Cherreads

Chapter 24 - Special treasure

Jasmine's eyes widened with excitement, "A special treasure? This dungeon just keeps getting more intriguing. Let's keep moving and see if we can find this treasure."

They followed the instructions on the inscription, navigating the dungeon room by room. The deeper they went, the more complex the dungeon became, with more intricate traps and increasingly powerful monsters guarding the path.

They encountered a relatively difficult room, filled with monsters and tricky traps. Working together, they easily killed the monsters and disarm the traps, without sustaining any injury in the process.

As they emerged from the room, they found themselves at the entrance to a massive chamber, filled with various ruins and structures. The sense of history was even more pronounced in this room, and there was an air of anticipation in the air.

Jasmine looked around, "This seems to be the central chamber of the dungeon. The structures here are much more complex and advanced than the ones we've seen so far. That treasure must be somewhere here."

Keshav scanned the massive chamber, looking for some clue as to the location of the treasure. Suddenly, he spotted something unusual - a faint, almost imperceptible glow coming from a corner of the chamber. "Jasmine, look over there. I see something."

Jasmine followed his gaze to the source of the glow. "You're right, I see it too. Let's check it out."

They approached the source of the glow, and found that it was coming from a strange, shimmering stone. As they got closer, the stone seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy.

Jasmine hesitantly reached out to touch the stone, but Keshav stopped her. "Wait, we don't know what that stone is. It could be dangerous."

Jasmine retracted her hand, feeling a mixture of caution and curiosity. "You're right, we should be careful. But this stone seems... important. I can feel it radiating some kind of energy."

Keshav examined the stone, careful to keep his distance. "There's an inscription on it. It seems to be the same language as the one we translated earlier. Let's try to understand what it says."

They focused their attention on the inscription, which once again seemed to come to life as Keshav cut the concept of language barrier between them and the stone. This time, the inscription seemed to emanate a sense of great power and danger.

The inscription read: "Warning: the treasure of this dungeon is a powerful and dangerous artifact, capable of manipulate reality itself. Only the worthy may lay their hands upon it, for the unworthy face dire consequences."

Jasmine's eyes widened in surprise, her voice barely above a whisper, "Manipulate reality itself? Its similar to my skill. This artifact must be incredibly powerful. But it's dangerous, too. Only the worthy can use it, it says."

Keshav looked at the inscription with a mix of curiosity and fear. "This artifact sounds like something we've never seen before. The power to manipulate reality, similarto your skill. But it could also be incredibly dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

Jasmine nodded, "That's true. The power to manipulate reality is no joke, and we can't just let it fall into the wrong hands. But we don't even know if we're worthy to take the artifact."

Keshav turned to Jasmine, a steely resolve in his eyes. "We've come this far, Jasmine. We're worthy. We have the power to fight and defend ourselves, and we've faced countless challenges in this dungeon. If anyone is worthy, it's us. You even have similar skill."

Jasmine felt a surge of determination and nodded in agreement. "You're right, Keshav. We've come this far and we're not backing down now. Let's find the artifact and make sure it ends up in the our hands."

They searched the massive chamber thoroughly, eventually finding a hidden trapdoor leading to a dark, narrow tunnel. They cautiously entered the tunnel, senses on high alert for any further traps or dangers.

As they moved deeper into the tunnel, the air grew colder and more oppressive. The walls were rough and crudely cut, and there was a faint smell of decay that became stronger with each step.

Keshav whispered to Jasmine, "This tunnel must be centuries old. It looks like it's barely holding together."

Jasmine nodded, her hand on her sword, ready to fight. "This place is giving me the creeps. We need to be extra careful. Anything could be hiding in this dark tunnel."

They continued through the tunnel, the only light coming from the faint glow of torches hung at regular intervals along the walls. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning without any indication of where it was leading.

Suddenly, they came to a dead end. Jasmine looked around, puzzled. "I don't understand, there has to be something here. The inscription said the artifact would be at the deepest point of the dungeon."

Keshav studied the area carefully, running his fingers along the rough hewn stone of the walls. "There must be a hidden mechanism or something." Suddenly, he pressed on a small, almost imperceptible rock, and with a soft grinding sound, the wall moved, revealing a hidden chamber.

They cautiously entered the hidden chamber. The space was small but well lit, the source of light seemingly coming from the very walls themselves. In the center of the room sat a pedestal made of a shimmering, iridescent stone. Perched on top of the pedestal was a slender crystal pyramid, glowing faintly with radiant energy.

Keshav approached the pedestal, his eyes fixed on the crystal pyramid. "Is this it? Is this the artifact we've been looking for?"

Jasmine followed him, her eyes wide with awe. "I think so. It looks like the description in the inscription. And it radiates... power. I can feel it even from here."

Keshav slowly lifted the pyramid from the pedestal, holding it reverently in his hands. As he did, the glow of the pyramid intensified, the air around them crackled with energy.

Jasmine stepped closer to Keshav, her eyes fixed on the pyramid. "What does it do? It's so... powerful."

Keshav studied the artifact, his expression filled with wonder and curiosity. "This isn't an ordinary artifact. It's incredible. It holds the power to manipulate reality itself like your reality weaving skill but on weaker level and its much less efficient even its effect will be temporary and reality will correct itself unlike our skills"

Jasmine's eyes lit up with awe and disbelief, "Manipulate reality? But on weaker level than my skill, still that's... incredible. But why would such a powerful artifact be hidden in a dungeon?"

Keshav shrugged "I don't know. We already have your ability to manipulate reality much better than this artifact. It has little to no use to us"

Jasmine nodded in agreement. "You're right. Our skills are more powerful and efficient. But still, we can't leave this artifact here. Who knows what might happen if someone less responsible than us finds it."

Keshav said "Just keep it in your subspace"

Jasmine nodded and took the pyramid from Keshav, holding it reverently in her hands. "I'll hold onto it for now. We'll need to figure out what to do with it later."

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