Under the moonlight, Lacus sat on a broken log, surrounded by two dead Forest Barbarian Bears.

"More bears again..."

Lacus now felt disgust every time he saw a bear, as it was a Tyrant Bear that led to the annihilation of his team last time, causing him to lose track of the Holy Scripture and being severely punished upon returning.

After that, he was sent to attack human cities, only to fall into an ambush and almost not make it out alive.

It was only afterwards that he realized it was a trap set by humans under the guise of a Hero summoning, which led to the destruction of Lord Shadow Demon.

His master, Eleanor, was involved as well, but it seemed she was reprimanded by the Emperor for betraying Lord Shadow Demon.

When Lacus saw her, he could immediately tell she was fuming inside, and naturally took it out on him.

Lacus still remembered her words: "Redemption through retrieving the Holy Scripture; you'll be promoted. Fail, and you might as well die out there."

Yet, he wasn't assigned a single subordinate, clearly treating him as a mere pathfinder.

Lacus was sure that after he left, Eleanor had definitely sent a full-fledged team behind him, and something must have been tampered with on him, either for tracking or death replay!

"That damned... damned..."

"..."

After holding it in, Lacus still didn't dare to curse out loud.

The fear of superiors was ingrained in the bones of Vampires, even if he was only a Half-Vampire.

"I won't die; I'm a genius! I will find the Holy Scripture, get promoted... and keep rising!"

Lacus wasn't just boasting by calling himself a genius; at level 40 without any promotions, he'd already obtained the Talent Skill of Blood Control, certainly qualifying as a genius.

Encouraging himself, Lacus took out a small metal plate and started filing his nails.

He didn't have much disguise skills, but luckily the difference between Vampires and humans wasn't that big.

Smearing some powder on his face could cover his pale complexion.

As for his nails and teeth, he simply filed them down.

This piece of metal was a small magic item circulated within the Hermit Empire. After using it to file nails and teeth, a layer of magic power would be left on the surface, temporarily keeping them from growing back, and a single use could last two or three days.

This method was cheap and convenient; the only drawback was that filing down teeth was actually quite embarrassing for a Vampire.

But he wasn't concerned with that right now.

After tidying up, he headed towards the Purple Crystal Dungeon, deliberately bypassing Dumb Wind Town and coming from the forest side to avoid the crowd, choosing the time to enter at night.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the dungeon's entrance, apart from two guards on night duty, there was no one else around.

"Going down to the dungeon alone this late?" Aiden, the guard, noticed Lacus as his hoarse voice mingled with a yawn.

Though a bit puzzled about how he emerged from the forest, he still greeted him.

They were stationed there to relay messages in case of emergencies, not to block the entrance and check adventurers.

"Just gathering some Firefly Grass, no need for a team!" Lacus nonchalantly made up an excuse.

He thought that would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, the two guards were taken aback, giving him a few more glances but not saying anything further.

After Lacus went inside, another guard asked, "Senior, do you know what level that guy is?"

Aiden rolled his eyes, "How would I know? I can't possibly recognize all the advanced adventurers, but if he's going solo to gather Firefly Grass, at least Gold Level, maybe even Diamond..."

Lacus was slightly confused about why the two guards looked at him that way, but he managed to enter the dungeon successfully.

He took out a slightly glowing black stone from his pocket and examined it closely. It seemed a bit dimmer than before.

"Indeed, the Holy Scripture is in the dungeon."

This was a special item, refined by placing a Demon Crystal in an environment of the same origin as the Holy Scripture, which darkens the closer it gets to the Holy Scripture.

Lacus relied on it to find his way here.

However, this kind of item had a limited lifespan, so he needed to pinpoint the Holy Scripture before it failed, avoiding a repeat of the previous time.

"By the way... was the Purple Crystal Dungeon always this dark?"

Looking at the dimly glowing corridor ahead, Lacus muttered.

However, he had Dark Vision, so it didn't affect him much.

As he descended, he finally realized his mistake—

Wasn't this dungeon supposed to have Firefly Grass?

He had never been to the Purple Crystal Dungeon before and only had a dungeon map, which naturally didn't mention such details.

But Firefly Grass was a staple dungeon plant, so he assumed it would be here.

Upon entering, he had only seen a fluorescent mushroom!

This was not good...

If this dungeon really didn't have Firefly Grass, his previous statement would be a flaw, and if those two guards were shrewd, they might report him to Dumb Wind Town.

Damn it! Damn it!

Lacus quickened his pace; he had to find the Holy Scripture and get out quickly!

Fortunately, he didn't encounter any difficulties along the way, easily handling creatures like Puki, scorpions, and snakes.

Reaching the fifth layer, the light of the black stone finally seemed about to extinguish.

It was on this layer!

In Lacus's eyes, either the adventurer who stole the Holy Scripture died in the dungeon, or the Holy Scripture's old habits returned, controlling the holder to secretly massacre people in hazardous places.

A sign post at the exit caught Lacus's attention.

"What's this? Governing Rule of the Fifth Layer..."

After a quick glance, Lacus looked away, not taking it seriously.

Maybe it was useful, but first, he needed to find the Holy Scripture and couldn't follow the rules on the Mushroom Road.

Secondly, it's just a fifth layer with a level cap of 25 after all.

Following the black stone's guidance, Lacus soon deviated from the Mushroom Road.

Surprisingly, apart from getting a lot of fungus stuck on his feet, he didn't encounter any hindrances.

He thought he'd at least hit some traps or creatures!

But so far, he hadn't seen any living beings; was this layer empty?

He finally encountered life when he reached the Mushroom Forest.

Some Puki were camouflaged and disguised against the Mushroom Trees.

He only discovered one because he accidentally bumped into it, feeling its soft body.

However, these Puki had no aggression and seemed to have no territorial awareness, even with Lacus walking into the Mushroom Forest, moving beside them without any reaction.

He was glad not to have to fight.

Watching the black stone in his hand grow dimmer, Lacus felt his dead heart seemingly beat anew.

Finally, he stood before a stone stump.

???

This was a bit different from what Lacus expected.

He thought he would encounter a controlled adventurer or a group, battling them to seize the Holy Scripture.

Or find it next to a pile of remains.

But why was it a stone stump?

A stream of blood gathered between his fingers, forming a pellet, ready to destroy the stump.

However, before the blood pellet was released, the stone stump struck first.

"What!?"

The sudden surge of energy startled Lacus, and just as he retreated two steps, the stone stump exploded.

Debris shattered Lacus's face, but he didn't have time to care.

Amidst the chaos, he faintly saw the Yellow-covered Book he longed for!

But Lacus maintained some sense, glancing around without spotting anyone else.

It was only then that he rushed over, picked up the Yellow-covered Book, and examined it.

"Yes, yes! It's the Holy Scripture! It's the Holy Scripture!"

In his excitement, the Holy Scripture opened slightly.

"Not good!"

He hurriedly tried to close it, knowing from his mission to retrieve it just how strong the Holy Scripture's charm was; seeing even a few more words might mesmerize him.

However, even with just a glance, he couldn't help but notice the densely packed words on the slightly charred Holy Scripture:

[Run, run, run, run]

What does it mean?

Poof—

A sound came from behind!

As Lacus quickly turned around, he shot a blood awl he had gathered in his hand.

The blood awl hit the black scales of the Big Black Mushroom, splattering into blood mist.

The impact seemed no different from the saliva arrows of the Mirages.

But Lacus knew the attack should have been enough to penetrate even a Tyrant Bear's defense...

Poof—

The Big Black Mushroom approached another step, forcing Lacus to retreat to the stone wall's edge.

The pages of the Holy Scripture unintentionally peeked out.

[Let me clarify, it's not my fault!]

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