The ground beneath their feet shook with it, just slightly, just enough.
Lily, despite being new, didn't freeze.
Before the Elder Treant had even finished waking up, she was already moving, darting across the lakeshore and sweeping every gold coin into her pack with the practiced efficiency of someone who had been running studios far longer than she'd been at this level.
In the time it took the others to orient themselves, the ground had been picked clean.
Bernita collected the two dropped items. The first was a pair of semi-transparent boots, green fluorescent chainmail, clearly part of a set. She unsealed them quickly and exhaled with quiet relief.
"Set bonus activated. Plus 350 HP and 200 magic defense."
The party's tension eased a fraction. Bernita's health now sat at 2700. Nobody expected her to tank what was coming, but they also couldn't afford to watch her get erased in one hit by something they didn't yet understand.
