Martial Arts Manual

Following the sound of the argument.

Roger arrived outside a larger tent.

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

Having seen this so many times, Roger guessed it was a habit the Gray Dwarves used to resolve disputes.

Finally.

Amidst the curses of the slightly stronger Gray Dwarf.

The other Gray Dwarf, who looked like a guard, was driven away, covered in dust and dirt.

Roger looked at the departing Gray Dwarf's waist, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"If I remember correctly, the Gray Dwarf Chieftain I killed also had a brass-like plate with the number 3 marked on it."

"Could it mean Camp 3?"

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

Combining the various signs he observed, Roger had some guesses in his heart: it was possible that because the leader of Camp 3 had died in battle, this deputy leader wanted to claim his tent.

The Gray Dwarf who looked like a guard was likely the chieftain's confidant.

He wanted to guard the tent.

Naturally, he was driven away.

"So, this is the leader's tent?"

Touching the Fire Aversion Pearl in his pocket, Roger's mind became active.

He was quite interested in the origin of this precious item.

If there were indeed ruins of a martial arts sect in the Swamp Land, he might be able to find more useful things.

So he glanced around.

Seeing that no one was around, he quietly snuck in.

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

When Roger crept in, he could already hear the heavy snoring of the Gray Dwarf deputy chieftain.

It seemed that Dragon's Might had a greater effect on the Gray Dwarves than Roger had imagined.

However, Roger did not let his guard down.

Using Dim Light Vision, he quickly made a preliminary assessment of the environment.

Then, he advanced at a moderate pace, slowly probing the deputy chieftain's perception range.

Qi Divination Technique indicated.

This deputy chieftain was a rare Gray Dwarf Warlock.

This was good news for Roger.

Full Magic Resistance wouldn't care whether the caster was a warlock or a mage.

As Roger crept forward stealthily.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between them was less than five meters.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock was still snoring loudly.

Roger's eyes narrowed into a slit, and he suddenly chuckled inwardly, "Playing cute with me here?"

In the dimness, he could vaguely see the glint of a knife hidden under the covers by the Gray Dwarf Warlock.

It was a sharp dagger.

This guy must have discovered him long ago and probably wanted to play along.

Unfortunately, his snoring pattern gave him away.

Who could snore so uniformly and regularly?

It was like marching in formation during military training.

Too fake.

Moreover, Roger had powerful Dim Light Vision and had detected his subtle movements a step ahead.

Everything that followed was natural:

Roger feigned an attack.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock retaliated with a knife and simultaneously tried to call for help.

Roger, who had a plan, easily dodged and pierced his throat with the Qing Fu Sword, then gave a gentle flick! The Gray Dwarf Warlock was finished!

His vocal cords were easily severed by the Qing Fu Sword.

His cries for help turned into silent screams with only the shape of his mouth.

"You have killed 1 Swamp Gray Dwarf, accumulating 500 Swamp Gray Dwarf kills."

"You have acquired a new milestone - Race Butcher, with the corresponding title: Executioner."

"You have gained 1 Milestone Point."

"Executioner (Novice Title)"

"Equip Effect 1: Your critical hits against humanoids gain +3 to hit."

"Equip Effect 2: Drow Favorability +10."

Glancing at the status bar, Roger found the effects of this title to be quite good.

Roger decisively chose to redeem and equip it.

He was primarily focused on the hit bonus for critical attacks.

As for Effect 2.

Since his transmigration, he hadn't even seen a Sprite, let alone a Drow.

After dragging the Gray Dwarf Warlock's corpse to the side and hiding it, Roger began to thoroughly search the tent.

As it turned out, his guess was correct.

This tent did indeed belong to the Gray Dwarf Chieftain who knew martial arts.

The evidence was the two Martial Arts Manuals Roger found in the tent! ...

"Common Martial Arts Manual (Plum Blossom Stakes)"

"Exquisite Martial Arts Manual (Drunken Fist)"

Unfortunately, he couldn't learn either of these martial arts manuals.

Roger didn't know the specific reason.

Perhaps he hadn't met the prerequisites for learning the manuals.

After all, although the Hidden Hero class had some commonalities with the Martial Artist, they weren't entirely the same.

"Fortunately, that Gray Dwarf Chieftain didn't learn 'Drunken Fist' either."

"Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to accept it!"

Roger truly couldn't imagine a Gray Dwarf swinging drunkenly at him.

However, if the Gray Dwarf Chieftain's situation wasn't an exception, then some bold speculations could be made—

For instance, in the past of Mystra, martial arts civilization might have been incredibly glorious!

In that case, it wouldn't be strange for other races to know some martial arts.

Sprites practicing Horse Stance, Orcs breaking stone on their chests, Undead practicing the Zhenwu Seven Intercepts Sword...

Once you accepted such a setting, it actually sounded quite cool.

Pushing aside his groundless fantasies, Roger continued to search for loot.

Besides the martial arts manuals, he found a considerable amount of wealth.

The Gray Dwarf Chieftain was very rich.

Roger roughly estimated that there were at least seven to eight hundred Copper Coins in this tent.

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

"Hmm? What's this? Some kind of doodle?"

Near the head of the bed.

Roger looked at the parchment in his hand and fell into thought.

This parchment was hidden in a very concealed location.

He initially thought it was a Magic Scroll, but upon opening it, he saw numerous colorful lines and some obscure markings.

"It might be a map."

After looking for two minutes, Roger faintly deduced the truth.

It couldn't be helped; the drawing was too abstract.

The lines were like overpasses, all intricately complex.

"Why are they marked in different colors?"

Roger forced himself to think like a Gray Dwarf.

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

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

"For Gray Dwarves, it's too complicated?!"

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

His thoughts rapidly expanded.

Soon, Roger understood the crux of the matter.

This was indeed a map.

But not of the surface.

It was a map of an Underground City! Near the Swamp Land, there was a sprawling Underground City! If this assumption held true.

It would explain where so many Gray Dwarves had come from.

Making a bolder inference.

Was the place where the Gray Dwarf Chieftain obtained the Martial Arts Manual and the strange artifact also underground?

For a moment.

Roger thought of many, many things.

Finally, Roger carefully put away the map.

Everything in the tent had been thoroughly searched.

The Gray Dwarf Warlock didn't have much of value.

Only a Topaz Thumb Ring that increased energy recovery speed was somewhat useful.

After gladly accepting it, Roger left the place.

He didn't leave Camp 3 directly but headed towards the smaller tents.

Tonight.

Many Gray Dwarves suffering under Dragon's Might were tormented in their dreams.

Roger would grant them release.