A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

They all cursed Eldrian and Ceph at the top of their lungs when they saw all the empty rooms. It didn't take long however for them to find rooms yet to be looted. So they quickly got to work and forgot about the two.

Eldrian and Ceph instead started trying to move deeper into the cave again. The array was slowly shutting down, but not completely. As such, they kept being the first ones to enter the new areas that were accessible.

Ignoring how frustrating this must be for everyone else, Eldrian just kept on pushing. Finally, two days later, they made it to the core.

By this time his inventory was overfull and he had to even abandon some of the weaker items he had on hand.

Stepping into what Eldrian assumed was some sort of lab/bedroom, Eldrian looked around with Ceph by his side. His eyes flew wide open when he saw two purple crystals reflecting the light of Fos.

Rushing forward, he picked them up, and as the system prompt appeared he quickly chose the yes option. Having the two Mov Crystals be used to increase his inventory.

[Mov Crystal 1 - 71.8mm by 26.3mm (2.8x1.0 in) - space increase 12.4 meters cubed (3->3.4m sides)]

[Do you wish to proceed?]

[Mov Crystal 2 - 83.5mm by 35.2mm (3.3x1.4 in) - space increase 17.8 meters cubed (3.3->3.9m sides)]

[Do you wish to proceed?]

'Ah, that is not as much as I thought it would be. Actually, is it possible to only have the width and length increase?'  Eldrian pondered this for a moment, but not for too long.

He decided to proceed, instantly getting some new space in his inventory for stuff.

Only then did he realize how foolish his actions had been, luckily it seems like there were no traps in this room. Eldrian made double sure to confirm this before trying anything else.

In the center of the room, there was a cracked crystal of pitch darkness with swirling gray smoke which was slowly escaping from the cracks.

Moving closer, carefully, Eldrian stopped just outside where the arrays seemed to begin. Surrounding this crystal was a bunch of mana crystals all of whom still shone brightly.

'Well, that does make sense. Detection would require far less mana than filling an entire cavern with a miasma of mana.'  Eldrian wanted to check what the crystal was, and he quickly did but couldn't do much more as it was time to run out again.

Naturally, he kept his new discovery to himself for now. Knowing just how valuable the finger-sized mana crystals alone were. Sharing the information would just lead to more fighting and likely even unnecessary deaths.

Of course, those who would accept a deadly quest for just a few gold coins, would lose their mind if suddenly the opportunity to make hundreds appeared before them.

"How are you feeling?" Eldrian asked after first confirming that the death-mana was being expelled naturally from Cephaphyr's body.

"Fine, I really want a bath though. When can we go?"

"Almost, the next time will be our last."

"Really!?" Ceph jumped up in excitement, "And when we go back, can I get some-"

"Sure, whatever you want." Eldrian smiled and focused on clearing the death-mana in himself.

By now the entire corruption was becoming less and less. Making this process easier and as such, it didn't take long before the two dived back in.

Standing again before the crystal, Eldrian knew that after this attempt the crystal would be completely expended. He would no longer have a chance at claiming first pickings.

That wasn't the reason why he had decided to end their attempt though. Rather, he could feel that he and Ceph had started becoming tired.

No amount of rest could rid them of this, not inside the corruption. Not when they returned the next morning. They would need a few days of constant clean air to recover.

'This is why expeditions into the encroaching are so dangerous. Always breathing and absorbing the mana, it takes a toll.'

"Do you think taking it out is safe?" Eldrian asked, he hoped he could store it and then when he had time maybe experiment with it.

"It is low on energy, but the mana crystals are still full."

"True, but I don't see any array outside of the detection one. But, this feels too easy." Eldrian paused, afraid that this was some kind of trap.

"Maybe they just thought that the first trap would be too strong to overcome. I mean, they didn't expect to run away, right?"

Eldrian smiled hearing the simple reply which held the truth. 'Indeed, they hadn't expected they would retreat. In fact, thinking about it, this must be the source of the entire corruption. Or at least, it was when Vagus was still controlling it.'

'I see, that's how it worked.'  Eldrian smiled as the dots finally managed to fall in line.  'This passive trap, I am sure it wasn't ever really meant to be such. Rather, yes here it is.'

Eldrian looked at the chair before him. Calling it a chair was a disservice, it was more a throne. Multiple jewels and engravings covered it from top to bottom.

Two lines were drawn from it to the array surrounding the black crystal. One line joined with the array, and the other headed to the crystal without disturbance.

'Then it should indeed be safe, but to be on the safe side let's be quick.'

"Ceph, get ready to run. I am not sure what is going to happen when I take it."

"Right!"

Taking a deep breath, Eldrian jumped over the array and placed his hand on the crystal. Summoning it to his inventory. Shockingly, there was a massive pullback. However, there was no way that would stop him. He had fought far too many mental tugs-of-war to be taken by surprise.

Forcing it into his inventory, Eldrian also grabbed two nearby mana crystals and then he and Ceph ran for it.

The adventurers looked at the two retreating in confusion. Some of the more cautious ones followed them outside, while others just shrugged and continued with their thing.

Gasping for breath outside, the two waited to see if something was going to happen. When nothing did, they smiled.

"Let's go." Eldrian said and Ceph nodded, the two turning around and starting their walk back to the fort.

The sight shocked those who had followed them outside, filling them with questions. However, they didn't have time to voice them, instead, they cursed and rushed back in so as to not miss out.

Eldrian turned his attention to the crystal he had taken while he left the duty of keeping them safe to Ceph who could deal with zombies and skeletons with ease.

[Death Crystal (Artificial - Rank Unkown)]

[A unique crystal created through unknown means, it holds an abundant amount of death-mana similar to mana crystals.]

[Mana Storage: 86k]

'Hah... It is nearly falling apart and still has so much mana inside. Just what is this thing?' Eldrian did not get stuck on this question.

Confirming that it was safe in his inventory and that the magic crystal dust was also still safe and unbothered, he focused on the journey.

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support this novel on WN.