Episode 18 – The Hidden Treasure
As soon as the gargoyle collapsed, Iris moved toward Nada.
Judging from her past experience, Nada’s condition was one step away from death. Grateful for Dan’s foresight and consideration as she opened the pouch, she immediately began treatment.
Inside, everything was neatly sorted by type, so the kinds of potions were easy to identify. There were also threads, needles, and bandages prepared. Each bottle had a label indicating what its effect was—clear at a glance.
Iris laid Nada on his back and sprinkled a pain-relieving potion over him. But it seemed to sting his wounds, and Nada let out a low groan.
Right after that, she threaded a needle, soaked both the needle and thread in a certain bottle of potion, and began stitching the wound—his abdominal wound. The others were severe as well, but leaving this one open meant the highest risk of death from massive blood loss. With practiced hands, Iris finished suturing, then poured another potion over it—one that supported tissue repair. After that, she wrapped a bandage soaked in a different potion around his abdomen.
Then came the treatment for his head. She stitched up the gaping cut and wrapped it in bandages the same way. As for the most likely fractured bones in his chest, there wasn’t much she could do, so she simply wrapped the area tightly with bandages.
After that, she began having Nada drink several bottles of potion.
Unlike store-bought potions, these worked fast. Nada, who had been barely conscious, slowly regained clarity.
No—he had to. Iris had confidence in her stamina and strength, but not enough to carry a giant like Nada alone. If they were going to get back, he would have to walk on his own.
“…Nada, how do you feel? Are you okay?”
Iris spoke to Nada as he slowly pushed himself upright.
“Never better—”
Whether he realized how worried she’d been or not, his eyes were blazing.
“Never better? You—”
Iris was bewildered by the completely unexpected reply.
“Iris, grab all the potions in that pouch.”
Nada cut her off and pointed at the bag she held. He recognized it instantly. The tidy arrangement and the carefully placed labels on every empty bottle showed Dan’s meticulous nature. Nada used these potions often; he knew exactly which colors had which effects. So he had Iris hand him three bottles, and he downed them all at once.
His chest and abdomen tingled from the potent burn, but the sensation gradually went numb.
The rapid stitching of flesh to flesh brought a surge of pain, but after a long life as an adventurer, Nada was used to such things.
Leaning on Iris for support, he stood.
His legs wavered from blood loss, so Iris passed him another bottle—this time a blood-restoration tonic. He chugged it, and the dizziness eased somewhat. Thinking he would definitely get scolded by Dan for using so many potions in such a short time, Nada leaned on Iris and moved toward the spot where the gargoyle had stood as a statue.
Nada said nothing.
Seeing this, Iris suddenly spoke as if struck by an idea.
“Nada, more importantly—”
She pointed in a direction.
There, a new black corridor stretched out.
“That’s—”
“Probably the location of the hidden treasure the juniors were gossiping about, don’t you think?”
Iris said lightly.
Nada smiled, stepped away from her, and picked up his Green Dragon Crescent Blade. He didn’t know what lay ahead. If he kept leaning on Iris, he wouldn’t be able to react in time to a sudden attack. Using the weapon as a staff, he steadied himself.
Iris went ahead, stepping inside first.
A moment later, she came right back out.
“Nada, there’s a small chamber ahead. I took a quick look, but it doesn’t seem to lead anywhere. And it looks like there aren’t any monsters either. Since you’re the one who took down that creature, you should be the first to see what’s inside.”
Iris ran over to Nada, slipping her arm under his to support him again. That allowed Nada to finally let go of his crescent blade.
With Iris helping him stand, Nada stepped into the small chamber.
Just like the room where the gargoyle had been, its entire interior was made of crystal. But unlike that place, there was no black passage beyond the entrance—just a dead end.
A short staircase led up to something placed quietly at the back of the room: a completely out-of-place sarcophagus. It was made of earth-colored stone, and no matter how you looked at it, it didn’t belong here.
Nada had only seen such a thing a handful of times in his adventuring life.
“Nada—”
Iris spoke, her voice filled with excitement, but Nada answered calmly.
“Let’s get closer and open it.”
Iris nodded rapidly at his words and helped him move toward the sarcophagus. Climbing the stairs was difficult, but with her supporting him, he managed to reach it.
Once they stood before it, the two exchanged a glance.
“Nada, what do you think is inside?”
Nada knew Iris wasn’t the type to demand ownership even if the treasure inside was incredibly valuable—but seeing her so excited filled him with a slight unease.
Back when he was with Iris in Aghiya, they had once come across a similar sarcophagus. Inside had been an intricately crafted shield. He couldn’t remember the details, but it had some kind of special effect and was top-ranked as equipment. Someone else—a senior who specialized in shields—ended up receiving it, so Nada didn’t remember it well.
Nada had little interest in treasure to begin with, so he didn’t expect much here. Iris, however, clearly felt differently.
“Well, who knows? It’ll probably be something disappointing.”
“It might be a holy sword, you know. Or maybe even a divine sword?”
Nada couldn’t deny her point. It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t unheard of for legendary weapons to be found in sarcophagi located beyond special monsters.
“Then open it for me. I can’t move my body right now.”
Nada would’ve liked to open it himself, but in his condition, he couldn’t. He could barely stand on his own.
Iris said “Fine, fine,” in a tone that pretended to be reluctant, but she happily let go of Nada and knelt before the sarcophagus, placing both knees on the ground. Slowly, she pushed the lid aside.
Since it hadn’t been opened in ages, fresh air seeped out, and the contents were revealed to their eyes.
“Eh…?”
Iris let out a dazed sound.
“Aahahahahahahahaha!”
Nada burst into loud laughter at the sight inside.
Because resting within was nothing but the footprint of a dragon, its three claws clearly pressed into the stone.
Aside from that, there was only dust.
“This is—”
Before Iris could finish, Nada explained what was already obvious.
“It’s the crest of Adamas. Wherever that hero goes, the footprint of a dragon remains. This must be one of those. Ahh, my stomach hurts! Basically, there wasn’t a single damn treasure left behind! What a joke! Us, the other parties—everyone got scooped clean by the hero.”
Nada laughed until his stomach twisted.
Once he finished, he turned his back on the sarcophagus. If there was no treasure, there was no reason to stay.
“Hold on, Nada—”
But Iris stopped him.
“What now?”
“Since you defeated the gargoyle and made it here, why not leave something behind? Like… carving a crest of your own, just like Lord Adamas did. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Without looking back, Nada answered.
Then he grinned broadly.
“I’m Nada—‘nothing (無).’ I don’t have anything, and I don’t plan on leaving anything either.”
“…Honestly. What a boring man you are—”
His unexpected answer stunned Iris for a moment. Then, laughing, she hurried over to support him again.
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