Martial Arts Manual

Following the sound of the argument.

Roger arrived outside a relatively large tent.

He saw two Gray Dwarves forcefully shoving each other at the tent entrance.

After seeing this happen so many times, Roger guessed that this was one of the Gray Dwarves' customary ways of resolving disputes.

In the end.

Amid the curses of the slightly stronger Gray Dwarf.

The other, a Gray Dwarf who looked like a guard, was driven away in disgrace.

Roger watched the departing Gray Dwarf's waist, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"If I remember correctly, the Gray Dwarf Chieftain I killed also had a similar brass plate on him. The number marked on it was 3 as well."

"Could it mean Camp 3?"

"So the Gray Dwarf who just entered the tent was the camp's deputy chieftain?"

Combining all the clues he had observed, Roger came to a few conclusions: the leader of Camp 3 had probably died in battle, and the deputy commander wanted to occupy his tent.

That guard-like Gray Dwarf was probably the chieftain's trusted subordinate.

He had wanted to defend the tent.

Naturally, he had been driven away.

"So this is that chieftain's tent?"

Feeling the Fire Aversion Pearl in his arms, Roger's thoughts began to race.

He was quite interested in the origin of this rare treasure.

If there really were ruins of a martial arts sect in the swamp, he might be able to find more things useful to him.

So he glanced around.

After making sure no one was nearby, he quietly slipped inside.

The light inside the tent was dim, and the space was spacious.

By the time Roger slipped in, he could already hear the Gray Dwarf deputy commander's heavy snores.

It seemed the Dragon Might's influence on Gray Dwarves was even greater than Roger had imagined.

Still, Roger did not let his guard down.

Using Dim Light Vision, he quickly made a preliminary assessment of his surroundings.

Only then did he advance at a moderate pace, probing the deputy commander's range of perception bit by bit.

Qi Divination Technique revealed.

This deputy commander was a rare Gray Dwarf Warlock.

That was good news for Roger.

Full Magic Resistance did not care whether the person casting the spell was a warlock or a mage.

As Roger crept forward.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between them had shrunk to less than five meters.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock was still snoring loudly.

Roger narrowed his eyes to slits, then suddenly laughed inwardly. "Trying to play smart with me?"

In the gloom, he could vaguely see the glint of a blade hidden beneath the Gray Dwarf Warlock's blanket.

It was a sharp dagger.

This fellow had probably noticed him long ago and was trying to turn the tables on him.

Unfortunately, his snoring rhythm had betrayed him.

Who could make snores this perfectly uniform?

It was like marching in lockstep during military training.

Too fake.

Besides, Roger had powerful Dim Light Vision and had noticed his little trick in advance.

What happened next followed naturally:

Roger pretended to attack.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock immediately struck back with his dagger while trying to shout for help.

Having prepared for this in advance, Roger easily dodged and pierced his throat with the Qing Fu Sword. Then he gave it a light upward flick! The Gray Dwarf Warlock was officially GG!

His vocal cords were effortlessly sliced apart by the Qing Fu Sword.

His call for help became a silent scream, with only the shape of his mouth remaining.

"You killed 1 Swamp Gray Dwarf, bringing your total Swamp Gray Dwarves killed to 500"

"You obtained a new milestone—Race Butcher. Corresponding title: Executioner"

"You obtained 1 Milestone Point"

"Executioner (Basic Title)"

"Effect 1 while equipped: +3 accuracy when you make a vital attack against humanoids"

"Effect 2 while equipped: +10 Drow friendliness"

After glancing over the data panel, Roger found the title's effects quite decent.

He decisively chose to exchange for and equip it.

What he valued most was the accuracy bonus when making vital attacks.

As for Effect 2.

Since transmigrating, he had not even seen an elf, let alone a Drow.

After dragging the Gray Dwarf Warlock's corpse aside and hiding it, Roger began looting the tent in earnest.

As it turned out, his guess had been correct.

This tent really did belong to that Gray Dwarf Chieftain who practiced martial arts.

The proof was the two Martial Arts Manuals Roger discovered inside the tent!...

"Common Martial Arts Manual (Plum Blossom Stakes)"

"Exquisite Martial Arts Manual (Drunken Fist)"

Unfortunately, he could not learn either of these two martial arts manuals.

Roger did not know the exact reason, either.

Perhaps he had not met the prerequisites for learning the manuals.

After all, although the Hidden Hero class shared certain similarities with the Martial Artist class, the two were not entirely compatible.

"Fortunately, that Gray Dwarf Chieftain hadn't learned 'Drunken Fist' either."

"Otherwise, I really couldn't have accepted it!"

Roger truly could not imagine a Gray Dwarf swinging Drunken Fist at him.

However, if the Gray Dwarf Chieftain's situation was not an isolated case, then perhaps he could make some bold deductions—

For example, in the former Mystra, martial arts civilization might once have been extremely glorious!

If that were the case, it would be perfectly reasonable for other races to know some martial arts as well.

Elves holding Horse Stance, orcs smashing stones on their chests, undead practicing the Zhenwu Seven Intercepts Sword...

Once he accepted such a setting, it actually seemed rather exciting when he thought about it.

Suppressing his groundless flights of fancy, Roger continued looting the spoils.

Aside from the Martial Arts Manuals, he found quite a bit of money.

The Gray Dwarf Chieftain was very wealthy.

Roger made a rough estimate. There were at least seven or eight hundred Copper Coins in the tent.

It seemed there was a reason the other Gray Dwarves were so poor.

"Hm? What's this? Is it some kind of occult scribble?"

Near the head of the bed.

Roger stared at the roll of parchment in his hand, sinking into thought.

The parchment had been hidden in an extremely concealed location.

At first, he had thought it was a Magic Scroll, but when he opened it, he saw countless multicolored lines and several obscure markings.

"Maybe it's a map."

After studying it for two minutes, Roger finally vaguely deduced the truth.

There was no helping it. The drawing was simply too abstract.

The lines crisscrossed like overpasses, incredibly complex.

"Why use different colors to mark things?"

Roger forced himself to think like a Gray Dwarf.

His instincts told him that this map might not be simple.

"If it's a map, why was it drawn like this?"

"Wouldn't this be too complicated for Gray Dwarves?!"

"Why are there different markings for the same place?"

His thoughts rapidly expanded.

Soon, Roger understood the key point.

This really was a map.

But it was not a map of the surface.

It was a map of an Underground City! Near the swamp, there was an Underground City extending in every direction! If this assumption was correct.

It also explained where so many Gray Dwarves had come from.

Taking the speculation one step further.

Could the place where the Gray Dwarf Chieftain had obtained the Martial Arts Manuals and strange treasures also be underground?

For a moment.

Roger thought of countless possibilities.

In the end, Roger carefully put away the map.

Most of the items in the tent had already been thoroughly searched.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock had little of value on him.

Only a Topaz Thumb Ring that increased the speed of stamina recovery was somewhat useful.

Roger happily accepted it before leaving the place.

He did not leave Camp 3 directly. Instead, he crept toward the smaller tents.

Tonight.

Many Gray Dwarves suffering under the Dragon Might were being tormented in their dreams.

Roger would grant them release.