Chapter 61: A Different Kind of Treasure

To Max, the Dungeon Monsters posed no threat as he continuously advanced, following the map's path. Upon reaching the treasure's final destination, he finally leveled up to Level 5. He allocated his free attribute points into Intelligence, attempting to balance his Attributes. After leveling up, the EXP he gained from killing the frogs dropped sharply. A regular Bull Frog gave him 20 Exp per kill. This was the reason Max had tried to get a Level 5 Dungeon, hoping he could easily level up to Level 7 without issue. Now, even reaching Level 6 was doubtful, as it required an enormous amount of Exp.

...

Level: 5

Exp: 30/15,000

Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 11, Endurance 8, Intelligence 9, Vitality 8

Unallocated Attribute Points: 0

...

Since he was already here, he could try to gain as much as possible and leave the Dungeon. However, before that, he could obtain the treasure. Max stood in front of a large cave, and of course, it looked like the mouth of a Bull Frog, teeth and all. He stepped toward the cave. Although he could kill the Dungeon's Boss monsters easily, traps were a different matter. Fearing he might walk into some kind of magic trap, Max immediately took out the [Field Energy Analyzer]. With it, he could at least detect any Mana disturbances in specific spots and guess the traps' locations.

The artifact ran its analysis for a while and displayed the results:

[Environmental Energy Detected.]

[Primary Energy: Mana]

[Mana Density: 4.74]

[Energy Stability: Unstable]

[Abnormal Energy: None]

"Wow, there is some unstable energy even at the cave's entrance. But having None abnormal energy is a relief," Max analyzed the situation. There seemed to be a trap, but how could he check it? Max quickly brought out his bow, nocked an arrow, and fired. The arrow shot into the cave, disappearing into the darkness. He listened closely to hear if any trap was triggered, but nothing of the sort happened.

Although it seemed like a very simple treasure hunt, Max felt something was wrong. He had felt this even from the map's loot drop. Max's big mistake was failing to check this Dungeon's details in the binding book. That binding book mostly detailed the type of dungeon, how dangerous it was, and whether there were any casualties or anomalies that had happened during previous raids.

Max had not even thought to check; he simply accepted it once he felt it was a Level 4 Dungeon. Max fell silent and thought about it for a long time. He felt it was unnecessary to get this treasure. Since he held every treasure he needed in his iStorage, he certainly wasn't vying for gold. He could simply walk away from it, but a small curiosity wanted him to enter and check what kind of danger this Level 4 Dungeon cave held.

This curiosity stemmed directly from wondering how he would face such a situation in higher Level Dungeons, and even in Realms of a higher Tier, in the future. Thus, he was not going to cower and back down from a mere Level 4 Dungeon. With that thought, Max proceeded on high alert, the Field Energy Analyzer running continuously to provide live updates.

The cave tunnel stretched for 50 meters before opening up to a large cavern. Fortunately, light shone down from the top of the cavern. How was sunlight reaching inside? Had he not entered a cave? Max was in confusion. It felt as if he had stepped into a completely different terrain. Ignoring the thought, Max looked around; as far as he could see, it was a very regular cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

However, he could not see any treasure boxes or a Boss monster guarding the treasure. Could it be a fake treasure map?

As Max pondered, he suddenly heard someone speak.

"Welcome to my humble cave, young and brave adventurer!" the voice echoed throughout the space.

'A talking Boss monster?' Max was surprised. If he defeated it, he would definitely obtain high Exp and rewards.

"I have been waiting for you," the voice spoke again.

Max was taken aback by this statement. Had he not heard the exact same thing a few days ago? Why was there this familiar pattern of everyone waiting for him?

'Am I a Chosen One?' A sudden glee appeared in his heart. After all, who did not want to be a special Chosen One in this world? Glory and recognition were the most sought-after things in his world. However, Max quickly brought himself back to reality.. There had to be some other meaning behind that statement.

"Who are you? Are you the Legendary Bull Frog, The Marlak?" Max guessed.

"A very wise adventurer as well; I am surprised. How can an adventurer be young, brave, and wise all at once? It is truly a miracle," the voice said.

Max felt this sounded like over-flattery. He could say he was indeed young and brave, but being called wise might only be a half-truth. Since he reads books, however, he would become wise sooner or later.

"So, where is the promised treasure?" Max got straight to the point. He was not flattered by the Bull Frog's nice words.

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"Of course, you will get your promised treasure, young adventurer. But the question is whether you want mere treasure, or a power that could put the world under your feet," the voice spoke.

Max was a little surprised to hear such big words coming from the Boss of a Level 4 Dungeon. How could a Level 4 Dungeon Boss talk about a power to subdue the world? Along with his surprise, a nagging feeling also grew in his heart.

Although the conversation seemed highly comedic considering their location, and if he had heard these same words in a level of the [Three Misfortune] Dungeon, he would have taken them seriously, this was coming from a low-level monster. It seemed like a joke and an anomaly at the same time. However, Max decided to go along with it to see where it would lead.

"Okay, where can I get this power strong enough to conquer the world?" Max asked.

"Hahaha, I like it. I knew you were the one I have been waiting for. You are very wise," the voice spoke again.

"I am not sure, are you being honest with that compliment?" Max asked, thinking the praises were dragging on too long and wanting to get to the point.

"No, adventurer, you are the one I have been waiting for. You have to trust me; you possess the potential to achieve and gain this power." The voice continued to stand by its claim.

"I think there would be a ton of people who entered this cave with more potential and more wisdom than me?" Max asked.

"Yes and no. The last young adventurer with strong potential entered here two decades ago," the voice said.

"What are you talking about? There are plenty of people visiting this Dungeon every day, yet you are claiming it was two decades ago." Max could not take those fake compliments anymore. Did the frog think Max was a stupid person?

"You are mistaken, young adventurer. There are plenty of young adventurers who enter my Dungeon, but they hold tiny potential. Only a few enter with strong potential. It happens once in a while, but today I found you, yet another young adventurer of great potential who could wield a power to put the world under your feet," the voice explained.

Upon hearing this, Max began to see a pattern and a hint of truth, although it could also be a complete ruse. However, the pattern he currently recognized was that when people who had awakened multiple Classes entered the Dungeon, this frog considered them to be individuals with potential; those with only a single Class were not. Furthermore, since the frog said it rarely saw a person of potential, this map likely only dropped for special people with multiple Classes. This was also why this frog was still in this place, although Max had yet to find out what exactly it was doing here.

"So, what do you want?" Max asked.

"What else, young adventurer? My freedom," the voice said.

"Freedom?" Max muttered.

"Yes, I have been stuck in this cave for four centuries. No one is ready to help me, and the people who did try to help me failed," the voice said.

"Why do you need freedom? You are a Dungeon Monster," Max asked a logical question. It was a Dungeon Monster meant to provide him with Exp and loot. Why would it need freedom, and what was it going to do with that freedom?

"Make no mistake, young adventurer. I am no mere Dungeon Monster, but the Legendary Bull Frog, The Marlak," the voice declared.

'You call yourself legendary? What a narcissistic frog,' Max thought.

"Okay, let's talk about this power you're offering, and what exactly needs to be done to free you. Only then will I decide whether to help you," Max said.

"The power you will obtain is my friendship," the voice said.

"So, you are the power that mentioned the world would fall under my feet?" Max asked, confirming that this frog was definitely a conceited being.

"I am not sure I need your friendship. I am already strong, and as you guessed, I possess great potential for growth. Furthermore, I have no ambition of conquering the world," Max said.

"Listen, young adventurer, there are rules in this world that one must follow no matter what. The first of those rules is to never say no to more power. Take as much as possible and grow. The moment you think it is enough, your downfall has begun," the voice advised .

"Oh? What is the second rule?" Max asked, seeing the frog had started speaking very sagely.

"The second rule is being kind. I have been in this cavern for a very long time. You have to release me from this. I haven't seen the outside world for centuries," the voice said.

"Well, that seems reasonable, but I am not sure I am the right person for this job. You said yourself that you have already met plenty of capable people, yet you are still here," Max said.

This matter seemed tricky. Even if everything the frog said was true, wouldn't plenty of people with multiple Classes have visited here over the past 400 years and failed to free the frog?

"Let me tell you something about the others. You are clearly far more clever and talented, since none of them asked this many questions. So please, try it, if only for the sake of my freedom." the frog said. Max noticed the frog's tone had changed compared to when he first entered the cavern; it was almost as if the frog was begging him for help.

"Very well, since you are requesting your freedom, I will try. But are you really powerful enough to conquer the world? If that is true, then letting you out into the world seems dangerous, and staying here seems suited for you," Max said, guessing the reason this frog was sealed here.

"No, no, I am not that powerful right now, to tell you the truth. I was once feared by the world, but my power was sucked away by this Dungeon. When I was in my prime, this Dungeon used to be Level 200. Over the years, my power was drained, and along the way, the Dungeon Level reduced to 4. If any more of my strength is drained, I will perish," the voice said.

"If you are weak, what is in it for me? Why do I need to help you?" Max asked.

"As I said, you have my friendship. With that comes an enormous amount of knowledge concerning things hidden within this world. With my friendship, you can obtain those things," the voice said, revealing the real treasure of freeing it.

"Hidden things, uh?" Max pondered for a while.

"Okay, I agree to help you. However, remember that if you plan on doing anything to me or anything bad to the outside world, I will kill you without mercy. Trust me, you have not yet seen my real potential," Max warned.

He was not worried about whatever was behind the voice, but if some malicious thing were to be released and harm innocent people, he would kill it without any thought.

"You don't need to worry, young adventurer. All I want is my freedom. I have no intention of harming anyone," the voice said.

"Okay then, what should I do to free you?" Max asked.

"Let's have a meal together!" the voice said.