Attack

"Mist Moon, Rest Day. I found it—the dragon. The legends were true."

Li Wen walked at the rear, carefully reading the notes by the light that constantly shifted between bright and dim.

"...At dusk today, not only I but everyone traveling with me saw it. That dragon flew right over our heads. Its scales were so deep in color that they blended into the night, each one as huge as a boulder. What an incredible creature...

"Mist Moon, Morning Rise Day. Five days have passed. Since then, we have still found no related clues. It seemed to appear out of nowhere, then vanish into nowhere... But it could not have been an illusion. Absolutely not. There must be a lair somewhere in this land. Otherwise, why would this place be called the Black Dragon Territory?

"Abundant Harvest Moon... A month has passed, and we still have nothing...

"Frost Fall Moon. Today is Worship Day, but I have no mind left for worship. Noren said he has an idea. As expected of a genius mage... According to his research, the aether in this land has always been in a state of chaos. We do not know why, but chaotic aether undoubtedly affects magic power and elemental composition. It can even make scenes from other places appear in locations where they should not exist at certain times... The natives here often see massive clusters of buildings or ruins in the wilderness. That has everything to do with the chaotic aether...

"Frost Fall Moon, Cleansing Bath Day. We have reason to believe that beneath the Black Dragon Territory lies an enormous hollow layer... Noren suggested using alchemy to create a machine capable of continuously digging downward, directly excavating through thousands or even tens of thousands of meters of earth. But we refused. It was far too slow, far too slow. We could not wait, and Solonicaia could wait even less... Directional Teleportation. That is the only solution.

"...Frost Fall Moon. Today is the day of action. Unfortunately, Noren refused the proposal. He believed it was too dangerous and would rather return to Solonicaia to seek another method... Did he not understand? We had no other path left... Either we succeeded, or we died.

"How long has it been since I last wrote notes? Forget it. It does not matter... We succeeded. More precisely, I succeeded. Although they all died, fortunately, I found that Black Dragon and obtained what I needed from it... With this, my research will surely achieve great success. Now, I need a quiet place to slowly..."

The rest of the notes were blurred beyond recognition.

Still, the readable portions alone provided a great deal of information.

The owner of the notes was likely that Alchemy Master, and he had lived at least two hundred years ago. Both Mist Moon and Frost Fall Moon were names from the ancient calendar, which had already fallen out of use two centuries ago.

For some unknown reason, the Alchemy Master had come to the Black Dragon Territory in search of the legendary Black Dragon, and he had indeed achieved his goal.

Afterward, he had likely established an underground laboratory in the Black Forest and conducted unknown research on the things he had obtained from the Black Dragon...

But that still did not explain why there was a dungeon here, unless the alchemist needed prisoners for human experimentation. But could that really still be considered alchemy?

Putting away the notes, they had already emerged from the secret passage and entered a place that finally looked somewhat like an alchemy laboratory.

The reason it only "somewhat" resembled one was because the place was already in complete disarray. It looked as though it had suffered some natural disaster or deliberate destruction. Shattered vessels, torn papers, unidentified liquids, chunks of flesh, and severed limbs were all mixed together.

There was almost nothing intact left on the floor.

"The corpses are still fresh, and the blood has already coagulated. This probably happened not long ago."

Moria looked over the carnage on the ground, then shifted his gaze directly to Zotes.

"Other adventurers." Li Wen noticed the weapons and shields scattered across the floor, things that should not have been here. "They must have arrived before us, then been torn to pieces by some unknown force... perhaps some kind of Demonic Beast."

The dwarf kept scratching at his neck. "I-I really don't know anything!"

"Zotes, is this somewhere you have been before?"

The dwarf nodded repeatedly.

"But it wasn't like this when I saw it! They, they..."

"Enough, I understand." Moria's tone and expression barely changed. "There may be other dangers here. Be careful, and do not stray too far from me."

Li Wen did not take his words seriously. She searched all around, yet she could not find anything that looked like an alchemist's research materials. Aside from human bodily fluids, most of the liquids on the floor were mixed potions. However, they had been exposed to the air for too long and had already lost their effects.

The cuts on the corpses were jagged, supporting Li Wen's belief that they had been "torn apart by a Demonic Beast." There were also clear claw marks on the floor. These marks were not particularly large, reminding Li Wen of the dungeon from before. The claw marks on the prison cell walls were almost identical to those on the floor...

Li Wen frowned. Before she could sort out the connection, a chill suddenly ran down her spine. A distinct, malicious gaze abruptly fixed on her.

Almost instinctively, Li Wen rolled to the side.

A tremendous force knocked her away. Rubble flew everywhere, and the piercing sound of the floor being torn apart reached her ears.

But what came even faster were sharp claws. They were right before Li Wen's eyes.

They were clearly human hands, yet they bore sharp, curved nails, while their skin was covered in scales somewhere between bone and stone.

Li Wen remained exceptionally calm. She directly thrust the Bone-Gnawing Short Sword she had long held at the claws. The dagger, imbued with bone-gnawing poison, easily pierced the palm.

With a pained hiss, Li Wen cut off the attacker's claw.

"Watch above you!"

Only then did she spare enough attention to warn the others.

At the same time, her eyes remained fixed on the attacker, guarding against every movement it made.

The attacker might have been an elf or a dwarf. It was impossible to tell because it looked as though it had contracted some kind of skin disease, with more than half its body covered in tumors. Only its height, a head taller than a human, and its pointed ears offered any clue.

Its pupils were completely white, and it had clearly lost its mind. There was no possibility of conversation. Li Wen therefore decisively cast Spell-less Arc Light, coating the Bone-Gnawing Short Sword in a faint glow before swinging it and slashing the light outward.

The crescent-shaped blade of light instantly struck the attacker, which was still immersed in the pain of losing its hand, and easily severed its head.

Only then did Moria move his hand away from the hilt of his sword.