Gathering Information

"Tell me in detail."

Fran brought Velint along precisely because Velint possessed knowledge she didn't know, and naturally, she wanted to hear Velint's insights.

"Although I don't know what kind of person Ailante's father, the ' Gray Dragon,' really is, I've already guessed based on the behavior of those Monsa residents just now."

"Judging from the title 'Gray Dragon,' he must be a Profession with Dragonkin characteristics; otherwise, he wouldn't have this nickname."

"And you should have seen that enemy just now. He possesses immense strength and exceptional defense; even your fireball could only inflict minor damage. However, his agility is clearly lacking, and he hardly uses any Combat Technique."

"I suspect that the magical potion mentioned in the mission description is some kind of potion that can transform people into dragon-like creatures, but I don't know why they don't have any dragon-like characteristics."

"And Ailante's goal is to obtain Talent related to dragons in this Trial."

After speaking, Velint fell into thought. She felt that the residents here must have drunk this potion, but why didn't they have the characteristics of Dragonkin, such as vertical pupils, scales, and strong claws...?

"It means the Dragon-Transformation Potion, right?" Fran recalled a few words she had found in a book when she was studying Pharmacy.

"This potion can give a human Dragonkin -like characteristics, such as immense strength, a large size, and hard scales."

Velint's eyes lit up, and she asked:

"You know about medicine?"

"Um... I know a little bit," Fran said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Then we can use the Dragon-Transformation Potion!" Velint said excitedly. "If you know about potions, we just need to find a way to steal the recipe and ingredients, and then we can gain power by drinking the potion."

This was an unexpected surprise. She hadn't expected Fran to even know how to make potions. This way, they could use the potion's enhanced power to defeat that powerful enemy after drinking it.

She had been worried about how they would pass the Trial of the Spirit Realm if Luka was a link that had to be defeated to save Monsa City.

If it were just Luka, an elite monster like him, she and Fran might be able to defeat him together. But what if there were multiple monsters of that caliber? Or what if there were even monsters of higher caliber?

"Will this work?" Fran asked, frowning. "I'm not talking about making the potion, but will drinking it in the Spirit Realm have any effect?"

Logically speaking, their bodies in the Spirit Realm aren't actually made of flesh and blood; they might not even be the same species as the inhabitants of the Trial. So, would the potion still work?

"No problem. You may not know this, but many Trial in the Spirit Realm require participants to obtain a certain item before they gain the ability to defeat enemies. Before that, you may not be able to cause any damage."

"Velint explained excitedly."

Fran then asked:

"So what do we do next?"

Having determined the next goal, the question then becomes: how to proceed?

The city guards are now arresting these Spirit Realm Traveler everywhere, and going out could easily trigger a battle.

"Let's find some clothes to disguise ourselves first, and also ask the local residents for details. We don't even know the terrain here."

This is a place in Monsa City. The streets here are different from the one Fran first came to; that street was generally quite clean.

The street in front of us was littered with all kinds of garbage, sewage flowed on the street, and the surrounding houses were placed haphazardly. The passageway was constantly squeezed by the various houses, and it was almost only wide enough for one person to pass through.

This place is like a slum in Monsa City, with hardly anyone on the streets. Thanks to its dirty and chaotic environment, the guards almost never set foot here.

Two strangely dressed people walked down the street; it was Fran and Velint. They hadn't taken off their original clothes, but instead had simply put on some of the local residents' clothing.

"Why don't you change out of your robes?" Velint asked curiously, feeling that it would make sense for her to put them on while she was wearing armor.

Fran's yellow robe didn't seem to offer much protection either, but like her, she wore another layer over her clothes.

"This is my own little secret, don't ask," Fran said, making up an excuse.

Actually, she realized she couldn't take off the robe at all. When she tried to lift it up to her knees, she felt a strange pulling sensation on her skin. In the end, Fran decided to put on another layer of clothing over it.

She had no choice but to consider abandoning the disguise and simply moving around the city, but that wouldn't work.

If you put on a layer of clothing, the locals will at most think you're dressed strangely, and might just glance at you a few times.

If they were outside wearing their original equipment, the residents would immediately report to the guards, and some would even come up and attack them, shouting "Outsiders!"

So they had to wear this clothing, and now, unless they encountered guards, the residents wouldn't attack them.

But they hadn't yet accomplished another task: inquiring about the basic local conditions.

Whenever they tried to inquire about the city, the residents would look at them with suspicion, and after several such attempts, Fran lost her patience...

"We're here. This will do." Fran stopped in front of a relatively intact house and examined it carefully.

"Are we sure we want to do this?" Velint's voice was hesitant. Fran's suggestion had startled her a bit, and she was still unsure whether to go through with it.

"We're already here, why don't you go ask those guards?" Fran retorted, then ignored Velint's reaction and walked straight toward the door of the house.

She took a deep breath, then gathered her strength in both hands and slammed one hand directly against the wooden door.

"Bang!" A loud crash came from behind the door, and the wooden door was pushed inward a little, allowing her to see through the gap that the bolt behind the door was almost broken.

With her other hand clenched into a fist, she slammed it into the wooden door. This time, the door couldn't withstand Fran's attack; the other side of the door snapped, and the entire door crashed to the ground with a dull 'bang'.

At the same time, the people inside the house heard the loud noise and a thin girl came out of the room.

"Who are you? Why are you breaking into my house?" Una cried out in terror, grabbing a chair from the side in an attempt to protect herself.

However, Fran leaned forward and grabbed Una's wrist, causing her to drop the chair in pain.

"I have a few questions to ask. Don't worry, we won't hurt you," Fran said as kindly as possible, but she was met with another scream.