, we survived, everyone got 500 shards, we got plenty of items, and even got rid of a few pieces of human trash.

Others also did well, enduring all of that and fought well when it came to it, but even now I feel a weird confusion as to why they put so much trust in me. They went through with my plan, waiting and trusting. They endured the treatment Serpent's Eye members gave them and the darkness of the tunnels.

In some way, the trust they put in me feels heavy and, from a logical point of view, I can understand why they did so. I'm strong, I'm talented when it comes to mana, and I am willing to push myself. Plus, I did have a plan.

On the other hand, it's something I don't think I would be able to do. Just doing that would require a huge amount of trust and a willingness to give up control, and that's something I haven't liked to do ever since going through all the bullshit in my childhood.

Well, anyway, bygones be bygones.

I finish my shower and take a bit more time to find some super comfortable clothes from the many I still have in the locker, and only then do I walk downstairs. Refreshed and feeling much lighter.

Unsurprisingly, the Twins and Min-Jae are already going through the items, and the moment they see me, they point at Lily, “It was her idea.”

Before they start bickering, I just look at the petite black-haired girl, “Well, Lily, I have to say I'm disappointed in you.” I joke, and it earns me a few surprised looks when I plop onto the couch, next to Isabella and Sophie.

“Nathaniel Gwyn joking and not being petty. The world is coming to an end,” Maya reacts dramatically out loud and throws a bag of snacks at me, which I grab and start eating quickly.

In a good mood, I decide to ignore the attack on my person and turn to the Twins, “Sword with a blade made of something like crystal.” I tell them, and immediately I get the sword Elydor used.

Ethercrystal Shortsword (Epic): Forged from the elusive Ethercrystal, this transparent blade can absorb ambient mana from its surroundings. The sword channels the absorbed mana to bolster the user's physical strength momentarily.

Ohoo, so the effect is as I thought. Good, time to look into absorbing ambient mana.

“Mine,” I say and put the sword next to me, “Next.”

Lily giggles as I get another item. This time it's a cloak.

Veilshade Cloak (Epic): Tailored from the rare and elusive shadow silk, this cloak grants the wearer a veil of obscurity against magical detection. Its dark aura masks the user's magical signature, making it a prized possession for those seeking to move unnoticed through places guarded by magical enchantments.

Huh, not bad, but nothing amazing. The effect is probably really good, looking at the item's rarity, but not something I would like.

“Fight over it after we are done,” I say and put it on the table, as generous as I am.

All the items should be mine, to be honest, so giving away something of such high rarity is quite nice of me, isn't it? Someone should praise me and bring me more snacks.

The next item is a weird cube made of metal with its surface covered in white etchings of mana circuits.

Abyssal Anchor (Epic): This gravity anchor is made from a heavy mythical metal. When activated, it creates a gravitational pull, dragging foes toward the item and locking them in place, leaving them vulnerable and restrained.

This one also seems to be really good. The gravitational pull must be strong for it to be an epic item.

I think about it a bit longer and then just put it on the table next to the cloak.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to try to learn its effects, and gravity magic too. My current priorities are coordinates and hopefully buying another epic passive skill.

Epic items are something that can be taken away; a passive is something that I will keep, hopefully forever, and looking at them being twice as expensive as items of the same rarity, the system seems to agree with me.

Before I get another item, I pull out the spheric mana stone I got from Obelia and check it as well.

Mana Core Sphere (Epic): This enigmatic sphere contains a pulsing core that can be filled with mana, which then resonates with other magical energies nearby. When activated, it can disperse a wave of mana that temporarily silences the magical abilities of foes in the vicinity.

Did I back then feel that its effect is similar to [Resonance] and that's why I asked Obelia to give it to me? I will check it and its effect before deciding if I give up on it. The item seemingly can create lasting disruption so that's something worth examining.

I put it away and take the last epic item from Min-Jae.

Darkstride Ring (Epic): This ring is imbued with a dark enchantment that allows the wearer to step into the shadows and reappear a short distance away in a different shadow, effectively granting the ability to blink through shadows for a tactical advantage.

Curious, I put it on my finger and send mana inside the ring, then, following the feeling, I activate it and reach towards the closest shadow near me.

I feel as if my body elongates and turns into a blur, and I enter the shadow, and while inside it, I feel something like a sort of connection towards the shadows in the room. The more I send mana into it, the further shadows are connected to me. To test it, I exit the shadow and then enter it again to return to my original spot.

“Wow,” Izzy looks at me with big eyes and reaches to take the ring off my finger, to which I pull my hand away, much to her annoyance.

I like it but also have a feeling that if I take it, I will start relying on it instead of trying to improve my [Tether] and my anchors. It's also weirdly limiting in comparison to my skill.

In the end, I put it on the table, and Sophie immediately moves it further away from little Isabella, who tries to take it.

As for the rare grade items that we got, I don't even look at them. There are probably some I would still find useful or interesting, but in the end, their rarity will limit them strongly and would soon end up being useless to me.

Selling them to the system might be a good idea, but the system drastically reduces the prices of items, so we wouldn't get many shards. It probably is better to try to sell them through the auctions in Virelia and then attempt to buy even better items or just save money for something interesting.

“How about the chest?” I ask the twins, pointing to the chest near them. The one that two of Elydor's men had to carry, even with their strong bodies, and that made him so happy.

“We couldn't open it at all,” Dennis shakes his head.

“There is no lock, and even Sophie didn't sense any mana from it, nor could she do anything,” Aaron adds.

Oh, isn't that interesting?

I stand up and move towards the chest to observe it. It's made of a black wood-like material, yet it's heavy. Either the material is very dense, or the item inside is really heavy. It's not that big, but big enough for a short sword, dagger, a bunch of books, or a piece of armor. Anything could be in there.

Slowly, I go through most of my skills that might help me get inside, yet nothing works. Even kinetic and thermal energy doesn't make a difference, and something tells me that even if I go all out, it won't change.

“Lily?” I turn towards her with a question.

“I already tried. [Disintegration] didn’t do anything,” she says.

This is what surprises me the most. Lily's skill is something that even made Lissandra hesitate. Yes, the cockroach-like absolute wasn't at her strongest, not even close to it, but even so, it shows how scary the potential of that skill is.

Looking at the chest, I feel my hopes rising. Knowing that we were going to the Manor of the Champion, I hoped for items with a higher rarity than epic, maybe even similar to Peacemaker or Sword of Aeons from the second floor, yet we only found epic items.

But looking at the chest, I feel my loot goblin side awakening.

I usually don't care much about items, but heck, even I'm attracted to shiny ones like the Valorplate that one of the Calamities wears, or maybe the one inside the chest.

No matter how many months or years it will take, I will find a way to get it out!