Chương 28: Prize

Just as I was contemplating the structural integrity of my own skeleton, Elias came sprinting across his churned-up field with a grin so wide I thought his face might actually split in two. He was dodging craters and smoldering patches of moss like a man who had just won the medieval lottery, which, considering he wasn't currently being digested by a sentient hill, I guess he had.

"By the stars and the fertile soil!" Elias hollered, his voice cracking with the kind of joy you usually reserve for the invention of sliced bread.

"You did it! The Iron-Ribbed Monarch has been slain! My village is secure, and my lands are no longer a feeding ground for that stone-hearted beast! Truly, you are the most valiant heroes to ever walk these fields!" I leaned back against a piece of charred carapace, trying to look cool and collected while internally wondering if I could claim "death by adrenaline" on my insurance.

"Whoa there, let's not get ahead of ourselves," I wheezed, giving him a shaky thumbs-up that felt like it weighed fifty pounds.

"You're making us sound like legendary figures from a tapestry. We're just two guys, one of whom is currently leaking premium head-juice. Also, I am incredibly sorry about your windmill. It really did its best to survive, but now it's basically a very expensive pile of toothpicks." Elias waved his hand dismissively, his eyes misty with gratitude.

"Think nothing of the timber and stone!" he cried out.

"The mill can be rebuilt by our own hands, but the lives you saved are a gift beyond any coin! You have my deepest thanks, and the thanks of every soul in the hamlet!" Dimitri, who was currently looking like a golden god bathed in the noon sun, clapped a massive hand onto Elias's shoulder. It was a miracle the poor man didn't sink six inches into the mud.

"Do not weep for the wood that has fallen, my brother Elias!" Dimitri boomed, his voice echoing like a warm hug from a grizzly bear.

"For a house is but a shell, but the spirit of a community is a fire that cannot be quenched! Today, we have planted the seeds of victory in the garden of fate, and tomorrow, we shall bake the bread of peace together!" I was about to ask Dimitri if he had a secret pocket full of fortune cookies when the atmosphere suddenly decided to get weird. The massive, mountain-sized corpse of the Monarch began to shimmer.

It wasn't a subtle "oh look, a butterfly" kind of glow; it was a "get ready for a seizure" level of radiance. The iron ribs and mossy meat started to dissolve into flecks of white light, and then, two distinct, pulsing orbs of pure brilliance drifted out of the carcass. They hovered in the air like a pair of miniature suns that had lost their way, casting a sapphire-tinted light over the churned earth. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

One orb floated toward Dimitri, bobbing gently in front of his massive chest, while the other drifted over to me, hovering right at eye level. I stared at the floating sphere, and as I did, a glowing translucent window snapped into existence right in front of my nose. ••••• Name: Monarch's Rib-Plate Tier: 1 Drop From: Iron-Ribbed Monarch (Elite) Selling Price: 100 Gold Description: A curved, reinforced segment of the Monarch's outer carapace.

The surface is naturally ridged like a mountain range and feels as cold as forged steel to the touch. This material is exceptionally heavy and difficult to pierce with standard blades. Remnants of the creature's mossy coating still cling to the underside, providing a natural layer of padding that absorbs blunt force. It is the ideal foundation for crafting high-stability chest pieces or tower shields.

••••• The item didn't just appear; it performed a dramatic solo debut, hovering in the air with the kind of self-importance usually reserved for expensive jewelry or the last slice of pizza. It was a curved slab of the creature's outer shell, looking like a literal piece of a mountain that had been ripped out and polished. The surface was a chaotic landscape of ridges and grooves, shimmering with a cold, metallic sheen that promised to be a total nightmare for anyone trying to poke a hole through it.

It still had bits of that ancient, prehistoric moss clinging to the back, looking like a built-in fuzzy cushion for whatever poor soul would eventually have to strap this heavy-duty dinner plate to their chest. I stared at it for a second, wondering if I should poke it or bow to it, when the orb suddenly decided it was done being a decorative light fixture. It shattered into a million sapphire-colored glitter flakes, swirling around me in a miniature magical cyclone before diving straight into my chest.

I didn't explode, which was a plus, but I felt a weird, tingly weight settle into the back of my mind. [Notice: Item added to Inventory: Monarch's Rib-Plate x1]"Holy mother of all things crunchy and expensive," I breathed, my eyes widening as I checked the mental price tag attached to it.

"Dimitri, look at the value on this thing! We could buy a small kingdom, or at least a very, very high-end sandwich! This single piece of scrap metal can be sold for a small fortune!" Dimitri, who was currently basking in the post-battle glow like a man who had just spent the day at a luxury spa, looked over at me with a gaze so filled with wholesome pride it actually made my eyes water a little.

"It is a reward that reflects the greatness of your spirit, my brother Arthur!" Dimitri boomed, his voice rolling over the field like a thunderclap made of velvet and sunshine.

"The universe does not give such treasures to the faint of heart. You have danced with the mountain and survived its heavy embrace, and for that, you deserve every glimmering grain of gold the world has to offer!" I was about to calculate exactly how many snacks I could buy when the cold, robotic voice of the System decided to chime in and ruin the mood with some depressing statistics. [Notice: Elite entities provide a guaranteed loot drop only upon the initial subjugation. Henceforth, the species: Iron-Ribbed Monarch (Elite) will yield loot at a reduced rate of 10 percent. Should the subject's level exceed the entity by 10 or more, the drop rate will be further penalized to 1 percent.] I let out a low whistle, the reality of the grind finally sinking in.

"Well, that explains why this chunk of mountain is worth a king's ransom," I muttered, trying to wipe a fresh smear of dirt and blood off my forehead.

"It's a limited edition! One-time-only deal! Basically, the universe just told us that if we want another one, we're going to have to play the world's most dangerous and rocky slot machine."