Yarra’s Adventure Notes

Chapter 57 - 57 45 Strange Key_1

?57: Chapter 45 Strange Key_1 57: Chapter 45 Strange Key_1 (To those passing by, I seek your favorites and recommendations.

Your support is my greatest motivation.

P.S., thanks to the reader “Sky’s Slaughter” for pointing out the typesetting error in the forty-third chapter, allowing me to correct it promptly.

Thank you)

Upon entering the room, we were greeted by a spacious living room, almost two hundred square meters in size.

On the left side of the living room, there was a row of cabinets reaching directly to the ceiling, filled with various finely carved artworks–elves, goblins, beastmen, dwarfs, the artistic works of different races could be found in these cabinets.

In one corner on the right side of the living room, a natural crystal resembling a coffee table was placed in the center, surrounded by over a dozen soft armchairs lined with lizardtail tree gum, forming a semi-circle.

A waist-high wine cabinet separated the coffee table and armchairs, providing a relatively independent space.

On the other side of the living room, a large round table was placed, yet only one soft chair was in front of it.

Regrettably, the living room, originally more luxurious than other residential rooms, now resembled a slaughterhouse.

Large amounts of dried, blackened blood were stuck to the walls and floor, and numerous leftovers of desiccated limbs and dead bodies spread all over the room.

Many valuable works of art were knocked over and shattered on the floor.

There were only two relatively intact bodies in the room.

Both mortals were entwined with each other.

One of them, with dried hair that hinted at a once white color, had its teeth sunk into the throat of the other, who had black hair.

The hands of the white-haired mortal were clawed deep into the black-haired one’s chest muscles.

The black-haired body’s dried face still retained an agonized expression from its final moments, eyes wide open in an agonized howl.

However, the sword held tightly in its hand had penetrated the heart of the white-haired body, piercing through its chest.

“Such a tragedy.” Lina carefully sidestepped the various human body parts scattered on the floor, walked to a cabinet, casually picking up an artifact.

“Catherine, these decorations must worth quite a lot.

Even if the mission fails, having these things at least was not a total loss.”

“About twenty to thirty thousand gold coins.” Catherine casually glanced at the artifacts that were still intact in the cabinet and gave a number.

“Really?” Lina widened her eyes in disbelief, asked, “So little?

There are at least forty intact pieces here, and they’re all centuries-old antiques.

Are they all fake?

Given the status of the people living here, they shouldn’t have displayed any counterfeit.”

Catherine shook her head, walked over to an exquisite wood carving, casually pinched it, and the wood carving instantly burst into a pile of wood chips.

“For example, this one, a special product of elves in the Lost Forest, carved from falling branches of the Tree of Life.

It has the ability to purify the environment and eradicate diseases when placed at home.

The normal price could reach fifty thousand gold coins, and if it was seven or eight hundred years ago, it could even be sold for a high price of two hundred to three hundred thousand gold coins.

However, the vitality contained within the wood slowly dissipates over time, making it very brittle, and now it couldn’t be sold for even a copper coin.”

“And this one.” Catherine pointed to another large metal wall hanging, and started to elaborate: “A piece from the Kulan Dwarf, made around, hmm, nine hundred years ago.

Yes, it is the casting style of the Kulan King Kaoto era from nine hundred years ago.

If it were seven or eight hundred years ago, this piece alone could be sold for eighty thousand gold coins, but now?

Maybe fifty gold coins.

Forty gold coins should be enough with some bargaining.

And that, the Coral Tree.

A special product of the Sea Kingdom of Casa, which was originally worth a fortune and now is accounted for the highest value here, four thousand gold coins.”

“Wow, that’s a vast difference.” Lina was holding the artifact she had just picked up.

After hearing Catherine’s evaluation, she regretfully set it down.

“Can’t help it.

The racial war triggered by the sale of elves a thousand years ago had completely cut off the already not-so-harmonious relations between humans and other races, and it only started to improve in the recent four hundred years.

During that period, no foreign races had wanted to interact with the human race, let alone trade.

So, all foreign special products were extremely expensive.

Over the recent four hundred years, as relationships improved, prices gradually came down.

For things such as these common artworks, which are not even made by famous artisans, they naturally become cheap.”

“What a disappointment, then what do we do with these stuff?

They’re not easy to carry, should we just leave them here?”

“No way, of course we’re taking them.” Catherine’s eyes lit up with frenzy, a complete change from her indifference when appraising the artifacts earlier “When we’re about to leave, we can select the most valuable ones, take all that can be taken, sell them outside, and divide the money.”

Lina gave an expression as if to say, “I knew it,” sighing and shaking her head.

Gaston, who had just joined the group and was still unhappy about the matter of the two thousand gold coins earlier, finally found an opportunity to mock,”Didn’t you just say it’s dishonorable to take money that shouldn’t be taken?

Why the sudden change in attitude?”

“The money earlier was a commission payment, we didn’t complete the commission so we have no right to take it.

But the things here are the real unclaimed goods; anyone has the right to acquire them.

Don’t you understand such simple logic?” Catherine took a casual glance at Gaston, not paying attention to his provocation.

She raised her voice and asked, “Pannis, have you finished examining the bodies?”

“It’s safe now, come over.

There are no other magical creatures here, only one…” Pannis glanced at the corpse on the ground: “A good magical creature indeed.”

“Oh, so only the dead magical creatures are the good ones?” Catherine smiled as she approached.

“What’s with these bones on the ground?

Shouldn’t they turn into mummies?”

“I think you wouldn’t want to know.” Pannis handed a broken bone to her.

“They were eaten.” Catherine noticed the human teeth marks all over the bone and frowned in disgust.

“Were they extremely hungry?

Or did they start to eat corpses after becoming entirely demonic?”

“They must have started after becoming demonic.

I found plenty of liquor in the cupboards earlier, malt liquor and grape wine that can curb hunger efficiently.

People, who have wine, wouldn’t eat corpses or live ones.

So, I believe they lost their sanity after becoming demonic, hence eating.

At that time, they wouldn’t know about drinking wine anymore.” Pannis pointed at the white-haired corpse on the floor and said.

“Just look at it.

Judging by his looks, this man might have been the head of the research institution and a Legendary in his lifetime.

But I don’t know why…

perhaps he was too old, and his endurance fell short as compared to Bell and the other two of Gold Rank.

If we consider the number of munched corpses and other information from the diary and Memory Crystal, he must have become nearly demonic before the rescue team arrived and stayed hidden in his room.”

“Then the rescue team arrived.” Vivian stood up holding a Crystal in her left hand and starting drawing on the ground with a pen in her right, continuing, “When the rescue team arrived, ten or so survivors, including Susanna, were saved.

This one was not included because its location was further inside.

Look, this is the residential area for regular researchers, so the rescue team saved about ten survivors.

Bell and Susanna stayed there, while the others pushed forward.

Here’s the route they took, likely encountering multiple combats along the way, pushing onward until this point.

Here, they encountered a magical creature of Legendary Rank, and more so, one that had its fill.”

“No, the timeline does not fit.” Pannis interrupted Vivian’s hypothesis, took the pen from her hand and said, “I have studied the area; at least three bodies were fully consumed.

By calculating the amount a human turned magical creature would consume, I deduce that at least four days would’ve been needed to fully consume these three bodies.

According to the timeline, they sent for help while this creature was still alert.

Bell and the others arrived two days after the distress call.

Therefore, the rescue team would have encountered the creature no more than three days after it turned.

The creature couldn’t have possibly consumed those three bodies in just three days.

Therefore, the rescue team must have reached this place and either not encountered the monster, or maybe it was still eating in the room, not coming out to attack.

Then, the rescue team pushed forward, possibly entering the testing ground or reaching the Core Area.

Wherever they managed to reach, they were certainly exhausted, most heavily polluted.

They had no choice but to retrace their steps in hopes of escaping or delivering the retrieved items outside.

When they returned to this spot, the creature had just finished eating the three bodies and had nothing left to eat.

Driven by hunger, it came out to hunt, and they both ran into each other at the entrance.”

“No wonder there were dismembered arms and legs everywhere.” Catherine nodded, implying that she understood the entire process.

“I presume the person who died with this demi-beast was the Legendary Rank of the rescue team.

The aftermath of the battle between two Legendaries was impossible for exhausted soldiers, with not even left their full strength to withstand.

They came across each other, yet the Legendary member from the rescue team took slight advantage.

They had this advantage due to their numbers, pushing the magical creature back to the room, and they also followed.

Even though they had the upper hand, the advantage wasn’t significant as they couldn’t prevent this creature from continuously killing their comrades.

At last, the group he brought along gradually died out, uh, there were two hundred of them when they entered, but when they returned, including him, there were only twelve left.

Dreadful losses indeed.

Uh…all the other eleven that he brought along perished.

Only he and the magical creature were left, leaving him with no choice but to perish together with the magical creature.”

“You guys keep finishing each other’s sentences, making very reasonable analyses.” Lina squinted, expressing disapproval for being left out of the insightful dialogues and said sarcastically, “Didn’t anyone consider searching the bodies?

If the members of the rescue team actually broke into the Core Area, they certainly would bring back something significant.”

“This is it.” Vivian lifted the Crystal in her hand.

“Found on the black-haired corpse, apart from a few personal effects, there’s only this.”

“What’s this?” Lina looked at the Crystal in Vivian’s hands.

The Crystal was cylindrical, as thick as a toddler’s arm, with a faint redness, and silver light faintly flowed within.”Is it just my imagination or does this crystal energy feel quite weak and disorganised?”

“You’re not imagining things, it is indeed weak and disorganised.” Vivian nodded.

“Because this was originally a Blank Crystal, and the crystal energy inside was forcibly injected afterward.

This is a key, and the mismatched crystal energy feels are the ciphers.

Only with the correct cipher key can certain special locks be opened.”

“How bizarre.” Lina took the Crystal from Vivian.

“I’ve never seen such a key.”

“It’s normal.

These locks and keys are quite expensive.

Just one key costs a hundred thousand gold coins, and as for the lock, it’s even more astronomical.

So, unless someone is really wealthy, they’ll use this only in the most confidential places.

Ordinary people might never get to see one their entire life.

This is my first time too; all I have done in the past is heard about them.” Vivian snatched the crystal back and threw it into her bag.

“This kind of key is very fragile.

Don’t play with it.”