Heavy Metal

"What's going on? Who opened the chest?"

Asked an angry-looking man while going through the empty goblin encampment. The adventurers, fresh from their skirmish with the goblins, had returned expecting to find loot and spoils of their battle. Instead, they were met with barren goblin huts and no chest that should have been there.

"Did someone beat us to it?"

Another adventurer, a young woman with a bow, speculated, looking around suspiciously.

"There were goblins here just moments ago, and now the place is empty."

"It's obvious, some bastard must have snuck in here while we were luring out those goblins, they could even still be nearby…"

The adventurers gripped their weapons tightly at the thought of being attacked. While they were in monster-filled dungeons, they weren't the only ones hunting for treasure and glory. Rivals and opportunistic thieves often lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce on any chance to steal hard-earned loot.

"Stay sharp, everyone."

"..."

"I don't think anyone is coming…"

The adventurers looked around, but even after waiting for several moments, they were not attacked. They were greeted with nothing but silence and soon realized that whoever had looted everything here had already escaped. The one responsible was long gone and did not intend to test his luck. His goal here was completed and his inventory was filled with explosive potions.

Rusty, the one responsible for the adventurers' annoyance, was already moving towards the sixth floor. He had stayed close enough to hear their complaints but moved away almost immediately after. There was no reason to engage with a whole group of crafty adventurers. Even though his elemental darkness worked well on them, he would quickly run out of magical energy without the mana crystals in his possession. It was better to limit the use of high MP costing skills in the future and for that, he also needed to further his other skills.