Count Bran struggled to pry open the curled map with his bird claws, but the map seemed to have a stubborn temper of its own. The moment he pinned down one side with his claw, the other sprang back with a "whoosh" and curled up again.
It made his feathers stand on end in anger. If His Majesty had not been watching beside him, he would have fought this map to the death.
"Hey, you disobedient thing, behave yourself for this count."
After a round of fierce combat, he finally tamed the wild map.
Count Bran cleared his throat, trying his best to resume the bearing of a noble count, and gestured over the map with the tip of his wing.
"Your Majesty, according to this map, the Obsidian Mining Area is also located in the outer region of the dungeon, only southwest of the Mist Area."
The tip of his wing tapped a crude mark in the map's southwest corner.
"There are three main routes to get there."
His wing pointed to a thick line drawn in green moss juice. "The first is the Moss Passage, firmly controlled by the Goblin Legion. In theory, this route gets us there the fastest, but it also means we'll run headlong into those green-skinned dwarves' patrols and sentries."
His wingtip moved to another route outlined in dark-red mineral powder.
"The second is the Lava Well, where Lava Demon Bats live. This passage reaches deep into the geothermal region. The path is narrow and rugged, filled with lethal heat and poisonous gases, and those demon bats are exceptionally troublesome aerial hunters."
Finally, his wingtip landed on an area at the center of the map covered in dense swirling lines.
"The third requires passing through one of the dungeon's core regions—the Storm Area. According