Chapter 9 : There’s a difference between working hard and doing well

[Additional Reward! The Dragon Lair’s Treasure Vault…]

“Wow.”

Ignoring the chattering status window, Lena dashed forward, breathless.
Mountains of gold towered before her.
Not just gold—jewels sparkled, mysterious minerals glowed with an unknown aura, and intricately crafted ornaments filled the space in every direction.
Perhaps that’s why this room alone shone brightly, despite the cave’s lightless depths.

“Is this all real? Actual treasure?”

Lena lacked the skill to tell genuine from fake.
She vaguely recalled a trick for gold: bite it, and it’ll dent softly, leaving a tooth mark.
But was it the one that dented that was real? Or the one that didn’t?
She’d forgotten the crucial part.

No way this much could all be fake, though.
Even if just half was real, how much would that be?
Enough to live idly for life.
Like any modern youth, Lena had fantasized about striking it rich—a lottery win, a jobless millionaire’s dream.
It wasn’t a fantasy anymore.

With a wordless gasp, she dove into the gold pile.
The minerals’ sharp edges grazed her skin, but they didn’t faze the superhuman bearing the destiny of the Wild (awakened).
As she flailed her arms and legs, the clinking of jewels was music to her ears.
Mentally, it beat lying on a luxury bed.
Swimming through it sent waves of gold splashing instead of water.

Amid her childlike laughter, the wolf watched with proud eyes.
How’s that? I’m useful enough to find this—still think I’m a burden?
Pets are often just cute freeloaders.
But one that digs up mountains of treasure? That’s a lucky charm worth pampering forever.
Though it didn’t grasp the complex logic, the wolf was certain Lena would accept it.

“Ah, that was fun.”

But her joy was short-lived.
“It was a blast for a bit. I’ll mix some jerky and dried meat for you when we get back.”

That didn’t mean she’d take it in.
It was more like, “You’re cute and well-behaved, so I’ll toss in some treats.”
The wolf barked in shock, accusing her of theft.
Slander, pure and simple.

“Aish, I’m not some jerk who takes stuff and bails, okay?”

Lena was an upright citizen who kept her word.
The issue was, even with mountains of gold and silver, there was nowhere to spend it.
Money’s only valuable when society agrees it is.
What good was it here? Barter with Great Forest beasts?
To Lena—the sole human in this wilderness—gold was just baggage: a fleeting thrill, then gone.

Kkiing!

“Puppy eyes won’t work.”

Lena stood firm.
You’re impressive, sure, but that’s a separate issue.
Beasts could be cunning.
She still remembered her friend’s cat—acting cute for a snack, then ignoring her.
That memory made her wary of the wolf’s charm.

Sensing its cuteness backfiring, the wolf dialed it back, expression neutral.
But it wasn’t giving up.
Now, it was all-in on making her accept it—stubbornness beyond mere need.

Keong!

The wolf took the lead.
This cave—the dragon’s lair—was its birthplace and home.
It had more to show.

This place is massive, Lena marveled anew.
Beyond the treasure vault, the wolf guided her through more rooms.

Next was the armory.
Spears, swords, shields—standard fare—sat alongside oddities like sickles, whips, and nunchucks. Nothing was missing.
But it was a dud.
To a superhuman whose body was her weapon, gear was just optional decor.
Had they been shiny, maybe—but rusted and neglected, they got a quick glance before she moved on.

She didn’t ignore them entirely, though.
[Asclif’s Lost Glory]
She snagged a well-sharpened sword.
A named item—probably decent.
She’d use it to replace the beast teeth she butchered with.
Testing it against the wall, it sliced better than expected.

The next stop resembled a laboratory.
Thick incense, parchment, faded books, and scroll bundles defined it.
Dried herbs hung from the ceiling, taxidermied bones of unknown creatures lined the walls, and broken crystal balls and odd liquid stains marked the floor.
Unrolling a scroll revealed strange patterns—magic circles, like in games or comics.
Less a modern lab, more a wizard’s workshop.

Lena was intrigued by magic.
But it was just curiosity about an alien culture.
The workshop didn’t impress her much.
Like car buffs or tech nerds hyped for a factory tour, only to lose interest fast.
Another dud.

Still, she noted its location.
If she ever pursued the destiny of the wizard, it might come in handy later.

The rooms after that were forgettable.
Compared to the treasure’s dazzle, the armory’s menace, and the lab’s mystique, they fell flat.
Once your senses peak, lesser thrills don’t cut it—like trading TV for addictive short videos.

The wolf was crumbling inside.
What’s with this human’s taste?
It’d shown her everything, yet nothing clicked.
There’s a limit to stubbornness.
Hope dangled just out of reach tortures you—impatience builds, and realizing it’s futile doubles the sting of obsession.
Its steps faltered, energy drained, tail drooping limply.

Lena felt a pang of guilt watching it.
She was sorry.
But no meant no.
Pity and effort didn’t justify taking it in.
If she caved now, it’d dismiss the wolf’s hard work.
Ironically, being stricter might make it happier.
Lena’s logic was oddly stubborn.

“Is this the last spot?”

The wolf, meandering as its options dwindled, stopped.
The twisting paths ended abruptly—a dead end.
After so many rooms, hitting the cave’s limit wasn’t surprising.
The spaces had grown increasingly lackluster, this one offering nothing special.
A cracked door let her pass without effort, revealing a dark, gloomy, empty interior.

“Um, okay, you worked hard. Good job.”

Lena gently patted the wolf’s head.
It’d resorted to showing her vacant rooms.

“But effort and results aren’t the same.”

Hard work means nothing without payoff—a harsh truth Lena drove home.
The wolf howled, crushed by society’s brutal reality.
Oops, I broke it.
Lena scratched her cheek as it curled into a ball, hiding its face in despair.

She scanned the room slowly.
It was truly empty.
Unlike the others with at least something, this stood out for its nothingness.
She tapped around for a secret chamber, but the walls and floor were mundane.
Even the odd impulse that guided her through the cave’s entrance magic stayed silent.
Eh, forget it.

“…Huh?”

Just as she turned to leave, something caught her eye.
A peculiar structure in the corner—it gripped her gaze with an eerie pull.
Like it’d been invisible until now.
Drawn in, she approached as if entranced.

At first, she mistook it for a jutting rock.
Following its line, her eyes traced upward in a spiral.
Then, the full form—buried in dirt, blending with the wall—unfolded before her.

“…”

She’d thought the room was empty.
She was wrong.
It was already full—packed with this bizarre structure: a pile of bones.
The space she’d casually strolled through was just scraps around this massive skeleton.

What she’d seen as a rock was the tip of a long tail.
It reminded her of a dinosaur skeleton from a museum visit long ago.
But this dwarfed that—beyond comparison.
Flesh and muscle long gone, it’d been dead for ages.
Yet, from these bones, Lena vividly pictured the creature in life.

Her heightened senses from the destiny of the Wild (awakened), paired with old knowledge, painted it clear.
A winged lizard.
A medieval fantasy icon, alongside magic.

“…Dragon.”

Lena stared in awe.
No wonder this cave’s so lavish and vast.
Calling it a mere wizard’s workshop didn’t add up—this scale screamed dragon’s lair.

[You have discovered the corpse of the owner of the dragon’s lair, a Green Dragon!]

The status window, which had been dropping hints since the cave’s entrance, blinked frantically, begging for attention.