I Found a Door to the Elven Realm-Chapter 30: Grinding Through for a Reward Chest

Meanwhile the cubs were doing most of the work even exceeding Emily in hunting speed. They were jumping and twisting through the air like they were born to fight flying enemies.

Emily’s slashed helped them sometimes, or saved Eren but those katana wind slashed never missed. She was moving constantly never staying in one spot and always repositioning to get better angles.

She looked too cool to be real in Eren’s eyes.

When the last bat dissolved into sparkles, Eren was breathing hard and covered in small cuts. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, and his throat was dry from shouting.

[You gained 15% energy of Dungeon Bat (Level 10)]

[You gained 12% energy Dungeon Bat (Level 14)]

[You gained 10% energy of Dungeon Bat (Level 12)]

The notifications kept coming. Eren watched his energy bar climb higher and higher with the last few assisting slashed he could hit. But the amounts the system deemed appropriate for what he deserved were generally between 10% and 15%.

[Congratulations! You have reached Level 17

All stats increased by 1

You gained 1 Stat Point to distribute]

Eren sat down on a root and tried to catch his breath. "How many was that?"

"Forty-three for me," Emily said. She wasn’t even sweating. "Not bad for a first room."

The female cub was licking green blood off her fur. [That was fun! Can we do it again?]

"She wants to fight more bats," Eren translated.

Emily smiled as she patted her not so bloody parts. "We will. If my guess is right, this was just the first chamber."

Eren looked around the room properly for the first time since the fight ended. The floor was covered in dead vines and moss torn up from the cubs’ claws. A few of Emily’s wind slashes stuck out of the walls where they did miss their targets at that chaos.

Then he saw it. In the back corner of the room, partially hidden behind a root, there was something glowing.

"Is that what I think it is?" Eren walked over to it.

[Congratulations! Your party has discovered a Reward Chest]

’Fu*k yeah!!!’ Eren wanted to scream but had to act mature in front of Emily. It was a dilemma.

The chest was small and made of dark wood. Strange symbols were carved into the lid, glowing faint blue in the dim light.

Emily came over and knelt beside it. "First room chests are usually basic stuff, but you never know. My sword came out of a similar first floor chest."

Eren was impressed. Her sword was uncommon rank. He didn’t know what that meant in Evon but anything above normal level was nice.

Emily opened the chest carefully. Inside were four items, each glowing with its own colored light.

The first item was a book. Not a normal book, but one that seemed to pulse with energy. The cover was leather with a claw mark burned into it.

[Skill Book - Beast Claw (Common Grade)]

[Use: Learn the skill "Beast Claw"]

[Requirements: Compatible with beast-type creatures]

[Description: Channels primal energy into claws or weapons, adding tearing damage to attacks. Most effective when used by beasts or beast-affiliated users]

"A skill book!" Emily sounded excited. "And it’s perfect for the cubs."

The male cub sniffed at the book. [What is it?]

"It’s a skill," Eren explained. "If you use it, you’ll learn a new attack."

[Can we both use it?]

"No," Emily said as guessing the question had to come next. "Skill books disappear after one use. You will have to decide who gets it."

Their mother taught them Wolf Eyes skill. She probably tried to increase their chances of surviving in this dark and very dangerous forest.

The two cubs looked at each other. After a moment of silent communication that Eren couldn’t hear, the male cub pushed his sister forward with his nose.

[You take it. You fight more with your claws. I use my teeth.]

The female cub picked up the book in her mouth. The moment her teeth touched it and she growled with not so cute voice, the book dissolved into golden light that flowed into her body.

She shivered, then her claws started glowing faint red as she used them.

"That’s amazing!" Eren said as female cub was becoming more demanding in loving words or praise. Maybe domesticating wolfs that humans were so proud on Earth wasn’t so hard.

"Try it out!"

The female cub slashed at the air. Red energy followed her claws, leaving visible trails that faded after a second. She looked at her paws in wonder.

[This is. Rrrr... I feel stronger!]

Emily was already pulling out the other items. The second item was a pair of leather gloves, reinforced with metal plates on the knuckles.

[Combat Gloves (Common)

No description. Strength +1, Agility +1]

The ring Eren obtained from the slimes, which was currently on his finger, had a more detailed description and an uncommon grade. This, on the other hand, looked like the cheapest product manufactured in a factory.

"These are for you," Emily tossed them to Eren. "Your hands are going to get wrecked if you keep using that knife without protection."

Eren, who had just been thinking about how crappy the gloves were, immediately put them on.

They fit perfectly, like they were made for him. The leather was soft but sturdy, and the metal plates around the fingers felt reassuring.

But what came out of the chest wasn’t just this.

The third item was a small blue gem that pulsed with inner light. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

[Mana Crystal (Lesser)]

[Use: Permanently increases mana capacity by 10 points]

"That’s decent," Emily said. She handed it to Eren. "You should use it. Your mana pool is probably is the most important thing on your mind."

Eren wanted to stop but her caring look was too much.

He took her into his arms and kissed in front of the shocked wolfs cubs. Even though tongue, saliva and some sounds that the two lovers weren’t very proud of came out during the one-minute kiss, Eren felt very good.

Even if he didn’t know what unconditional love was before, he knew now. And as Emily showed him this kind of love every day, he wanted to reciprocate with everything he had.

His thoughts about getting close to other women in the village during the early days had now disappeared.

Maybe he was thinking too simply. But if the mother of his child told him not to approach other women - though they hadn’t had such a conversation yet - Eren would never cheat.

After breaking away from Emily’s lips with great difficulty, Eren crushed the crystal.

It dissolved into blue particles that flowed into his chest. He felt a warm sensation spread through his body.

[Your maximum mana has increased by 10 points]

Emily was embarrassed by the wolf cubs acting like they were covering their faces with their paws but clearly watching their display of love.

Ehem. After a small nod, she reached into the chest. The last item was a silver bracelet with small green stones embedded in it.

[Nature’s Blessing Bracelet (Uncommon)]

[Description: A common but not so uncommon artifact if you listen Nature Element Smiths]

[-Reduces poison effects by 15%]

[-Health regeneration +1 per minute]

Emily put it on her wrist. "Perfect timing. Poison monsters would show up here. One of my dungeon visits was nasty. I almost died to a poison salamander. Purple Poison and Fire Breath combination isn’t nice by the way..."

[Congratulations! Your party has cleared the first chamber of Floor 1]

[Progress: 1/8 chambers completed]

"Eight chambers?" Eren said. "We have to do that seven more times and just for the first floor?"

"Welcome to dungeon grinding," Emily said cheerfully. "But don’t worry. The other chambers won’t all be bats and variety keeps it interesting. Or kills you. Not sure.

My dungeons had two floors and just 3 and 5 chambers in floor one. This one looks more dangerous and old."

The male cub was sniffing at another tunnel entrance on the far side of the room. [More enemies showed up this way. I smell them.]

Emily stood and checked her katana and Eren’s mostly unused arrows. They found the first few ones around the chamber then walked. "Let’s keep moving. The longer we stay in one place, the more time dungeon monsters have to respawn behind us."

"They respawn?" Eren asked.

"Dungeons are alive in their own way. If we take too long, monsters we already killed will come back." Emily started walking toward the tunnel. "That’s why you don’t camp in dungeons unless you’re very strong or very stupid."

Eren had to evade his eyes to not look at her behind. She looked badass with that confident talking and rocking body.

She manages to be beautiful and impressive enough to drive me crazy every day. I’m about to lose my mind...