We Have a Stranger Among Us

Oxen that plow the fields will die from exhaustion, and the same applies to horses that run.

The Wraith horse, which had been running at full capacity for a very long time, finally gave out and collapsed just before reaching the Academy Gate Town.

Luo Jieer was the most heartbroken. He thought he was finally able to capture a new monster. He was just about to take out his Poké Ball when Wraith Horse abandoned him.

After his grief, he wanted to recreate the scene of the knight burying his horse, but the horse turned to ashes after its death.

This made him look rather dull, having already dug half a hole.

In contrast, the others were completely uninterested in whether the Wraith Horse was alive or dead; their only interest now lay in the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy.

But before venturing into the academy, Jia Paer suddenly asked to sit by the campfire for a while.

Although Tu Erqi and He De Si didn't quite understand the significance of this action—after all, they hadn't expended much energy on this Fast & Furious trip and didn't need to rest—they still chose to respect Jia Paer's opinion.

So after a long journey, everyone returned to the blazing campfire in Academy Gate Town, using the warmth of the flames to dispel the chill.

The one who felt most comfortable and at ease by the campfire was Jia Paer, followed by Luo Jieer; both of them could claim to be familiar with the Zane Dungeon.

The former would run to the campfire to sit for a while and cheer himself up whenever he didn't get Tear Drop Larva, while the latter would often run to the safe campfire to catch his breath when he was being chased and attacked while studying monster ecology.

Therefore, the campfire meant comfort and safety to the two of them, or rather, the same feeling to most adventurers.

Unbeknownst to many, the Zane Dungeon has already instilled behavioral habits in some people.

Tu Erqi and the others didn't feel anything special, but they found the campfire upgrade mechanism quite interesting.

She leaned closer to examine the campfire, but suddenly noticed something unusual.

"This is... bone?"

The flames of the campfire can be touched; they seem no different from normal flames, except that they can burn people.

Just to be safe, Tu Erqi used her Mage Hand to pick a charred bone from the campfire. She examined it closely, then suddenly asked:

Has anyone eaten barbecue?

This is a baffling question, because everyone is together and the only things they eat are jerky and stamina potions. If someone were to grill meat, it would be discovered immediately.

Every campfire uses the same fuel: ashes and firewood. These things seem to never burn out. Anyway, every time people enter the dungeon, they take a look, and the ashes and firewood inside never change.

So why would bones appear in a campfire? That's quite intriguing.

"These are the bones of the Bone Meat Tree," Jia Paer suddenly said. "They're a specialty of the Gourmet Area, a tree that grows large chunks of meat with bones attached, and they taste exactly like regular roasted meat."

"Ah, that." Tu Erqi had heard about it before. The Magic Association had received information about the ingredients in the Gourmet Area, including information about the Bone Meat Tree.

This was something that baffled botanists and alchemists alike, and scholars argued for a long time about whether to classify it as an animal or a plant.

Botanists are puzzled as to why plants Guild Master fleshy growths; no matter how they analyze it, it really is flesh.

What the alchemists couldn't understand was how the transmutation of flesh, which they had studied their whole lives, had inexplicably grown on the tree.

Alchemy is gone! (Sad)

The chefs were quite happy, because the taste of the Bone Meat Tree was just ordinary roasted meat, nothing special. It neither threatened their survival nor prevented them from processing it further and selling it in the restaurant.

For Jia Paer, these were quite convenient foods. He would grab a few pieces to eat when he got tired of killing monsters in the dungeon, which is why he recognized the bones at a glance.

Incidentally, his favorite thing is the Gai Fan Fruit, which can grow into all sorts of rice bowls. Opening it every time gives him the same thrill as opening a blind box.

"None of us brought any children with us, so..." Tu Erqi stood up and looked around, and everyone understood what she was going to say.

Something also came to the Academy Gate Town not long ago, ate a piece of meat with bones by the campfire and threw the bones in as fuel!

"Could it be a monster or something?" Luo Jieer said, but he immediately dismissed the idea as soon as he said it.

Because monsters can't even get into the Academy Gate Town. Places with warm firelight are monster-restricted areas. Besides, how could the monsters of Lake Liurnia get their hands on the specialties of the Gourmet Area?

So there's only one truth, and it's an answer that everyone finds very strange.

"Is there anyone else here?"

But how could that be? They didn't notice any strangers entering when they came in. Could it be an intruder? But they didn't receive any notification of an intrusion.

Regardless of how those people got in, they made no attempt to conceal their presence, because Jia Paer found several empty potion bottles in an intact room, things that were definitely not there before.

"There are at least four people on the other side, no, five," Tu Erqi's eyes gleamed with magic, then she shook her head regretfully. "The tracks have been there for more than half an hour, so tracking magic is useless."

A strange feeling arose in everyone's hearts.

I just found it strange; I couldn't understand how these people got in. Most people would be scared if they found strangers in their home, but...

Luo Jieer glanced at the Sword Saint and the professors, thinking that it was these strangers who should be afraid.

This little incident made everyone a bit more alert to their surroundings, and Luo Jieer even tried to ask Ka Lie if she had seen any strangers.

The other person stared straight at him, as if to say, "You're complete strangers."

Okay, there's no hope for Ka Lie here.

Before setting off for the magic academy, Tu Erqi hid a concealed Image Stone by the campfire, which, combined with teleportation magic, allowed her to monitor the area in real time.

If there were familiars that could share vision, it would be great, saving the trouble of setting up Image Stone.

"Are you ready? Let's go."

Jia Paer once again stole the Wraith Rider's beloved horse, and the four of them and their horses once again put on a show of speed and passion, methodically navigating the mountain road to the Magic Academy.

The Wraith Rider whose horse was stolen once again unleashed the monsters to chase after the group, but when they saw that everyone was approaching the magic academy, the monsters stopped in their tracks, seemingly afraid to get any closer.

"Ping ping pong pong".

Amidst the sounds of fierce fighting and the roars of the enemy, everyone charged forward once again.

"Strange, why does it feel like the number of soldiers here is the same as before?" Luo Jieer asked.

The consistent rule in the Zane Dungeon is that as long as you don't die, no matter how far you run, the monsters you kill will not revive; they will only be able to revive the next day.

They should have wiped out all the enemies when they came here last time, so why are they back in full force now?

Strange, many details in Lake Liurnia are different from the original area of Zane Dungeon. What's going on?

[Academy Glintstone Key]

The key used to unlock the magical seal of the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy

[The Radiant Stone automatically remembers its users; each key can remember a maximum of five users. The academy does not want too many unauthorized individuals to approach.]

They could only remember a maximum of five people, and they had four, which was very lucky.

Jia Paer walked ahead with the key in his hand, and the others followed closely behind him. When the radiant key emitted light, they successfully passed through the seal.

This time, passing through the seal was seamless, without any sudden darkness. It's an achievement that will make Starry Night envious to tears.

What appeared before them was a vast, open square with a bonfire in the center.

Luo Jieer's eyes lit up. He lit the campfire while muttering, "Thank you, Sain, for your mercy." If he had died inside the magic academy and been teleported to the Academy Gate Town, he would have been furious and cursed Zane Dungeon, even though he had no family there.

This must be the main entrance to the academy. No wonder it's so ridiculously large; it also symbolizes the prestige of the magicians.

He suddenly had an idea: this place would be perfect for adventurers and invaders to fight. It's so big, you can roll around anywhere.

Wait, why am I having this thought?

"So beautiful."

Tu Erqi exclaimed, "Standing here, you can overlook the entire landscape of Lake Liurnia and take in the magnificent scenery."

Jia Paer observed the scene after entering. To the left was a very large elevator, and to the right was a broken bridge.

He suddenly realized that this broken bridge was the same broken bridge that Ka Lie had mentioned leading to the high mountains to the east. Upon closer inspection, he found that there was indeed a similar broken bridge on the opposite side of the bridge, which connected directly to the high mountains.

Wow, the maps are connected now, brilliant!

It seems that the entire magic academy only has this one seal at the main gate; the group hasn't seen the other one yet.

It seems like you can walk on either the left or right, but in reality, you can only walk on the left. The broken bridge on the right doesn't seem to be worth exploring.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The elevator carrying everyone slowly ascended.

Just as their line of sight was completely out of reach of the area at the main entrance of the academy, a strangely dressed person suddenly appeared.

He wore a helmet that concealed his face, and his armor was painted with an eye. He waited silently in front of the mechanism, waiting for Jia Paer and the others to leave before pulling down the elevator.

Was he stalking these people?

What is his purpose?

Why didn't Jia Paer and his companions, with their keen senses, detect this person?

If you were to tell Jia Paer now that someone was following them, they probably wouldn't care at all.

Because when the elevator finally reached the top, they saw a long flight of stairs.

And ten Glintstone Magic stood ready atop the steps.

The mages are already eagerly awaiting the arrival of their [Glintstone Swift Pebble]!