Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 142: Searching for the Dragon Beast’s Lair
After the skill-teaching ceremony ended, Xi Wei remembered that he still had a mission to complete: to steal the treasure of that pitiful dragon beast.
Essentially, the value of this dragon beast had been fully utilized.
Its dragon blood was used to enhance players, its sub-dragon meat was given to the kitchens of Winter Fort to be made into easily stored jerky, and its materials were system-processed into equipment, waiting for the right time to be brought out and used to “harvest” players.
Since players also needed to kill a Tier 1 magical beast individually to complete their advancement, Xi Wei decided to issue a new mission:
[Counterattack Twilight Forest]
[Mission Description: The magical beasts in Twilight Forest have attacked Winter City, making the Lord of Eagle Territory very angry. Therefore, he has decided to lead his army to ‘cleanse’ Twilight Forest.]
[Mission Restrictions: None]
[Mission Rewards: Experience Points, Magical Beast Magic Cores, etc.]
[Mission Accepted (Default)]
“Another mission!”
“66666, it never stops!”
The players, who had just calmed down, became excited again. Yan, the Coolest, carrying his newly made greatsword, roared excitedly:
“Awesome! Lord bro is as productive as a pig!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the players fell silent. They all turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes fixed strangely on Yan, the Coolest.
“Uh… why are you looking at me…”
Before Yan, the Coolest could finish speaking, he noticed a system prompt appearing before his eyes:
[Lord of Eagle Territory’s Favorability -80]
[Current Favorability: -80 (Hostile)]
He blinked in surprise and then saw a long HP bar unfurling above the Lord of Eagle Territory’s head…
…
A moment later, Yan, the Coolest, lay on the resurrection point, devoid of hope, with a greatsword stuck in him, entering the death countdown for the seventh time.
[Lord of Eagle Territory’s Favorability +10]
[Current Favorability: -10 (Indifferent)]
Xi Wei pulled out the greatsword, flicked off the blood, and slung it back over his shoulder. Feeling much better, he turned to the players around him, who were struggling to suppress their laughter, and instructed:
“Alright, let’s enter Twilight Forest now.”
…
Upon returning to Twilight Forest, the players found it devastated. Numerous trees had fallen, the ground was plowed open by giant magical beasts, and a stream bank was piled high with the corpses of fish and shrimp.
Many magical beasts were still fleeing around. These beasts, no longer driven by the sub-dragon and having been slaughtered by humans, were terrified.
The players were also close to advancing, so they dispersed to find easily killable Tier 1 magical beasts for their advancement missions.
Xi Wei, accompanied by Clemon, followed the tracks of the magical beasts. Sark, who tended to cause forest fires, was left to guard their base.
The system had not provided him with the exact location of the sub-dragon’s lair, so Xi Wei had to rely on tracking to determine a general area and then search based on his experience.
Dragon beasts did not possess the formidable resistances of giant dragons, making them unable to rely on lava or poisonous swamps for protection. Thus, for safety, they generally preferred to build their lairs on high cliffs and would try to conceal them.
Yan, the Coolest, and Nobody Does Human Things, along with some other players, noticed Xi Wei’s movements. After a moment of thought, they closely followed him.
“What do you think the Lord of Eagle Territory is planning?”
Nobody Does Human Things glanced at the giant footprints on the ground as he walked, analyzing, “I suspect the Lord of Eagle Territory is looking for the sub-dragon’s lair. Usually, these draconic creatures inherit the habit of giant dragons collecting treasures, so their lairs likely contain valuable items.”
“Then if we find the lair first, the treasure will be ours?”
Yan, the Coolest, asked with surprise and excitement, his eyes shining.
“You’re overthinking it…”
A player scoffed, “According to Imperial law, every blade of grass, every tree in the entire Eagle Territory, even an ant, belongs to him. Even the farmers’ land and homes are merely leased, and the lord can reclaim them at any time.”
“Do you want to be killed and quit the game by trying to snatch treasure from the Lord of Eagle Territory?”
Yan, the Coolest, slowed his steps upon hearing this, losing all interest. He complained, “Then why are we following him? There’s no benefit, we might as well go and level up quickly.”
“Not necessarily,” Nobody Does Human Things observed the environment at the foot of the mountain carefully. The Lord of Eagle Territory and the others had stopped ahead and were investigating the surroundings.
“If we find the lair before him and tell him the location, we’re very likely to receive commendations.”
Yan, the Coolest, became excited at this. “Indeed, this should also be a hidden mission. You’re still the best, Nobody Does Human Things. Your game sense is almost half as good as mine.”
Nobody Does Human Things curled his lips and ignored him.
The few players who had followed them looked excited, and they began looking around, hoping to find the dragon’s lair soon.
Xi Wei and Clemon were currently exploring along the mountain wall.
The dragon beast’s footprints started appearing from this area, so its lair was most likely on the cliffs in this region. And this cliff would definitely not be too high, as this dragon beast couldn’t fly at all.
However, Nobody Does Human Things was different from himself. He was a player who had just entered the game and did not have rigid impressions of the in-game creatures.
Therefore, he didn’t just focus his gaze on the cliffs like Xi Wei. Instead, he carefully examined the footprints where the dragon beast had first appeared.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these footprints are heavier than the previous ones,” Nobody Does Human Things said to the surrounding players as he squatted on the ground.
“That’s normal. After all, this thing might live on the cliff. Its footprints when jumping down would naturally be heavier,” a player remarked, observing the nearby cliffs, unconcerned.
“Indeed, but these footprints are a bit too regular. Logically, with its large body size, falling from a height should have created scratches or cracked the ground.”
“But there are no such marks now. These footprints look more like they were deliberately made,” Nobody Does Human Things mused, stroking his chin. “It might have deliberately faked footprints of falling from a height to protect its lair. However, due to its limited intelligence, the forged marks appear rather intentional. Therefore, its lair is likely not on the cliff, but on the ground.”
As he spoke, Nobody Does Human Things approached a mountain wall. The rock on the mountain wall was quite hard, making it difficult to leave marks. However, he was sharp-eyed enough to spot some claw marks.
If one wasn’t deliberately looking for them and trying to connect them, these marks would be almost impossible to discover.
It was hard to imagine a dragon beast of such a large size being able to crawl along the rocks on the mountain wall. However, even so, it definitely couldn’t run on the mountain wall for long.
“Follow me,” Nobody Does Human Things beckoned the players, then took the lead along the faint claw marks on the mountain wall.
The players didn’t understand, but seeing Nobody Does Human Things’ confident demeanor, they instinctively followed him.
Soon, Nobody Does Human Things followed the claw marks to a recessed section of the mountain wall. This section was very hidden, slanting inward in a trapezoidal shape, with the cliff above. It was surrounded by bushes. If not for following the claw marks, it would have been difficult to find.
He looked down at the mountain wall, at several large rocks deliberately piled together, and said with a smile, “I think I’ve found the dragon beast’s lair.”
…
Xi Wei never expected that this dragon beast, Kasim, would be so cowardly, actually building its lair underground.
Was this really a sub-dragon? It was a disgrace! Was it worthy of the dragon blood flowing in its body?
What was even more outrageous was that this wretch built its lair underground, and then, instead of using the ground outside its lair, it climbed the mountain wall, piled up a few rocks to block the entrance, and finally faked footprints of jumping down from a height.
To be honest, if Kasim hadn’t emerged seeking death itself, Xi Wei might never have discovered this dragon beast hidden in Twilight Forest.
At the same time, Xi Wei also noticed the player Nobody Does Human Things.
His observation skills were so meticulous, and his mind was so quick – this was a real talent.
Since this was the case, Xi Wei, being not a stingy person, had to properly reward this contributor.
He nodded at Nobody Does Human Things with admiration, a smile on his face, and praised him with satisfaction, “You, good job!”
Then, he turned and entered the now-opened dragon beast’s lair with Clemon.
Nobody Does Human Things’ vision also popped up with the following system prompt:
[Lord of Eagle Territory’s Favorability +30]
[Current Favorability: 30 (Appreciative)]
That’s it?
The surrounding players looked at each other.
What about the promised reward? Just this? This Lord of Eagle Territory is too stingy…
They all felt indignant on behalf of Nobody Does Human Things.
On the surface, Nobody Does Human Things maintained an expressionless look, seemingly also finding it unacceptable.
But in reality, his heart didn’t feel that way.
In a game with such highly intelligent NPCs, sometimes an increase in favorability was the best reward.
This might bring him unexpected surprises in the future.
