Fourth floor, outside the entrance to the Weapons Archive.
“If only the guy who designed this building were standing in front of me. I'd definitely teach him a thing or two about reasonable design!”
Rosie stood in the corridor, grumbling under her breath.
Before leaving the Architectural Design Center, the two of them had also rummaged through the materials Anna left behind to see if they could find anything she had missed.
Naturally, they found nothing.
Afterward, adhering to her principle of never leaving empty-handed, Rosie began looting the corpses.
As a result, over her damaged black leather armor, she now wore a knight's breastplate and an arm guard.
The chest area featured a slightly outward-curving design to increase defense against frontal attacks, and it wasn't too tight when worn over her leather armor.
The arm guard was articulated, protecting her arm without hindering her movement.
The dwarf also wore an additional piece of chainmail.
When worn by the dwarf, this chainmail turned into a full-body suit that covered everything down to his knees. He had used his axe to pry off the excessively long sleeves.
In any case, their defensive capabilities had improved significantly once again.
Next, the two began searching for the Weapons Archive.
However, even though the archive was clearly on the fourth floor, the two ended up wandering around this level for a long time before finally locating it in a corner.
They arrived at the entrance.
The dwarf didn't even want to speak anymore. He sat down right by the door, sprawling his two short legs on the floor with a look that said, “I'm completely done for.”
Grumbling, Rosie pulled out her identity card and swiped it on the reader at the entrance.
With a click, the lock popped open, and the door slid slowly inward, letting out a gust of long-musty air.
The dwarf, who had been sprawling on the floor, instantly perked up. Leaping to his feet as if injected with adrenaline, he brushed the dust off his rear, shouldered his axe, and strode inside.
Rosie followed closely behind.
The layout of the Weapons Archive was similar to the previous records room.
Rows of filing cabinets lined the walls, with category labels affixed to the cabinet doors, making everything clear at a glance.
Rosie casually opened a cabinet, which contained stacks of documents.
She pulled one out and flipped through it.
“Crossbow Design and Usage.” It was entirely written explanations, containing topics like “A Study on the Relationship Between Crossbow Arm Curvature and Range” and “Elasticity Comparison of Different Bowstring Materials.”
Each paper was detailed, but there wasn't a single manufacturing blueprint. It was more like a collection of academic theses.
Rosie flipped through several more cabinets, only to find similar materials.
“There aren't any high-level weapon blueprints here, only academic papers.”
“And here I thought we'd find some incredible weapon blueprints...” The dwarf's voice carried clear disappointment.
Rosie put the documents in her hand back into the cabinet, closed the door, and comforted him:
“This is just one of the gnomes' bases, so it's normal that there aren't many important things. Besides, didn't we already get the blueprints from the technology center earlier? Be content.”
The dwarf thought about it and nodded in agreement. “You're right, I was expecting too much. Let's go, let's leave this godforsaken place. Once we get back, those few blueprints will be more than enough to make us filthy rich!”
“Filthy rich. I like the sound of that,” Rosie said with a slight smile.
She casually picked out some academic documents that looked impressive and stuffed them into the dwarf's backpack.
Afterward, the two left the Weapons Archive and began making their way back.
They headed all the way down, twisting and turning.
Fortunately, Rosie's memory was fairly reliable. Although the route up had made her dizzy with all its twists, she had memorized the key intersections.
Relying on these scattered memories, the two finally made their way back to the first floor.
However, the first floor had changed completely by now.
Four-legged crabs were everywhere in the hall. At least a dozen could be seen in the central hall alone, not to mention the shadowy outlines lurking deep in the corridors.
Mangled human bodies were scattered across the floor, and the air was thick with the scent of blood.
The four-legged crabs were using their large claws to grab severed limbs and stuff them into their mouths to feast.
Scritch-scratch sounds echoed throughout the hall.
Rosie frowned.
She was already used to scenes of killing, but watching monsters eat humans was still rather sickening.
“Are the Count's men all dead?” the dwarf asked, lowering his voice.
“I don't know. Maybe some of them managed to escape,” Rosie whispered back.
“Our bombs are all gone. How do we get out?” the dwarf asked.
Rosie thought about it and said flatly, “Sneak out. If we get spotted, we dash. They shouldn't be able to outrun us.”
The dwarf nodded in understanding.
The two tiptoed along the base of the wall, moving toward the entrance.
Rosie went first, with the dwarf following behind.
These four-legged crabs were completely engrossed in their meal, entirely unaware of the two living humans approaching.
The two successfully reached the entrance.
Rosie could already feel the unique moisture of the swamp outside.
Just then, a four-legged crab suddenly crawled in from outside the main entrance.
It positioned itself right across the doorway, blocking their path, muddy water from its carapace dripping onto the stone floor.
A figure flashed.
Crack!
The meteoric iron sword slashed down on the joint of the four-legged crab's leg, snapping the entire limb instantly.
Losing its balance, the four-legged crab tumbled to the ground with a thud.
Every single four-legged crab in the hall stopped eating at once and turned their heads in unison.
The fallen four-legged crab tried to raise its claws to counterattack, but Rosie had already plunged her sword into its abdomen, twisting her wrist violently to completely shred its nervous system.
The four-legged crab went still instantly.
Clack clack clack clack!
The other four-legged crabs raised their massive claws and swarmed forward.
“Run!”
Rosie rushed out of the entrance and ran southward along the ruined path of the ruins.
The dwarf followed closely behind, his short legs moving so fast they became a blur.
The four-legged crabs gave chase for a short while.
However, their speed and agility were far inferior to the duo's. As they gave chase, they gradually slowed down, eventually turning around and crawling back.
Only then did the two slow their pace, moving forward at a steady speed to conserve their stamina.
As they walked, Rosie suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“What is it? Is there something else?”
The dwarf immediately looked around warily, raising his axe to his chest.
“My Carrot is still outside!” Rosie said in vexation.
“Carrot?” The dwarf looked utterly bewildered. “What do you want a carrot for? To eat?”
Rate on N.U.
