“Rosie, girl, you didn't make a mistake, did you? There's nothing here!”
The dwarf's voice echoed in the dark corridor.
They had already gone down three flights of stairs, but let alone a water source, they hadn't even seen a single drop of moisture.
Rosie stood a few steps behind the dwarf, her brow furrowed as well.
The markings on the map flashed in her mind. The location clearly marked a water source, identical to the one near the prison.
As she was pondering, a mercenary waved his torch toward the edge of the wall. The firelight swept across the surface, illuminating a patch of faint, faded writing.
Rosie took two steps closer and wiped away the dust with her hand, revealing a line of Ancient Gnomish: Weapons Exhibition Hall.
“What is it?” the dwarf ahead turned around and asked.
“I found something interesting,” Rosie said, pointing to a fork off the corridor. “Let's check this way.”
The dwarf nodded and took the lead.
Rosie followed closely behind.
The mercenaries followed with their torches raised.
After walking for about three minutes, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
A vast hall appeared before them, its vaulted ceiling soaring high above.
Rows of display cases of various sizes were lined up throughout the hall.
“What is this place?” the dwarf asked, walking curiously toward the nearest display case.
Before Rosie could answer, a sudden gasp echoed from nearby.
“Ah!—”
A mercenary holding a torch stood before a massive display case, taking an involuntary step back.
The light of the torch cast a massive, blurry silhouette on the surface of the case.
The creature was over five meters tall, and even through the walls of the display case, it exerted a suffocating sense of pressure.
It stood on two legs, resembling an oversized gorilla, but its forelimbs bore long, razor-sharp claws.
“There's a monster inside!” the mercenary cried.
Rosie walked over and glanced at the plaque beneath the case.
Giant Claw Beast: This creature possesses immense strength and agility. Its razor-sharp claws are indestructible, easily tearing through steel, making it ideal for jungle warfare. If interested, please contact XXX.
“Don't make a fuss. It's just a specimen, not a living creature,” Rosie said.
“Specimen?” The mercenary let out a sigh of relief. “So it's dead... Scared the life out of me.”
The dwarf came over, leaning in close to the display case, his eyes fixed on the specimen of the Giant Claw Beast.
“This thing is massive!” the dwarf exclaimed.
“Let's keep moving,” Rosie said, continuing forward.
One display case followed another along the path, showcasing a wide variety of biological specimens in different shapes and sizes.
Some were colossal, others slender; some possessed multiple pairs of wings. All of them looked fierce and incredibly lifelike.
Under the flickering torchlight, the shadows of the specimens danced on the glass, looking as if they might spring to life at any moment.
“These cases are incredibly sturdy. I wonder what material they're made of to have lasted so many years without decaying,” the dwarf marveled.
The mercenaries remained silent, staring at the specimens with looks of awe and trepidation.
After walking a bit further, the dwarf suddenly spoke up: “Wait... no matter how you look at them, these things don't seem like ordinary creatures, do they?”
The mercenaries nodded in agreement. “If these monsters were still alive, they would be terrifying!”
“Who in their right mind would turn these things into specimens and display them here? What were they trying to do?” the dwarf muttered.
“Looking for buyers, what else?” Rosie shrugged, her plate armor clinking softly at the shoulders.
“Buyers?” The dwarf's eyes widened. “You mean these things were actually merchandise?”
“Exactly. Just imagine unleashing these beasts onto a battlefield. Tell me you wouldn't be terrified...” Rosie said with a smile.
The dwarf lifted his chin. “We dwarves aren't afraid of such things. If I ever ran into them, I'd finish them with a single swing of my axe.”
He paused, then added, “Of course, if there were too many of them, I might be slightly inconvenienced...”
“Hahaha...”
Everyone burst into laughter, their voices echoing through the empty hall and dispelling much of the tense atmosphere from moments ago.
Before the laughter had fully died down, the dwarf's attention was suddenly drawn to a relatively small display case nearby.
He ran over in a few quick strides. “Huh? What's this thing?”
The others followed.
Standing in front of the display case, the dwarf tilted his head to inspect the contents.
Inside was an object about half the height of a human. It looked like a spider, but its entire body gleamed with a metallic luster.
It had eight distinct jointed legs, a slender torso, and a hemispherical metal dome for a head, with an amber crystal embedded right in the center of the dome.
“What is this thing? It doesn't look like a living creature. It looks like a metal contraption,” the dwarf said.
The mercenaries gathered around, also talking among themselves.
“It looks a bit like a spider... A metal spider? How bizarre.”
“Could it be some kind of relic? It feels very mysterious.”
“I think it might be something used to control those monsters. After all, if they're merchandise, someone would need to control them.”
The dwarf finally looked at Rosie. “What is this? You know the ancient script, tell us about it.”
Rosie knew what it was even without looking at the description.
That hemispherical metal dome, that amber crystal embedded in its center—she had seen that exact design before.
It was identical to the War Golem she had encountered during her very first adventure.
Only, this one was a scaled-down version—slenderer and more delicate.
She looked down at the plaque beneath the display case: Spider Guard. A scaled-down, improved version of the War Centurion. Capable of firing a weakened death ray. A great helper for guarding the home.
A death ray?
The beam of light fired by that War Golem immediately flashed in Rosie's mind. Its power to melt through stone walls remained vivid in her memory.
Who on earth would use this to guard a house?
Besides, displaying a mechanical product in a biological exhibition center? That didn't seem quite right...
“It's also a product, used for home security,” Rosie said.
She didn't explain further and continued walking toward the depths of the hall.
“Guarding a house with a metal spider? What a bizarre idea,” the dwarf muttered, following her.
The mercenaries followed as well, their torches swaying as they moved, casting shifting shadows across the display cases.
After walking a bit longer, a half-open door appeared ahead.
The dwarf pointed at the door. “Huh? There's a door over there?”
He ran over quickly and pushed the door. The hinges let out a dry, rusty creak as it swung inward.
He poked his head inside to look, then suddenly took a deep breath. “Haha! I can smell water!”
It was damp, cool air, a stark contrast to the dry passages above.
Rosie rushed over and took a deep breath as well.
The moisture traveled straight down into her lungs, instantly soothing the dry, parched sensation.
Behind the door was a staircase winding downward.
The staircase was narrow, unlike the spacious, flat stairs outside. It was barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and the steps were much shallower.
Beside it was more text covered in dust.
Rosie wiped it clean, revealing the words: Staff Passage.
“Looks like we found the right place,” she said.
The dwarf took the lead and headed down.
His pace was much faster than before, almost jogging down the stairs, with the others following closely behind.
The staircase was long, twisting through several turns before finally reaching the bottom, where the air grew increasingly damp and chilly.
Once they reached the bottom, a large space opened up before them.
This area was filled with many small, individual rooms. Some doors were half-closed, others wide open, revealing empty interiors with nothing but dust-covered stone slabs and simple cabinets.
It truly looked like staff quarters.
“This is the place, no doubt about it,” the dwarf said.
Without looking back, he continued forward.
He no longer needed to find his way; he simply followed the strongest scent of moisture in the air. Passing through a long corridor, he pushed open a half-closed door, and their field of vision suddenly expanded.
The room was huge, containing nothing but a pool resembling a large swimming pool.
The pool occupied most of the room. Its surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting a dark gleam under the torchlight.
Rosie could feel the cool mist brushing against her face, instantly refreshing her spirit.
“Fantastic!”
The dwarf cheered and rushed to the edge of the pool. He crouched down, sniffed the water first, then scooped up a handful and took a large gulp.
Water droplets dripped down his scruffy beard. He smacked his lips, his eyes lighting up. “Excellent. It's incredibly pure, no worse than the water in the rat's nest.”
The mercenaries also rushed over eagerly, leaning over the edge of the pool to scoop up water with both hands and gulp it down.
The sound of heavy swallowing was interspersed with the patter of water dripping through their fingers.
Rosie walked to the other side of the pool and crouched down, inspecting it closely.
The pool wasn't very deep; she could faintly see a weak, pulsing blue light radiating from the bottom.
The glow was steady and regular, as if something at the bottom of the pool was breathing rhythmically.
It seemed the magic circle that continuously supplied water to the pool was still functioning, and had been doing so for a very, very long time.
She leaned down and took a few sips of the pool water. It was cool and sweet, similar to mountain spring water.
“Fill up the waterskins,” Rosie ordered.
The mercenaries immediately took out their waterskins, crouched by the pool, and submerged them. Bubbles gurgled to the surface as the waterskins quickly filled.
The dwarf also crouched nearby, filling his own waterskin and tying it back to his lower back.
Rosie stared at the blue glow at the bottom of the pool, falling into thought for a moment.
If she destroyed the magic circle at the bottom, this water source would be cut off.
This would be a blow to the Count, but she ultimately dismissed the thought.
Destroying this one wouldn't stop him; there was still the one in the prison's rat nest.
The Count had plenty of manpower; at most, it would only cost him a bit of time.
But if this water source were destroyed, it would be gone forever.
Anna had mentioned that these kinds of magic circles could not be moved or restored once broken.
She took off her helmet, crouched by the pool, and submerged her entire face in the cool water.
The water washed over her cheeks, rinsing away the grime of her journey. She lifted her head and exhaled a long breath.
A moment later, the group returned to the staircase and began heading back up.
This time, the mercenaries walked ahead with their torches raised, illuminating the steps above.
Rosie and the dwarf walked behind them, discussing in low voices where they should go next to find food.
Just as they stepped onto the final stair, Rosie heard the dwarf let out a surprised gasp.
She followed his gaze and saw a bowling-ball-sized metal sphere roll right to the feet of the leading mercenary, its surface sputtering with a stream of tiny sparks.
“Holy shit!”
Almost instinctively, Rosie swung the scorpion shield on her left arm in front of her, ducking completely behind it while simultaneously grabbing the dwarf's collar and pulling him backward with all her might.
“Boom!”
A violent explosion instantly followed.
Rate on N.U.
