Chương 48: contains too much useless knowledge.

Let's go back two minutes.

Richard fell into the tunnel along with the scimitar warrior.

But relying on his mastery of the Flowing Water Shattering Rock Fist, he quickly gained the upper hand in close combat. He wrapped his arms around his opponent's head, twisted it forcefully, and broke the fragile cervical vertebrae.

[Experience points +3] However, before Richard could even catch his breath, two of the soldier's companions caught up with him.

Richard assessed his condition and found that his physical strength and magic power were not very sufficient. He dared not fight and quickly ran deeper into the passage.

The thief and another scimitar warrior immediately followed behind him.

"stop!"

"You can't escape!"

After turning two corners, Richard heard the shouts behind him subside a little, and noticed a dimly lit fork in the road ahead—torches were hung on the walls of this passage, but they were spaced far apart, making some areas dimly lit.

He made a snap decision, went straight into the fork in the road on the right, crouched in the shadows, and held his breath.

"Station... wait, where did it go?"

"Come this way and take a look!"

The thieves and warriors chased Richard to the intersection, but didn't see him at first. After hesitating for a few seconds, perhaps due to Richard's lucky talent, they were the first to enter the left passage.

After walking several dozen steps, they realized there was no one or any sound ahead, so they had probably gone the wrong way and quickly turned back.

However, at that moment, Richard had already taken out the magic potion left by Jostein from his dimensional bag.

He drank the potion in one gulp and immediately felt a surge of pure magic power flowing into his body. Without further hesitation, he aimed at the intersection and began chanting the incantation.

As soon as the thief and the warrior peeked out, he hurled a shattering sonic wave at them.

boom!

The explosive energy scattered in all directions, and the thief fainted on the spot. Although the warrior could barely hold on, the next second, Richard drew his sword again and launched a flurry of attacks!

[Experience points +5] As the sword, as graceful as a dance, sliced across two necks, the expression of surprise and fear was forever etched on the warrior's face.

"Phew... that was close."

Richard dealt with the pursuers, breathed a sigh of relief, and, ignoring the bloodstains on the ground, sat down cross-legged to rest.

He thought to himself: This time, we really had to thank the potion in the dimensional bag.

It seems we need to prepare more for the future – before, we either didn't have enough money or we had Grace, this big sister who was both a shield and a healer, to back us up, so we didn't pay enough attention to this aspect.

That being said, he and Grace broke up just like that...

Having had companions by his side for so long, Richard felt somewhat uneasy about their sudden loss.

But he quickly cheered himself up again.

I'm a poet who's walked dragons in the dungeon, why am I so afraid of this and that?

Pay attention, don't lose points!

After patting his cheeks, Richard stood up again.

He first touched the two corpses beside him.

Soon, he found a familiar-looking object on the thief.

Those were two small gray balls, made like the stomach or bladder of some kind of animal, quite elastic... Wait, isn't this the otherworldly version of the smoke bomb that the dwarf in Sleeping Fairy threw?

Looking again with the Eye of Insight, it was indeed a smoke bomb, and its level was even excellent!

Take it, it might come in handy.

Richard put the ball into his dimensional bag, then stood up and carefully walked back the way he came.

Then he tragically discovered that he...

I think I'm lost.

No, I can't wander around. What if I accidentally run into Harald's gang?

I wonder how things are going on Grace's side...

After a moment's thought, Richard took out the Book of Grayscale.

He felt that those snake people clearly knew Harald, so the book had probably been to this underground passage and could probably serve as his guide.

So he aimed at the book and cast a charm spell.

You have successfully charmed the Book of Grayscale [The Book of Gray Scales: Young man, I see you have extraordinary bone structure and a large head; you must be very knowledgeable and well-traveled, right? I like people like you! Stop wasting time on nonsense and come share your knowledge with me...] Do you seek knowledge through books?

Surprisingly, it suits my identity quite well.

Richard tried to chat for a few more minutes, but found that the book was completely uncooperative, only demanding that he first explain some knowledge. Frustrated, he asked:

"What kind of knowledge do you want? The mysteries of magic or the secrets of the gods...?"

[It's boring. My original owner said the same thing to me all the time. I'm sick of it... Oh, I don't have ears, but that's the gist of it. If you want to have a pleasant conversation with me, you'll have to bring some newer and more interesting knowledge.] Hey.

The old man has pretty high standards.

Richard rubbed his head.

Novel knowledge?

He has many novel stories, but knowledge... he's not a professional scholar, so discussing high-level topics would probably not satisfy this book's appetite.

How about we try it the other way around?

Does Kegel exercise help prevent hemorrhoids?

【? 】 [Wait, is this even considered knowledge? Hmm, wait a minute, it actually is... This feeling is quite unique!] More, more!

"Well, some men like to call girls younger than themselves 'Mom'."

[Interesting! I'm starting to like this kind of knowledge. Anything else?]

"Dolphins are highly intelligent. Although they don't have hands, they can still use tools, such as making dead or half-dead small fish open their mouths and trapping them there..."

Wow, that's amazing! This is completely new knowledge I've never heard of before! Hurry, tell me more!

"I refuse."

Why, why are you refusing? It's awful! I can't learn anything new, I feel like ants are crawling all over me! Please, just tell me a little more, I'll do anything!

Old man, what are you talking about?

With such a strong addiction, it feels like you could easily be kidnapped by a big blue bird in another world!

Richard rolled his eyes and got back to work:

"I'm fine with continuing, I know a lot more about this stuff anyway, but shouldn't you help me out in return?"

How can I help? You tell me.

Do you know the way around here?

Richard held up the book so it could see its surroundings.

[You recognize some of them, I have indeed been here before, but not every place.]

"Do you know which way to get out? Preferably one that leads directly back to Stone Fortress?"

Let me think... I think I'll turn left first.

Don't say "maybe"!

Richard was itching to do something, but he really had no better option, so he had no choice but to follow the guidance of the Book of Grayscale and venture deeper into the passage.

Turn right again Don't walk straight here. See that raised area under your feet? That's a trapdoor. Open it.

Yes, this is a hidden passage that can speed things up.

A dozen minutes later.

Richard found himself in a completely new place. Not only were the passageways more spacious, but there were also many rooms on both sides. Through some of the open doors, he could clearly see the clothes, basins, bedding, and other daily necessities inside.

Richard thus confirmed two things.

Firstly, while the Book of Grayscale does know the way, he doesn't know it very well, and here he's clearly being led astray!

Secondly, the underground of this Wanshi Fortress is not just some secret passage, but an entire underground stronghold with a dedicated living area that can easily accommodate many people!

That's quite a generous gesture.

Who could have done this?

Just as Richard was wondering what was going on, he suddenly heard voices in front of him.

"Watch your step! If we don't keep an eye on them and they climb up here, we're dead..."