Clues to Leaving

"Damn it! Did that guy really bring people from the Rage Tribe? In such a short time?"

As a former goblin chieftain and now a Mind Flayer, he knew a lot about the goblin forces in this dungeon.

That's why, at first, he never expected people from the Rage Tribe to come near the forest.

Although he had sent his second-in-command to find the Rage Tribe before he was captured and transformed by the Brain Eaters, he knew that method was unlikely to succeed.

Goblins believed in the Dark Six Gods.

Namely, Devourer, Fury, Keeper, Mockery, Shadow, and Traveler – those six.

The Dark Six Gods and the Divines were two sides of the same coin, manifestations of the gods' shadows.

Similar to the beliefs of the Divines, the worship of the Dark Six Gods was largely about going with the flow.

They didn't have clearly defined sects, but those who worshipped them were often more radical groups, thus having higher cohesion than the followers of the Divines.

The goblins in this dungeon were originally unified, but as time passed, they first split into six factions named after the Dark Six Gods, and then continued to split and fragment in later eras.

The goblin tribe near the mushroom forest was separated from the Keeper tribe.

They were originally responsible for the finances and weapons of the entire goblin force, so after the split, they inherited more equipment.

"A tribe that worships Fury is undoubtedly the most difficult group to deal with. What conditions did that idiot use to summon these guys? Could it be the entire tribe?"

As he flew towards the forest, a gleaming axe spun and grazed the Mind Flayer's right arm.

Viscous purplish-red blood splattered out, and the Mind Flayer's eyes grew colder, but he continued to fly with his head down.

"The paths of those barbarians are all Berserkers, and their levels have reached level 6. The psionic hypnotic abilities have no effect on them..."

Calculating in his mind, the Mind Flayer suddenly grabbed a Brain Eater and threw it backward.

When the pursuing barbarian goblins intended to kill the Brain Eater, the seemingly defenseless Brain Eater suddenly unleashed a massive psionic power.

However, after that, the Brain Eater completely lost all signs of life.

The Mind Flayer used this opportunity to pull away from the barbarian goblins. By the time they caught up, he had successfully returned to the forest.

"Those barbarians will definitely come looking! I need to adapt to psionic power as soon as possible, and it would be best to prepare more Brain Eaters..."

Glancing at the Brain Eater closely following him, the Mind Flayer blinked and began to ponder countermeasures in his mind.

Watching the Mind Flayer escape into the forest, the few barbarian goblins dared not venture further.

Although they were a group eager for a fight, it didn't mean they would rush into a place they suspected might be a trap.

They wanted a straightforward fight with direct blows and bloody clashes, not a frustrating battle where they were tricked and killed by a cunning hunter using traps and mechanisms.

Even though the Mind Flayer's performance earlier wasn't great, these barbarians, having witnessed the power unleashed by that Brain Eater, remained wary of the remaining Brain Eaters beside the Mind Flayer.

"Let's go back and report to the Chieftain! It seems there's really something good in this forest."

Retrieving the axe they had thrown at the Mind Flayer, the few barbarian goblins returned to the canyon, and had one of the Dire Goblins take the message to the other goblins in the tribe.

Not long after the battle between the goblins and the Mind Flayer broke out, Master Ka, who had temporarily finished his work, prepared to enjoy life.

Taking off his sweat-soaked clothes, Karl placed his hands on the sides of the wooden board and dipped himself down with a touch-and-go motion.

His movements were extremely quick; before he could fully feel anything, he pulled himself out.

Taking a few deep breaths, and after preparing himself mentally, he slowly, slowly sank down, then was completely immersed in the slightly scalding comfort.

As he sank deeper, he let out a comfortable sound.

"Hiss~ Ah--"

When his body was fully enveloped, Karl's body twitched twice, feeling as if he was about to lose control.

But when he intended to pull himself out again, he forcibly restrained himself.

Maintaining the posture he had when he first entered, Karl continuously took deep breaths, his skin gradually turning a rosy red.

The scalding heat made him somewhat uncomfortable, but for the sake of relaxation, he had to endure it.

This situation lasted for several minutes, until Karl had fully adapted, and then he slowly began to move.

"Splash~"

Scooping up a handful of water, Karl splashed it onto his face.

The warm bathwater opened the pores on his face completely. Karl shivered comfortably and then leaned back against the bathtub, sinking into the water.

"This bath, what a pleasant thing!"

Feeling the aches in his body gradually relieved by the warmth of the water, Karl couldn't help but exclaim.

Both in his past life and this one, Karl was a northerner.

And due to geographical factors, most northerners liked to take baths.

After completing the phased processing of metal parts, Karl didn't want to waste the bathwater he had made to cool down Hop, so he directly placed several Rune Stones in it and heated it up.

With red wine and salt water, this was like a red wine bath and sea salt bath in Karl's past life!

Most public bathhouses don't offer this kind of service; it's only available in the high-end private rooms on the second floor.

Of course, those receiving this service probably weren't too concerned with what was added to their bathwater.

The small bed nearby, claimed to be for resting, was the focus of their attention.

The Rune Stone in the bathtub steadily radiated heat, keeping the bathwater at a stable temperature.

After adjusting to the warmth, Karl fished the Rune Stone out of the tub and placed it on the ceramic tray beside him.

Grabbing a completely black clay pot, Karl set it over the Rune Stone before lying back down in the tub.

Karl had created this pot and tray not long ago, mixing giant lizard bone ash with clay, making them quite sturdy.

They were definitely reliable for making soup or cooking rice.

Inhaling the gradually intensifying aroma of the broth, Karl tilted his head back to look at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.

Today's investigation had brought him a glimmer of hope; he felt he had vaguely found clues to leaving the underground city.

The Mind Flayer in the forest and that base were definitely connected to the Mind Flayer that had kidnapped him.

And that meant the other party might hold the key to escaping this underground city.

Reaching a hand toward the space above the bathtub, Karl's gaze shifted from unfocused to determined.

At the same time, his fist slowly clenched.

"Regardless of whether a way out exists, I must strengthen myself as quickly as possible so I can seize the opportunity when it truly arrives."

"That Mind Flayer won't be easy to deal with, and those Goblins are also a nuisance!"

"But... I'm not without help!"