Arcane Journey

"Because you smell like morning dew condensed on the tip of a leaf, fresh and refreshing, with a hint of sweetness and coolness. Just thinking about it makes you want to take a bite, just like you can taste the early spring sunshine shining into the flesh of a fruit."

Facing Brian's slightly puzzled gaze, Furu licked his paw seriously and continued:

"And your scent is neither too strong nor too weak, just like the fragrance brought by the wind blowing through the flowers, mixed with the smell of freshly cut grass. I can dream of myself lying in a colorful flower field when I close my eyes. The smell is also very rich, with the fullness of ripe fruits and a faint fruity fragrance. It's like sleepwalking in an orchard. I feel relaxed as soon as I breathe it in."

After hearing what Furu said, Brian was a little confused at first, but then he thought about it and suddenly realized that this little guy regarded him as spiritual energy with the flavor of nectar.

Although he was speechless, he didn't bother to argue with the other party, so he directly explained his purpose. "I'm not here to talk nonsense with you. I'm mainly here to track down the incarnation of a demon lord. I hope you can tell me the truth."

"The incarnation of the demon lord?" Furu blinked his big round eyes with an innocent look on his face, as if the word was just some kind of novel food in his cognition. "What is that? Is it edible?"

It tilted its head and swayed its tentacles gently, as if it was really thinking about this question seriously. After a moment, it seemed to remember something and muttered softly, "I only remember that there was a monster two days ago. It tasted weird... It was as spicy as a chili pepper, and it had a murderous smell. It almost made me sneeze."

It raised its head and glanced at Brian slyly, with the corners of its mouth slightly raised. It added with a hint of pride and tentativeness: "I don't know if it's the pepper you're looking for, but if it's the pepper you're talking about, then I can tell you something."

"..."

Brian's heart trembled slightly when he heard Furu say these words seriously.

For some reason, as he continued talking to Furu, he could clearly feel that the psychic power in the air was gradually becoming stronger. It was like an invisible hand quietly plucking some hidden strings.

Thinking of this, he looked carefully at the strange-looking but cunning little creature in front of him, and couldn't help feeling a little alert.

I always feel that compared with normal furuna, this little guy obviously has something special that is beyond his peers, but Brian can't figure out what this special thing is.

The little guy's big round eyes on his soft tentacles were as clear as dewdrops in the morning light, yet they contained an imperceptible shrewdness.

Moreover, its eyes carried a kind of wisdom that was not common to ordinary creatures, as if it could see into the deepest secrets of people's hearts. And its serious look made it even more difficult to guess its words and actions with common sense.

Brian knew that when communicating with this mysterious alien, he could never measure or understand it based on his past knowledge of Furu.

So, he collected his thoughts and didn't bother about those confusing words anymore. Instead, he said sincerely, "Yes, I...I'm looking for this little chili pepper."

Brian paused, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his expression became serious. "If you know anything about it, please tell me as soon as possible."

"So you're really looking for Chili Pepper." Furu gently swayed his two tiny tentacles, looking like he was thinking, but also like he was brewing something. His innocent big eyes widened a little, like the look of a child looking at candy with both expectation and cunning.

"You finally found the right one this time." It blinked, and said in a light tone with a hint of pride, "Although I hate the taste of chili peppers, the burning sensation drives me crazy. It tastes like my tongue was thrown into the crater of a volcano!"

As it spoke, it shook its body and tentacles exaggeratedly, as if it was truly recalling some unpleasant taste disaster.

"But," its voice suddenly changed, with a mischievous pause, as if deliberately suspenseful, "where did this guy run off to? I do know some clues. It's just that..."

It tilted its head, with a sly light in its eyes. "If you want others to tell you, you have to... agree to a small request of mine."

"What request?" Brian asked.

"I want to eat nectar fruit." Furu said without thinking. Its body covered with soft tentacles trembled slightly, and several slender tentacles stretched out involuntarily. At the end of one of them was a pair of round, wet little eyes, staring at Brian without blinking, with undisguised desire in its eyes, as if he was not a human being, but a fresh fruit that had just been picked and was still covered with morning dew.

"No problem." Brian was too lazy to say anything more. He moved his mind slightly and condensed a fist-sized spiritual crystal in his palm through his psychic power. He then threw it to Furu and said:
"This crystallized spiritual crystal contains a wealth of spiritual power, enough for you to consume for a long time. Now you can tell me about the devil...about the traces of Pepper."

Furu unceremoniously extended several soft and elastic tentacles and gently wrapped around the mind crystal thrown by Brian.

The crystal trembled slightly between the tentacles, as if something was activated, quietly emitting a faint silver-blue light.

Then, Furu closed his eyes and raised a comfortable smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he was intoxicated by the taste of rare wine in the world. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, with a strange look flashing in his pupils.

"Don't worry." It said briskly but with some certainty, "I will definitely tell you where Pepper is. After all, in the entire Underdark, apart from me, there is absolutely no other thing that knows its whereabouts. Even if someone finds out by chance, they will never be able to break in. That place is not a place that anyone can set foot in."

It paused, a hint of pride flashed in its eyes, "So the fact that you found me can only mean that... the goddess of fate is secretly blessing you."

Brian originally just wanted to give it a try, but at this moment, these words aroused his strong curiosity.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and his tone was somewhat tentative: "Is it so magical? Then tell me, where is it hidden?"

"The other-dimensional space in the underdark." Furu tilted his tentacles, and the two crystal clear little eyes on them blinked. His gaze was as cunning as fireflies in the night, revealing an elusive mystery.

"Do you know about the different dimensions hidden in the Underdark?" (End of this chapter)