Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 294 - 227: Limb-Connecting Nobles and the Lobster Head

Chapter 294: Chapter 227: Limb-Connecting Nobles and the Lobster Head

Lake, thick fog, silence, these words combined make one feel that this is the perfect setting for the new location of "Thirteenth Friday."

But when the singing of a few green-haired elves echoes in the air, any trace of horror is completely dissipated.

The ethereal ballads waft through the moist air of Lake Lienia, and closing your eyes, you can almost imagine a lush green forest.

When these elves get serious, they really fit the image of the beautiful, elegant natural avatars depicted in fantasy literature. Every conceivable adjective for "beauty" could be applied to them.

In the forest, we can hear the calls of various animals: parrots here, sparrows there, and even the cawing crows.

Crows?

"Caw-caw, ah! Why did you hit me?!"

The jarring cawing abruptly stops, and the cool elf Kunan clutches his smoky head, clearly aggrieved.

"Everyone is singing nicely, and you deliberately make a mess of it," said Merca, retracting her hand. "There are no crows in Elf Forest."

"Shouldn’t the forest be a bit more inclusive? Or maybe next time I’ll imitate a snow leopard?" retorted Kunan with a pout.

"That creature doesn’t belong in Elf Forest either."

The reason they are singing? Purely because they’re bored.

They have been walking westward, at least in their senses, and they seem to be on the right track.

But the encounters along the way have been few and far between—monsters have been sporadic, and they seem to be less in number and weaker than before.

This is no illusion, as Lake Lienia implements a dynamic difficulty mechanism. Each adventurer is matched with a certain number of monsters by the Dungeon the moment they enter, and these monsters actively attack adventurers.

Once the matched monsters are defeated, the exploratory experience shifts from "monsters actively attack adventurers" to "adventurers actively seek out monsters," and in the vast Lake District, monsters are actually quite scattered, making sightings of monster groups a rarity.

The matching of monsters resets roughly every two or three days.

On second thought, this mechanism is actually advantageous to adventurers, as it gives them opportunities to fight monsters.

After the elves defeated the Mud Fish Dragon, that counted as defeating all matched monsters, so naturally, the rest wouldn’t trouble them.

They are singing to attract more monsters to attack; but why do that?

Because Steeran had told them that if they got lost in the Dungeon, they should head towards where there are monsters, as places guarded by monsters are more likely to contain things of interest.

Everyone is quite receptive to advice.

The purpose of heading this way is to search for Blacksmith Andre, but after half a day they haven’t seen a ghost of a hint.

Bored, the elves discuss what they’ve seen and heard.

"I’m hungry, do you still have food?"

"How come I remember you bought several shrimp, lad? Don’t think about eyeing my food."

"Oh that, I’ve finished it."

"Wait, you finished it? That’s supposed to have precious magical effects like a magic tool, and you just casually ate it when there’s nothing to do?"

"Isn’t food for filling the stomach? Besides, cooked shrimp will spoil if not eaten, right?"

"Makes sense, then I’ll eat as well."

Hearing this conversation, Merca intervenes, "Hey, hey, hey, have you guys forgotten about Preservation Magic? Don’t waste your items so carelessly."

"But Preservation Magic can’t maintain the temperature; it’d be a pity not to eat the shrimp while it’s still piping hot."

Taken aback, Merca falls into thought and then nods in agreement.

"Indeed, food is better when it is warm, and even better with some wine."

"So shall we find some wine to drink when we get out?"

"Sure, sure."

Do you all think this is a spring outing?

Vienma is the only one remaining vigilant. She wants to chastise these too-laid-back kinfolk of hers, but then she reflects that this laid-back attitude is in the bones of most elves, and a simple scolding won’t change anything...

Only by leaving Elf Forest and adventuring in the outside world will this trait slowly change, much like her and Steeran, and Merca too—though the habit of drinking is unshakable.

"What are you writing?" She suddenly notices Lizna pulling out a notebook, scribbling down something while walking, with a very serious expression.

Lizna was about to reply when Vienma gave her a gesture to be silent and then took the notebook to read.

The notebook contained observations from their journey—was this girl competing with the Strategy Group?

No, upon closer inspection, the focus of Lizna’s writings was different from that of the Strategy Group, which would analyze how to fight a certain monster, study the behavior of the monsters, the surrounding environment, and whether the terrain could be exploited—leaning towards practicality.

Lizna, however, had purely focused on the environment, from the general impression of Lake Lienia to the crayfish nibbling around the water grass—various observations were recorded.

Reading on, Vienma suddenly asks, "Are you researching ecology?"

Lizna nods her head.

Ecology, something of interest to all scholars. To thoroughly understand an unknown region, ecological research is essential.

And she just so happens to be immersed in this field of research. Despite her small stature, Lizna has a surprisingly sharp mind. She is often invited to publish in magic circle publications and has some renown in the fields of magical medicine and monster ecology research.

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