Before the dizziness of teleportation could even dissipate, Lu Mao collapsed face-first onto the cold ground.
【Arrived at Ninth Floor: Blood Nest Cloister】
【Current Coordinates: Hidden Portal (Deactivated)】
【Warning: Multiple monster reactions detected nearby. Closest individual is approximately 180 meters away.】
【Suggestion: Seek cover immediately.】
Lu Mao propped himself up against the wall and looked down at the ring on his index finger. Focusing his mind, he peered inside, and indeed, another space appeared within the ring.
The space inside the ring was about the size of two backpacks, packed with several items. Following Chen Jiu's instructions, he first pulled out the piece of parchment and unfolded it.
The writing on the paper was done in charcoal, with sharp, precise strokes. The content was brief:
Don't die first.
Join the adventurer party.
Figure out the adventurer party's objective in entering the dungeon.
Ask your system for the specific functions of the other items.
Emergency Escape Scroll—tear it to return directly to the tavern. Single-use only. Using it before the mission is complete will be deemed as forfeiting your eligibility to continue.
(Note: If you can't even complete this mission, don't bother coming back. The tavern is not a charity; we do not house useless weaklings.)
Lu Mao read through the checklist three times, making sure he hadn't missed any details. Only then did he fold the parchment and stuff it back into the ring, before having the system appraise the other items inside.
First, he pulled out a dusty gray cloak. The fabric was rough, feeling like woven burlap, but it was lighter than linen; once shaken out, it felt practically weightless.
He draped the cloak over his shoulders and pulled the hood down to cover most of his face. The system's prompt immediately popped up:
【Slime Cloak】
【Grade: Fine】
【Effect: Simulates the magicules fluctuations of a Low-Tier monster (slime) when worn. Effective against Mid-Tier and lower monsters. High-Tier monsters have a chance to see through the disguise, while monsters above High-Tier have a high detection rate. Must be recharged with magicules if worn continuously for more than 2 hours.】
【Remarks: It can only make your scent and appearance resemble a slime; it won't actually turn you into one.】
“Alright, being able to fool the small fries is good enough.”
Lu Mao wrapped the cloak tightly around himself and fished out a small cloth pouch from the ring. Opening it, he found fine, silver-gray powder inside, shimmering faintly in the dim light.
He dabbed a bit with his fingertip. The powder felt ice-cold to the touch, like pinching a handful of crushed mints.
【Revealing Dust】
【Grade: Fine】
【Effect: When scattered, it adheres to the surface of magical residue, revealing hidden magic traps, portal remnants, and magical traces within a 10-meter radius. Ineffective against physical traps. Remaining uses: 5】
【Remarks: Don't throw it against the wind.】
Next were three potions. Red, blue, and green, contained in crystal vials about the thickness of a thumb. The necks of the vials were carved with a tiny cross, a water droplet, and a leaf, respectively. He picked up the red one first and shook it against the moss lamp. The liquid was viscous, its color resembling diluted plasma.
【Low-Grade Healing Potion】
【Grade: Poor】
【Effect: Restores a small amount of health over a period of time after oral consumption. Limited effect on severe injuries such as fractures and internal organ damage. Taking it multiple times within a short period yields negligible effects.】
【Remarks: Tastes like a mixture of rust and licorice. Don't expect it to taste good.】
He didn't bother much with the blue one—the system scan remarked: “The mana value in your body is zero. Drinking this will do nothing but give you diarrhea.” He tossed the blue potion back into the depths of the ring and picked up the green one.
【Low-Grade Antidote】
【Grade: Poor】
【Effect: Neutralizes toxins from most Mid-Tier and lower monsters, and can delay the onset of toxins from High-Tier and above monsters. Certain special ingredients seem to have a clear resistance effect against some specific toxins.】
【Remarks: Cannot cure alcohol poisoning, nor can it cure Paraquat.】
Finally, he fished out the emergency escape scroll from the deepest part of the ring.
The material of the scroll was not like paper, but rather resembled some sort of thin, tanned leather. It felt cool to the touch, and both ends were embedded with a tiny, dark purple crystal fragment.
He flipped the scroll over in his hand. The system's information popped up slower than before, as if it too were carefully scanning.
【Emergency Escape Scroll】
【Grade: Epic】
【Effect: Activates a single-user teleportation array within 0.5 seconds of tearing, forcibly teleporting the user back to the tavern's dark room. Ignores most space-blocking skills, but ineffective against forbidden spell-level spatial seals.】
【Remarks: A handy helper when pushed into a corner.】
Having clarified the uses of the items, Lu Mao began to think about his next steps.
How could he gain the trust of the Hero's party?
“System, help me scan the general situation of this floor, with a particular focus on the Hero's party.”
Lu Mao unfolded the parchment in his hand that recorded various information about the dungeon. It showed that the main monsters distributed on this floor were the most infamous goblins.
Yet, this floor was also a place where a vast amount of the dungeon's treasures were buried.
The reason was simple: it was all due to the goblins' natural obsession with females and treasure.
The parchment recorded that the goblins of this floor were extremely fond of venturing to other floors to plunder treasure. Even monsters from deeper floors had once been mugged, slaughtered, and enslaved by organized gangs of goblins.
The ultimate result of all this was that the goblins on the ninth floor were not only numerous, but their quality was also significantly higher than that of the monsters on the floors below. Many adventurers with incomplete intelligence, who had let their guard down on the previous floors, easily ended up meeting their demise here.
【Scanning...】
【Scanning accuracy is interfered with by a strong magicules field. Current accuracy is approximately 42%.】
【There are 5 members in the Hero's party, currently split into two groups: the swordsman, mage, and dwarf heavy warrior are located near an altar approximately 300 meters southeast of the entrance to the Blood Nest Cloister, moving slowly; the priest and half-orc rogue are located near an abandoned altar on the north side of the Blood Nest Cloister, stationary, approximately 400 meters away from the host.】
???
Split into two groups?
What kind of death-seeking move was this?
Lu Mao was dumbfounded. Did people in reality actually choose to split their forces, only to be picked off one by one by the enemy?
It seemed the monsters on the previous floors had been too weak, leading this party to misjudge the strength of the dungeon's monsters.
Still, he had originally worried about not being able to help them much. This turn of events actually gave him plenty of room to maneuver.
“Let's go check out that two-person group first. Having two squishy classes walk together is too illogical. Things might go south for them soon.”
He roughly pinpointed the positions of those two on the parchment, double-checked the coordinates with the system, and once he confirmed there were no errors, he stuffed the map into his tunic and walked briskly toward the fork in the road leading northeast.
Rate on N.U.
