Lucas noticed his hearing had improved after putting on the earring. The necklace, however, gave him no noticeable boost. It would probably activate automatically if he ever faced an illusion. He disliked wearing so many accessories. They made him uncomfortable, and he felt as though his movements were slightly restricted. Still, improved hearing and protection against illusions were benefits too valuable to ignore.

  “Have you decided?” Evelyn asked.

  “Yes. Let’s continue to the left,” Lucas replied evenly.

  He had noticed that after Evelyn learned he had dealt with two bears alone, she had quietly surrendered her position as leader. Before, she made decisions without even consulting him. Now, she simply followed.

  They passed the chamber where they had found Roland’s body, then the one with the bears. Lucas glanced inside - the corpses were still there, lying exactly where he had left them.

  “Didn’t you say the corpses would disappear and new bears would appear?” he asked, turning to Evelyn.

  “Each dungeon follows its own design,” Evelyn replied. “I cannot be certain. Perhaps this one has no timer at all. Still… we would be fools not to stay cautious.”

  Lucas nodded and headed left. In the distance, a massive chamber came into view, sealed behind a thick stone wall. The wall was longer than all the chambers they had passed combined.

  “This looks far too large, don’t you think?” he asked without turning toward Evelyn.

  When no answer came, Lucas glanced back. Evelyn was staring at the inscription above a murky, magical barrier like cloudy water that served as the entrance.

  “Can you read it?” he asked.

  “I can. It says there is a dragon inside. One that has not yet reached adulthood.”

  Lucas’s eyes widened in both surprise and excitement, though the thrill quickly faded. Entering that chamber would likely mean certain death. He had struggled against two bears, let alone a dragon. No matter how young the creature was, he didn’t believe he stood any chance.

  “And the reward…” Evelyn continued quietly. “The reward for slaying the dragon is its egg.”

  “Fuck… If only I hadn’t used those scrolls, maybe I’d stand a chance… no, dragons might be resistant to fire.” Lucas muttered, taking a step away from the entrance. But then he turned around, looking at Evelyn. “Since when can you read those texts?”

  “It was the reward for clearing the dream chamber,” Evelyn replied, avoiding his gaze.

  “I thought the reward was the chest,” Lucas pressed, but she didn’t respond. She walked past him and continued deeper into the corridor.

  Lucas felt she was hiding something. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. Still, there was nothing he could do about it. Confronting Evelyn would yield no result. And the only method at his disposal - Coward’s Eye - had given him no new information. It hadn’t even mentioned the mark they both shared.

  After passing the dragon chamber, Lucas and Evelyn walked forward without stopping, ignoring the entrances on either side.

  Lucas decided to check how long the corridor was. Unless it turned out far longer than he was willing to walk, he wanted at least some understanding of the layout. Knowing the structure of the place could only help.

  To his surprise, it was shorter than he had expected. Only a few dozen chambers on each side. Most had transparent, glasslike walls, while those built with stone were noticeably larger.

  “We should rest before entering a chamber,” Lucas said, yawning. He had been suppressing his fatigue for some time now, and in his current condition, attempting to clear a dangerous room could prove fatal.

  “We must find a safe zone first,” Evelyn replied. “In some dungeons, chamber entrances open on their own if a challenger avoids entering any for too long.”

  “What? Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”

  “You did not ask.”

  “Huh?” Lucas stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. He knew Evelyn was smart enough not to put them in unnecessary danger. “How much time do we have?”

  “I am not even certain that rule applies here,” she said with a small shrug.

  Lucas pulled his gaze away from her, unwilling to let his anger show.

  What the fuck is she thinking? He could ignore her keeping secrets. Whether it was the mark on her hand or the ability to read the script, that was her business. But failing to mention that the chamber doors might open at any moment while they were wasting time exploring the corridor?

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose. Despite the irritation burning in his chest, he understood that Evelyn was not careless. There had to be more behind her decision than simple shortsightedness.

  Lucas refocused on their situation - the only safe zone they had encountered was the starting chamber. But once they left it, the doors had locked behind them, and there was no way back.

  “It has been at least a few hours since you cleared the dream chamber,” he said. “So if we clear another, we should have at least the same amount of time before the doors open. Right?”

  “I cannot say for certain,” Evelyn shook her head. “Each dungeon has its own laws. Those laws are usually written on a monolith near the entrance. But since we did not enter as intended…”

  “Alright. I get it,” Lucas cut her short.

  He weighed the risks quickly. Entering a chamber while exhausted was dangerous. But sleeping without knowing when the beasts might be released from their rooms was worse.

  If that dragon gets out… he thought, and immediately stopped himself.

  There was nothing to debate. If the chamber doors truly opened on their own and the monsters were allowed to roam freely, they would die without question. Clearing an easier chamber sounded far more reasonable, even in his current state.

  “Let’s go to the chamber with the campfire,” he said, turning back.

  It took them less than a couple of minutes to reach the glasslike walls. It was the one place Lucas had taken note of earlier, because inside of it was night. The only light came from an artificial moon on the ceiling that cast a soft silver sheen over the chamber, and from a campfire not far from the entrance.

  The chamber resembled a forest, though not a dense one. Lucas couldn’t clearly see what creatures were gathered around the fire because of the trees. He could only see the shadows against the fire - two legs and arms, much shorter than humans.

  Stopping just outside the entrance, Lucas waited while Evelyn read the script beside it.

  “There are goblins inside,” she said after a short pause. “And to claim the reward, you must kill their leader first.”

  “Leader first… got it. And what’s the reward?” Lucas asked.

  “I cannot read that word,” Evelyn replied, narrowing her eyes. “But it says only one person may enter.”

  Only one person? he thought, unease tightening in his chest. It sounded suspicious. Or maybe he was starting to doubt everything around him.

  “Fine. I’ll go in alone,” Lucas said. Delaying would only worsen his exhaustion. Besides, he still had several healing potions. At worst, he could retreat and recover. “Evelyn, tell me everything you know about goblins.”

  “They are among the weakest beasts,” Evelyn said calmly. “Alone, they are hardly stronger than a ten-year-old child, and far more cowardly. Their strength lies in numbers. Do not show fear. They will sense it.”

  Lucas nodded and stepped toward the chamber, Roland’s staff in hand.

  “Wait,” Evelyn stopped him.

  She opened her satchel and went elbow deep inside.

  “Take this.” She handed him a small vial filled with dark blue liquid.

  “What is this?” Lucas asked, though he had already activated Coward’s Eye.

  [

  Name: Lesser Stamina Potion

  Description: Can restore some energy

  Quality: Normal

  ]

  “Drink it,” Evelyn said. “It will not help your mind, but your body will regain its strength.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lucas emptied the vial without hesitation. The liquid was thick and tasted like mint mixed into soft-boiled egg yolk.

  He shuddered at the flavor as he felt the effect almost immediately. Strength returned to his limbs, and the heaviness that had been clinging to him lifted. For the first time, he truly realized the stark difference between an exhausted body and one brimming with energy.

  “Alright. Wish me luck,” he said with a fragile smile as he stepped his right foot inside the magical barrier.

  “Return safely, Luc…”

  Only part of Evelyn’s words reached him before he vanished into the darkness of the forest.

  Moving from tree trunk to tree trunk, Lucas focused on staying hidden for as long as possible. His goal was to scout the goblin camp first and locate the leader.

  Will the other goblins disappear if I kill the leader first? Or will they run away?

  He had too many questions, but he forced them away. Speculation wouldn’t help. Instead, he focused on the present. Strangely, he felt relief. Excitement even.

  Hiding behind the second-to-last tree before the clearing, Lucas quickly counted the goblins in sight - eight.

  They were mostly naked, their dark green skin exposed, glowing feral eyes scanning lazily around the camp. Their bodies were thin, almost frail, with only crude rags covering their lower halves. Three had short swords; two carried spears, one - a bow. Another wore a hood and held a wooden staff, which Lucas assumed meant it was a mage. The eighth was the largest of them all, seated near the fire and gnawing on the leg of some animal.

  Coward’s Eye.

  [

  Name: Goblin (Max)

  Level: 20

  ]

  Lucas quickly checked the others as well. None were above level 8, which matched Evelyn’s assessment that they were roughly as strong as ten-year-old children. Most were simply listed as [Goblin], except for one - [Goblin Mage].

  After confirming his enemies, Lucas hid himself fully behind the tree trunk and began forming a plan.

  His first thought was to climb the tree and shoot the goblin leader from above. The camp lay roughly fifteen meters from the treeline. He wasn’t particularly worried about killing a level twenty goblin, even if it was “Max” - whatever that meant.

  But what if the others didn’t vanish after the leader died?

  Even if he killed the larger goblin with a single arrow, his position would be exposed. He would become a stationary target.

  Low level or not, eight enemies meant eight potential attacks. And one of them was a mage. Lucas had never fought one before, and every mage he had encountered so far had been far stronger than him.

  What should I do? he thought, searching for another option. But before he could settle on one, a deafening scream shattered the stillness.

  Lucas instantly leaned out from behind the tree. It took him a second glance to notice the cage behind the goblin leader - and the young woman trapped inside it.

  The next chapter on Tuesday!

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