Am I Fighting a Mind Flayer?

Marvin read through every message on the communication necklace and pieced together part of the truth behind the mission.

Beneath the Friendly Arm Inn lay a vast underground structure built long ago by Bhaal's cultists. Even now, no one had managed to fully uncover its secrets.

Someone seemed to be taking advantage of this, digging a passage that led directly from outside to beneath the Friendly Arm Inn, bypassing the town's defenses.

As for their purpose, it remained unknown for the moment.

But recalling the female knight's abduction, Marvin quietly heightened his vigilance.

He would need to keep watch on the town's situation. If things suddenly took a turn for the worse, he would not hesitate to run.

The three [Expeditious Retreat] scrolls left behind by the previous owner of the mage robe were his final safeguard.

The mastermind's plan had reached its final stage, only for something to go wrong.

The laborers digging the passage had been swallowed whole by a Gelatinous Cube that had appeared from nowhere, then digested into fragments of bone.

Afterward, the mastermind repeatedly tried to contact his subordinates, but received no response for a long time.

Not until this morning did the communication necklace, having reemerged from the Gelatinous Cube's stomach, regain its function and receive several messages at once.

The "master" mentioned by the mastermind had sent new personnel to take over the work.

"Based on the written description, this newly sent person either possessed mind-control abilities or specialized in enchantment spells. If I wanted to complete the mission, he was probably the enemy I needed to deal with."

Once Marvin finished his deduction, the mission information refreshed.

Mission: Explore the unknown area beneath the Friendly Arm Inn and eliminate potential enemies. Success rate increased to 70%. Details of the changes are as follows:

[Relevant Intelligence]: You have successfully deduced the enemy's combat specialty. Making targeted preparations will greatly increase the mission's success rate. (Success rate +20%)

Encouraged by the increase in success rate, Marvin decided to spend two hours each day investigating related information.

He was not worried that the Flaming Fist Mercenary Company would eliminate the enemies lurking in the passage first.

Colonel Liana, disturbed by political factors, was currently agitated and had lost her usual judgment.

She would definitely suffer a setback.

For the next four days, Marvin visited Kelemvor's temple after lunch, when radiant energy was at its most abundant in the natural environment and dark erosion energy at its weakest.

In Faerûn, there were two deities who presided over death.

One was Myrkul, the God of Death. He was the Lord of the Undead, representing the decay and end of natural life.

The other was Kelemvor, the God of the Dead. He guided, judged, and granted rest to souls after death.

As an evil god, Myrkul's followers were reviled almost everywhere in Faerûn.

Kelemvor's followers, on the other hand, were highly welcomed. Not only did they monopolize the funeral business, they were also experts at dealing with the undead.

All the bones that had dropped after Marvin killed the Gelatinous Cube had been sent to Kelemvor's temple.

The clergy would reassemble every bone into complete remains and perform rites of rest. Afterward, the remains would be cremated and buried.

Only by doing this could they ensure that those who had died unnatural deaths found peace and would not become undead to trouble the living.

In a world where the undead truly existed, handling the dead was an extremely important matter that could not be treated carelessly.

Marvin went to volunteer at Kelemvor's temple every day, helping the clergy piece together bones while taking the opportunity to gather useful information.

"Thank you for your help these past four days. May your soul finally find peace."

Looking at the more than twenty humanoid remains that had finally been sorted out, a priest of Kelemvor nodded his thanks to Marvin.

As for the other creatures consumed by the Gelatinous Cube, none of them were intelligent races, so their bones could simply be burned.

"I know that in your faith, death is merely an inevitable part of life, part of nature. But please don't use that kind of blessing in the future. It sounds creepy." Marvin looked helpless.

What he sought was to become a legend and then use magic to achieve immortality.

As a mage, if he did not even possess the ambition to defeat death, that would be far too pathetic.

The priest of Kelemvor ignored Marvin's complaint and merely smiled calmly.

"Mr. Marvin, seven of these remains are relatively fresh. We estimate they were killed around ten days ago. One belonged to a rogue named Bob. The other six were all Duergar."

Marvin's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the stout, short skeletons on the floor, so different from humans and gleaming gray beneath the sunlight.

The Duergar were an underground race, evil by nature. Besides being as skilled at forging as their surface-dwelling cousins, they had a particular hobby: coming to the surface to capture slaves, then selling them in the Underdark.

"Could the Duergar have dug a tunnel leading to the Friendly Arm Inn in order to raid the town and capture slaves?"

Marvin felt that this theory made some sense, but certain details still did not fit.

From the communication necklace, he had learned that the Duergar leader referred to some being as "Master."

The Duergar were a powerful force in the Underdark, capable of fighting the Drow on even terms.

Any being capable of enslaving Duergar had to be extremely formidable.

Combined with the system intelligence's deduction—that the other side was highly skilled at mind control—the answer was practically obvious.

In Faerûn, there was only one kind of monster skilled at mind control, powerful enough to enslave Duergar, and fond of living underground: a Mind Flayer!

Volo's Guide to Monsters had introduced this kind of creature in detail, complete with horrifying illustrations.

In appearance, it was a tall, thin humanoid creature with an octopus head and purple skin, very much in the style of Cthulhu.

Many years ago, Mind Flayers had established a vast empire spanning multiple planes, enslaving countless races through psionic mind control.

After the Mind Flayer Empire's destruction, most of the surviving octopus-headed creatures had fled into the Underdark to hide, constantly plotting all manner of evil schemes in an attempt to restore their former glory.

"Me, a level 2 mage, fighting a Mind Flayer?"

Marvin quickly dismissed the absurd thought that had surfaced in his mind.

If a Mind Flayer truly lurked in the secret passage beneath the Friendly Arm Inn, then with his strength, the mission's success rate would definitely be 0%.

That meant his deduction was close to the truth, but there were still errors and omissions.

Marvin was in no hurry.

Lying low and developing was the proper path. He could do the mission, but only after making sufficient preparations and ensuring the success rate was high enough.

Over the following days, he continued staying in the inn and copying scrolls. Occasionally, he stopped by the Friendly Arm Inn to visit the gnome proprietor and ask whether there was any new information about the mission.

During that time, Marvin learned the details of the Eastern Warehouse.

This shop had operated in Friendly Arm for thirty years, and its owner had always been Borey.

Many elderly residents of the town had personally watched Borey change from a sturdy bald young man into a sickly bald middle-aged man.

Over the past few years, the shop's true owner had appeared several times. Rumor had it she was a mysterious female mage.

Although the Eastern Warehouse had a somewhat mysterious background, it had always conducted business properly and never caused any trouble. It was a model business in town.

Only then did Marvin finally set his mind at ease and sell scrolls to the Eastern Warehouse twice.

Another six days passed like that.

One morning, after completing his spell preparations, Marvin was enjoying breakfast:

Two slices of toast fried in butter until crisp and glistening, a piece of apple pie drizzled with maple syrup, a boiled egg, and a cup of vanilla tea.

Just as he lifted his fork, an urgent knock sounded at the door.

The gnome proprietor's anxious voice came from outside. "Mr. Marvin, Colonel Liana wishes to see you..."

Marvin opened the door, and the gnome proprietor's small, nimble body darted inside. He hurriedly explained the situation.

Last night, the Flaming Fist Mercenary Company had organized its fourth exploration of the secret passage beneath the Friendly Arm Inn.

The first three expeditions had yielded nothing, but they had encountered no danger either. That had caused the entire Flaming Fist company to let down its guard.

Then they were attacked. Three members of the five-man squad died on the spot.

The remaining two barely escaped with their lives, but after running back, their mental states seemed somewhat abnormal.