The adventure team from Stan Town, led by Cass, walked through the withered garden, still shaken.
They observed the world around them, lifeless and decayed after five thousand years, with a grey sky flickering with electric light overhead. Even the most experienced adventurers in the group couldn’t help but feel fear and tension. The initial excitement of joining the adventure to make a fortune had faded; no one was thinking about that now.
Though they knew entering the Gods’ Ruin was dangerous, their earlier encounter with the magical guards had shown this place far exceeded their expectations.
Cass recalled Teacher Merlin’s warnings, growing increasingly wary of the dangers here. What unsettled him most was that, during their clash with the magical guards, he sensed those ancient, still-powerful beings hadn’t shown much hostility toward them. Patrolling the castle corridors, they seemed to be guarding against a far more terrifying intrusion. The team’s chaotic entry hadn’t triggered their full alertness.
Even so, in that single skirmish, their group of forty-five lost seven members, with three others seriously injured, before they escaped the castle in disarray. Compared to this place, they were utterly insignificant.
Suddenly, Cass noticed something and looked up.
Ahead, on withered trees covered in red mushrooms, on stones coated with brown moss, and on the muddy, blackened ground, dark shadows flitted by.
These were not metaphors for speed but actual shadows, clinging to the trees, stones, and ground, resembling fast-moving rats. They returned from a distance, swiftly merging into the shadow of one of the team members.
This was shadow magic.
The user was Edel, the second-in-command of the Goddess’s Kiss Magic Guild. Among the various types of magic mentors, dark magic mentors excelled at reconnaissance. They could manipulate their shadows to scout surroundings or even meld into shadows for movement.
“Edel, what’s the situation?” asked Bilis, a summoner with long blue hair.
“There’s something good ahead,” Edel replied, having processed the information from his shadow rats. He pointed east, his small eyes gleaming with excitement. “There’s an object filled with powerful magic. It’s definitely a treasure!”
“Then what are we waiting for!” Thorn, the leader of the Bullhead Magic Guild, said eagerly.
Cass didn’t intervene. Truth be told, he was intrigued by Edel’s discovery. But as they advanced eastward, the environment ahead heightened his alertness. The abandoned garden was already withered and desolate, but the area ahead was even more decayed.
The ground was a layer of black, evil-smelling mud. Grass and rocks were covered in a dark grey hue, and the air felt uncomfortable, faintly carrying a terrifying aura from ahead.
This place was dangerous.
“I think we should stop,” Cass said to the others.
“We should go take a look!”
“Exactly! This is the Gods’ Ruin, a fragment of the divine realm. There’s bound to be something extraordinary left behind!”
Some team members objected.
“It’s been five thousand years. What danger could remain? Those magical guards earlier were nothing special,” Bilis said, summoning a giant crab-like monster and standing on its back, gazing ahead. “We shouldn’t miss any opportunity!”
Cass frowned. Though he was nominally the leader, he couldn’t fully control the team’s actions. As he was about to speak, an old swordsman who had come with him quietly patted his shoulder. “Mr. Cass, maybe going to look isn’t a bad idea,” the swordsman said, his eyes flashing with greed.
After a moment’s hesitation, Cass relented. “If we encounter danger, we should retreat immediately.”
The team pressed forward. Cass noticed several novice-looking magic mentors and swordsmen being pushed to the front as scouts, the so-called cannon fodder.
This was a common tactic among adventurers. When embarking on a mission, they’d recruit novices to join, sending them ahead to detect dangers. These were expendable individuals, often sacrificed. Of the seven who died in the earlier clash with the magical guards, four were such cannon fodder.
Yet, many adventurers rose from being cannon fodder. Surviving a few such roles could lead to significant growth, but Cass disliked the practice. In his past adventures, he treated every team member equally. This team, however, wasn’t his mercenary group.
Among the cannon fodder, Cass recognised someone: Riken, the fire magic mentor who had dueled Ye Chui. Unlike the other cannon fodder, who were visibly terrified, Riken showed a fervent zeal. Cass felt a pang of pity.
“A good seedling. If he survives, he might grow into a powerful magic mentor, though he’ll never quite match Wade.”
In a dilapidated stone hut in the garden, Green, a space magic mentor who had nearly fully recovered after a week of rest, was being tended to by the terrifying creature, now known to be a Valkyrie. Perhaps due to the potency of her ointment, his injuries were mostly healed.
Green glanced at the Valkyrie. Her patchwork face was still nightmarish, but he no longer felt the urge to vomit when looking at her or the instinct to panic when she appeared suddenly. Beneath her terrifying appearance, she was rather gentle, though she still caused a visceral discomfort.
“Jiji!” The Valkyrie, intently checking Green’s wounds with her uneven fingers, suddenly grew alert, her expression turning serious.
“What’s wrong? Danger?” Green asked, startled. Over the past few days, he’d begun to understand her simple vocalisations.
“Jiji, kaka,” she called urgently, her black-and-white wings unfurling as she swiftly flew out of the hut.
Green hesitated briefly before hurrying after her.
In the ant tunnels of Dragon Head Mountain, after watching the complete, unedited “Prologue: The Fall of the Dragon,” Ye Chui had gained new insights and prepared to lead Debbie and Gilga out of the tunnels.
“I might know what that valuable thing in the castle is,” Ye Chui said to Debbie.
“What is it? What is it?” Debbie asked eagerly.
Before Ye Chui could respond, he glanced at the iPad map, noticing the movement of several dots. His face paled. “Bloody hell!”
“The valuable thing in the castle is ‘bloody hell’? What’s that?” Debbie asked, bewildered, unfamiliar with Ye Chui’s instinctive exclamation from another world.
“We need to get out of here fast,” Ye Chui said, ignoring her question. Watching the adventure team nearing the flashing red dot, along with Green and the Valkyrie heading the same way, he said anxiously, “Those guys are walking into a death trap!”
