It was not his eyes playing tricks on him. Under the shine of the moonlight, reflecting against its shiny surface, it was indeed a treasure chest. Zach identified the bird that perched near the nest.

[Terror Bird (Lv.10)(Growing Phase)]

[Lizard that rules the sky. Its wingspans are close to reaching 11 meters when fully grown. It preys on small creatures than it, piercing them with its sharp elongated beak.]

Due to it being young, its head was a lot bigger than its wingspan. He reckoned the creature perhaps do not know how to fly yet, seeing it was still hanging on the branch and, not flying at him with its beak. It clacked its beak in his direction. Probably a sign that the chick was hungry.

He wondered what he should do. His sword was gone, so slashing it to its death was out of the picture. Fighting with his fists was the viable next option, and yet he was not confident to slug it out on the tree top. He was up high, and he knew, one slip was all it take. So he tried something else.

“Here, birdy, birdy,” Zach said. Handing out his hand at the young Terror Bird. An attempt to bait the naive creature as he continued to let out weird noises as if calling a cat. The young bird clapped its beak, extending its neck, trying to reach that delicious-looking hand. It would be quite an evening snack if it could get a beak on it. But all its constant beaking turned out fruitless. The young bird edged closer to the end of the branch, flapping its small useless wings. Under the moonlight, Zach could see the branch bending a little due to the young Terror Bird’s weight.

He continued luring the naive creature, closer and closer. Then the impatient young bird followed its hunger. It leaped into the air, trying to get to the other tree. Those useless wings flapped, trying to at least provide a bit of flight time to get across. But alas, it was a foolish move.

Zach saw it fall. Crashing against the tree branches, and vanishing into the darkness of the jungle depth. It was a dick move from Zach. But hey, he got to do what he needed to survive. Zach pricked his skin with a thorn, and with the added stats, he leaped to the other tree and safely landed on the nest made out of moss, long grass, and the dead bones of mommy bird's prey. He ignored the bones and reached the treasure chest. His mouth was smiling from ear to ear. It was as if he found a golden egg among the rotten eggs he had stepped on. Before he did the deed, Zach used Identify for precautionary sake.

[Silver Chest (Lv:5-10)]

[A silver chest. For those who have good luck by their side. Contain two or three items that may consist of armor, weapon, skill scroll, apparel, accessory, and miscellaneous item.]

The first that drew his attention was the level. At first, he put up his guard, thinking that it might be a monster pretending to be a treasure chest, the so-called mimic. But seeing the description, he had other thoughts in mind. Perhaps the treasure chest in this world could be categorized by its level which may influence the level of the resulting item inside of it. Well, that was the assumption of course, and it could still be a mimic though.

Nonetheless, Zach was not backing away. He was going to take his chance opening it, hoping it would be a chest full of treasures. Zach unlatched the lock, and he heard a click. His hand pried it open, slow and cautious. Then he saw what was inside, and there was a twinkle in his eyes. The smile returned and he could not be any gladder than now.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

True to what the description said, there were two items residing inside the bowel of the silver chest. One was armor, a leather cuirass that only covered the torso; front, and back. While the other was a glimmering ring, and due to poor vision, he could not determine what type of metal it was made of.

[Uni-bison Leather Cuirass(Tier:Rare)]

[An armor made by the hide of a Uni-bison. A creature that roams in the Great Nehara Plains. It lives in a herd and protects the young in the middle of their circle formation. It boasts great defense against penetrating motion and ice-based attack.]

[Defense: 60]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Effect: Cold Resist +10%, stab effect nulled*]

[*Only if the user defense is higher than the attacking stat of the enemy.]

Zach’s jaw dropped. This armor he held was more precious than he thought. The effect itself was the greatest thing he had ever read as to nullify an attack was like giving a second chance at life. He did not wait long and wore it over his naked top half. It fit him quite nicely as if it was made to fit him. He wondered whether there was a fitting effect for any armor found in these chests, or perhaps every armor and apparel in this world had that unspoken effect. A topic he might venture into at a later date as his expectation was at an all-time high.

His gaze rested on the ring, and Identify did its work.

[Lightbringer’s Ring(Tier:Normal)]

[A ring made by a young jeweler that was extremely afraid of the dark.]

[Durability: 50/50]

[Effect: Int +1, Lantern Orb Spell*]

[*Each use consumes one mana point. It may last for a whole day and can be stored inside the ring for later use.]

It was not as remarkable as the armor he wore, but the skill embedded in it was useful, especially in his current situation. He wore it on the middle finger of his left hand, and it fitted snuggly like it was made for him. For someone who had a few close encounters with death a few times, he finally got lucky. But the crux of the situation was still at large. He had to find a way back to the higher ground, and the hole where he saw the torchman fled might be his chance. Zach descended down the tree, hopping from one branch to another, getting closer to the cliff side. He deemed traversing by trees a lot safer than the jungle floor.

Soon, he landed on the ground and got close to the cliffside. Again, his eyes roamed behind him, cautious of any unknown stalker that might lurk in the shadow of the jungle. Despite his wariness, he still had to use his eyes to search for outcrops, jutting from the vertical cliff. He found a handhold, and there he began. Zach did the unthinkable, something that he wouldn’t do in his spare time back on modern earth even with a safety harness on. Yet this was for survival and thanks to his enhanced stats, climbing was a lot easier than he thought. Slowly the fear he had of climbing faded bit by bit as he reached the top of the vertical cliff.

Then came the biggest challenge. He swallowed a mouthful as he stared at the almost lateral cliff that he needed to challenge. The fear he thought was gone, came back haunting him. This time gravity would be merciless in pulling him down.

He had no safety equipment as the only thing he could rely on was the numbers of his stats, and he made sure to fully use it. Zach bit himself on the forearm, little by little. Stacking the Living with the Pain boost as he managed to raise it up to three stacks with his teeth alone. He wouldn’t dare bite a chunk out of himself as for now, a bit of skin, and blood would do.

Finding his newfound confidence, Zach took the leap. He gripped the outcrops as his veins were turning more prominent on his hands and arms. It wasn’t easy as his eyes kept searching for handholds, and his fingers gripping at what surface the outcrop provided. While the end of his toes, barely made contact with the outcrop surface, putting constant tension on his body in order to get the center of his gravity close to the wall. His core was at the maximum output as Zach kept on this challenge.

He eyed the hole not far from where he was, reminding himself it was only in the middle of this ridiculous almost lateral cliff. Soon he neared the opening. His hand reached out the edge of the hole, but then he saw a glimmer. It was a knife!