I am the only one who practices magic: I practice magic in the city

Chapter 541 The Squad (Added 1000 words and reread, no changes to the main plot, will return to the city tomorrow)

The light from the two torches in the darkness could only illuminate a space of five or six meters around them. In the dim light, several figures were searching the ruins with great vigilance.

Stepping on the rust that had accumulated over millennia on the ground produced a creaking sound.

"Mir, are you sure we can really find treasure here? I have a feeling this place has already been emptied out?"

A young man holding a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) picked up a nearby earthenware jar and shook it; clearly, it was empty.

The young man had golden-brown, slightly wavy hair, amber eyes, and a handsome face that looked a little tired. He wore a tattered cloak and gloves that were obviously too big. His sanxian (a three-stringed lute) was polished to a high shine, but the headstock was severely cracked.

I have no idea how he plays the piano with such big gloves on.

"It told me that it was here."

A woman in the middle of the group, looking dazed and half-awake, pointed to her head.

The woman named Mir had fair skin, short, unruly silver hair, one blue and one black pupil, and a slender figure. She wore a robe printed with strange geometric patterns.

The robe was faded from washing, with some wear on the cuffs and hem. He held a wooden staff more than a meter long, with a green gemstone inlaid at the top.

"Stop complaining, Viktor, there's a box here." The burly man who had been walking in front without saying a word suddenly stopped, turned to the side, and shone his torch under the iron frame by the wall. A huge iron box appeared in their line of sight.

"I come!"

Before Victor, who was holding a sanxian, could speak, a short man wearing a cap volunteered and nimbly darted over from the back of the line.

"Terry, be careful." A plump woman in the group couldn't help but remind the short man, "I don't want to waste my divine spell slot on you every time. By Ellas, I've never seen a group where the most injured person isn't a warrior, but a rogue."

The short Terry chuckled dryly, "Don't worry, Hefley, those were all accidents, accidents."

"Speak," Terry said, turning to the side and taking out two thin wires from his bag. He skillfully inserted them into the lock of the box, poking at it a few times, but there was no movement.

The short Terry looked a little embarrassed: "Um, the lock on the box seems to be rusted shut."

The plump woman, Hefley, almost burst out laughing.

"Terry, get out of the way." The burly man leading the group raised his longsword, and Terry quickly stepped aside. In the darkness, the sword flashed and accurately pierced the keyhole of the box. With a slight rotation, it completely destroyed the rusted lock cylinder.

"Okay, now I'll try to open the box."

The burly man took a deep breath, flicked the tip of his sword, and with a snap, opened the box lid, then leaped backward.

Several people got into defensive positions, but nothing happened, so they surrounded them.

"More fragile scrolls and potions that have been expired for who knows how long. Sigh, what era is this ruin from? I have never seen anything like it in any ancient texts."

Victor frowned slightly, took out a small dagger, and poked around in the box full of things.

"Sora... this place is very uncomfortable, don't you guys think so?"

The plump woman, Hefley, hesitated for a moment, then said to the burly man leading the group, "It's not just here. Ever since we passed through the gate to the secret realm and arrived here, I've had this feeling that the environment here is not good for us."

Although the plump woman was fat, she had a very nice face, with no hint of hostility on her face, and she even seemed somewhat innocent and cute when she spoke.

His brown hair was tied in a low braid on one side, and his face had some tired wrinkles, somewhat resembling Drew Barrymore. He wore an oval-shaped holy emblem on his chest.

The emblem features a winding curve in the center, with three short lines extending from the bottom of the oval shape.

"Hey, look what I found, Mir, do you recognize this?" The short Terry pulled a small box out of the trunk, and when he opened it, there were crystal-clear purple crystals inside.

A dazed look on Mir's face as she stared at the small box in Terry's hand, her eyes seemingly unfocused, muttering incoherently, "Did you hear that? It just said, let us take it back, take it back."

Everyone went about their business as usual, clearly unfazed by the sight. The burly man took the small box from Terry's hand and was about to stuff it into his backpack when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw what appeared to be a dark shadow flash past behind the short Terry.

"Watch out, Terry!"

With a roar, the burly man Sora swung his longsword, striking the outstretched claw of the dark figure with a clang.

Terry rolled away, dodging the sharp tail that the shadowy figure was about to lash out with.

Its tail is covered with sharp spikes; if you were hit by one, you would surely have several large chunks of flesh scraped off.

"It's Babu Monster!" The burly man Sora said solemnly, gripping his longsword with both hands and staring intently at the monster in front of him.

In the firelight, a slender monster, about the same height as Sora, slowly appeared in everyone's sight.

The thing, shrouded in a sticky black shadow, twisted and crawled out from the blind spot of the firelight.

(I won't describe her appearance, just look at the pictures.)

They all quickly switched to combat mode without panicking, clearly demonstrating their extensive experience in this area.

The plump Hefley muttered incantations as she held her hands together, then waved her hand, and a circle of light landed on Sora, the burly man who was fighting with Babu Monster.

The short Terry moved swiftly, darting into the nearby shadows and gradually disappearing from sight.

Victor, holding a sanxian, plucked the strings a few times, and a peaceful melody appeared in the air. Babu Monster's movement speed was obviously affected, and its speed, which was almost invisible to the naked eye, suddenly slowed down a lot.

Only Mir, who seemed dazed, remained motionless, staring blankly at Babu Monster.

Seeing that Victor's music had an effect, Sora's eyes flashed, and she swung her longsword diagonally towards Babu's neck.

Baboo leaped backward to dodge Sora's sword, then flicked a stream of red slime from his arm straight at Sora's face.

With the blessing of Hefri, Sora reacted much more quickly. While dodging to the side, she leaned back and used her longsword to draw an arc, slashing at Babu again, and the two were locked in combat once more.

Victor also slung his sanxian over his shoulder, took out a bag of throwing knives, and like Li Xunhuan, his knives never missed, forcing Babu Monster to defend himself and reveal many weaknesses.

The small-statured Terry also carried a dagger, occasionally emerging from the shadows to strike Babu Monster unexpectedly. Although he didn't inflict much damage on Babu Monster, he greatly reduced the defensive pressure on Sora.

In terms of individual fighting ability, none of the members of this team were as good as Babu, but with the team's cooperation, Sora managed to fight Babu to a standstill.

"Mir! Make your move!"

Sora swung his sword with force, forcing Babu Monster back a few steps before letting out a loud shout.

Mir, who had been seemingly lost in thought, nodded. His blue pupils instantly turned crimson, and he raised his wooden staff, drawing a complex pattern in the air while muttering to himself.

“Exarco mentirum!”

A sharp shriek rang in everyone's ears, and an invisible shockwave struck Babu, who was lunging at Sora again!
The hit Baboon was instantly covered in frost, and its movements became extremely slow.

Sora suddenly accelerated, leaving a trail of afterimages in the firelight, sword in hand, charging straight at Babu Monster!
puff!
The longsword pierced deeply into Babu Monster's chest.

Babu let out a miserable howl and swung out his right claw. Just as the sharp claw was about to grab Sora's neck, a sharp pain shot through his neck again.

A dagger was plunged deep into Babbit's neck. Little Terry, having landed a blow, immediately retreated.

"it's over!"

Sora pulled the longsword that had pierced Baboon's chest upwards, and Baboon, whose attack had been interrupted by Terry, was instantly cut in two by Sora's longsword!
"Phew~ Not bad." Sora delivered another blow to Babu's head.

"Smooth my ass! The only valuable thing about Babu Monster is its slime. Now it's covered in blood and the slime is all contaminated... Ugh, it stinks."

The plump Hefley clipped her nose shut, put on gloves, and took a small bottle to start collecting the slime from Babu Monster's body.

"It's alright, it's still easier to deal with than that laughing demon and swarm of bloodworms I encountered last time. I never want to see those disgusting bugs again."

Terry laboriously pulled the dagger from Babu's neck, wiped it on the sole of his shoe, and then casually swiped his left hand next to Babu.

"Terry, give me back my throwing knife."

Victor reached out his hand to the short Terry with a disgruntled expression.

The short Terry innocently handed over two throwing knives that looked exceptionally sharp: "I figured nobody would want these throwing knives on the ground, so I picked them up."

Victor kicked him. "Anyway, we've been pretty lucky this time. We've been here for several hours and only encountered one Babu monster and a few ghosts. Hefley and Mill have only used one of their divine spell slots."

“Mir said there’s treasure here, so there must be. I suggest we continue exploring downwards. What do you think?”

Sora looked at everyone, and finally her gaze settled on Hervé.

Their five-person expedition team has been taking on missions together for three or four years. The earliest members were Sora and Hefley, and the others joined later.

Victor coughed and said, "I agree to continue exploring. Although we don't know how many levels there are, we've already explored four without encountering any danger. There's no reason not to continue. What do you say?"

"Moreover, we haven't gotten enough spoils yet."

"To open the gate to this secret realm, we consumed a star diamond worth 500 gold kri, a Mammon coin, and those valuable spices and magic marbles, totaling over 800 gold kri. The current returns are far below cost."

Little Terry nodded vigorously as he listened.

Hefley pursed her lips, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and sighed as she looked at everyone: "Alright then, since you all want to continue exploring, I have no objection."

Seeing Hefri's response, Sora visibly relaxed and turned to the dazed Mir, asking, "Mir, which way is the entrance to the next level?"

Mir's eyes were empty, his blue-black pupils like two deep, still lakes. He loosened his grip, and the wooden staff fell to the ground.

“Over there.” Mir pointed in the direction the staff was pointing. “There should only be one last floor left.”

With Mil's guidance, the group felt much more at ease. After discussing it briefly, they ate some bread and water to replenish their strength, then raised their torches and continued exploring in the direction Mil had given them.

Having learned from the experience with Babu Monster, the group proceeded with extreme caution, but they did not encounter any more monsters that attacked them until they found the entrance to the fifth floor.

Upon entering the fifth floor, they still did not encounter any monsters. Guided by Mir, they soon arrived outside the treasure room.

"This is it."

Mir's face was calm, his eyes were empty, and he pointed to the half-closed door of the Abyss Vault.

The expressions of the group all brightened.

Neither of them realized that there seemed to be a strange attraction here, enticing them to keep getting closer, and subconsciously ignoring the potential dangers.

"I'll go first, you follow, and keep a distance of three meters."

Sora took a deep breath, drew his longsword, and was about to push open the half-closed vault door when he felt something blocking the door from closing, which was why the door was only half-open.

Sora held up the torch and shone it on.

! ! ! ! ! ! !

In the firelight, a headless corpse, a full three meters tall, lay across the entrance!
"This is... Mariz's corpse?"

Victor crouched down and examined the monster's corpse, his expression also changing drastically.

Marize?
Upon hearing this name, the others also showed expressions of shock.

This is a powerful level 7 monster, how could it appear here?

They could defeat a level 4 Babu monster by working together, but they absolutely couldn't defeat a level 7 monster; they would only become its excrement.

But now, this terrifying monster is just lying here, with no signs of a struggle at all.

"The treasure is just ahead. It's just a corpse. There's nothing to be surprised about."

Sora glanced at Mariz's corpse, licked her lips, and an unconscious longing shone in her eyes.

"I'll go first, you guys follow."

"Speak," Sora said impatiently, taking a step forward and flashing into the treasure room that exuded endless allure.

"By Mira! The treasure is indeed here!"

As soon as Sora and his companions entered, they saw a magnificent mountain of gold!
"This is mine!!!"

Apart from Mir, whose eyes were vacant, the others all stared at the golden mountain with great longing.

The short Terry was the first to grab a handful of gold and stuff it into his pocket.

Victor hesitated only slightly before grabbing the gold and stuffing it into his backpack.

Sora was carrying the heaviest load in the team, and at this moment she emptied her backpack and knelt on the ground, filling her backpack with handfuls of gold.

Even Herfry, who has the strongest resistance, couldn't resist grabbing a handful of jewelry.

"Terry! This is mine! You damned thief!"

Victor suddenly roared and grabbed Terry's wrist.

Clearly, Terry stole a significant portion of what he had packed in his bag.

"Whoever takes it out is responsible!"

Terry, not to be outdone, shouted loudly with red eyes.

The two immediately began punching and kicking each other, which quickly escalated into a physical fight.

Fortunately, Sora and Hefley retained a shred of rationality, preventing the situation from completely spiraling out of control.

"Stop fighting! Take them out first and distribute them evenly!" Sora tried his best to suppress his greed, his face contorted, and shouted as he went to separate the two.

"puff!"

Sora stared in disbelief at the dagger and throwing knife in her chest, then looked at Terry and Victor.

He never imagined that his teammate, with whom he had shared so many life-and-death experiences, would actually turn against him.

Especially Terra, the kid she and Hervé rescued from the gang, who they treated like their own younger brother.

As the knife plunged into her body, Sora's previous frenzied greed vanished instantly.

Victor and Terra also stood there, stunned, their faces filled with terror and regret.

"Sora!"

Hefley panicked and caught Sora, who was about to fall. Looking at the dagger and throwing knife in Sora's chest, tears streamed down her face. She touched the handles of the dagger and throwing knife, wanting to pull them out but not daring to.

She was indeed a healer, but she only knew the first level of healing magic. She wasn't sure if her magic could heal Sora's injuries. If the first level of healing magic didn't work, Sora would die instantly once the dagger and throwing knife were pulled out!

Mir stood at the door, his face expressionless, as if he had known all along that this would happen.

"Didn't anyone tell you that the gifts from the abyss all come with a hidden price tag?"

Hefley looked up sharply and saw two young figures appearing below the golden mountain.

No, it seems they were there from the very beginning!
How come we didn't see it?
Moreover, the two men's attire was quite strange. The young man's camel-colored overcoat was simple in style yet very elegant, appearing even more refined than the clothing of the nobles in the royal court.

The girl is pretty, but she just doesn't seem... lively enough?
Why think about these things now? Sora, Sora is about to die!

In her turmoil, Hefley saw the young man extend his finger and tap Sora twice.

With two clanging sounds, the dagger and throwing knife in Sora's chest seemed to be lifted by an invisible force and fell to the ground.

As soon as the blood spilled from Sora's chest, it was as if time had reversed, the blood automatically flowed back into Sora's body, and the wound on his chest began to heal visibly.

"Now, tell me, where do you come from? And how did you get here?"

(End of this chapter)