Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Chapter 41: Dungeon

The map? Save that for last. From what she said, it was even more precious than all the treasures and equipment on her person.

Garoth’s gaze swept over the handful of scattered coins she pulled out, then fixed steadily on the rogue.

“If I kill you, all these things become mine.”

He said, “You want to trade your life with my stuff? That won’t buy you a single second.”

The rogue knelt on the scorched earth, trembling hands clutching a yellowed scroll of sheepskin map. She had stripped off her leather armor, and the clothes underneath were soaked with cold sweat. Blood splattered from her companions still stained her temple.

Under the moonlight, the map’s edges shimmered faintly with a metallic luster, as if woven with mithril threads as anti-counterfeiting patterns—far beyond what ordinary adventurers could possess.

“If you kill me, all you’ll get is a plain, ordinary map. It requires a special method to reveal the path.”

The rogue pleaded, “I ask for nothing else, only to live. Please forgive my earlier offense.”

Garoth didn’t respond. His tail gently curled over the map, where rows of dragon scales edged like sharp blades were tightly pressed together under his control, without scratching the map.

Using his claws, Garoth picked up the map and examined it carefully. What lay before him was a chaotic mess of threads, with no visible traces resembling a map—clearly encrypted in some way.

“Look up and meet my gaze.”

“Tell me, where did a low-level adventurer like you get clues about a legendary alchemical tool?”

Garoth asked.

Though still a young dragon, his tone carried an unquestionable command that made the rogue instinctively raise her head.

This was a naturally born, super powerful young dragon. We’re incredibly unlucky to have encountered such a dragon... The rogue trembled under the black dragon pupils of the red iron young dragon and said, “It’s like this.”

She began to tell the story in broken fragments.

Because of her fear and panic, her words were disordered, but Garoth understood the exact process.

In short.

The map was obtained by the rogue in a tavern, using seduction and theft skills to pickpocket it from a greenhorn adventurer who had just started out.

While drunk.

The novice adventurer boasted that the map concerned the whereabouts of a legendary alchemical tool. It originated from the lost Gray Dwarf Dungeon, marking the place called Marnes, the site of the old dungeon.

The Marnes Dungeon buried thousands of Gray Dwarf corpses.

Its downfall was rumored to be caused by the loss of control of the legendary alchemical tool, which was also lost in the Gray Dwarf Dungeon.

The Gray Dwarf Dungeon Marnes.

It once truly existed and thrived, producing many powerful weapons and equipment, with some ancient gear still circulating today.

But with the passage of time and changing eras, Marnes was buried by the earth after its fall, and few know its exact location.

News of the legendary alchemical tool still attracts many adventurers to explore, but no one has found Marnes’s address.

The rogue initially didn’t believe that the novice adventurer’s map recorded the location of Marnes Dungeon.

But later, after a count in her city-state furiously issued a bounty,

she realized that adventurer was the count’s son.

Driven by a passion for adventure stories, the count’s son stole this map from home, wanting to form a team to explore it, but reality dealt a heavy blow.

Before leaving the city, the team never formed, and both the purse and the map were taken by the rogue. If not for the crowd and chatter at the time, she probably wouldn’t have even kept her underwear.

Garoth shook the map and said, “What you say sounds like a vague tale, not a fact.”

The existence of the Gray Dwarf Dungeon was mentioned in his inheritance.

It was a dungeon buried in the flood of history—this much was true.

As for its downfall, opinions vary widely. The most widespread is the rogue’s story—that it was destroyed by the out-of-control legendary alchemical tool.

There were other explanations, too.

For example, that it touched the true essence of alchemy and was condemned by the gods, destroyed by divine punishment.

Hmm... among many bizarre stories, the rogue’s version of destruction by the out-of-control legendary alchemical tool seems the most credible.

As for the Gray Dwarves,

this intelligent species was a type of dwarf with strong physiques and exceptional forging talents, but their personalities differed greatly from normal dwarves. They were sinister and vicious, hating most races and generally unwelcome by other species, living underground in dungeons for long periods.

Meanwhile,

the rogue urgently swore, “I swear on the peace of my dead companions! I swear on my grandfather and grandmother! I am not lying in the slightest!”

Garoth grinned, “You know the cost of deceiving a dragon is ten times worse than death.”

He looked at the rogue and threw the map back to her.

“Show me the dungeon’s location.”

Hearing this, the rogue hesitated.

This was her only bargaining chip with the dragon in front of her, and she didn’t want to give it up outright.

After thinking it over, a humble and flattering smile appeared on the rogue’s face as she tentatively asked, “Honored dragon, after you learn the dungeon’s coordinates, will you forgive my offense?”

Offense?

Garoth was indifferent to that.

He smiled and said, “I swear by my mother’s name, I don’t care about your offense. I allow you to leave my territory unharmed. A weak being like you isn’t worth my concern, dead or alive.”

With the situation laid bare,

the rogue had no room for bargaining and feared angering the fierce dragon, so she agreed and flattered, “I believe your promise. A dragon’s promise is more precious than gems. An outstanding dragon like you is worth more than a thousand gold.”

Immediately,

the rogue held the map and, under Garoth’s watchful eyes, walked to an open space, raised the map to the moonlight, then tore it apart violently.

The fragments fluttered, but none fell to the ground.

They danced in the air, spinning and gathering again into a brand-new map.

Garoth picked it up and looked again.

It depicted part of a wilderness terrain, including the Iron Fir Hills—there were plains, lakes, forests... all exquisitely detailed. In the southeast corner, a circle was marked with silver threads, a special sign.

“According to the map, Marnes Dungeon lies beneath an abandoned mine.”

The rogue flattered, “With your strength and wisdom, you will surely obtain the legendary alchemical tool and become a mighty dragon feared across the wilderness.”

Garoth stared at the map, ignoring her words, only waving his claw at her. Samantha also stretched her neck curiously to look, her gaze fixed on the map.

The rogue slowly backed away.

Garoth glanced but did not stop her.

Seeing no resistance, the rogue turned and vanished into the thick darkness, then sprinted desperately, not daring to stop for a moment, weaving between the massive iron firs on the hills.