They sat still, their bodies shaking and faces showing horror at what had just happened.
Ash weakly stood up, still staring at the stone door that was now tightly closed.
Despite his extreme fear, he understood that the jaguar statue could become one of his weapons.
Ash walked over to the lever on the side of the door and pulled it down. The door opened again, and the jaguar statue returned to its original place on the stone platform.
From outside the door, he tried to summon the statue to come out of the room with his mind. It didn't work.
He tried again, this time with stronger determination.
The statue started to move towards the exit. But then it sat down in front of the door and wagged his tail like a dog towards its master.
Ash's eyes widened. "What the hell...? Why is it acting like a dog now?"
Maya, who had been watching what Ash was doing, giggled in amusement.
"Hmmph!" Hearing Maya laugh at him, Ash narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance.
He then tried to order the big black Jaguar statue to leave the room. The statue obeyed and approached Ash, then licked him.
"Argh, yuck!" Ash tried to push the statue's head away. The smell of blood came from the jaguar's mouth.
Maya's laughter grew louder.
"Huh," Ash snorted and then turned his gaze to the jaguar. He wanted to experiment, trying to command the jaguar to shrink its body.
Before long, the Jaguar's body shrank to the size of a normal jaguar. Well, like what Ash had seen at the zoo, at least.
He patted the head of the Jaguar, who was wagging his tail.
"I'll give you a name... Jagu, just to make it easy? OK?" Ash asked Jagu.
Jagu put out its tongue and wagged its tail even more. Ash felt confused.
'They say this type is the ancestor of cats, but why does this one act like a dog?'
Ash shrugged his shoulders and thought, 'Maybe it is because this is a game world. Anything can happen. Or maybe a bug.'
With a happy grin on his face, Ash patted Maya on the back and said, "Now we have a bodyguard."
Maya giggled and nodded.
Ash summoned his System, curious about the results he would get from swallowing The Heart of The Jaguar. It was an impulsive and stupid thing to do. But the results were completely unexpected.
[Player: Ashborn Locke]
[Player Number: #23875]
[Level: #1.7]
[Stats:
⇒ Strength: 25
⇒ Endurance: 25
⇒ Agility: 25
⇒ Intelligence: 25
⇒ Magic: 15]
[Extra Point: 20]
[Skills:
⇒ Hunter: Level: #4]
[Sword Skill:
⇒ Shadow Dance: Level: #5]
With a satisfied smile, he closed the system screen.
He wanted to quickly advance to player level 2, which he would achieve by successfully completing the quest.
"We are leaving now," Ash said to Maya.
"Shall we go straight to Kulam Cave now?" Maya asked.
"Of course. Why wait? I really want to go home quickly," he answered.
They went down the stone steps and approached the jeep parked not far from the pyramid.
"You drive, or me?" Maya asked Ash as she got into the driver's seat.
"Can you really drive?" Ash asked.
"Oho, of course. It's easy," answered Maya with her nose slightly raised.
"Proudy girl," Ash said as he climbed into the passenger seat next to her. Jagu jumped into the back seat and sat there.
"You show me the way, okay?" Maya asked and then started the car engine.
"Okay," Ash called out his game map.
And they set off to Kulam Cave.
***
Kulam Cave was about ten kilometers from the pyramid.
The cave consisted of a large cave and a small, shallow cave next to it. Moss and tropical plants cover almost the entire mouth of the cave.
Ash, Maya, and Jaguar spent the night in the small cave before they entered Kulam Cave.
Without making much noise, they made a fire and cooked their food in the cave.
Jagu laid at the mouth of the cave, sniffing the aroma of the meat they were grilling but did not move to ask for meat. He laid down his head again with his snout facing out.
Maya tilted her head and said, "Is it because he's a statue that he doesn't eat?"
Ash shook his head, "I don't know, maybe he was full from eating Molly and her men."
"Um...," Maya muttered while chewing her grilled meat.
They finished their food and went to bed early.
Today was very tiring for them.
***
The next morning, after breakfast, they entered Kulam Cave.
The air in the cave was very humid, and the sound of dripping water echoed throughout the cave.
Moss grows here and there, making the cave even more slippery. They walked very carefully while holding torches. Jagu walked in front of them, sniffing the floor of the cave he was about to pass through.
The deeper they went, the wider the cave became. Large stalactites decorated the ceiling. However, the moss has started to decrease.
They continued walking silently until they reached the three branches of the cave. The room was spacious with several small holes at the top of the cave, covered by leaves. Sunlight enters the cave through the gaps in the leaves.
Here, even though there was no moss, the air was stale and smelled strongly of animal waste. They both had to cover their noses with cloth.
"Which one should we choose?" Ash asked Maya in a whisper.
"Why ask me?" Maya whispered back.
"Yeah, you know if there are items," Ash replied.
Maya was silent for a moment and activated her Treasure Sense skill. "Nothing, I don't feel it here," she whispered.
Ash raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
Maya nodded but suddenly grabbed Ash's arm. "The item is outside the cave, moving this way."
Ash raised his head and looked towards the mouth of the invisible cave, "What do you mean?" he whispered.
Maya furrowed her brows while still holding Ash's arm firmly, "You said the item was inside the giant spider, right? That means it's really inside the giant spider's body, and it's starting to enter the cave..."
Jagu suddenly growled towards the mouth of the cave.
Ash stared blankly at the mouth of the cave.
Earlier he intended to steal it directly and not face the giant spider. He also cursed himself for not doing research first.