The Miraculous Treasure Hunting System-Chapter 151. Are You Rat?

The Blue Fist slowly came to a stop at an abandoned berth. Ed used mirrors to create a searchlight, its beam sweeping across the area as the clouds closed and darkness returned. Andre jumped from the bow, followed closely by the others, with Ed controlling the light and jumping last.

Everyone took out a luminous stone, tied it into a net bag, and hung it around their waist to illuminate their surroundings.

Andre looked around, his hands hanging naturally but his palms already slightly clenched.

"No one has been to this island before. There are probably quite a few undead left behind. Be careful."

Ed controlled the beam to shine into the distance. The area was comprised of port warehouses, all broken and collapsed with no intact structures in sight.

Led by Andre, the group slowly advanced. Using the light, they left the port and arrived at the vast city ruins behind it. There were far more buildings here than on the islands Ed’s group had landed on before, it was like comparing a village to a city.

It was difficult to find any intact buildings; most were ruins with various plants growing from the rubble. As they arrived and the beam shone, six or seven skeletons visibly rose from the ground, eerie green flames burning in their skulls.

They carried crude weapons, wooden sticks, iron bars, bone clubs, and staggered toward them.

Andre, quickening his pace, was the first to encounter them. He easily grasped the skull of the lead skeleton, crushing it along with the green flame within. The skull and its surroundings immediately disintegrated, scattering into a pile of bones.

The remaining skeletons, devoid of thought, showed no fear and slowly advanced. Several of Elena’s threads flew out, piercing eye sockets and striking the soul fire within. The flames flickered and died like a snuffed candle, and those skeletons also scattered.

The two veterans deliberately left one for Elena to test their strength and gain an understanding, as it seemed many skeletons populated the island. Knowing their power would help conserve energy. Ed and the others had already encountered them on a previous island.

Elena delivered a powerful whip kick, shattering the skeleton’s entire body into pieces, a brutally efficient display.

As they continued forward, more skeletons rose from the ground. These skeletons, in both weapon and appearance, were utterly unimposing. Even an ordinary adult or teenager could easily defeat them by overcoming fear.

The group began to crush the skeletons surrounding them one by one like merciless bone-crushing machines, clearing the area in no time. Perhaps due to the light they emitted, skeletons approached from afar.

However, after this wave, no more dared to approach immediately. Yet as they advanced, skeletons lying in various places continued to rise, disturbed by their movement.

"Ugh, so annoying. This never ends," Jason muttered, slapping the skull of a skeleton away. Their progress was being significantly slowed.

No one had ever cleared this island before, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many skeletons. He missed the last island; after it was cleared, the number of skeletons was almost nonexistent.

Listening to Jason’s complaints, Ed punched the skull in front of him, shattering it. He crouched down and pulled something from between the bones of the skeleton’s arm, a ring stuck in a bone crevice. It was enveloped in a white outline in Ed’s vision, indicating a valuable treasure. Inlaid with a ring of strange crystals, its craftsmanship and design were beautiful and obviously valuable.

"This ring is worth at least one gold sail," Said Elena, watching Ed’s haul with full envy. Wherever this bastard goes, he always finds something valuable. She had some experience assessing such items.

"Really? These skeletons are quite valuable, then," Ed joked. He then kicked an approaching skeleton to the ground and crushed its skull under his boot. He didn’t want to say it, it sounded arrogant, but truthfully, it felt wonderful to see others turn green with envy every time he found something.

With the skeleton’s demise, there was a brief respite.

Andre looked at the vast city ruins, realizing that searching for their target together would be too time-consuming. "Two people per group," he decided. "Everyone search for the church. Signal if you encounter danger."

The group nodded, splitting into three pairs and exploring in different directions. Ed and Elena headed to the right. On his map, this direction indicated the target’s location, though it was in the middle to rear of the island. They were likely only on the city’s edge. There were two blue markers in this direction, which was why Ed chose it. If these markers weren’t hidden, he wouldn’t mind finding them along the way.

After walking a few steps, Ed looked at a building ahead.

"This building looks quite sturdy and covers a large area. There must be valuable things inside."

Elena looked up. "Let’s note it. We can loot it later after we complete our objective."

Ed nodded, not refuting the suggestion. There was a white dot in the area, but its value was unknown. There was no need to rush.

They continued forward. Ed checked his map; they were getting closer to a blue dot. Then, he saw a shimmering blue outline in the distance, inside a half-collapsed building. It appeared brightly before him, without any concealment.

Indeed, in a city suddenly destroyed like this, wealth was everywhere. It couldn’t be called treasure hunting; it was more like plundering.

Ed walked towards the ruins. He focused his searchlight beam, scanning the area around the outline. It was an oil lamp, hanging on the wall of the collapsed interior, clearly visible due to the outer wall’s collapse.

Ed lifted the oil lamp from the wall, its blue outline shimmering.

"Is this a magical item?" He asked confusedly.

Hearing Ed’s question, Elena took the lamp and examined it closely.

After inspecting it, she nodded, then looked at Ed with a strange expression. "You’re quite perceptive. This really is a magical item, but it’s been around for too long, and its protective features are quite worn. Besides, it’s just an item to make life easier."

With that, Elena channeled magic into the lamp.

A white flame immediately ignited within the lampshade, extremely bright yet very soft. It then floated gently in the air. Elena took two steps to the side, and the lamp remained floating beside her, illuminating her surroundings.

"Is that all it does?" Ed asked, watching her demonstration.

"Yes," Elena nodded with a smile.

Ed was visibly dejected; he had thought it was something extraordinary. If this thing is worth a gold sail, he’ll twist his head off and kick it like a ball. How can this useless thing be worth so much? Nowadays, you can sell anything in the name of a magical item.

Seeing his expression, Elena chuckled and touched the floating lamp. "Don’t be discouraged. This may not be very useful, but it’s still a magical item. With some simple repairs from Gami, it should be worth at least two gold sails."

"...That’s not bad," Ed conceded. Mosquito meat is still meat. It’s better than nothing.

The two continued forward, letting the magical oil lamp float alongside them. As he walked, Ed took the lamp and poured his own magic into it.

The result was much better than he had expected. With a simple infusion of magic, the lamp followed his thoughts, moving to illuminate where he wanted. However, its range was limited to about four or five meters around him.

This bit of intelligence made for a pretty good user experience.

As they walked, Ed suddenly crouched down and picked up an object from the bushes. It was a small item emitting a white light, an ornament seemingly fallen from nowhere. It was a small octopus sculpture, about the size of a palm, crafted from pure gold with scarlet gemstone eyes. If not for their outlines, he would have completely overlooked them hidden in the grass.

Looking at the polished, gleaming object in Ed’s hand, Elena’s expression grew increasingly strange. She had watched him walk over, squat down, and pick it up effortlessly. It felt unreal, as if he found valuable things as easily as drinking water.

Looking at him, she couldn’t help but tease, "Are you some kind of treasure-hunting rat in disguise?"

Due to the nature of this world, the profession of treasure hunter was common. Nobles usually referred to them as "rats," a derogatory term that treasure hunters had co-opted over time.

Hearing Elena’s teasing, Ed turned to look at her. In the mood to play a bit, he made a very exaggerated, obvious sniffing motion. "You caught me! Be careful next time, or I’ll steal your treasure."

"Hahaha..." Elena couldn’t help but laugh. After calming down, she took the octopus sculpture from Ed’s hand. She examined it as they walked in the white light.

"It should be some kind of custom-made decoration. Apart from the expensive materials, there’s nothing special about it. It’s not a masterpiece." After a moment’s thought, she assessed, "It’s about the same value as the oil lamp, mainly because of the materials."

"That’s not bad," Ed said, taking back the sculpture and storing it in his inventory.

There were still many white dots along the way, hidden under completely collapsed ruins. Looking at the location of another blue dot they were approaching, Ed looked up. A faint light was there, but it wasn’t the blue outline he sought. Instead, it was a pale, eerie green.