“System, what is the Panacea?” Lu Mao asked in a low voice as he walked along the edge of the passage, heading deeper into the interior after parting ways with Misha. His cloak's hood covered most of his face, muffling his voice in the fabric, making it sound exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the tenth floor.
Although it was a pity, it seemed he had already ruined this run.
The only thing Lu Mao could do now was prepare for the next Death Return.
【Panacea—Epic-Grade Consumable】
【Effect: Cures the vast majority of known illnesses, curses, toxin erosions, and magic circuit damage. Ineffective against a small number of specific conditions, such as congenital diseases, damaged souls, and instant-death curses.】
【Crafting Requirements: Must be jointly brewed by an alchemist of Grand Alchemist rank or higher and a High-Tier cleric. The core material is the "Flower of the River Styx."】
【Note: The Panacea cannot be mass-produced; every single portion is a unique masterpiece. This is because the Flower of the River Styx only grows in the City of the Dead, and those who can enter and leave the City of the Dead alive usually have no need for a Panacea.】
Lu Mao fell silent for a few seconds.
Only those who didn't need the Panacea could obtain its raw materials, while those who truly needed it could never reach that place.
The malice of this world in such details was exactly like his absolute garbage experience of being spawn-camped and killed eight times by demonized pigmen in the novice village.
As for why Misha needed the Panacea, the system did not give a definitive answer.
But looking back, he recalled Misha saying:
“The captain only took this quest for my sake. Gerak is like this because of me, too. Everyone is because of me.”
Her tone hadn't sounded like she was simply explaining the quest's distribution, but rather like she was describing an unpayable debt. For an entire adventurer party to risk their lives to brave the dungeon, the person who needed the Panacea was likely someone very close to Misha.
Lu Mao drew his dagger from his waist, spun it in his hand, and sheathed it once more.
This run was beyond saving.
Misha's trust in him had plummeted from "initial trust" all the way past zero. When the tip of her staff had been practically pressed against his chest earlier, the attack probability displayed by the system had spiked past seventy percent. No matter what he did now, Misha would never trust him a second time.
The only good news was that he had figured out a few things this time:
The Tracking Mark came from the altar, and something behind the altar was marking intruders;
The Hero's party's goal for this trip was to destroy the altar, and their quest reward was the Panacea, which had the Flower of the River Styx as its core material;
The pursuers hunting down the marked targets would, in all likelihood, not be small-fry monsters like ordinary goblins.
Furthermore, he absolutely had to keep their respective perspectives clear and avoid making such obvious and fatal blunders in the future.
When he reloaded his save next time, he could go straight to Misha with the answers, bypassing any unnecessary detours.
Or... he could just ask the tavern owner directly if he had any Panacea.
If Chen Jiu had the Panacea, then all his problems would solve themselves.
“No, I still haven't figured out who is behind this Tracking Mark. I need to go back and check on the situation.
“System, rescan the ninth floor and find the Hero's party's location. While you're at it, check if there are any high-level monsters on the move there.”
【Understood. Rescanning the ninth floor—】
【Scanning accuracy is currently interfered with by a strong magicule field. Current accuracy is approximately 46%】
【Hero's party member locations updated:
【Swordsman, Mage, Dwarf Heavy Warrior: Located in the southeastern side of the Blood Nest Cloister, currently moving north. Estimated destination is the tenth floor entrance. Residual combat magicule fluctuations detected on all three. Mage's remaining mana is approximately 41%, Dwarf Heavy Warrior has sustained minor injuries, Swordsman is in perfect condition】
【Cleric Misha: Currently moving south along the backup passage, carrying the unconscious beastkin rogue Gerak. Movement speed is slow】
【Beastkin Rogue Gerak: Remains unconscious. Vital signs are stable】
【Estimated time to regroup: within ten minutes】
【Retrieving monster movements on the ninth floor—】
【Warning: A goblin pack (maximum level 8) has been detected closing in on the marked targets from multiple directions. Estimated count exceeds 60, including no fewer than 4 Mid-Tier monster individuals. This movement highly overlaps with the route of the swordsman's trio. Estimated contact time is within 8 to 12 minutes】
【Warning: An unknown monster awakening has been detected in the core of the ninth floor's interior. Extremely strong magicule reaction. Current path of movement is unknown】
Lu Mao paused in his tracks.
Misha was dragging Gerak deeper into the backup passage, while the three on the swordsman's side were being driven toward them by over sixty goblins. This was no coincidence; it was a coordinated hunt.
Could that altar have been built by the goblins?
Lu Mao recalled the appearance of the altar. Although he hadn't examined it closely, in his memory, it seemed to be a highly complex and exquisite "work of art." Even though it was damaged, one could still discern its previously ornate, beautifully carved structure.
He doubted goblins could build such a complex altar. But if it wasn't built by them, why were they pursuing the people marked by it?
“Is there any data on the ninth floor's altar?”
【Currently no relevant data on this altar】
【However, altars of this type are distributed across every floor from the eighth floor onward, and they are linked to the dungeon's sealing magic circle】
“Could they be components of the dungeon's sealing magic circle?
“No, that doesn't make sense. If that were the case, the dungeon's monsters should want this thing destroyed, so why would they try to stop it?”
Lu Mao couldn't quite wrap his head around it. He felt that this altar was extremely important and of a very high caliber; otherwise, it would be impossible for the system to fail to recognize it.
The question was, why was there no record of such an obvious and crucial object on the map given by the tavern owner?
Unless this thing had appeared out of thin air recently. If that was the case, how could the goal of Misha's party be to destroy it?
There were simply too many doubts.
“No matter what, I should go back and see how Misha and the others are going to survive this crisis.”
He couldn't figure out the truth just by guessing. Lu Mao decided to turn back and search for the Hero's party once more.
...
Inside the Succubus Tavern.
Lumu leaned lazily against the bar, one leg crossed over the other, her tail swaying gently now and then. A crystallized goblet was pinched between her fingertips, the deep red liquid inside swirling slowly with the gentle rotation of her wrist.
Her gaze drifted over the rim of the glass, landing on Chen Jiu, who was bent over mixing drinks behind the bar.
“Master, my informants tell me that the adventurer party on the ninth floor seems to have run into some trouble. Someone might die...
“The newcomer also seems to have the intention of helping them. Do you need me to lend him a hand?
“With his strength, if he recklessly runs into that guy on the ninth floor, he'll likely only find a dead end.”
Chen Jiu did not look up.
He was slowly pouring a spoonful of silver-blue liquid down the side of the mixing glass. The moment the liquid hit the bottom, a thread of extremely fine white mist rose, swirling above the rim of the glass to condense into a faint dragon shape.
The dragon's body swam halfway around the rim before silently dispersing into several thread-like wisps of light resembling sword qi, dissolving back into the liquid.
He picked up the glass, brought it to his nose to sniff it, and then took a small sip.
The instant the liquid trickled down his throat, the air within three feet of Chen Jiu suddenly froze.
One translucent blade of sword qi after another silently emerged from his shoulders and back, dense as scales, unfolding outward in layers. Yet they did not dissipate; the moment each blade was about to break free from his surroundings, it was pressed back by some force, rolling back to sink into his body, repeating the cycle over and over.
A sharp edge flashed.
He stood behind the bar completely motionless, yet his robes fluttered without any wind, and even a few grains of coarse salt scattered on the bar were pushed by the invisible current, rolling to the edge of the counter.
The tip of Lumu's swaying tail froze in midair. Her fingers holding the glass tightened involuntarily, causing the wine inside to ripple.
“Sure enough, using ingredients with similar effects can also produce Sword Qi Wine... Just what is the relationship between this world and my 'previous life's' world?”
Ignoring Lumu's expression, Chen Jiu closed his eyes to carefully sense the changes in his body. Only then did he slowly open them and look at the drooling Lumu.
“Master, what kind of wine is this... I... your servant wants some too...”
“If you want to drink, go slaughter any Overlord-tier monster in the deep underground and exchange it for wine.”
Hearing this, Lumu's expression froze for half a second. She resentfully averted her gaze from the clear, silver-blue tinged wine.
“As for Lu Mao...”
A golden light flashed in Chen Jiu's eyes, and his pupils instantly reflected the entire scene of the ninth floor. A moment later, the golden light faded.
“It doesn't matter if he fails this time; he will eventually learn his lesson... We just need to wait for him to slowly grow.”
Lumu truly couldn't understand why her master thought so highly of a rookie who didn't even have an apprentice adventurer badge:
“The man is about to die, how can he have time to grow?”
“Then it means his luck is lacking—and those with poor luck cannot participate in my plans.
“It seems that in this timeline, I won't have a chance to succeed.”
Having said that, Chen Jiu let out a smile.
In truth, Lumu had barely seen her boss smile a handful of times over the years.
And this smile was particularly bizarre, like a kingdom's archmage unable to suppress a chuckle at the thought of explaining high-level spells to a baboon in a zoo.
“Have you ever heard of... Once Attained, Eternally Attained?”
...
Rate on N.U.
