"I think this cave is quite suitable for us to rest," James said tiredly as he found a dry stone surface and collapsed onto it.
"That's right..." Liam glanced around to assess the situation. The cave was deep and spacious. The stone floor around them was covered with spider webs and dampness, indicating that no humans or large creatures lived here. Their day-long effort to find a suitable shelter before nightfall had not been in vain. The first task was complete. But now, they needed a good night's sleep to recover their strength. The rest could be dealt with later.
Liam stretched his weary shoulders, then found a flat rock covered in moss to lie down on.
In the blink of an eye, time passed, and the sun had risen from the sea. There would have been sunlight shining onto the island if not for the dark clouds overhead. Feeling the faint light from outside the cave, Liam momentarily felt uncomfortable. When a drop of dew from the cave ceiling fell onto his nose, he finally opened his eyes and stood up, stretching comfortably.
"Refreshed..."
After days of drifting at sea, he finally got a full night's sleep. His body was now fully recharged.
Liam glanced over at James, who was still snoring, then shrugged.
"Let him sleep a bit longer... it's still early anyway."
Liam began taking out the items he had retrieved from the underwater cave to inspect them. Earlier, he had been in such a rush that he had just grabbed a few random things. After escaping the danger, exhaustion took over. Now was the time to examine them properly.
"All gold... hmm..." Liam held a finely crafted golden cup, examining it. He then sorted everything into two groups: gold and other items.
"I'll stash the gold first... I don't even know how much it's worth when converted to money."
After that, only non-gold items remained on the stone floor. As mentioned earlier, he had no idea of the gold's value, so he wasn't sure how much was enough. That's why he had picked up any unusual items, even though they were few. To him, the rarer something was, the more valuable it tended to be.
"This sword is beautiful..." Holding the sword in his hand, Liam couldn't help but be surprised. It was a silver double-edged sword, about 1.5 meters long, perfectly suited to his body size.
"It seems like it's meant for a child," he added with a satisfied smile. "From now on, this will be the weapon I use regularly."
The sword disappeared into his storage ring as he continued smiling, turning his attention to the next item—a thing that would change his life.
"This medallion looks like Uncle Evans's medallion." Liam couldn't take his eyes off it. The weak light in the center of the sun engraving on the medallion was barely visible. If he didn't look closely, he might have thought it was just an ordinary piece of jewelry.
"Pressing it to the forehead activates it, right?" Liam said as he removed the cloth bandage from his forehead, revealing the familiar black tattoo at the corner of his temple.
He slowly raised the medallion to his forehead and held it there. After a few minutes with no effect, Liam sighed in disappointment.
"Looks like it's broken."
Just as he was about to take it down, the medallion suddenly glowed brightly, filling the cave with a blinding light. The nearby creatures scattered in panic. The beam of light quickly shrank down, or more accurately, it concentrated and shot into Liam's head.
"Ah... Ah... Ah!" Liam's screams echoed throughout the cave, startling James, who rolled off the ground in shock.
"What's happening!" James immediately stood up with a confused look, drool still at the corner of his mouth. Grabbing his sword, he wiped his mouth and scanned the surroundings, following the source of the noise.
"Damn it! Is someone attacking you?" James, with a worried expression, ran toward Liam, who was now writhing in pain and screaming.
Liam was rolling on the ground, clutching his head in agony. Veins bulged visibly on his forehead.
"It hurts... Ah..." Energy burst from Liam, causing red light to radiate from his entire body. He began repeatedly smashing his head against the nearby stone wall, causing shards of rock and his own blood to spray everywhere.
"What are you doing!" James ran over in panic, grabbing Liam to stop him from hurting himself.
"Calm down!" James yelled repeatedly, hoping Liam could hear him, but only met resistance.
Liam elbowed James hard in the face, trying to break free from his grasp.
"Damn it..." James felt the pain spread across his face as blood dripped from his nose onto Liam's shoulder. But he refused to let go, even if it meant dying. This was the least he could do for Liam. Honestly, ever since they had met, Liam had saved him countless times, both physically and emotionally. If James let Liam die here, he wouldn't be able to face anyone in the afterlife.
Time passed, and Liam gradually stopped struggling, eventually falling unconscious.
"Finally, it's over..." James panted heavily, collapsing onto the ground. His face was swollen from Liam's punches, and blood continued to flow from his nose and mouth, staining his clothes.
"The power of force users is terrifying," he muttered, touching his face and wincing from the pain. His nose was likely broken, and his jaw probably cracked. He quickly pulled out a healing potion from his ring and poured it into his mouth. Tasting the sweetness mixed with blood, he swallowed it down.
"Thank goodness I bought plenty of potions..." James sighed in relief, feeling fortunate. Without the potion, his condition would have been much worse. Even though he was ranked F+, recovery would still take several days. He couldn't afford to let this delay their journey.
James walked over to the unconscious Liam and checked his breathing.
"Thank goodness... he's just passed out."
He scratched his head in confusion.
"What exactly happened to make him act like that?"
James glanced at the area around Liam, noticing some strange items. Suddenly, it dawned on him.
"I knew it... those items from that monster must be cursed..."
"Good thing I didn't touch any of that treasure."
James stared at the scene for a while before sitting down on a nearby rock.
"For now, I'll wait for him to wake up."
After all, his thoughts were just speculation. It was best not to act until everything was clear. After traveling with Liam on many adventures, James had learned one thing: always think carefully before acting.