Leon placed the five free points he had just gained into [Spirit] without hesitation, then opened his storage space to review everything he had obtained from the battle.
The first items were exactly what he expected.
[Poison Snake Essence x5]
[Poison Archer Essence x4]
[Poison Fang Dagger x2]
[Mutated Poison Snake Essence x1]
These were all drops from the regular monsters he had hunted throughout the cave. There was nothing surprising about them. He had killed dozens of snakes and archers on his way down, so these rewards made sense.
What really mattered came next.
The remaining items were clearly from the boss.
[Poison Antidote x3: Drink to heal any kind of poison.]
[Poisonous Mushroom Leader Essence: Consuming will increase constitution by 7 and strength by 4.]
[Poison Mushroom Armor (Uncommon): +30 Constitution, +15 Strength, +10 Agility. Protect from "Poison".]
Leon stared at the three [Poison Antidote] for a second, then let out a long breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
Relief washed over him.
"So it really dropped," he muttered.
He didn't waste even a second. The poison spores were still lingering in the cave, and even though his body was holding up for now, he had no intention of pushing his luck. Leon immediately pulled one of the antidotes from storage and drank it.
Ding!
[You have been cured from "Poison"]
The uncomfortable sensation in his chest vanished almost instantly. His breathing became steady again, and the faint dizziness he hadn't noticed until now completely disappeared.
"Much better."
Leon straightened up, but he didn't linger at the bottom of the cave.
Ding!
[Quest Warning: 30 Minutes Remain.]
His expression turned serious.
"Gotta go back to Emilia," Leon muttered before turning around and sprinting toward the exit.
He estimated it would take him around fifteen minutes to climb back up if he maintained a good pace. That left very little room for error. If he delayed for even a few minutes, Emilia might not survive.
As he moved upward through the winding tunnels of the [Poison Cave], Leon used the time efficiently.
One by one, he consumed all the essences he had collected.
The familiar warm sensation spread through his body as his attributes increased.
Agility rose sharply as the snake essences took effect. His muscles felt lighter, more responsive. His balance improved, and every step felt more precise than the last.
Then came the essence from the [Poisonous Mushroom Leader].
A heavier warmth settled into his body this time. His frame felt sturdier, his breathing deeper. His strength followed shortly after, his grip tightening instinctively around his weapon.
By the time he finished, the changes were complete.
Leon then fused the two [Poison Fang Dagger] together.
Ding!
[You have consumed two identical equipment… enhancement successful!]
The weapon in his hand became denser, its blade sharper and darker than before.
[Poison Fang Dagger +2]
Finally, Leon equipped the [Poisonous Mushroom Armor].
The armor settled comfortably over his body, surprisingly light despite its durability. The faint green patterns across its surface pulsed once before going still, signaling its poison resistance effect.
"Phew," Leon said quietly. "That should be enough."
Before continuing, he quickly checked his combat power to make sure everything had updated correctly.
[Combat Power: 478 (+350)]
Leon froze. His eyes widened as he stared at the number.
"…What?"
He checked it again to make sure he hadn't misread it. 478 base. Plus 350. That put him well over 800 total combat power.
"Holy hell."
He had gone from struggling against mutated monsters to standing at a level that most players wouldn't reach for some time.
To be absolutely certain, Leon opened his status panel and checked his attributes directly.
[Constitution: 35 (+60)]
[Strength: 47 (+40)]
[Agility: 127 (+20)]
[Spirit: 30 (+30)]
Everything matched.
His agility, in particular, stood out. It was absurdly high compared to his other stats, far beyond what a level 4 player should normally possess.
That speed made the rest of the climb trivial.
Leon moved through the cave like a blur, his steps light and controlled, barely slowing down even on steep slopes. Where he had been cautious on the way down, now he simply flowed through the tunnels.
Less than ten minutes later, he arrived at the cave entrance.
Cough!
The sound made his head snap to the side.
"Emilia!"
Leon rushed forward and dropped to one knee beside her.
Her condition was worse than he expected.
Her eyes were bloodshot, unfocused, and blood slowly seeped from the corners of her eyes, mouth, and ears. Her breathing was shallow, and her body trembled faintly.
It was clear she barely registered his presence.
"…Damn," Leon muttered under his breath.
If he had been even a few minutes later…
Leon didn't want to imagine what would have happened.
He crouched closer, quickly pulling out one of the remaining [Poison Antidote] and bringing it to her lips.
"Drink this," he said firmly, supporting her head.
Emilia weakly followed his instruction.
The moment the potion took effect, the change was visible.
Ding!
[Target has been cured from "Poison"]
Her breathing steadied. The bleeding slowed, then stopped entirely. The dried blood remained, but fresh wounds no longer appeared. Color slowly returned to her face, and her eyes regained focus.
Leon let out a quiet breath of relief.
So this was what prolonged poisoning did to someone.
If he hadn't cured himself earlier, he might have ended up in the same state without even realizing it.
As Emilia slowly recovered, Leon's thoughts drifted. An elf. In a novice village meant for humans.
[Eternal Ascension] wasn't limited to Earth or the human race. Thousands of worlds and races were dragged into the system, some earlier, some later. However, they were separated at the beginning.
Which meant Emilia didn't end up here by accident.
Someone had used a special method. A rare item. Or a forced transfer.
And that meant one thing: someone really wanted her dead.
Leon didn't know the reason, but he could guess it wasn't something simple.
"H-Haha…" Emilia finally let out a weak laugh as she looked up at him. "You actually did it. I didn't expect that."
She slowly pushed herself up, grabbing her scepter for support before standing fully upright.
Her legs shook slightly, but she remained standing.
"I guess I should give you those rewards…" she said quietly, opening her storage space. "Here."
Ding!
[You have received 500 Eternal Coins from "Emilia Verdant"]
At the same time, an [Elite Treasure Chest] materialized in front of Leon, resting quietly on the ground.
Leon glanced at the coins notification, then focused on the chest.
Before opening it, he looked back at Emilia.
"How did you end up here?" he asked. "You shouldn't be in this village."
Emilia's expression darkened.
"…They tried to kill me," she said calmly, though her clenched hand betrayed her anger. "But thanks to you, I think I'll be able to avenge myself."
Leon studied her silently.
She was strong. Stronger than most players he had seen at this stage.
But revenge now would be reckless.
"Maybe you should grow stronger first," Leon said after a moment. "Don't risk your life twice for no reason."
Emilia went quiet. She stared at the ground, then slowly nodded.
"…Maybe you're right," she admitted. "I still want revenge. I'll prepare properly."
As she spoke, her body began to glow faintly.
Ding!
Blue particles started forming around her legs, slowly traveling upward.
"I guess I'm returning to my own [Novice Village]," Emilia said with a gentle smile. "I hope we meet again, human."
"Sure," Leon replied with a shrug. "See you."
Fwish!
Her body fully dissolved into blue particles and vanished.
Leon stared at the empty spot for a few seconds.
Would they meet again? Maybe. But for now, that wasn't important.
He turned back to the [Elite Treasure Chest] in front of him.
Just as he reached for it—
Ding!
[Since you are the first to complete a secret quest, you have been rewarded with 10 Reputation Points.]
"Oh, right," Leon muttered, nodding in satisfaction.
That was a valuable reward. Reputation opened many doors later on.
Without wasting another second, he focused on the chest.
[Elite Treasure Chest: May contain skill stones, enhancement stones, a special pill, items or a skill.]
Elite chests were on a completely different level compared to common or rare ones. The rewards could be absurd, but the odds were usually terrible.
Some items had drop rates as low as 0.001% in the strongest chests.
Normally, players would be nervous. Leon wasn't.
He reached out and opened the chest without hesitation.
Ding!
[100% Drop Rate has triggered, all items inside of the treasure chest have been placed into storage space.]
Ten new items appeared inside his storage space at once.
Leon's grin widened.
"…Let's see what I got."