Treasure Hunt

In the end, the leader perished after a gruesome battle, letting Atlas rejoice for a brief moment.

Indeed, it was only a brief moment because when the effects of the Devourer of Chaos activated, all the abundant energy from the corpses madly rushed inside the young man's body.

Step by step, his Endless Abyssal Crystal stabilized closer and closer to perfection. It was a slow process, but Atlas ignored his wounds and focused entirely on that turbulent energy. After all, the bridge was rapidly forming between the Peak Stage of the Primordial Chaos Realm and the Initial Stage of the Descendant Chaos Realm.

The only thing left for Atlas was to take that leap and enter a new world.

He didn't care about the severed head hanging from his arm and instead sat cross-legged to finalize the evolution.

That wasn't best for what would happen, but at least it was safe.

Atlas kept breathing lightly to calm his heart. When his mind and body were ready, he finally broke through the next realm, officially letting his Chaotical Core enter the stage where a cultivator had to use Chaos Energy to cleanse the core.

However, the energy from the goblin was plentiful and kept filling Atlas's body and Chaotical Core till his new realm was finally stable and the cleansing stage was complited by almost a quarter.

The young man's power grew significantly, and the consequences to the world around him were catastrophic.

First of all, the giant head of the Globin disintegrated. Then, the ground around him started turning to nothingness as if there was a black hole devouring all the matter around him.

His body started fluctuating until, finally, the young man opened his eyes.

"Damn, that was great... I can feel my body roaring with energy. A power more than enough to contend against a creature at the Intermediate Stage of the Descendant Chaos Realm."

Atlas was still evaluating his new body, so he didn't notice that there was nothing below his butt, and it was right after his gaze moved down that his body rocked inside the thirty-foot pit.

"Shit!!! Where did this hole come from??"

The poor youth fell down and struck the hard rock like an idiot, worsening his already horrible condition.

"For god's sake... how hard is this damned material?"

Atlas cursed loudly, but it was pointless, so he crawled outside after a brief gaze around the deep crevice.

"This is probably the aftermath of my transition... Damn, it is somehow related to that ancient manual, the Devourer of Chaos?"

Nothing remained of the goblins around him, leaving him a foul mouth.

"All my treasures are gone... that weapon and the heavy armor... I could have sold them for a lot of Chaos Stones... What a pity..."

Atlas lamented for a bit, but soon the adrenaline from the advancement passed, and the searing pain from the grievous wounds all over his body started to torment him.

"Bloody hell!!"

The pain struck him mercilessly, leaving him no other choices other than to use another potion and different remedies to placate it.

Before, he was so taken by that abundant power that he had forgotten his condition, but now he couldn't help but feel fortunate that his breakthrough went well. After all, he wasn't in the right condition to embark on that path, but he still took it, risking his life.

"Huu..."

Those potions were simply lifesaving for the young man, and in half an hour, his body was once again back to an acceptable condition. He could already walk and even run, but he was still far from ready to take on another battle.

The youth lamented internally for a bit and then started looking around.

The enemies had been defeated, and the stronghold was freed from those creatures. So, the young man could calmly search for treasures and riches all around.

Inevitably, the research started, and a few steps from the pit, Atlas found some remnants left behind from the previous battle.

"Mmm... let's see a little... it's only a miserable handbag full of Chaos Stones. What a bastard. Surely, that fellow hid the most precious objects somewhere else."

Atlas quickly opened the small bag, from which came a paradisiacal noise, and dropped one stone after another on the ground.

"One... ten... thirty... Hahaha... What a nice catch..."

Eventually, when the bag emptied, more than 50 Low-Grade Chaos Stones were scattered everywhere around his feet.

"Not bad... Really not bad... for someone at this level."

There was nothing left around, so it was time to have fun. 

Atlas began a fierce treasure hunt inside the ruins.

But after a few steps, the young man stopped and thought about something.

"Hmm... I forgot about those fellows outside of the stronghold..."

Atlas had scoured every corner of the stronghold very well, and especially after all that hustle and bustle, he was sure that no one was left within the walls.

With enemies still present, Atlas searches the ruins with special attention, remaining vigilant for any hidden treasures and a possible attack from the remaining enemy.

The adventurer did not have to hide this time, so the search went much faster than before.

"There is nothing... How is this possible?"

The search had led to nothing. Still, he wasn't satisfied and instead began a fierce search through the ruins again.

Atlas turned to the main building, surrounded by another layer of smaller walls, and with a malevolent smile, to say the least, mumbled, "Hehehe... stronghold... oh my stronghold, where do you hide my treasures?"

|||

"AH!!! Heck... How the hell is it possible?? WHERE?? Where are my treasures?"

Rocks and pieces of charred and burned wooden planks flew everywhere.

"There must be something... Is it possible that supplies are the only things in this damned place??"

The search had lasted a long time, but Atlas had found only a few crates full of food and barrels with water and alcoholic beverages...

Of course, with such a result, the young man was enraged and began to shatter the stones scattered around the large hall to vent that anger.

His loyal companion again showed its best side, pulverizing one pile of rocks after another.

Unfortunately, only the dust was deposited under those heaps after many years.

"Impossible... Maybe I overestimated the level of intelligence of those stupid creatures? No... It's impossible. There must be a secret passage somewhere..."

The young man continued undaunted his crazy search inside the stronghold, and at a certain point, when he passed for the umpteenth time near the small throne made of black and bluish marble, something peculiar attracted his attention.

"Mhm?!... Still this strange sensation in the arm..."

In fact, this was the second time Atlas felt that slight shiver run down his arm, but only after calming down slightly did he notice that strange coincidence.

"Hmm... thinking about it, the same thing happened a couple of minutes ago, right around here... Maybe..."

Intrigued, Atlas approached the throne, and unlike before, that strange feeling became increasingly insistent this time.

"How odd... it seems to come from the stigma. It cannot be a coincidence. Maybe something around here is reacting to its presence..."

After a long time, finally, something had changed, so Atlas focused all his attention on that little throne.

At first glance, nothing was special about that object, which was composed of an ancient black stone stained with particular bluish shapes.

Perhaps when the stronghold was at its peak, the throne had some metal and wood trim, but only the rugged stone had remained unchanged after all this time.

After a careful check, Atlas shook his head, perplexed: "I felt it. This throne is hiding a secret, perhaps a hidden passage or some kind of treasure. But the stone is immaculate... Heck, there's no hole or any other kind of ledge where there might be a mechanism."

Once again, the research had not given the desired results, but that little thrill continued undeterred, and it was precisely this that managed to spur the young man to not give up.

Unfortunately, after almost an hour, the young man began to get agitated, and an unhealthy idea came to his mind... 

"Hehehe... I didn't want to go that far, but if there's really something underneath, then I have no other choice left. "

Atlas lifted Astra above his head and threw that lethal tip tempered by two years of hard work toward the throne.

DING!!

The pickaxe struck the rigid stone with all its acuteness, but it was thrown backward as if it had hit a powerful shield laminated by layers and layers of dwarf steel.

"Amazing... What stone cabbage is it?"

Shocked by the unexpected situation, with his arms still trembling from the incredible backlash, Atlas repositioned the pickaxe to the side and crouched near the throne to check more closely where he had delivered that devastating blow.

The palm, covered with calluses, passed gently along the entire surface, looking for even the slightest imperfections...

"There is not even the sign... Impossible..."

Stunned by the staggering result, Atlas leaned on the throne, exhausted, occupying the place of honor for a few moments.

But suddenly, the stigma began to quiver and release its devious mist.

"Mhm?! How come!?"

Surprised, Atlas stared at that weird phenomenon.

"Interesting..."

Crack!

Rumble!

After a few seconds, the stigma suddenly calmed, and a strange sound awakened the young man from the enchantment.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The young man searched for the origin of that sound but soon realized that the impassive throne was moving, dragging his body forward.

Surprised by the changes, Atlas jumped about ten steps away, and when he looked back towards the throne, he noticed that a hole shrouded in darkness had appeared.

"Great! I don't know exactly what happened, but I don't care..."

The young man, heedless of danger, dived like a madman into the hole, letting himself be devoured by the darkness.