Volume 1 Feathering Chapter 51: Jewel Beetle
At the same time, Levi also heard a series of "cracking" sounds, which sounded like the collision of some hard object!
Donna, who heard the cry, immediately ran over and took out the spear that she had been carrying behind her back but had almost no use for.
Levi also put on a mage armor for her as soon as possible. As an energy armor, it can not only resist physical damage, but also has a certain degree of magic resistance. It should also provide some protection against acid.
Donna quickly leaned over to take a look, and immediately there were a few "puff" sounds from inside the treasure chest, and three balls of acid flew out.
But this time Donna was not as timid as Sam. She first dodged at an extremely fast speed, then let out a delicate cry, stabbed the spear inward several times, and then thrust it hard.
There was a series of "crackling" sounds, and several large beetles over a foot long, with a metallic luster all over their bodies, fell to the ground.
In addition to a very deep blood hole on each of their backs, there are also several very small green gems inlaid around them, some of which are rapidly fading their light.
In front of their heads, there is a pair of sharp upper jaws that are completely disproportionate to their bodies and resemble giant pincers. It seems that the previous "click" sound was made by them.
"Levi, I've got it. There are some things in here. They seem to be the shells of these beetles, and there are also some that look like eggs."
As she spoke, Donna took out some shells that had obviously been processed. Looking at their appearance, they were exactly the same as the beetle corpses on the ground.
If we have to find some differences, it is probably that the place where the gems are behind the shell is empty.
Sam, who was obviously frightened, finally came to his senses. He said in a daze, "Sir, this is a jewel beetle. It is usually a trap or collection that dragons deliberately leave in the treasury as a guard or sentinel."
"In addition to being used for digging holes, their upper jaws are also very suitable for hunting animals, humans, or even halflings!"
As soon as he saw his appearance and heard his words, Levi knew that there must be some story behind this. Perhaps some of Sam's relatives and friends had died on the upper jaw of the jewel beetle.
As for hearing that the jewel beetles were traps and collections used by the dragon to guard the treasury, he was not surprised at all. He just thought to himself that as expected, they had guessed it many times before, and now it was just further confirmation.
But he didn't have time to ask Sam in detail at this time. He just walked towards the corpses of the jewel beetles. If they were collections that could enter the dragon's treasury when they were alive, what about them after they died?
He also had some vague guesses about the gem-like gadget behind the other party. These gem beetles had just used acid twice, and there happened to be two gems behind them that quickly extinguished. Was there any direct connection between them?
As soon as he got them, the system prompt popped up immediately. Just as he guessed, they were indeed all a kind of special and valuable items!
Gem Beetle Corpse (Emerald Type - Broken): Valuable item that can be sold or used as material for sacrifice, magic, alchemy, or forging.
(It is said that if a gem beetle is killed before it has used up its daily spell-like ability, the remaining fully formed gems on its carapace can be removed. The number of gems is reduced by one for each spell-like ability used by the slain beetle, and you can never remove gems from a living bug.)
Levi was immediately delighted, and then he immediately touched the metallic shells in the treasure chest, and then received a similar system prompt.
Gem Beetle Shell (Emerald Type - Broken): A special material that can be sold or used as an alchemical or forging material.
(All gem beetles can use a 0th-order magic. Although their bodies lose their magical powers after losing the gems, the hard shells of these bugs are also valuable. Perhaps you can ask the blacksmith in the blacksmith shop?)
Obviously, the latter is much lower in value, but Levi still immediately cleared out all 13 back shells in the treasure chest. This special back shell only occupies one grid for every 20 pieces.
He then did not spare the three bodies either and put them together.
At this time, the system's prompt finally came, saying that they had just won a mediocre victory, and their opponents were three level 1 emerald gem beetles.
As for the eggs that Donna mentioned, they are the eggs of the emerald beetles among these jewel beetles.
According to the system prompt, they will become level 1 soldiers after they grow up. In addition to using their large and sharp upper jaws for physical attacks, they can also use level 0 magic - acid splash 4 times a day, which is exactly equal to the number of gems on their backs.
At this time, Levi had roughly figured out that there should be many types of jewel beetles. This emerald jewel beetle can use acid splashes, and other types should also master different magic.
No, the system is talking about quasi-magic, which is different from the magic that wizards need to chant spells and use hand gestures to use. Does quasi-magic refer to special powers that have similar effects but may actually have different principles?
But that's true, jewel beetles probably don't have enough intelligence to learn magic. This should be their innate talent, so it is called quasi-magic!
"Levi, there's a box inside!"
He had just collected the corpses of the jewel beetles when Donna immediately screamed in surprise.
In fact, Levi had already seen it without her saying much, because after taking away most of the things, what was left was a dazzling golden light, and inside it was an extremely hidden and gorgeous small treasure chest!
Sam also quickly stretched his neck to look over, but after only two seconds, he immediately shook his head and sighed: "I'm very sorry, sir, I can't open this special magic treasure chest at the moment."
Levi took a few glances at it. In addition to the dazzling golden light that made it very likely to be made of gold, the surface of the treasure chest also faintly revealed a glimmer unique to magic, very similar to the light on the magic pond before.
"Is it possible to crack it with violence?"
Sam shook his head. "Even if you force it open, there's a high chance that the things inside will be damaged. This is a safety measure that most magic treasure chests have set up in advance, just like the space bag."
Levi shrugged, having mastered another little piece of knowledge.
So he stopped forcing himself: "Forget it, I am very satisfied with the current harvest. We should leave. I seem to hear the barking of dogs and howling of wolves outside are getting more intense."
As he spoke, Levi handed the glimmering sword sheath to Donna: "Donna, will it affect your movements?"
Seven grids were used for the stone slabs, two grids were used for the corpses of the gem beetles, and the last grid was used for their eggs. Now his space backpack was full, and he had to stuff the scrolls and the like into his pockets.
He didn't feel it usually, but this time he really felt that his space backpack was too small. If it could be several times bigger, he might have to move all the wood in the ogre warehouse.
Donna took it with a smile and hung it around her waist: "If it's a battle, it will indeed have some impact, but if it's just to evacuate from here, it won't have any impact at all."
Levi also laughed: "Well, you help me get it first. We really need to retreat. I have heard more and more dog barking. It seems that those dog-headed people who went out have returned."
"But before that, there is one more thing I need to do."
Levi's gaze gradually turned to the mountains of corpses. Although most of them were cave dwellers who deserved to die, there were also corpses of half-elves, humans and dwarves among them. If they continued to stay here, they would undoubtedly become food for the kobolds.
He couldn't take them away, but he could do one thing.
With one hand tightly grasping the rusty flame iron badge, Levi grabbed with his other hand, and blazing fire lines surged out from his fingertips: "Burning Hand!"
