Hellish Dungeon Will Soon Welcome Fresh Blood

"Teacher, should we hit him?" Leon looked at Jia Paer, asking for his opinion.

The Glintstone Dragon Smarag let out a deafening roar, but hovered in the sky for a long time, unwilling to come down, as if it also knew how powerful these humans were.

If it were before, Jia Paer would definitely have experienced the feeling of hunting a dragon, because in ancient times, simply defeating a dragon was enough to make someone a hero. If you slayed a dragon and bathed in its blood, you would be written into legends and become the subject of songs by bards.

In modern times, due to the existence of flying dragons, the prestige of "slaying dragons" has slightly decreased. Only four-legged dragons can be considered true dragons, while two-legged dragons are merely flying dragons with impure bloodlines.

However, even though the Glintstone Dragon Smarag can be considered Two-legged Wyvern, it felt much stronger to Jia Paer than any of the other wyverns.

This is a delicate matter: does killing Smarag count as "dragon slaying"?

Jia Paer didn't speak, but simply waved his hand, indicating that he wasn't in the mood to fight right now.

Leon nodded, understanding what the other party meant; he also didn't want to fight.

"Please." He handed the Stink Bomb to Si Telan, who once again performed her bow-and-arrow-shooting-the-dragon act.

Her archery movements were very serious, as if she was learning from experience every second. This race against time made people feel that she had stepped into a tense rhythm.

What's making her so eager to practice archery? Nothing major has happened in Bede City lately.

"Awooo?"

Just as the Glintstone Dragon was mentally preparing to descend and charge at the crowd, it suddenly caught sight of the Si Telan was about to deliver a dirty blow to it.

This was the first time humans had ever seen a human-like expression on a flying dragon's face—a deep sense of disgust.

Smarag flapped its wings and turned to leave. It had no intention of fighting with these little poop-and-pee people; what if it got its scales dirty?

"Ah?"

Si Telan could even fire her arrow, the target suddenly turned and flew away. This sudden change was faster than a child's change of expression, and it caught everyone off guard.

After much hesitation, she put down her longbow and then burned the arrows, which had been contaminated with the Stink Bomb, to ashes using a magic stone.

"Is this dragon really that intelligent?" Si Telan asked in confusion.

"It's a dragon after all," Leon chuckled. "Since it runs away as soon as it sees the Stink Bomb, maybe we can use the stench to target it in the future. That would be a strategy, wouldn't it?"

"No, no, if ordinary people tried to imitate your behavior, they'd probably die a horrible death. Do you really think that dragon was driven away by disgust?" Luo Jieer muttered to himself.

Fortunately, Leon's words were just a joke. He also understood that it was Jia Paer's intimidation that made the Glintstone Dragon choose to leave under the dual pressure of the powerful and the disgusting.

He picked up the purple light that had suddenly appeared in the dragon's nest. Sure enough, it was the Academy Glintstone Key. There were five spots available, and the Strategy Team had four people, which was just right if you included Si Telan.

It's time to open the doors of the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy!

Just then, Jia Paer also made a decision and told Tu Erqi and the others what was on his mind.

He was going to leave through the portal and return to Bede City from the ruins of Val City.

There should still be Earl Ka Rong's guards near the ruins of Val City. These guards are probably carrying out some cleanup work. He may have borrowed a mount from them and it won't take him long to get to Bede City.

If Professor Seth came with them, it would save them a lot of trouble, because one of the wind-attribute magics he studied was "Magic Horse Transformation," which was much faster than an ordinary mount.

"We can't go back to Bedor via Lake Liurnia. Oh, no." Tu Erqi realized something was wrong as soon as she finished speaking, because they had come to Lake Liurnia from the magic Classroom Area by passing through the seal guarded by the Caria Knight.

The seal can bring people in, but it can't get them out. Besides, they haven't even found the exact location of the seal.

Perhaps a way to quickly return to Bede City will be found in the future, but so far no one has discovered it, and adventurers' exploration of the Val Dungeon is only in the single digits.

"It's a bit of a rip-off; it takes two or three days to go back and forth."

"No, it only takes time to return to Bede City. If you want to come in, you can just go through the Zane Dungeon."

After discussing the details, Jia Paer and his group decided to leave, saying goodbye to Leon and the others.

"Goodbye, teacher." Leon waved like a well-behaved child; he would definitely be an excellent student in school.

"It's been a long time since I've instructed you in swordsmanship," Jia Paer said before fully entering the portal.

"Come find me when you get back, and I'll take you to fight the Furious Rajang."

The Furious Rajang? I've heard a lot of people talking about this monster lately; the combat experience must be pretty good.

Leon readily agreed, nodding like a woodpecker.

Luo Jieer's voice came out before Jia Paer and the others completely disappeared into the portal.

"Hey, once we get back to Bede City, we can publish the information here and become the discoverers of major intelligence, right? Professor, if we compile the findings here and sell them, we can not only gain fame, but also make a lot of money."

"I don't care about that little bit of money." Tu Erqi's tone was completely unwavering.

"Too much trouble, do it yourself if you want." Jia Paer's voice also showed no interest whatsoever.

"Okay, I'll do it myself then."

As Luo Jieer's dejected voice gradually faded away, Leon couldn't help but feel sorry for him for a second.

If I were to team up with him, I would probably consider his suggestion. However, the Sword Saint, the Professor, and others are at a much higher level than these Silver Rank adventurers. Some things that seem important to them are nothing in the eyes of these powerful figures.

Suddenly I feel like Luo Jieer must be feeling really frustrated in this team. How did he even get into such a high-level team?

Oh, right, Leon suddenly remembered something.

That means Luo Jieer's idea probably won't work out. Even if he compiles an intelligence report about Lake Liurnia and releases it, it won't cause a significant stir because...

As mentioned before, two teams had already been here before Jia Paer.

Besides the Strategy Team, the other team is the New Strategy Team led by Lu Lu Wo.

"Those guys should have spread the news of Lake Liurnia in Bede City by now. They're always very efficient. Oh right, they're not called the New Strategy Team anymore, they've changed their name."

Leon shook his head, deciding not to dwell on such useless thoughts, and said to the remaining companions, "Let's go, we have our own things to do."

They had rested up thoroughly for this trip, all in preparation for exploring the magic academy.

When they first entered, they were all subjected to an extremely insidious sneak attack.

Let's not even mention Te Er, who was riddled with holes by the Great Lobster's Water Cannon; Delu, who lost consciousness after being knocked unconscious by [Stun] and [Severing Steel]; or Malu, who was carried off by the Tiddy the Demon from Dark Souls.

Leon himself was too embarrassed to talk about the reason for his mishap. At the time, he had bought a new shield, which was of quite good quality and could withstand the Soul Drainer's slashes without much trouble.

However, the shield shattered in Lake Liurnia, and with it, Leon's life was also destroyed.

As for the culprit, there are only two words to suggest it—a slap.

After that painful lesson, Leon would avoid any trace of Wraith monsters he encountered in the lake area, trying his best not to disturb them.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow, accompanied by a whooshing sound, blasted the head of a nearby Platinum Child, its brains spilling onto the ground. A golden stream of light flashed past its corpse and entered Si Telan's body.

This is the special effect of her acquiring the soul of a monster. There was no such effect when she acquired a soul in the Zane Dungeon.

And why is it golden? Isn't the soul white?

Even Gong Qiying himself couldn't understand this. Could it be because Lake Liurnia came from the "Elden Ring"? After all, the "soul" in the Elden Ring is "Runes", which are golden in appearance.

However, no problems have been found with this small change so far, so it can be ignored for now.

"Wow, your archery skills are getting better and better!" Malu praised, always the team's emotional support provider.

Si Telan smiled slightly, a hint of pride in her eyes, but her expression betrayed more anxiety than anything else.

It's not the anxiety of being in a life-or-death situation, but a more relaxed yet headache-inducing kind of anxiety. To be more specific, it's like a primary school student who hasn't done their homework in a long time about to be caught up in a surprise inspection by the teacher.

That's how anxious they are; for students, it's worse than death.

"Your people will be amazed when they see this, hehe. There's probably nothing more fun than showing off your skills in front of familiar people." Malu began to imagine the scene of returning home in glory after becoming Gold-Rank Adventurer, basking in the envious gazes of her fellow villagers.

"Maybe."

Si Telan sighed, her long hair hanging down limply, giving her the air of a melancholy beauty.

She was so anxious because people from the Elven Forest had arrived.

To put it more bluntly, her family members came!

Including but not limited to her sisters, aunts, and other relatives—in short, a group that would make her feel completely lost.

As for why these people came to Bede City, that was Si Telan herself came up with.

She remembered that a month or two ago, when she entered the first mutation of the Zane Dungeon and was tortured to death by the Crucible Knight, the Curse Frog and other evil monsters, she was almost driven crazy by the torment. With the thought that "I can't be the only one suffering", she wrote an invitation letter and sent it to the Elven Forest.

The letter essentially expressed how disgusted I was with the Zane Dungeon, how wronged I felt, and then listed a long string of old acquaintances in the Elven Forest with whom I had a falling out, praising each of their strength. Finally, it revealed my true thoughts:

"Please, please help me! This hellish dungeon is killing me! Please, brothers and sisters, help me!"

"Anyone who doesn't come is a bastard!"

Whether it was the first or the second sentence that had the effect, in any case, Si Telan's friends and family finally arrived.

Moreover, everyone who came was someone she had had some minor conflicts with. It wasn't that they had a bad relationship, but they inevitably exchanged a few sarcastic remarks when they met.

It's obvious these guys are just here to laugh at her!

"Damn it, I haven't received a reply to that letter. I thought they weren't coming."

When Si Telan received the letter informing her of everyone's impending arrival and instructing her to arrange their accommodations, she looked quite surprised.

When she wrote the letter a few months ago, she was indeed manipulated by a dark psychology, thinking that she could scam as many people as possible, and it would be best if the whole world came here to be scammed.

But after she returned to normal, her dark thoughts dissipated, and

For her, being an adventurer was her job, Zane Dungeon was her office.

The feeling of other Elf Race coming here is no less than when your extended family suddenly comes to visit your workplace.

It was incredibly embarrassing!

Even though she hurriedly replied to try and stop them, everyone was already halfway there and refused to go back no matter what.

Therefore, Si Telan had no choice but to reap the bitter fruit of her own making.

These past few days she had thought it over carefully and felt that scamming people was too unethical. She finally decided that once her people arrived, she would take them into the underground city and accompany them the whole time. She would choose a less dangerous route for them to explore, treating it as a sightseeing trip, and then send them home as soon as they were done.

However, a problem arose regarding the choice of route.

Many of my relatives are quite old; I can't very well take them to the Farron Keep to get some of the local flavor, can I?

If you want to be safe, go to the Gourmet Area, but it's too safe there. After you experience it, people might laugh at her—"You were tortured to death here? Were you killed by that yellow-haired rat or that garlic-shaped turtle?"

No, no, I absolutely won't do something that would make me lose face!

Subconsciously, Si Telan was still as shy as a young girl; she also cared about her image.

Therefore, the route chosen should ideally not be too difficult, but still allow relatives to experience a certain degree of hardship, thereby gaining their approval of her and her work as an adventurer.

Ultimately, Si Telan subconsciously wanted her relatives to suffer, but morality held her back.

Just as she was worrying about this, Leon suddenly came to her door, saying that they had discovered a new area and needed a ranger to join the team to serve as a scout and guerrilla during the exploration.

"It's so beautiful, like the divine realm of the moon god in legend."

This was Si Telan's exclamation upon seeing Lake Liurnia under the moonlight.

She made up her mind almost immediately to let her relatives come to Lake Liurnia to experience it!

Therefore, she needs to scout out the location with Leon and his group first, lest she get tricked and killed first.

Imagine your relatives suffering in the Hellish Dungeon, while you repeatedly rescue them from danger and calmly explain how to overcome each trap.

Wow, my sense of self-identity and vanity are instantly boosted!

"I must thoroughly understand this area."

Si Telan clenched her fist and waved it slightly, as if to cheer herself up.

Come on, come on, Si Telan, you'll definitely save face!

The battle to save face has officially begun!

On the other hand, is there such a possibility?

Hadn't she already lost all face when that letter reached the Elven Forest?

She didn't want to think about it, absolutely not.

In conclusion, the Zane Dungeon, or rather the Val Dungeon, will welcome a new batch of Spirit Power providers.

Elf Race are definitely a rare species. The most common people among adventurers are ordinary humans and dwarves, followed by Orcs. Pure Orcs are very rare, and elves are even rarer.

It can be considered an SR-level purple card.

"Have the monsters here come back to life?"

While Si Telan was lost in thought, the group had already returned to the foot of the magic academy. The Caria Soldier and Flame Chariot had been resurrected and rebuilt into an impregnable defensive line.

"Everyone get ready, it's time for our battle." Leon drew his straight sword, the same Caria Straight Sword he had acquired before, which was very fitting for the occasion.

"We can't fall behind Teacher Jia Paer!"

"Go!"

Accompanied by energetic shouts, the sounds of a fierce battle erupted at the foot of the mountain.

Outside the Val Dungeon.

Jia Paer and his party successfully found the guards sent by Bede City to handle the aftermath, borrowed several fast horses from them, and after a short rest, rushed to Bede City without stopping.

"Heh heh, this time it's my turn to be in the 'Strategy Team'."

Lying on the swaying horse's back, Luo Jieer wrote furiously, recording everything he had seen and heard in Lake Liurnia and the Magic Classroom. He wrote down everything clearly, from the general layout of the map to the number of leg hairs on the legs of the Glintstone Magic, regardless of whether it was useful or not.

Basically, they just pile on the words; the more words they pile on, the more credible their information seems!

It's a shame his Female Fire Dragon, Hathaway, was sleeping at home; otherwise, he could have ridden her back.

However, at the same time, this news had already spread throughout Bede City.

People everywhere are talking about the Magic Classroom and Lake Liurnia!

Today's update is 4,800 words; I need to go back to work overtime.

I wish all my dear readers would never have to work overtime in their lives, uh...