The Legendary Mage (Alavin) novel Chapter 263

Before long, the band of mercenaries that had gone to the right also sent up cheers. Their voices were faint from a distance, yet their surprise could be vaguely felt.

Alavin and his companions finally discovered something special as well—a crumbling stone temple, in ruins and barely standing, but within it seemed to lie something buried, a faint glow shining through the gaps in the debris.

"Treasures!" shouted the Cobalt Strike Protégés, all rushing over to move the stones, and quickly they unearthed over a dozen treasures.

A rusted blade, only a fragment remaining, yet still radiating a faint sword's energy; an ancient scepter, golden and regal, clearly no ordinary item; a strange stone, incredibly soft yet weighing a thousand pounds; a shield, grotesque and overdone, resembling a massive goblin's face, much of it corroded but largely intact.

Each of the dozen treasures was unique, surviving the ages to be found. Even if unusable, perhaps they could offer insights into other mysteries.

"Alavin, do you want them?" Gwenda taunted, though they had already secured the treasures, circled around them thrice over, making it clear they wouldn't part with them easily.

"I would like them. Will you give them to me?" countered Alavin, playing along with the challenge.

"We found them first," Gwenda retorted with a toss of her head.

"It was a joint discovery!" Lylian couldn't stand their arrogance.

"We dug them out with our own effort."

"Shameless," Lylian snorted coldly.

"Say that again!"

"It's done, and now you don't want it said? Ah, I think I know who you are—you're Cobalt Strike’s Elite Protégé Gwenda."

"Good that you know."

"The one who lost her tea party invitation to Alavin, how pitiable. I won't stoop to your level."

"Who are you, to speak so boldly? To lose to a mere servant of Cobalt Strike, do you have no shame?!" Gwenda fumed, the young lass daring to expose her wounds.

"I lost, and so what? I also bested your Golden Protégé Semar. Are you suggesting Semar is lesser than a servant?" Lylian was merciless with her words as her three girls stood by her side. In the Floral Enchantress, although all were female Protégées, not all could be trifled with.

There was another temple, slightly larger than the last but just as crumbled and covered in thick dust.

The Cobalt Strike Protégés, undeterred by the dirt and chaos, dug feverishly through the temple, as if to overturn the entire ruin.

Lylian and her companions refused to just wait and managed to claim a few treasures themselves.

Alavin, uninterested in the treasures, examined the temple for a while before moving on.

"Let there be no more temples ahead. Don't let Alavin get the upper hand," Gwenda shouted unapologetically, leading ten Protégés past Alavin with a glare and rushing into another ruined temple ahead.

The further they went, the more temples they found, each burying treasures, varying in number but generally more than ten, making everyone overjoyed with their bountiful harvest.

Alavin did not vie for the treasures. Passing each temple, he only observed carefully before continuing to the next.

"What are you searching for?" Mariela wondered, and even Eyla began to wonder. Was Alavin truly here for treasure hunting? Amidst the heaps of magical treasures, he seemed not to care, aimlessly wandering the temples.