Chương 97: Chapter : 97

"I totally did!" Ken said, puffing out his chest with absolute pride.

"I gave him all my pocket money! The man told me this isn't just any ring. He told me it is a Blue Dragon's Flame Core!" The entire room groaned simultaneously. It was a collective sound of pure, painful suffering.

"A Blue Dragon's Flame Core," Ira repeated, her voice dripping with the most monotonous, flat sarcasm humanly possible.

"Ken. Dragons went extinct a thousand years ago. And even if they didn't, their cores do not look like blue glass."

"It isn't glass!" Ken insisted, holding the ring up again.

"The alley guy said it just looks like that to fool thieves! He told me it has incredible, mystical properties. He said that as long as I wear this ring, it brings ultimate, unbreakable good luck! With this baby on my finger, I am practically invincible! We don't even need to worry about the mission anymore! My good luck will lead us right to the target!" Naomi stood up from her chair. She looked like she was about to explode.

"Ken! You are the most gullible, foolish, naive idiot in the entire Empire! You bought a piece of plastic from a street scammer in a dark alley! You literally just threw your money into the garbage!"

"It isn't a scam!" Ken whined, hugging his hand to his chest.

"He had a very honest face! Well, I couldn't really see his face because of his hood, but his voice sounded very trustworthy!"

"I cannot deal with this," Zinia muttered, shaking her head.

"We are in the middle of a deadly war, and our newest teammate just got robbed by a street beggar. He is absolutely hopeless." Princess Iris couldn't help but let out a tiny, tired sigh. Even she had to admit that Ken's innocence was getting them nowhere.

"Ken, please put the toy away. We really need to focus on finding the Core of Luminus. We do not have time for good luck charms." Ken slouched back in his chair, looking extremely grumpy. He kept the shiny blue ring right on his finger, refusing to take it off.

"You guys are just jealous of my awesome fashion sense. When my extreme good luck saves us all, you are going to owe me a massive apology."

"I am going to owe you a punch in the face," Naomi muttered, sitting back down.

"Okay, Sayma, let's ignore the walking disaster. What were you saying about the trade records?" Before Sayma could open her mouth to speak, a deep, heavy voice rumbled from the corner of the room.

"As incredibly foolish as the boy sounds," the voice boomed. Everyone turned their heads. Grandmaster Finlay was standing near the doorway, his massive arms crossed over his silver chest plate. He had been quietly listening to the entire meeting. The giant knight walked slowly toward the table. He looked at Ken, staring right past the silly blue plastic ring and the messy, untucked shirt. He looked at him with a very serious, calculating expression. This story originates from Royal Road.

Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"The boy just got scammed out of his pocket money, yes," Grandmaster Finlay said, his voice echoing in the quiet room.

"But his previous statement should not be ignored." Naomi blinked, completely confused.

"Wait. His previous statement? You mean the thing about the movie?"

"I mean his logic," Finlay corrected her, stopping right behind Princess Iris's chair. He reached out with a heavy metal finger and tapped the blank mission file sitting on the table.

"You girls are thinking like politicians. You are looking for a vault or an armory. But you are forgetting the basic, fundamental rules of wild magic." Sayma adjusted her glasses, looking up at the Grandmaster.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Magical cores, like the Core of Luminus, are not manufactured in a laboratory," Finlay explained, his tone shifting into a strict lecture.

"They are naturally occurring anomalies. They are born from highly concentrated pools of raw, ancient mana. And what happens when a massive amount of raw mana sits in one place for too long?" Zinia's eyes widened as the realization finally hit her.

"It attracts monsters."

"Exactly," Finlay nodded heavily.

"Wild monsters are naturally drawn to strong magical energy. They gather around it. They feed on the ambient radiation. Over time, they dig in, they build nests, and they create massive, highly dangerous underground networks to protect their food source." Finlay turned his gaze back to Ken, who was currently admiring his cheap blue ring.

"So, as ridiculous as his movie explanation was," Grandmaster Finlay confirmed, stunning the entire room.

"Ken's guess is actually completely, one hundred percent correct. If we are looking for a wild magical core, we will not find it in a city building. The Core of Luminus is hidden deep inside a monster dungeon." Laxmi's jaw dropped. She looked from the Grandmaster to Ken, totally speechless. Naomi slumped back in her chair, staring at the ceiling in pure disbelief.

"I cannot believe it. The farm boy is actually right. The universe is playing a cruel joke on me." Ken immediately sat up straight, a massive, triumphant grin spreading all the way across his face. He pointed his finger—the one wearing the shiny blue plastic ring—directly at Naomi.

"Ha! I told you!" Ken cheered loudly, pumping his fist in the air.

"The movies never lie! The hero logic is flawless! You guys totally owe me an apology! And a snack! I accept apologies in the form of chocolate chip cookies!"

"Do not push your luck, Eliot," Finlay barked, immediately shutting down Ken's celebration. The giant knight leaned over the table, his face deadly serious.

"Figuring out that it is in a dungeon is only the very first step. The capital is surrounded by dozens of ancient, sealed caverns. We still have absolutely no idea which specific dungeon the Core is hiding in." Sayma grabbed her notebook, her analytical mind back in full gear.

"If it is in a dungeon, there has to be a specific elemental signature. Luminus implies light, or perhaps cooling magic. If we can track down recent reports of magical disturbances outside the city..."

"We don't have time to dig through library records, Sayma," Princess Iris interrupted gently, standing up from her chair.

"If Hestia's team is moving, we need to move faster. We need information from the streets. We need to find someone who deals in underground rumors."

"I know just the place," Naomi said, her competitive fire returning instantly. She stood up and grabbed her daggers from the table.

"There is a black market informant who owes my family a favor. If anyone knows which dungeon is currently active, it is him."

"Then we go to the city immediately," Princess Iris commanded. The elite girls scrambled out of their chairs, totally energized by the breakthrough. They grabbed their gear and rushed out of the strategy room, their minds focused entirely on the hunt ahead. Ken Eliot was the last one to leave his chair. He casually stretched his arms over his head, letting out a relaxed, highly satisfied sigh. He looked down at the cheap, shiny blue ring on his finger.