Noticing this glimmer of light, Levi immediately disregarded the filthy things on the ground and approached at once.
He raised his torch.
On the ground, he saw a pile of silver coins... some old, some relatively new... heaped together. Beside them were various scattered small items, along with cutlery, plates, candlesticks, and cups of different materials...
Some silver, some gold.
He couldn't help but smile.
He'd come to the right place.
Clatter clatter, Levi rummaged around, packing up all the valuable items and stuffing them into his backpack.
Due to the sheer variety of items, his backpack was suddenly insufficient. After thinking it over, he simply built a blast furnace on the spot and smelted all the miscellaneous metal items into raw materials.
He ultimately obtained five gold ingots, eleven silver ingots, plus a bag of silver coins.
His backpack immediately freed up space again.
Actually, by volume alone, these things weren't much... after all, they were just forks, cups, and similar items. It was only because there were so many different types that his backpack became insufficient.
After smelting this batch of treasure, a notification suddenly appeared. Levi opened his crafting table and saw new recipes for metal tableware and chandeliers had been added.
These items could now be crafted directly in the future.
With everything tidied up, he couldn't wait to leave this cave, opened his map, and continued deeper into the forest.
"Trolls really are treasures."
Having tasted success, Levi was now full of anticipation for this forest teeming with trolls.
The next day, during daylight, wails came from the other side of the mountain.
A troll awakened from its slumber, opening its eyes to see a despicable human stabbing its kidneys with a sword. However, when it angrily rose to give chase, it hesitated.
Because it was now daytime outside.
Although this forest was densely wooded with more shadows than sunlight, even being brushed by the edges of daylight would make it feel terrible.
"Despicable stinking bug!"
The enraged troll dug up a rock from the ground and hurled it outside.
With a thunderous crash against a tree, the thick trunk visibly cracked and nearly broke.
Levi broke out in cold sweat. How could this troll also have ranged attacks?
If that hit him, wouldn't he lose four or five hit points?
Without much talk, he directly employed his old routine.
Block the entrance, draw the bow, kite the troll.
Before long, this furious troll fell to the ground with resentment.
"Des... picable!"
After recovering his arrows, Levi stepped over the troll's massive corpse without a glance, holding his torch as he walked into the deepest part of the cave.
As the saying goes, once unfamiliar, twice familiar. This time his movements were much more efficient. He quickly looted all places that might hide valuables, putting inconvenient items into the blast furnace to smelt into raw materials.
His actions were swift and decisive... finish and leave the scene, clean and efficient.
Looking at the gradually increasing wealth in his backpack, Levi couldn't help but sigh, "This Trollshaws really is a wonderful place... gold and silver everywhere."
He nodded and continued deeper into the forest.
A week later.
Nighttime.
In the forest, a troll crouched fearfully in the bushes, caught a sheep, brutally twisted its neck on the spot, and ran home clutching it.
"Quick, quick..."
The troll panted heavily, its large head covered in sweat.
"Please, please don't come. I need to get home quickly, run fast, or I'll encounter the terrible Treasure Devourer..."
"Phew..."
Under the night sky, after running for a long time, only when it saw its own cave did the troll feel at ease. It lit a fire, planning to make roasted whole lamb to reward itself.
Watching the sheep's skin gradually turn golden and emit the unique aroma of roasted meat, the troll's mood improved.
Gnawing on the mutton with crunching sounds, feeling the warm flow in its stomach and its body gradually recovering from hunger, the troll couldn't help but let out satisfied groans.
"Ha, what Treasure Devourer? Once I'm full, it won't even be enough for one of my punches."
"Is that so?"
"Of course!" The troll answered affirmatively without hesitation.
Huh?
It turned its large head and suddenly discovered a human had appeared beside it at some point, immediately showing an evil grin.
"Looks like there's extra food tonight, hahaha..."
A moment later.
Thud.
The troll, covered in wounds, clutched its neck and staggered to the ground.
Levi munched on two pieces of beef jerky on the spot, waiting for his health to regenerate.
After a full week of battles of wit and courage in this forest, over a dozen trolls had died at his hands.
But actually, he had killed very few with his bow. Troll hide was simply too thick. By the time he killed the fourth one, those few arrows were broken or snapped beyond use when recovered.
After that, Levi had been using one sword, one set of iron armor, and one shield to duel trolls one-on-one.
Even if he couldn't win, he could still run. At worst, he'd dig three and fill one, or be a despicable block man and build high... he wasn't afraid of dying at all.
Initially, facing trolls with high attack and defense, he was somewhat intimidated. After all, those giant palms operating at full force could crack stones, and hitting Levi would only hurt more.
But as he took more and more beatings, Levi gradually learned to see through some troll attack patterns and ingrained countermeasures into his instincts... these were all hard-earned lessons paid for with blood, gained through taking hit after hit in trial and error.
If it were someone else, forget taking so many beatings... they'd probably lose most of their life and be disabled on the spot from the first hit, with no chance to continue testing.
He stubbornly endured beatings until his iron armor lost half its durability, developing skills specifically for fighting trolls.
When a troll raised its hand, he knew what action would follow... slap, sweep, smash, or throw rocks.
Then he'd respond accordingly.
He hadn't become a PvP master but became a PvE master first.
"So poor."
A moment later, Levi emerged from the cave depths with a disgusted expression.
Another destitute troll... nothing valuable in the cave, just piles of bones and filth.
Yes, not all trolls hoarded amazing wealth.
From his recent experience, troll caves with hidden treasures weren't actually many. Most trolls had no wealth at all.
Whether he could find good things in troll caves was entirely luck-based.
It felt like opening loot boxes.
Speaking of which, Levi found that finding trolls had become increasingly difficult recently.
In the past whole day, he'd only found this one troll and its cave, and that was only because he was lucky enough to encounter it hunting outside. If it had stayed holed up in its cave, he might not have discovered it.
Thinking about what it kept muttering about some "Treasure Devourer" before death.
He thought carefully, and the more he thought about it... "Could it be talking about me?"
Levi immediately realized that probably because he'd killed too many recently, his reputation might have already spread among the trolls.
"This is troublesome now."
He sighed and sheepishly walked out of the cave, passing by the fire pit and rack the troll had used to roast the whole lamb.
Eh? Wait.
Levi suddenly stepped back, looking at that crude barbecue rack.
Staring at the stick in the middle, covered in patina and used for skewering meat.
Hmm...?
He slowly approached, eyes unblinking.
If he wasn't mistaken, this stick seemed to be... glowing inside?
Not seemed... it really was glowing!
Levi grabbed this stick whose original appearance was unrecognizable.
[Filth-Covered Elven Ancient Sword]
[Chapter Complete]
***
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