After defeating the bone dragon, both Esdeath and Maruti lay down side by side on the dusty ground, catching their breath and allowing their exhausted bodies a moment of rest.
It was their first time fighting an S-rank monster, a legendary one at that. Even though it was already at its weakest, the power it had showcased was far greater than that of an average S-rank monster. Just defeating it had drained them of most of their strength, leaving them feeling hollowed out and utterly spent.
As they were resting, a strange phenomenon began to unfold. The surrounding trees started to turn dim, their vibrant green leaves withering rapidly, turning a sickly brown before crumbling to dust. One by one, the trees started to die, some even creaking and groaning as they fell to the dry, cracked ground.
As they did, the potent aura of a Rank A essence stone started to leak out from the depths of the lair, followed by the fainter signatures of several other, lower-ranking essence stones.
Most of the lair had already been shattered and broken during their brutal fight, and the remaining part was just barely holding on, a precarious shell of rock and earth.
Maruti and Esdeath sat up at the exact same time, their gazes fixed on the nearby withering trees, their expressions sharp and alert.
"It seems these trees aren't ordinary. That bone dragon was using them to conceal the aura of the essence stones from leaking out," Esdeath says, her voice flat and matter-of-fact as she connected the dots.
"I was just wondering why there were trees here in the first place. So that's why," Maruti adds, a look of realization dawning on her face. It had felt so unrealistic; there were no trees in the whole vast desert except for this strange, isolated patch.
"Guess we have to hurry up before it attracts any other monster," Esdeath says, pushing herself to her feet and patting the dirt off her torn clothes.
Several parts of her clothes had already been ripped and shredded during their fight, and patting them didn't help much, doing little to hide the rips and tears.
Maruti stood up as well, following Esdeath towards the back of the lair, venturing deeper inside. Darkness swallowed them as they went further and further in, moving past the bone dragon's former resting place and into a part of the cave that was even more old and hidden.
And then, came the light.
It was a soft, warm light emanating from glowing gold and ruby jewelry, scattered coins, intricate murals, and ancient artifacts. The whole inside of the hidden chamber was filled to the brim with such treasures, like a king's ransom piled high.
If it had been before, Maruti would have already jumped in and started swimming in the pile of treasure, her eyes sparkling with greed.
But right now, both of them wore blank, almost bored expressions. They already had more than enough money to live their whole lives without ever working again, to buy anything that could possibly be bought. So these things couldn't move their hearts even a little.
"Why does a mindless dragon collect luxurious things anyways?" Maruti exclaims, half-asking the question to herself, her voice echoing slightly in the treasure-filled chamber.
"Maybe it was just greedy. It might also be the reason it became a bone dragon later on, and yet it was still attracted to shiny things," Esdeath says, stepping forward carefully, her feet crunching on scattered coins.
"See, there are essence stones, but no refining materials. It's because most of them aren't eye-catching at all," Esdeath adds, and somehow, her simple words made perfect sense, explaining the dragon's hoarding habits perfectly.
****
Maruti first hand makes a barrier, that prevents the potent aura of the essence stones from leaking out any further. At the same time, Esdeath uses her affinity with the earth element to stabilize the condition of the lair a little, reinforcing the weakened walls and ceiling so that it doesn't collapse on them while they are inside.
After everything was done and secured, Esdeath and Maruti clearly ignored the glittering gold and other fancy things. Their attention was clearly and solely on the essence stones, especially the Rank A Time Wave essence stone that pulsed with a powerful, rhythmic energy.
Of course, Esdeath immediately steps forward, reaching out and grabbing the Rank A Time Wave essence stone.
It was in the shape of a liquid, contained within a transparent tube. The viscous, silvery liquid moved and swirled inside, reacting with every slight vibration of the cube.
"I'll take this one. The rest is all yours," Esdeath says, her voice firm.
"Huh? Wait, for real? When did you become so generous?" Maruti says jokingly, her eyes widening sparkled like crystal in surprise that almost felt comical.
"So you don't need it?" Esdeath asks back, her tone completely deadpan.
"Of course not! Forget I said anything," Maruti replies quickly, her smile widening as she turns her greedy gaze to the remaining pile of essence stones.
Most of them were of low rank, but what was more important was that all of them were of the Time path. There were ones that could increase the subjective time for one's body, which helped in refining essence stones or consuming an essence stone in less time. However, they came with a dangerous drawback: they also consumed three times the lifespan of the individual during the effect.
So, despite their lower rank, they were quite useful for specific, time-sensitive tasks.
There were also several Rank B essence stones, and luckily, most of them were body enhancement types, which were exactly what she needed.
"Dang! I can use these essence stones and the bones of that bone dragon to refine a Dragon Bone essence stone as well. My physical strength will take another leap!" Maruti shouts in excitement, her earlier exhaustion forgotten.
"What about wings? Rank A Bone Wings are a top-notch flying type essence stone. Although, you'll have to collect supplementary materials," Esdeath suggests, pointing towards a large, intact set of skeletal wings still attached to a piece of the dragon's spine.
"No thanks. I'm not fond of bones coming out of my body and becoming some ugly-ass wings," Maruti rejects her idea immediately, turning her focus back to the pile of gleaming essence stones.
Meanwhile, Esdeath just sighs and puts the Rank A Time Wave essence stone into her storage-type essence stone.
But as she did, she realized something was wrong. The powerful aura of the Rank A essence stone in the room didn't vanish at all. Instead, it seemed to have only decreased by about half.
She felt puzzled for a second, and then the realization hit her like a physical blow.
There was one more Rank A essence stone here!
She immediately turns her head to look at Maruti and sees a wide, wicked grin on her face.
"So you finally realized, huh?" Maruti says, extending her hand deep into the pile of essence stones and then pulling it back.
As she did, there was a ring-type essence stone clutched in her hand. It was intensely glowing, as if it had been heated up in a forge. The shape of the ring was very thin; rather than a simple band, it was actually in a sunburst shape. It was like a circular pattern with curved spikes radiating outwards like a blazing sun, but it was small enough to be worn as a ring.
Esdeath's lips twitch in irritation. "You already knew it, didn't you? That there was another Rank A essence stone."
Of course she already knew. The moment she had performed her dream divination, she would have seen its location.
"Yes! How does it feel to get outsmarted by someone? I'm feeling quite splendid, though," Maruti replies in a mocking tone. She was savoring every single moment of it, eager to see Esdeath's reaction.
But Esdeath just casually tilted her head, a small, unreadable smile on her lips. "Good. Make sure to savor it. You won't outsmart me next time," she adds, seeming completely unbothered by the turn of events.
Maruti wasn't satisfied with that kind of reaction from her. Her mocking grin turned into a slight pout of disappointment as she focused her attention back on the precious ring in her hand.
"What essence stone is it, anyway? It's the Light path, for sure, that I know," Maruti says, narrowing her eyes at the intensely glowing object.
Esdeath shook her head slightly. "No idea either. Just ask Lilith when you go back."
Of course, she was lying. In FLF, when she played with Ethan, Most of the times, he had gained an affinity with the light element after his second awakening. So, of course, most of the essence stones he used were of the Light path. She had more than enough knowledge of both light magic and Light path essence stones.
She was just annoyed by what Maruti had done and decided not to tell her out of pure spite.
"I can wait," Maruti replies, turning to look at the remaining pile of essence stones. "Hehehe... A deal is a deal, right?" she says, giving Esdeath a pointed side-eye.
But Esdeath just shifts her gaze away, pointedly not looking at her.
One by one, Maruti puts all the essence stones into her storage-type essence stone. Some, she even stored between her breasts—the spatial magic she had learned from Alice, to be exact.