"Oh? You know?" Lorne looked at the skeleton soldier Aze with some surprise. He then realized that even by the standards of monsters, Aze was already quite old, considered an elder.
Therefore, it wasn't surprising that he knew some things that were unknown to others.
"Then why don't you share it with us?" Lorne asked.
"Ka ka." Aze nodded and said seriously, "Ka ka ka, ka ka, ka ka ka ka ka. Ka ka ka ka ka ka ka, ka ka ka ka ka ka ka..."
Lorne and Helena listened attentively to his words, sometimes surprised, sometimes nodding in agreement.
"Oh, I see now."
"I never expected that, Aze. You've had such experiences."
Only Arianne looked confused.
Since she couldn't understand Aze's words at all, she was completely left out of the conversation. Arianne couldn't help but feel unhappy and became increasingly annoyed.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about!" She pinched Lorne in frustration and anxiously muttered, "Lorne, please explain!"
"Ouch, that hurts!" Lorne couldn't help but cry out, "Okay, okay, let me help you translate. Um, Aze just said..."
...
A long, long time ago.
During the era when the Demon King "Fennir the Blood Wolf" was still in the prime of his power.
At that time, in a large dungeon, there lived a small skeleton soldier named Aze. Compared to the legendary monsters around him, Aze was as insignificant as an ant.
He was what they called a front-line cannon fodder.
The lord of this dungeon was "Darkskull Charles," a high-ranking mage skilled in necromancy. Not only was he powerful, but he was also one of the thirteen Demon Generals under "Fennir the Blood Wolf."
He was wholeheartedly loyal to the Demon King.
However, this loyalty eventually led to his downfall.
Four hundred years ago, after the Demon King and the hero perished together, Darkskull Charles was filled with remorse. On one hand, he regretted not being able to protect the Demon King during the most dangerous moment; on the other hand, he had a deep hatred for the "hero" who killed the Demon King.
He wanted revenge.
But the culprit, the hero, was already dead. So, Darkskull Charles's anger began to spread, viewing all humans as enemies.
In the fourth year after the Demon King's death, Darkskull Charles led his army of three thousand monsters out of the dungeon. The army poured out, mercilessly advancing towards human cities!
"Kill, kill, kill! Leave no survivors, whether they are men or women, old or young!"
Insanely, Darkskull Charles roared before battle.
"We shall make the streets run with blood and make a mountain with the heads of humans! This is a tribute to our Demon King!"
The result...
This expedition ended in a tragic failure.
Not long after the war began, Darkskull Charles was completely wiped out.
By a woman.
A woman known as the "Holy Maiden of Justice" among humans.
She was the wife of the hero and possessed a highly powerful artifact. In other words, she was one of the so-called first generation "Seven Holy Maidens."
Following that, the leaderless monsters were defeated.
Completely annihilated by the "Knights of the Holy Temple" of the church.
However, Aze managed to survive. Although he was just an insignificant skeleton soldier, cannon fodder, he lived longer than those powerful legendary monsters.
...
"Aze said... Since then, that dungeon lost its lord and all of its residents. For four hundred years, no demon or monster has set foot inside it," Lorne relayed Aze's words.
At the same time, he pondered.
"But... Are you sure, Aze? After all, it's been such a long time, anything could have happened. Perhaps that dungeon has a new owner. Since it's such a famous dungeon, there must be many demons who have their eyes on it, right?"
"Ka ka ka ka." Aze shook his head with certainty.
Meaning, it is impossible.
Then, Aze explained the reasons why he was so certain.According to him, that Dungeon is very special and ordinary people cannot get close to it at all. Its entrance is shrouded in persistent fog, and anyone who trespasses will completely lose their way and never be able to leave.
In addition, the entrance of the Dungeon is also protected by special magic, and only "Black Skull Charles" himself and a few of his trusted subordinates know how to open it. The only exception is the former demon lord "Fennir the Blood Wolf".
Back then, Fennir the Blood Wolf came to the Dungeon alone and forcibly opened the door with brute force. With overwhelming power, he made all the monsters in the city submit to him, including Black Skull Charles.
"So, you mean... unless there has been a powerful demon like the demon lord in the past four hundred years, the Dungeon cannot have a new owner," Lorne pondered.
"But that's unlikely, otherwise the whole world would have been thrown into chaos... So, Aze, can you lead us through the fog and open the door?"
"Kakakakaka, kakakakaka." Aze replied.
Meaning: I can go through the fog, but I don't know how to open the door.
Upon hearing this, Helena sighed visibly and muttered discontentedly, "What's the point of saying all this? Do you think any of us can be as powerful as the former demon lord to forcefully open the door?"
...Yes, the problem is how to open the door. Lorne also frowned, thinking.
This Dungeon does sound like an ideal place. Not only is it large enough, but it also has its own hidden attributes, making it suitable for sneaky development.
But if we travel all the way there and can't find a way to open the door, it would be ridiculous... Should we give up on that Dungeon and find another target?
At the same time, Arianne, biting her thumb, was clearly thinking about something.
After a while, she suddenly asked, "By the way, Aze... is that Dungeon you mentioned called 'Oscura,' meaning Dark Star?"
Huh?
Why, did Arianne also hear about it? Lorne looked at Aze in surprise, hoping for his answer.
Aze nodded affirmatively.
"It seems like my guess was right..." Arianne showed a confident smile. "Don't worry, I know how to open the door."
"You know too? How do you know everything?" Lorne was slightly stunned and blurted out.
Yeah, it's strange.
Arianne knew about the existence of the "altar," knew how to activate the "Trial Path," knew the specific name of the Dungeon mentioned by Aze, and even knew how to open the door...
Are you reading the script?
"Don't ask so many questions, just follow the master obediently!" Arianne patted her meager chest that couldn't produce any ripples, saying.
"By the way, Dungeon One of the former 'Thirteen Demon Generals'... Well, for someone who is about to become a demon lord, it is a bit shabby. But, we'll have to make do for now, Lorne."
Hey, what did you say?
Make do?
According to Aze's description, that was a Dungeon that used to house three thousand demons... Look around, how many people do we have in total?
Four!
"A place that big must be tiring to clean," Lorne grumbled out of the blue.
...In any case, our next target has been decided.
We will go to the Dungeon "Oscura" and claim it as our own!
Arianne slapped the table in excitement, "It looks like we're going on a journey. So, we shouldn't delay, let's go to the town today and purchase the necessary supplies for the trip. We'll set off early tomorrow morning!"
...
At the same time, on a small road not far from Sparrow Town.A beast tribe girl, dressed in a blood-stained white robe of the church, was bouncing around as she walked. Her spirits were quite high, as she could sense from the scent in the air that she was getting close to Arianne.
"I'm about to meet Lady Arianne soon..."
The girl wagged her tail happily, blushing on her cheeks.
But as she kept walking, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She lifted her sleeve and sniffed the scent on herself carefully, then made a disgusted face.
"Lela now smells both bloody and ugly... Ugh, what do those adventurers usually eat? Why does their blood smell so strong?"
"Sob, Lady Arianne will dislike me like this..."
The girl named Lela pouted, and her two pointed ears drooped.
"Oh, right! When we get to the town, I'll buy a clean new dress to change into. Hehe, then Lady Arianne won't dislike me... Lela is so smart!"
