Tamsin slid down the muddy flank of the dead Behemoth. He held the object with both hands as if it were a volatile explosive.
It was a sphere the size of a human head, pulsing with a sickly light that shifted between moss green and bruised purple.
The air around it seemed to warp and ripple as dense waves of mana rolled off its surface.
"I found it lodged behind the ribs," Tamsin said. He looked uncharacteristically nervous. "It is not a normal core. It actually feels kinda hungry."
Elara adjusted her glasses. They were cracked from the mud, but she leaned in close.
"Do not drop that," she whispered. "That is a Heart of the Mire. It is a unique variant core with swamp-type attributes. It only drops from a Behemoth that has consumed enough necrotic mana to evolve."
Grimmand whistled lowly. "What is the market value on something like that?"
"It is beyond standard pricing," Elara whispered. "Alchemists use them to brew Panaceas. High-tier smiths use them to forge living armor that can regenerate in the heat of battle. If we take this to the capital, we could buy a respectable estate."
"Or," Jacob said from behind them, holding open his Distortion Bag. "We could put it in the sack before the necrotic mana makes Tamsin sick."
"That would be best," Tamsin said. He dropped the heavy, pulsing heart into the bag. The fabric swallowed the core, and the sickly green glow vanished almost instantly.
Tamsin wiped his hands on his trousers, looking relieved to be rid of the burden.
"That core pays for the entire trip," Carlos said, sounding satisfied. "Even split four ways, that is going to be more gold than we earned in the last year combined. We should go home, sell the heart, and take a month of rest."
"Speaking of going home," Grimmand pointed a thick finger at the air. "The System has a final word."
The blue text boxes did not appear individually this time. A massive, golden window materialized in the center of the group.
It hummed with a different frequency than the usual dungeon notifications.
Dungeon Clear Confirmed
Anomaly Status: Intact
Calculating Performance...
Performance Rating: S (Impossible Clear)
Quest Updated
Objective: Escort Anomaly to Origin Point (Home).
Time Limit: 24 Hours
Status: Active
Reward (Pending Completion):
Carlos: Skill Evolution Token (C-Rank)
Grimmand: Ancestral Weapon Fragment
Elara: Mana Core Purification
Tamsin: Shadow Step Skill Book
Failure Penalty: All current rewards forfeit. Reputation set to Hostile with Anomaly Faction.
Silence descended on the swamp. The only sound was the dripping of slime off the skeletal trees.
Carlos read the list twice. Then he read it a third time.
"Skill Evolution," Carlos whispered. "That is not a simple level increase. That changes the fundamental nature of the ability. That turns a Shield Bash into a Titan's Impact."
"An Ancestral Fragment," Grimmand choked out. He looked as if he might break down. "Do you know how many dwarfs die searching the deep mines for these? It restores the legacy of my family, and I can upgrade my heirloom weapon with our forgotten runes."
"Core Purification," Elara murmured, touching her chest. "It removes the impurities from potion sickness and double my regeneration rate permanently."
Tamsin just stared at the words Shadow Step. "That is a teleport, I will be untouchable."
They slowly turned to look at Jacob.
Jacob shrank back slightly under the weight of their collective gaze. They did not look at him like a child anymore. They looked at him like he was the Holy Grail made of flesh and bone.
"New plan," Carlos said, his voice dropping into a very serious tone. "We are not merely walking back. We are moving in a tight diamond formation. Tamsin, you scout fifty meters ahead. If a leaf falls from a tree and it looks suspicious, you destroy it. Grimmand, you are the rear guard. Nothing approaches his back. Elara, you keep a hand on him. If he trips, you catch him."
"I can walk," Jacob protested. "I have good boots."
"I do not care," Carlos said, placing a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. "Jacob, you are currently worth more than the rest of us combined. If you stub your toe, I will personally burn the forest down. We are getting you home in perfect condition."
"Understood," Grimmand said, hefting his axe. "If a mosquito lands on him, I will sunder the earth."
"I will clear the path," Tamsin said, vanishing into the shadows with zero hesitation.
"Let's move," Carlos ordered. "We have twenty-four hours to get the golden goose back to the farm."
Jacob spoke up, "Guys, this portal should take us to the front of the dungeon, that is barely two hours from home when I'm taking my sweet time through town!"
Carlos spoke up, a bit of force in his words, "It matters not! We are headed to the farm!"
He then pointed toward the portal extravagantly, obviously swept up in the moment. His party followed along, ushering Jacob to the portal.
Jacob nearly had an aneurysm.
WAIT!
He took a deep breath as the adventurers looked at him, a bit shocked.
"Did you guys forget why we came here? The entire purpose of my calling in that favor?"
They looked at him with some confusion.
Jacob then just wordlessly walked over to some salty-looking grass that was untouched during the fighting, as it was situated towards the far corner of the floor.
Carlos face-palmed as he watched the child pluck the bulb of the grass out of the ground and sack it in burlap, before continuing on to get the entire group.
"Change of plans, team. We sack all the salt-grass we can find, then we make our way to the farm!"
"Roger!"
In the end, Jacob ended up with several dozen bulbs of the grass.
'That should be enough to last the winter before I can cultivate it and produce more.'
And the team finally got to usher him through the portal, with that fervent gusto they had failed to lose when such valuable rewards awaited.