Four days had passed since the Unique Variant attack. Li Xiuman had gotten quite familiar with this adventurer party called Deep Blue Dagger or whatever.
After all, they were a bunch of incredibly pure and simple guys.
Their favorability was laughably easy to farm.
At the same time, Li Xiuman had confirmed that these people had indeed come here looking for something.
Brad had a tattered map in his possession, which he treasured immensely.
They seemed to be exploring this dungeon floor by floor according to this very map.
“A treasure map...”
Li Xiuman felt a little tempted.
He began to contemplate whether he should rob them or swindle them.
No, wait. This was a super-client who had promised him fourteen thousand gold coins.
How could he plot against such a premium client?
If their relationship soured and they went back on the ten thousand gold coins, wouldn't he lose out big time?
But if the treasure was worth far more than ten thousand gold coins...
“Xiuman, ahead is the whirlpool leading to the 33rd floor. Please help us by casting a water spell,” Brad said, turning to Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman nodded, raising his wand. A blue magic circle expanded, enveloping everyone in the party.
...
“Tier 2 Spell, Mass Water Veil.”
After a bunch of half-hearted pseudo-chanting, flowing water coated everyone with a thin film of water.
Then, one by one, everyone dove into the whirlpool and reached the 33rd floor.
Once on the 33rd floor, they continued to dive deeper.
That night.
Everyone huddled inside a cavern space Li Xiuman had carved out with his magic.
Some were already fast asleep.
Li Xiuman, on the other hand, was still researching his Tier 3 Fusion Magic.
“Xiuman, you really are incredibly diligent.”
“You study magic every spare moment you have. It's no wonder your spells are so exquisite.”
Brad wasn't sleeping either, and struck up a conversation with Li Xiuman.
“Hard work makes up for a lack of talent, that's all.”
Li Xiuman replied casually. After a brief pause, he added another line.
“After all, I still have a promise to keep with someone.”
Speaking aloud a promise where one would become a legendary Sword Saint and the other a Sage would only invite ridicule.
It was like two adults in his former world saying:
“I want to become Ultraman,” and “I want to become a Saiyan.”
“A promise?”
There was a hint of curiosity in Brad's tone.
“It's nothing.”
Li Xiuman shook his head. Leaving sentences half-said like this really felt fantastic.
The atmosphere grew quiet for a moment.
“Xiuman, you've probably noticed it by now over these past few days.”
“Our adventurer party didn't come to this dungeon to explore or collect resources.”
Brad suddenly spoke up.
Li Xiuman looked up, halting the pen in his hand that was busy sketching and writing.
Is he... about to come clean?
We've only known each other for three days, is it really fine to tell me?
You really need to be a bit more suspicious of others. Suddenly encountering someone so pure is actually making me quite uncomfortable.
“Brad, are you sure you want to tell me your objective?”
“When traveling abroad, you shouldn't just trust anyone.”
Li Xiuman offered Brad a piece of advice, solely out of respect for those ten thousand-odd gold coins.
“You're a good person, Xiuman. I pride myself on being a decent judge of character,” Brad said with a smile.
Li Xiuman opened his mouth but ultimately found himself at a loss for words.
What judge of character? You don't even know I'm not human.
“...Then what did you and your party come here for?” Li Xiuman asked, following Brad's lead.
“To find the Spirit Spring.”
“The Spirit Spring?”
Li Xiuman found the name somewhat familiar. After thinking carefully, he recalled related memories from a book.
It wasn't a book he had read himself.
Rather, he had seen it within that memory crystal.
The book was titled 《The Crystal Hero's Dragon-Slaying Epic》—it was a hero's epic.
It recorded the story of the one known as the Crystal Hero slaying an evil dragon.
In one chapter, the protagonist, the Crystal Hero, received the blessing of a water spirit in the Spirit Spring, obtaining a bottle of its spring water.
The spring water possessed the miraculous ability to bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones, saving the Crystal Hero from peril numerous times.
And in the final chapter, while slaying the evil dragon, he relied on the Spirit Spring's water to survive the dragon's breath.
In this magical world, most hero's epics were not mere storybooks.
They were accounts of real events.
Many of the things recorded within those epics actually existed.
“Is it the Spirit Spring from 《The Crystal Hero》?”
Li Xiuman asked once more, feeling uncertain.
Damn it, asking like this feels incredibly chuunibyou and embarrassing, like a primary schooler.
But Brad answered Li Xiuman with absolute sincerity.
“Yes.”
“In Chapter Three of the first volume of 《The Crystal Hero's Dragon-Slaying Epic》, there is a detailed description of the Spirit Spring.”
“‘The Spirit Spring lies in a crystal cave amidst the endless deep waters.’”
“‘Reflected by the crystals, a clear spring refracts into seven-colored hues.’”
“‘The Crystal Hero steps forward, scooping up a handful of spring water.’”
“‘In an instant, the tranquil water ripples as a beautiful water spirit emerges, placing a gentle kiss on the Crystal Hero's forehead with a soft smile.’”
“‘The Crystal Hero—’”
“Stop, stop, stop. I've read it too, you don't need to repeat it.”
Li Xiuman felt quite embarrassed and speechless.
He had read the uncensored version from the memory crystal, so he knew exactly what happened next.
The version of 《The Crystal Hero's Dragon-Slaying Epic》 sold in the markets was the heavily censored and edited version.
“Then how can you be sure that the Spirit Spring is definitely in this dungeon?”
“Although this dungeon has over seventy floors, they've all been conquered already.”
“And there are no records of any similar...”
A flash of realization hit Li Xiuman's mind, and he thought of the hidden floor in White Bear City where the legendary Glacial Seal Sword lay.
“Is it... a hidden floor?”
“Exactly, it's a hidden floor.”
Brad took out that treasure map and gingerly handed it to Li Xiuman like it was a prized treasure.
His eyes were incredibly clear and pure.
Li Xiuman sighed. At this rate, it was highly debatable if this kid would even survive long enough to fulfill that ten thousand gold coin promise.
The material of the treasure map seemed to be the hide of some creature.
Drawn upon it was a bunch of chicken-scratch lines resembling a map.
No wonder they hadn't found it after searching for so long. Finding anything with a map like this would be a flat-out miracle.
“We came all the way from the royal capital and entered three dungeons with deep water floors, but we didn't find it.”
“Currently, the White Crystal City Dungeon has the highest probability.”
As Brad spoke, he pulled out a map and explained his deductions.
“Throughout the entire hero's epic of the Crystal Hero, no geographical names are ever mentioned.”
“However, based on the types of monsters the Crystal Hero encountered along the way, as well as some conspicuous landmarks...”
“...I've plotted his journey and growth on the map, leading all the way to where he slayed the dragon.”
“The final dragon-slaying chapter explicitly writes of a fictional location called Fire Dragon Mountain.”
“It should be located within the borders of the Fenyan Kingdom in the western part of the United Kingdom.”
“With that as the endpoint of the entire story, I deduced seven possible trajectories of his growth and journey.”
“The chapter about the Spirit Spring is most likely to have occurred in one of these five locations.”
“I have already ruled out three of them.”
“The remaining one has an even lower probability, because that place is the Crystal Hero's hometown. In the story, after leaving, the Crystal Hero only returned to his hometown once...”
Rate on N.U.
