Shadow Slave

Despite the torturous burden of the Crushing, Sunny couldn't help but feel jubilant. Not only did he receive eight shadow fragments and a powerful Memory, he had also defeated a Fallen Devil all by himself, without even Saint providing him any help.

The Black Knight, too, had been a Fallen Devil. So killing one solo meant a lot to Sunny. It was a poignant milestone that made him feel like all his hard work and all the vile things he had gone through were not for nothing. He was accomplishing his goal.

Growing stronger.

…Of course, the Mordant Mimic was not as terrifying of a foe in battle as the guardian of the ruined cathedral had been. One was a creature that seemed to have been created solely for combat, while the other mostly relied on deceit and ambushing its prey to achieve victory. And yet, the chest fiend was by no means an easy foe. If anything, its devilish nature only made it that much more dangerous.

'Argh!'

As the Twisted Rock rose higher, the Crushing struck at Sunny with even more dreadful force, making his mirth dissipate in a wave of miserable suffering. A muffled groan escaped from his lips.

'Endure… just endure a bit more… this hell is going to end soon.'

For now, he had no choice but to keep suffering, wait, and stare at the distant silhouette of the Ivory Tower.

The beautiful pagoda seemed so close now that he could almost imagine himself reaching out and encompassing it in his fist.

With nothing else to do, Sunny summoned the runes and found the familiar cluster out of habit:

Shadow Fragments: [223/2000].

'I wonder how many coins are in that damned chest…'

Would he be able to create the third core with their help?

Shifting his gaze, Sunny found the runes describing his Memories. A new one was now shown at the end of the list.

His eyes glistened slightly as he concentrated on it and read the description:

Memory: [Covetous Coffer].

Memory Rank: Ascended.

Memory Tier: IV.

'Huh…'

fortune. This was the second Ascended Memory of the fourth tier that he had acquired in a span of just a few days. Even without considering the main boon of the expedition — the miraculous coins — this

kind of a Memory would the bizarre carnivorous chest leave

Curious, he read on.

Memory Type: Tool.

'A utility Memory!'

foundation of every Awakened's arsenal. Take Sunny, for example — some of his most precious Memories

pressure of the Crushing and concentrate

are very strange!" said Noctis. Why was his new friend so deathly afraid of chests? Why was he so timid and pale? "Don't be afraid, these are just my treasure chests. They won't

Sunny blinked.

'That… is interesting.'

was a person, after all. What's more, he or she had apparently been in possession of several treasure chests, including one that could eat

the Mordant Mimic once been a

person would keep a Fallen Devil as a

of dread,

[Mendacious Coffer], [Capacious

stared at the runes

do all these words… even

understand the names of the enchantments, he wondered if the Spell was having a stroke and shifted his gaze

Description: "This Memory can mimic the form of any inanimate object. The size and intricacy of the simulacrum are dependent on the wielder's

of a chest, instead of being born… created?... as one.

studied the

inanimate items. The size of

suppressed the desire to

'Yes!'

facing — the need to carry all the gold coins away before Twisted Rock was

Coffer in his Soul Sea, opened up a sea of possibilities. In a sense, it was just like Effie's

Realm to the real world with its help? He