Chapter 61 - The Alchemy Book of Dragon Words

A shrill screech echoed through the chamber.

"Kieeeek! Ah... it hurts... You bastard... I'll kill... you!"

The spear pierced straight through the monster's torso, and Baras's grip slipped from the overwhelming force.

But the wall behind it caught the spear tip, driving it even deeper.

Right before Arthur's eyes loomed Baras's roaring maw—eyes and mouth twisted in agony.

The beast let out a scream laced with pain.

Baras had sensed it the moment he first laid eyes on Arthur.

He bore an uncanny resemblance to that knight he'd devoured long ago.

The eyes, the movements, every gesture.

It was like looking at the man's spitting image.

He had to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be that knight's son.

The father had been strong, but this boy... this mere youth was even stronger.

Infinitely stronger.

And in the instant Baras lunged, convinced he could kill him, the paralysis wore off. The spear slammed into his own body.

Baras roared in realization.

Dodge. Escape this. Or I'm dead.

Then, a cunning idea flashed through Baras's mind.

"Fa... ther...!"

"......"

A voice leaked from Baras's form.

A voice Arthur knew all too well.

His father Acaus's voice.

Arthur's brow furrowed.

Baras possessed the ability to read fragments of the memories of those he devoured—and mimic their voices.

A tiny sliver of memory.

Drawing on it, Baras spoke.

"Ex... cellent, Arthur. You've become a far... finer man than your fa... ther ever was."

Baras fought back the agonized scream building in his throat, subtly maneuvering one of his tentacles.

Aim for the unguarded moment. Pierce the boy's throat.

Arthur, brow still creased, muttered coldly.

"Desperate to live, aren't you, you filthy beast."

There would be no mercy.

Arthur hefted the spear with all his might.

Then activated Triple Thrust.

Pu-pu-puk!

Three consecutive strikes landed.

The Berserker's Ring's special ability triggered, unleashing critical damage.

Baras's body slowly crumbled.

Gurgle... gurgle.

Viscous poison oozed from its form.

The Star of Growth's special effect.

Hunting monsters deemed boss-tier or equivalent grants Lord EXP.

Three levels up in total.

But Arthur had no time to celebrate. He slumped against the wall, back pressed to it.

'Damn monster. Using my father's voice of all things...'

Did Arthur lack emotions? Was he not human?

His heart had skipped at that long-lost voice.

But he knew. It wasn't his real father—just Baras's mimicry.

Had he not known Baras's true nature as a monster, he might have faltered.

Clap... clap...

Applause rang out.

Turning his head, Arthur saw Lauden slowly clapping—then with full enthusiasm.

Clap clap clap clap!

"Thank you, Arthur. Truly, thank you!"

His face beamed with genuine pride in the boy.

Knowing he couldn't collapse yet, Arthur summoned peak focus, bracing against the wall with his hand to haul himself up.

'First things first...'

Arthur opened the Gold Shop.

He bought a 10L water jug from within.

He tossed it in front of Bred.

"Collect Baras's poison in there. Simple enough—stab just below the abdomen with your dual blades' tips, and the poison sac should burst, making it easy to harvest."

-Understood.

Bred and Roden moved swiftly together.

"Those inexplicable abilities... from the dungeon?"

Lauden knew of the powers and artifacts flowing from dungeons.

Arthur flashed a grin.

"I'll explain once we're out."

Lauden nodded. No need to rush.

"I still have unfinished business."

Arthur confirmed Bred had collected all the blood.

He stowed the jug in his inventory and commanded Bred and Roden.

"Deeper in, there's a boss room. Kill it."

-Understood.

It was trivial for them anyway.

Arthur backtracked the path with Lauden.

He dragged the knight trainees' corpses to the boss room entrance. Lauden followed with a puzzled look but no questions.

"Why the bodies?"

"Something I must do. Wait out front for 30 minutes."

Lauden nodded.

His expression said he trusted it was necessary.

And he knew Arthur wouldn't harm him.

Creeeak.

The boss room door swung open, revealing the chilled corpse of the boss monster.

King Vampire Fly.

A 2-star pest—child's play for Bred and Roden.

Arthur scanned the floor intently for the passage mechanism.

Soon, faint, disconnected letters appeared.

Us... Fe... pow... to u...

About that much.

Over half erased.

But Arthur already knew how to open it.

Ellas had come here via a dungeon connected to his passage.

More precisely, to the midpoint between the Asgard Continent and her world.

She'd turned back exactly there.

From her tale, if there was a passage there, one existed here too.

And similar phrasing to what she'd seen.

Hers had been clear at her dungeon's end.

"Bred, Roden."

-Yes.

"Bring in all the piled corpses outside. Baras's too."

-Got it.

Bred hauled in the seven dead knights and Baras's corpse.

Arthur nicked his fingertip with the spear.

Blood beaded, dripping onto the letters one by one.

As it hit, the text sharpened into clarity.

'A passage opened by blood.'

Rumble rumble rumble!

The dungeon shook.

The King Vampire Fly statue split apart, revealing a passage.

Bred and Arthur tossed the seven bodies inside.

Splat!

Splat!

The hollow thuds of falling flesh—or rather, sacrifices.

Knights ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tasked with territory security, kidnapping civilians for rituals, indulging their greed.

Practically murdering their captain, and trying to kill his son and instructor Lauden too.

They deserved bones gnawed clean, bodies offered up.

Reap what you sow.

Perfect fit.

Arthur added the King Vampire Fly and Baras's corpse.

'Might as well. Could trigger better rewards.'

Revive Baras with Death Painting?

The thought flickered briefly.

But he shook his head.

'This thing killed my father.'

No matter how cold or calculating, that crossed the line.

Shraaa-la-la!

The passage walls morphed into swarms of black beetles.

'Stag beetles?'

They resembled them perfectly.

Thousands of black stag beetles surged toward the corpses.

Chirr chirr chirr!

They blanketed the bodies in a writhing black mass.

The beetles retreated, revealing... bones.

Nothing but bones remained.

They reformed into walls.

Arthur moved to check the notifications when another rang out.

Savage Stag Beetles.

Arthur checked without hesitation.

"Gnaw structures...?"

Even for Arthur, a consumable like this was new.

Drop enemy buildings five levels.

What if aimed at their castle?

And devour foes whole, three times faster than the gluttonous ones.

Incredible.

Now, time for the Plunderer's Ring.

'The ring on the skeleton's finger. Fourth one.'

Ellas had spotted a wall-mounted skeleton in the center.

Five rings on its fingers; she'd grabbed the fourth.

It vanished into the wall with the skeleton.

Arthur followed the faint light through the dim passage.

Soon, he reached its end.

Two small eternal torches, magically lit—one on each side of the skeleton.

Arthur examined the rings.

Identical designs, differing only in the skull ornament's color.

Thumb: green. Index: blue. Middle: red. Ring: black. Pinky: white.

Black.

The Plunderer's Ring he sought.

Arthur took it without pause.

Shrrrk!

As expected, the skeleton sank into the wall.

And with it—

Rumble rumble rumble!

The passage quaked.

"Hmph."

A low groan escaped him.

Now he understood why Ellas hadn't gone further.

The passage was collapsing.

Crack crack!

Arthur bolted.

Fissures spiderwebbed the floor, then split wide.

Tat tat tat!

He gritted his teeth, sprinting.

Collapsing earth and ceiling chased right behind.

"Raaah!"

He poured out his last reserves.

Couldn't die after grabbing the ring.

There—the entrance he'd come through.

BOOM!

A massive roar exploded behind his head.

Whoosh. Roll roll.

Leaping wildly, Arthur tumbled across the ground, escaping the crumbling tunnel.

"Huff... huff..."

Gasping raggedly, he eyed the Plunderer's Ring clenched in his fist.

The ring that birthed Ellas's codename, Heaven's Army.

One of 33 Soul Rings—artifacts akin to Authority Growth types, but a step below.

Lower numbers meant superior rings; higher, inferior.

This Plunderer's Ring was the 22nd.

Arthur steadied his excitement and inspected it.

Dungeons, artifacts, skillbooks existed on Asgard too—but this ring was custom-made for Lords.

Anyone but Ellas likely wouldn't uncover its powers.

Designed for reality: quest via the strong, summon their copies as units.

Before leaving, Arthur checked Baras's Essence from his inventory.

Viscous green liquid sloshed in a vial.

'So that's its power.'

Satisfied, he uncorked it without hesitation.

Pop!

A crisp sound, and he downed Baras's Essence.

Truth be told, it tasted vile—clenching his skull.

It burned down his throat, racing through his veins, swelling them to bursting.

Soon, the notification came.

Ding!