Becoming a god starts with enhancing fire arrows.

Good guy.

Rhodes gave Harvey a deep look.

This bard is no ordinary person either.

He activated his Appraisal skill the moment he saw the protective array.

The results showed that this was the work of a mid-level mage skilled in creating magic arrays.

Even a mage of the same level might not be able to break this kind of magic array.

But to everyone's surprise, Harvey simply placed his hand on it.

Rhodes looked at Avira.

Even the usually knowledgeable elf princess stared wide-eyed in surprise, clearly not recognizing such a technique.

And what did Harvey mean by saying "It's also about protecting your lives"?

This secret is of utmost importance; revealing it would cause danger.

Rhodes didn't pursue the matter further. He understood that when someone explicitly tells you that something could be life-threatening, only a horror movie protagonist would be so brave as to investigate.

Moreover, both sides share the same stance regardless, so it's better to avoid trouble.

The dungeon entrance is open.

Clint took the lead and charged ahead, followed by Harvey and Rhodes, two fragile heroes.

Avira consciously walked at the back.

The dungeon was not spacious.

The space appears to be only about 70 or 80 square meters, with only a few cells.

Kerosene lamps hung on the walls of the cell, their flickering light barely illuminating the room.

The cell directly opposite was half-closed by an iron gate.

The door hinges had long since rusted shut, leaving only a narrow gap just wide enough for someone to squeeze through sideways; the door was empty.

In the corner of the adjacent cell, a skeleton was curled up.

The skeleton was covered in dust and cobwebs, and the empty eye sockets in the skull exuded a sinister aura.

In the center of the largest cell, there was a tree, whose roots did not sink into the soil but instead gripped the surrounding rock walls.

The bark is brown and covered with cracked patterns.

The tree trunk was covered with forked branches, making it look messy and disorganized.

Rhodes looked around and saw the only living person in the cell furthest to the side.

It was a petite girl with silver hair, lying on a stone bench in the prison cell, looking relaxed and occasionally emitting soft snores.

Is this guy asleep...?

Rhodes cautiously used his identification spell to confirm the other party's identity before opening the cell door and calling out the girl's name:

"Paril".

Paril's eyelids twitched slightly, but she did not wake up.

"Paryl!" Rhodes called out again.

Paril opened her eyes, still a little groggy, and saw Rhodes.

Still a little dazed after waking up, she stared at Rhodes' face for a while before tears welled up uncontrollably.

She threw herself into Rhodes' arms, sobbing pitifully as if she were complaining:

"I went downstairs this morning to buy some butter bread, and as soon as I got back to the hotel, before I even had a bite, they grabbed it from me, sob sob sob."

"They say I'm the source of petrification disease, but I really didn't do anything bad... I just asked the baker's wife to add double the butter..."

Paril became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, wiping her tears on Rhodes' collar.

Some messy silver strands of hair brushed against Rhodes' chin.

"Really?" Rhodes ruffled Paril's hair. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Paril pointed to her back:

"The stone benches in the cell are so hard, my back hurts from sleeping on them, sob sob sob."

Fine.

Rhodes put aside his unnecessary worries.

Your mental fortitude is just too good.

Well, at least people like that never fight amongst themselves.

Any problem can be solved with a good meal.

Harvey paid no attention to what was happening here; he was focused on the tree and looking around.

"There seems to be a magical aura emanating from this tree."

Rhodes' attention was drawn, and he used his appraisal skill to examine the area.

【Name: Ancient Tree】

[Type: Plant]

[Quality: Deteriorated]

[Description: A tree that has been cursed by a witch; it seems rather unusual.]

Was the witch doctor the work of the rotten tongue?

With the help of the Appraisal skill [Weakness Detection], Rhodes saw a faint light flickering at the top of an inconspicuous tree branch.

"Paril, stop clinging to me."

"Okay, okay." Paril obediently sat down.

Rhodes took out a bottle of anti-curse potion, drank it, and walked towards the tree.

He reached out to grab the branch that shimmered faintly in his eyes.

There was resistance coming from the tree branches.

"Oh~ it seems our Mr. Rhodes has made a discovery~"

Harvey moved closer, dancing along.

"Look at this branch," Rhodes gestured.

Harvey cast a protective spell on himself and tried to touch it with his hand.

As expected, he was bounced away.

"A remarkable discovery." Harvey carefully examined the branch with the repulsive force, but found nothing different from the other branches.

"I'll do it," Avira said, taking the initiative.

The speed noticeably slowed down as the right hand approached the branch.

She bent her legs slightly and used her waist to generate power.

After forcibly increasing the force, he managed to grab the strange branch.

moment.

The branch snapped with a crack, and plumes of black smoke rose from the old tree.

Everyone quickly retreated, on high alert.

The scattered branches and tangled roots slowly closed up, and a human face gradually appeared on the thick trunk.

Race: Human

Age: 55

[Class: Warrior]

[Rating: Mid-tier]

[Description: Once a powerful warrior, now plagued by a curse]

"This is the witch's transformation curse. In about ten minutes, he will completely transform from a tree into a human." Avira watched the black smoke gradually dissipate and recognized the source of the curse.

Harvey directed everyone to retreat to the doorway, carefully cast minor restoration and healing spells on the tree, and then quickly returned to the group.

Prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

The face on the tree slowly opened its cloudy eyes and looked around.

Finally, attention turned to the five-person team.

"Did you save me?"

His voice was hoarse and dry, which sounded very unpleasant.

"We stumbled upon this by accident. How did you come to be cursed and imprisoned here?" Rhodes replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

He was always ready to chant spells.

If this person turns out to be some vicious criminal, the five of them would face the risk of fighting against a mid-level warrior.

The man looked down at his body, which was still a tree trunk, and pondered for a while, seemingly sorting through his memories.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice filled with deep disappointment and sorrow:

"I have been betrayed."

"He was my best friend. To satisfy his own selfish desires, he teamed up with others to ambush me and lock me in a dungeon."

"To ensure I wouldn't escape, they even asked the witch of the rotten swamp to curse me, turning me into a tree."

"I remained in this tree-like form for an unknown amount of time until you rescued me."

His tone was calm, but his eyes burned with resentful anger.

The curse on him was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As Rhodes watched the person opposite him gradually return to human form, he suddenly felt that the face looked somewhat familiar.

He began by asking, "May I ask your name?"

The man gave a bitter smile:

Phoenix Valentine.

"The mayor of Phil Town."