Come On, Let's Go

Charon curled up in the swamp, using the filth coating his body to conceal himself.

"Splish, splash."

Several murloc-like monsters wandered nearby, their webbed feet making sticky sounds as they searched around with wide, bulging eyes for prey. The harpoons in their hands gleamed coldly.

Charon barely dared to breathe. In the past, he could have taken down these murlocs alone, but now he had lost his weapon. Worse still, the Curse Frog had spat on his right leg. Tiny thorns had already sprouted from it, robbing him of his ability to move.

A mage named Aili had escaped with him amid the chaos earlier, but he had no idea where she had run off to. If she were here, perhaps she could use magic to draw the murlocs' attention.

He was not afraid of death. He just did not want to die without value.

It would be far too humiliating to return home with nothing to show for his time in the dungeon.

More importantly, it would affect his father's opinion of him.

His father already favored his third younger brother. If Charon wanted to become Patriarch, he had to produce results and defeat that third brother, who was exceptionally gifted in business.

For that, he would stop at nothing!

Should I use that?

He clenched his fists, then slowly loosened them.

He continued lurking in the swamp, watching the monsters' movements closely like a crocodile waiting for its prey.

Just then, a Beacon Fire suddenly rose in the distance—the second one!

Who had lit it? Sithran and the others? They still had the leisure to light a fire in a situation like this?

The murlocs saw the Beacon Fire as well and immediately grew restless, rushing toward it. It seemed the Beacon Fire could attract monsters too.

How sinister!

But this was a rare opportunity!

After the murlocs left, one straggler remained behind, standing there stupidly without moving. Naturally, Charon set his sights on it.

"Let me borrow your weapon!"

Charon pounced, instantly pinning the murloc to the ground. His iron fists rained down like a storm!

The poor murloc did not even manage half a scream before it was pounded into a pile of mush.

Charon picked up the harpoon it had dropped and left, unwilling to waste even a moment.

"What a crude weapon. It's practically worthless. Huh, what's this!?"

His expression first turned puzzled, then his eyes gradually widened in astonishment.

The instant he picked up the harpoon, knowledge of a Battle Skill called [Endure] flooded into his mind. He could use it whenever he wished!

The harpoon, covered in slime and filth, suddenly began to sparkle in his eyes.

Charon had a feeling that this miraculous thing might become a tremendous aid in his bid for the position of Patriarch!

"Boom—"

Suddenly, an explosion sounded behind him, followed by a faint cloud of white smoke. Charon immediately turned around on guard, only to discover that the murloc's corpse had exploded. The spreading smoke obscured the center of the blast.

"Corpse Explosion Technique? But the power's far too weak. How could that possibly kill anyone?"

Of course, it was not the Corpse Explosion Technique.

"ROOOAAARRR!"

A beastly roar instantly scattered the smoke, and Charon felt as if his internal organs had been struck!

A savage aura surged forth. A Giant Bear the size of a small mountain suddenly appeared where the murloc's corpse had been, baring its fangs at him.

Charon was dumbfounded.

What kind of logic was this???

Why had the exploding murloc turned into a Giant Bear? Magic? But he had never heard of magic like this!

Naturally, he did not know the reason, because this was not magic at all. It was—

[Imitation Tear Drop]

[Mental Power Required per Unit: 100]

[Health: F-~D+, Strength: F-~D+, Intelligence: F-~D+, Endurance: F-~D+, Speed: F-~D+, Combat Power: F-~D+]

An ordinary Imitation Tear Drop could transform into monsters up to D+ rank.

The Tear Drops used by players in games were top-grade ones, capable of transforming even into SSS-rank monsters. Unfortunately, they were too expensive, and Gong Qiying could neither afford them nor had he unlocked them.

But even ordinary Tear Drops were extremely cost-effective, so they came with restrictions.

Only five could exist at the same time.

[Giant Bear]

[Mental Power Required per Unit: 300]

[Health: D+, Strength: C, Intelligence: F, Endurance: D+, Speed: D+, Combat Power: D+]

A remarkably savage beast that would surely bring adventurers an unexpected surprise!

Charon looked at the enormous paw that could swat him to death in one blow, then at the battered harpoon in his hand.

"Heh heh."

"ROOOAAARRR—"

The vast swamp trembled, ripples spreading across the water before it quickly returned to stillness.

"What a terrifying presence."

Sithran looked into the distance, unable to stop a chill from running through her heart.

"I hope no one runs into a powerful monster," Shuen said wearily.

He looked utterly miserable. The muscles on the left side of his body were continuously withering, while black flies circled around him as if announcing that his time was running out.

The Curse Frog's bite continued to inflict its negative effects. Simply cutting off his arm was not enough to ease it. He had already entered a countdown to death.

"Let's worry about ourselves first."

Sithran sighed and looked into the distance.

A fortress built from Black Stone stood a hundred meters away, radiating a mysterious yet solemn air that instinctively made people want to stay away.

Yet Sithran and the others desperately wanted to enter, because the fortress gate was open.

Looking back toward the sky, three Beacon Fires drifted gently above. The riddle had been solved, and the fortress gates had opened in response.

Sithran had no idea who could still light Beacon Fires in such circumstances. She guessed it was Charon and Aili.

"Should we go in?" Sithran asked.

Shuen nodded. "We've come this far. I won't be satisfied if we don't go in."

"Can you still fight? Don't hold me back," the elf maiden joked. The two drew their weapons and charged into the fortress.

"Caw, caw!"

The gargoyles hanging upside down from the ceiling opened their blood-red eyes.

Though he was already at the end of his strength, Shuen displayed even fiercer power than before. With only one arm, he could fight a gargoyle evenly. If his body had been intact, he probably would have pinned it down and beaten it senseless.

As for Sithran, ordinary arrows were useless against stone gargoyles, so she pulled out a hammer.

It was loot taken from a Skeleton Monster. This hammer had no Battle Skill; weapons with built-in Battle Skills were rare after all.

Every archer dreamed of close combat!

After discarding the cumbersome formalities of bow and arrow, Sithran fought with the hammer so fiercely that she was no weaker than Shuen!

Clang! Clang! Bang!

After an intense battle, the two adventurers emerged victorious.

"Yes!" Sithran threw up her arm and shouted, her face beaming with joy.

"It dropped something."

The two gargoyles turned to dust and vanished, leaving behind a Silvery White Stone?

"What is this?"

Shuen was baffled. Ever since entering Sain Underground City, he had encountered things he had never seen before, whether monsters, items, or materials.

"Let's take it back for an appraiser to look at," Sithran said, slipping the Silvery White Stone into her pocket.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble."

The fortress's rear gate slowly opened. It led directly to Blighttown. A cold, rotten breeze blew through, mixed with the wails of monsters.

Sithran and Shuen exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

"Let's go!"