This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 103, Section 102: Open the door, bring in dinner.

The moment Dylan pushed open the oak door, a salty, fishy smell mixed with the aroma of diluted ale hit him.

This is a tavern for dockworkers and sailors, dirty and noisy, but Dylan likes this kind of environment.

"A stew and a glass of wine, delivered to your room." He flicked a few copper coins at the shopkeeper, then walked straight through the crowd and went up to the second floor.

This is Dylan's third day in Clark. Tomorrow, a ship will depart from the dock for the archipelago and is willing to take passengers along the way. Dylan has been waiting for it to set sail for three days.

These past few days, the guards have been patrolling and checking things very strictly. I wonder if it's because of the incident where Kloro killed that pretty boy rich kid.

In any case, Dylan tries to stay as secluded as possible.

Aside from the tavern owner and the ship's first mate, he didn't interact much with anyone else.

Back in his room, Dylan took a bottle of magic potion from his bag and drank half of it in one gulp.

Since we can't photosynthesize naked in the city, we have to rely on chemicals.

The remaining half bottle was poured over the scout.

The magic potion dripped between the scales, making the backpack that the scout had transformed into even fuller.

Then Dylan drew his longsword and carefully wiped it with a cloth.

"Sir, your stew and wine."

Dinner is finally here!

Dylan got up, took two steps, but then stopped.

gentlemen?

you?
This isn't some high-class place. The waiters in a tavern are considered polite if they can speak without using profanity. How could they use such language?
As Dylan pondered the matter, he immediately discovered even more problems.

Downstairs... it's become quiet sometime ago...

"Sir, are you asleep?" The person at the door asked again when Dylan did not respond for a while.

Dylan was even more certain that there was something wrong with the people outside; how could they be so polite!

He quietly hoisted the scout onto his back and gripped the longsword in his hand.

Dylan quietly approached the window and peered down through the gap in the coarse cloth curtains.

Damn it, guards!
There are at least three guards downstairs that you can see, and who knows how many more you can't see!
Dylan couldn't understand how he had been targeted!

Did Kloro's capture lead him to confess?
Kaka-

While Dylan was lost in thought, the person outside seemed to lose patience and was about to force the door open.

Faced with this predicament, Dylan made a decisive choice—

"Boss! Boss! We need backup!"

"what?"

Lin Jun, who was experimenting with the effects of [Plant Affinity LV1], received Dylan's distress signal and shifted her attention to him.

【Magic Perception LV6】

[Airflow Sensing LV7]

[Sound Wave Detection LV6]

After going through several reconnaissance skills, Lin Jun quickly understood the situation.

"You were surrounded by thirteen people, how did you manage?"

"I don't know..." Dylan hadn't figured it out yet.

"Kill them all?"

The backpack straps are ready to go.

With one gold and twelve bronze soldiers arriving, and taking advantage of the terrain on the second floor of the tavern, killing them all wouldn't be difficult at all.

"Don't do this, boss! This is the city!"

It's impossible for a city to be without a diamond-level powerhouse, let alone an important port city like Clark that connects the archipelago.

If things escalate like this, Dylan doesn't think he can escape.

“We can’t kill them…then…” Lin Jun thought for a moment, then pointed in a direction with her backpack strap, “Across the street, the house with the red roof, rush in.”

Upon hearing this, Dylan looked out the window and sure enough, there was a warehouse with a red roof diagonally across the street.

Click-click—bang—

Just as Dylan confirmed the location, the door was violently opened.

"It's you!?"

Standing outside the door were several guards and a knight in silver-gray armor. Although she was wearing a helmet this time, Dylan recognized her immediately.

So that's when it was exposed?

But why?
Without a second thought, Dylan decisively broke the window and jumped out.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

The knight charged straight at Dylan, and although he didn't manage to stop him, he smashed the wall down!
Dylan, who had jumped from the second floor to the ground, dared not linger in the face of two guards wielding guns.

With the help of [Dodge LV4] and [Speed ​​LV6], he managed to dodge out of the way without getting hurt.

The knight behind her had already jumped down, and she stomped one foot on the spot.

[Swift Movement LV5]

Despite being clad in heavy armor, the female knight Liadrin showed no signs of slowing down, quickly chasing after Dylan with the help of her skills.

Further back were the guards who hurriedly followed.

Red-roof warehouse! Red-roof warehouse!
Taking advantage of his first few steps, Dylan rushed to the outside of the red-roofed warehouse.

There was no time to leisurely knock on the door. Although I didn't know why the boss pointed here, I figured I should just run in.

【Spin Slash LV5】

Dylan used his three signature moves again!
The gate was just an ordinary wooden door, and the wooden latch on the back snapped with a crack under the blow. Without daring to delay, Dylan plunged inside.

Dylan realized something was wrong once he entered.

Why are there so many people in this otherwise empty warehouse?
Why are all these people wearing black robes?

Why light candles on the ground instead of lamps?
What are these circles on the ground?
A figure in black robes had dark magical energy gathering in his hands...

All the men in black robes stared at Dylan in astonishment, seemingly not expecting someone to suddenly rush in.

Behind Dylan, the female knight had caught up and blocked the doorway.

"Ah! I see. This is a gathering of abyss magic users. No wonder there are so many high-magic-value targets here." The leader looked like he had just figured it out himself.

Dylan's face turned almost white.

What could be worse than being hunted down by a group of people?
Of course, they were being chased and killed by two groups of people at the same time!

"Troublemakers!" The black-robed figures raised black lights in their hands, each representing abyssal magic.

"So you're a user of dark magic, no wonder..." The knight crushed some kind of artifact, which formed a semi-transparent protective membrane around his body.

"Boss, am I really going to die today?" Dylan was caught in the middle, his face extremely ugly.

"Die my foot!"

Purple mist billowed from the backpack, its sweet, fishy odor instantly spreading throughout the surroundings.

Hallucinogenic Spores LV6

The familiar smell made Dylan, who was in the center, feel a little disoriented.

"What are you daydreaming about? Now's your chance to slip away!"

The boss's voice snapped Dylan out of his daze. Relying on the resilience he had developed through years of training, Dylan ran to the corner in the direction the backpack pointed.

Behind Dylan, the knight and the man in black robes quickly broke into a fight amidst the chaos.

"Quick! Activate the magic circle!" A distorted roar came from somewhere.

Immediately, Dylan felt a chill that seemed to seep from the depths of his bones. Something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

His skin was perfectly intact, yet the feeling of exhaustion, as if life was slipping away, spread throughout his body—as if an invisible hand was slowly tightening its grip on his heart.

Lin Jun clearly "saw" that Dylan had been cursed again.

[Withering Curse: Maximum health gradually decreases]

Not only was Dylan cursed, but the scouts were too, and there was no time limit to it.

If there's no time limit, then there is a scope limit!

Lin Jun immediately commanded, "Take advantage of this opportunity to sneak out and get as far away as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Dylan's body color changed, becoming similar to that of the wall.

The warehouse was dimly lit, and the hallucinogenic spores had not yet fully dispersed, which perfectly concealed Dylan's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the two groups of people inside the warehouse were practically fighting tooth and nail.

The man in black robes wanted to kill the knights using array formations and abyssal magic, and many guards had already fallen to the ground, their fates unknown.

The knights attempted to disrupt the formation, and although their several charges were repelled, they managed to cut down several black-robed men.

At times like this, no one has time to notice something that's the same color as the wall sneaking out.

Once they were a little further apart, Dylan simply started running.

The farther I ran, the less the palpitation seemed to subside.

Just as Dylan relaxed a little, the boss suddenly reminded him again: "Be careful."

careful?

Be careful about what?
Dylan looked around and finally spotted a figure walking out of the darkness ahead.

He wore a loose silk robe, and had two swords, one long and one short, tucked into his waistband—swords that were clearly not ordinary.

"Boss, who is this?"

no respond……

Dylan dared not make a move; his boss had said to be careful, not to run!
As he got closer, Dylan could finally see the man's appearance clearly—an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

You can find plenty of people like that in taverns; aside from those two swords, Dylan couldn't see anything special about this person.

But the boss is probably right!
"What happened over there?" the middle-aged man asked casually.

"No... I don't know. A knight and his guards suddenly started fighting with someone..."

Dylan naturally wouldn't mention that it was related to him. The middle-aged man nodded and continued walking forward at a leisurely pace.

But after passing by Dylan, he suddenly stopped, stared at the backpack on Dylan's back for a while, and even touched the hilt of the short sword, seemingly a little hesitant.

However, he had already entered the range of the black-robed men's formation. After feeling a sudden tremor in his heart, the middle-aged man clearly realized what it was.

Withdrawing his gaze without further delay, he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Dylan, as if finally out of the lion's sight, immediately shivered.

In fact, not only Dylan, but Lin Jun also felt that powerful pressure at the end, and for a moment thought that the guy was really going to cut down on her.

"Boss...who is that?"

This time, Lin Jun didn't pretend to be dead.

"Um... do you humans have anyone who's called a Sword Saint?"

Name: Elwin Slaine

【Level: 70】

[Title: Sword Saint]

(End of this chapter)