Tenma looked amazed at the piece in front of his eyes, although he was disgusted by that eye that kept staring at the three of them, not counting the angel, as if it were worried.
"Is this... is this alive?" Tenma asked, looking closely at the box.
The squirrel perked up its ears upon hearing the puppy, twitching its whiskers for a moment before looking at the sea monster.
"What did he say?"
From what they had been living together, the two pets had understood something. They still couldn't understand each other, but Beth, being able to speak to each one in their own language, sometimes acted as an intermediary between them.
"He says if it's alive... To be honest, I think it is..." Beth replied, grabbing the box, trying to open the lock it had with her claw, but it was in vain. Her claw was too big to even try and think it would go well.
Tenma took the opportunity to grab the box and toss it aside, trying to have a moment to himself to understand what it was. The box was golden, just like gold. He found it really striking how something like that could exist, especially with an eye that seemed restless.
But upon closer thought, he realized something. The box wasn't heavy, and it should have been heavy for being made of gold.
"So... This isn't gold!"
The puppy grumbled, wanting to put it in his inventory to sell it when he got out, but if it wasn't what that box promised, it probably wouldn't be worth much.
The squirrel approached the canine, growling a bit, and tried to open the box with its paws and its newfound super strength, but the lock wouldn't budge.
However, just as the squirrel was about to try again, a pop-up window emerged from the box.
[Artifact found!]
[To open it, you must be level 100]
Tenma's spirits dropped as he saw his options to see if there was anything inside fading away.
"Level 100? I'm barely Level 2!"
Beth would take the box with both claws, taking it away from the squirrel's paws, observing it with curiosity.
"This isn't something you should be playing with. Who knows if it could explode," the sea monster said, submerging the box once again, leaving it underwater. "It stays there. If you want to snoop around, do it with the toys I've brought you."
"Toys..." Tenma turned to see the pile of junk objects he had been collecting until then. The only thing that gave them relevance was that amulet. He had put it on before, but there was no result.
Then, Beth submerged again, leaving the way she had come.
"I'm sick of living here!" exclaimed Tenma, seeing that his "owner" had already left. "Angel!"
The angel approached the puppy when called, looking at him confused.
"I think you know what we should do at this point," the canine said, gathering the junk objects and putting them in his inventory. "Possess Beth."
The angel's eyes widened at the suggestion, adamantly refusing.
["You said you would look for a way to escape without her noticing. If I possess her, then she'll end up dead no matter what so I can get out of her body. And she... well, she's been treating us well."]
"She's been treating us like pets! I feel... ashamed."
Meanwhile, Dave watched the scene, confused. The puppy started barking at the wall again, as if talking to someone; he suspected it was a consequence of the things he had experienced being so small, feeling bad for him.
["I don't want to possess her."]
Tenma looked confused at the angel, barking at him.
"But we have to find the abilities that will get us back to our world, don't you remember?"
The angel would approach Tenma more, putting his finger on his forehead.
["Look, I have my reasons... and yes, I also want to get out. But she... she has a pure soul. As an angel, I'm forbidden."]
"You liar! You're blushing, idiot."
Dave would just sigh, approaching the puppy to surprise him and lay him on the floor, leaving him even more confused.
"Mik, mik mik mik"
Tenma still couldn't understand the squirrel, but he felt relieved to have stopped arguing with the angel.
He wouldn't mind being scolded or advised by his companion as a pet, after all, he only heard squeaks from him.
But an idea came to mind.
Tenma turned and looked at the things he had in his inventory and placed them back on the ground, startling the squirrel.
He looked among the things and grabbed the turtle shell.
He had come up with a plan. But for that, he would need to retrieve the false gold box.