Mental Barrier, Underground River

“This?”

Now that the specter was dead, the Wererat generously took out the necklace and handed it to Lynn.

“I got this in a trade with a human. That guy said he didn’t know what it was useful for either, but I liked the look of it, so I bought it for a jar of dried glowing mushrooms.”

“But that specter didn’t really have anything to do with this necklace. I got the necklace after the specter had already appeared. Even if I threw the necklace away, the specter would still linger around my home.”

Lynn took the necklace and examined it in his hand.

But no matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary silver necklace, showing nothing special about it.

The only slightly strange thing was that the necklace gave Lynn a feeling somewhat like the badge Mentor Damon had given him; both carried a cold, gloomy aura.

Cold and gloomy... No, that wasn’t right!

Lynn looked at where the specter had vanished, then back at the necklace. He then asked the Wererat, “Do you know the identity of the person who sold you this necklace?”

The Wererat shook its head and explained, “Although that guy is a regular customer of mine, he never reveals his identity. He just often comes down to sell me things...”

“If I had to say what’s strange, it’s that those things obviously don’t belong to him. When he sells them to me, they’re often covered in dirt.”

Covered in dirt?

Lynn looked at the necklace; there were quite a few black spots on it.

Since silver is an inactive metal, ordinary silver products are quite difficult to oxidize. The appearance of black spots was likely due to tarnish from sulfidation. This sort of thing was commonly seen on silver jewelry buried with the dead.

A guess silently formed in his mind.

The Wererat’s “regular customer” was highly likely a grave robber, wasn’t he?

Did the owner of this necklace have a connection to the specter? Or did the negative energy on it simply attract the specter?

Going by what the Wererat said, it hadn’t obtained the necklace yet when the specter first appeared. In that case, it should be the second scenario.

As Lynn was pondering, the Wererat looked at the necklace with lingering fear and said, “If you want it, Lord Mage, I’ll give this necklace to you. If you don’t need it, please just take it to the surface and throw it away.”

Oh?

Lynn looked at the necklace in his hand with a hint of distaste.

What use did he have for a dead person’s belongings? Was he trying to bring bad luck upon himself?

But just as the Wererat offered to give the necklace to Lynn, the Monster Identification Manual in his mind suddenly sent another notification—

“Obtained Equipment—Mind Wall Pendant”

“Mind Wall Pendant: When equipped, grants the passive effect ‘Mental Barrier’, defending against low-to-medium intensity psionic impacts and mentalism spells below the First-Circle.”

But then again, if this thing remained in the Wererat’s hands, it wouldn’t be able to handle it!

As a benevolent and generous adventurer, Lynn naturally had to share the burdens of monsters.

Lynn calmly put away the necklace.

This was the first item he had obtained that was recognized by the Monster Identification Manual.

All the equipment he had obtained before, including the shortsword, had not triggered any notifications from the Monster Identification Manual. However, the shortsword might actually be too mysterious, to the point where even the manual couldn’t figure out its details, which was why it hadn’t triggered any notifications.

In any case, obtaining such a piece of equipment was a pleasant surprise for Lynn.

Furthermore, the reason why the Wererat was immune to the specter’s wail had also been found. It was precisely the effect of this “Mind Wall Pendant.”

Holding the Mind Wall Pendant, Lynn felt his spirit refresh. His brain, which had been somewhat groggy due to the specter’s influence, returned to a clear state.

This equipment could resist psionic impacts and mentalism spells, which made up for Lynn’s current shortcoming of a low Charisma attribute.

In the short term, Lynn couldn’t even think of a way to increase his Charisma. The only monster he had encountered so far that could increase his Charisma was the slime. However, the slime’s evolved form, the Dungeon Slime, had a bloodline that didn’t provide any Charisma bonus.

Lynn couldn’t possibly abandon the Dungeon Slime bloodline and activate the Pink Slime bloodline first just for a few points of Charisma. For low-level adventurers, the Constitution attribute was far more important than the Charisma attribute.

And now that he had this necklace, he wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to deal with monsters specializing in mental attacks in the short term—such as the specter just now.

Meanwhile, Art the Wererat, who had finally resolved the matter weighing on his mind, also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Where is the Construct you mentioned?”

The Wererat replied, “It’s right near the volcano... Just talking about it might not make it clear, so please follow me!”

Lynn nodded and followed the Wererat, with Lupa trailing along as well. The effect of her beastkin bloodline had already worn off, so the girl had shrunk back to her tiny size.

Lupa asked curiously, “Lynn, that sudden burst of speed you used just now, was it a spell? I saw you use it when we fought the Dungeon Slime too, but I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

For a prospective teammate like Lupa, with whom he planned to cooperate long-term in the future, Lynn naturally had no intention of keeping secrets. However, he wouldn’t reveal the matter about the Rune either. He simply nodded and used the explanation of a spell to brush it off.

The three of them walked underground for another ten minutes or so.

Although they couldn’t tell their exact direction, the chill seeping from the stone walls crawled up the soles of their boots, and even the echo of their footsteps grew increasingly muffled. Lynn could feel that they were getting further and further away from the surface.

The sound of running water gradually grew louder in their ears.

After a few more steps, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

A wide, surging river abruptly appeared before the three of them. The damp cave walls around them were covered in faintly glowing moss, and light blue mushrooms could be seen growing among them from time to time, shining with a rhythmic, breathing luminescence.

Countless glowing spores drifted above the river, lending the scene a peculiar sort of beauty.

There was actually an underground river beneath Wingen Town! No wonder it was so damp underground, and the water flow in the sewers was so rapid.

Lynn was slightly surprised. Moreover, this underground river was clearly flowing toward even lower, deeper areas of the underworld.

The monster encyclopedia mentioned that Wererats often frequented the boundary between the Underdark and the surface. Did this underground river lead to the Underdark?

Looking in the direction of the river, the dim underground passage stretched on without an end in sight, leading to parts unknown.

The Wererat, who had been silent for a long time, finally found a conversation starter upon seeing Lynn’s puzzled expression and quickly spoke up:

“This river originates near the volcano and flows all the way down to the Underdark. However, trying to travel upstream against the current is extremely difficult for underdark races. Only we Wererats can pass through here.”

Art the Wererat sounded a bit proud as he mentioned this.

Lynn was also somewhat puzzled. How did such small Wererats navigate such rapid underground currents? But as his gaze swept across the riverbank, the answer formed in his mind.

On the stone walls along the river, in places where there were no banks, tunnels large enough for giant rats to pass through had been dug. A long, continuous passage stretched all the way down.

This was quite a massive undertaking...

Although Wererats were a weak race, they could establish themselves in the Underdark and freely travel between the subterranean depths and the surface to trade with both sides. They truly could not be underestimated.