Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

"Holy crap!!!" Logan exclaimed, "So many!"

Lance said nonchalantly, "Actually, it's not much, only about one or two thousand gold coins."

Logan: "..."

Gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins—sweep them all in.

Jewelry and accessories were carried in their boxes.

As Lance held on, he suddenly realized that his dimensional pocket had exceeded its weight limit.

But it doesn't matter.

[Intermediate Another-Dimensional Pocket!]

To store all these things, Lance attached another dimensional pocket to his body.

Finally, there are three pieces of equipment that appear to be magical items.

One is a ring, made of copper, with a dark red gemstone set in the face.

Although it's not a magical item, it should still be worth a lot of money.

Lance casually put it away.

The second item was a dagger, about a foot long, entirely black, and felt slightly cool to the touch.

Shadow Dagger

[Type: Magical Weapon]

[Quality: Tier 1]

[Effect: +1 Enchantment, +1 Attack, deals an additional 3 Shadow damage when attacking in the shadows.]

[Note: A good thing for wanderers.]

The third item was a silver amulet with a carved eagle with outstretched wings.

Eagle Amulet

[Type: Magical Accessory]

[Quality: Tier 1]

[Effect: The wearer gains temporary health equal to their level +5, once per day. Lasts for one hour, or until the temporary health is depleted.]

[Note: A life-saving item.]

"Not bad..."

Lance put on the amulet and handed the dagger to Cielsa: "Take this."

Sissa paused for a moment: "For me?"

"Hmm." Lance nodded. "Tier 1 magic equipment suits you very well."

Sissa took the dagger and held it in her hand.

"Thank you, Lord Lance..."

"Alright." Lance waved his hand. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to smell this awful place for another second."

It was noon when the group emerged from the cave.

Sunlight streamed in from the mine entrance, casting beams of light onto the ground.

Dulac squinted and took a deep breath: "Finally out... I never want to smell that again in my life..."

Finn walked to the cave entrance, glanced outside, then turned back and said, "The sun is quite strong outside."

"Take a break," Lance said. "We've been in the kobold cave all morning, on edge. If something unexpected happens, we might not have time to react."

"Let's find a cool place to rest and wait until the sun isn't so strong before we leave."

Drak looked around and scratched his head. "Lord Lance, there's no shade around here..."

Lance looked around.

Indeed, the area outside was a rocky wasteland.

The only place that could block out the sunlight was the kobold cave.

Even standing at the entrance of the cave, Lance could smell the stench and burnt odor emanating from inside.

That's really disgusting.

Lance pondered for a moment,

"It's okay if you can't find shade. Instead of searching for shade, why not create one... or two shades yourself?"

"I'll try out [Arcane Pact] later and see how it goes."

He raised his hand, his fingertips gleaming with a silvery light.

[Magic Rope Technique!]

A silver halo appeared on the rock three meters above their heads.

[Magic Rope Technique!]

The same spell landed on another rock.

Drucker's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, yes! There's this too!"

He no longer wanted to think about what Lance's spell slots were, after all, he was just a crude and foolish warrior.

Logan was the first to climb up, stick his head inside, and let out a satisfied sigh: "Ah...it's so comfortable in here..."

Others followed suit and climbed in one after another.

Cielsa put away the rope.

Inside the space, everyone was sprawled on the soft floor, with expressions that said, "Finally, we can rest."

Little Black jumped down from Lance's arms, stomped around twice on the soft ground, and then snuggled up to Lance.

Cielsa sat next to Lance, leaning on his shoulder, and yawned softly.

The space quieted down, with only the sound of even breathing remaining.

Lance spoke up: "Celsa, Blackie, there's something I need to tell you."

Cielsa looked up: "Lord Lance, what is it?"

"Meow?"

Little Black pricked up its ears and looked at Lance.

Lance stretched out his hand, a faint purple light emanating from his fingertips.

The light condensed in his palm, forming a complex rune that slowly rotated.

"What is this?" Cielsa stared at the rune curiously.

"A contract," Lance said.

Cielsa blinked: "A contract?"

"Yes." Lance nodded. "After you sign, your attributes and level will increase randomly, and you may also gain spell-like abilities."

"Your strength will increase significantly!"

Cielsa opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

After several seconds, she managed to say with difficulty, "This...this is too..."

"Too much?"

"That's so strange," Cielsa said. "You mean, you can become stronger without doing anything? You can even gain spell-like abilities? No training, no learning, no effort?"

"almost."

"You haven't been tricked by the devil or something, have you?"

Lance said speechlessly, "What do you think?"

Sissa was silent for a few seconds, then cautiously asked, "Then... what is the price?"

She has seen too many stories of "equivalent exchange".

To gain something, you must give something in return.

This is the most fundamental law of the continent of Faerûn.

Lance thought for a moment and said seriously, "The price is—you lose the joy of your hard work, effort, sweat, and gradual improvement in strength."

Sissa: "..."

She thought she had misheard.

"What?"

Lance repeated, "You've lost the joy of gradual progress."

Cielsa stared at him, her purple eyes conveying, "Are you kidding me?"

Lance looked completely innocent: "What's wrong?"

"This..." Cielsa struggled to find the right words, "Is this considered a price to pay?"

"Of course it counts," Lance said seriously. "Many people enjoy the process of becoming stronger, and the sense of accomplishment from improving a little bit every day. Once you sign the contract, you won't have that opportunity—it's no fun to jump straight to the top."

Sissa opened her mouth, then closed it again.

It opened again.

Then it closed again.

He raised the rune in his palm and looked at Cielsa.

"The continent of Faerûn is never short of extraordinary encounters. But what exactly constitutes an extraordinary encounter?"

"The so-called 'serendipity' is all about getting something for nothing, like a pie falling from the sky."

"Would you like to take this pie?"

Cielsa looked at him, something flickering in her purple eyes.

"Of course, my lord."

Lance looked at the little black guy next to him.

Little Black was pricking up its ears, its eerie green eyes fixed on him.

"And you?"

Little Black tilted its head.

"Meow?"

Lance reached out and patted its head.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

"Let's begin then."