Inside the dark, damp, and cold Dungeon.
Within the Twenty-Fourth Floor, a thin mist lingered year-round.
Combined with the slightly dim environment, visibility here was far worse than in other areas.
The Team of three people and one dog, led by Red, was walking forward step by step.
It was now their third day since entering the Dungeon, but for some reason, Red and his party had not encountered a single Monster along the way.
This made Mason particularly surprised and confused.
Even if the number of Monsters on the Twenty-Fourth Floor was not large, not encountering a single one during this journey was simply too inconceivable.
Thinking back to what Red had said before, Mason couldn’t help but ask.
“Red, how did you do it?”
“How did I do what?”
Red didn’t quite react to Mason’s abrupt question.
“I mean, how on earth are you avoiding these Monsters? Even with the Blood-Hunting Spider, it’s not like we shouldn’t bump into even one, right? Honestly, if the surrounding environment wasn’t the Dungeon I’m familiar with, I’d suspect we came to the wrong place.”
“Oh… you mean that?”
Red took a bottle of perfume from his pocket, sprayed it on himself and the surroundings, then spread his hands.
“It’s just that simple.”
“Huh?”
Mason was stunned.
He had always thought Red was spraying perfume along the way because he had some sort of obsession with cleanliness.
He never expected this to be a method to avoid Monsters!
Wouldn’t that mean that in the future, when he went to conquer the Thirty-Fifth Floor…
“Don’t even think about it,”
Red gave Mason a sidelong glance.
“This trick can only be used on the Twenty-Fourth Floor.”
“Why?”
“Compared to other areas, this place is incredibly dark all year round and constantly shrouded in mist. Therefore, the vision of those Spiny Hyenas has basically regressed to almost nothing. However, their sense of smell is remarkably sharp; they can lock onto a prey’s position even from several hundred meters away…”
As he spoke, Red sprayed again.
“But this special perfume can effectively block the spread of scent. That way, those Spiny Hyenas naturally won’t discover us.”
Mason never imagined such a method existed.
He hesitated for a long time before clutching out two words.
“Impressive…”
“Then how did you know?”
Satania, who hadn’t been able to get a word in, spoke up at this time.
“I remember when you were in Dawnblade, hadn’t you only just cleared the Twenty-Third Floor? Why do you know this place like the back of your hand?”
“It’s nothing more than six words: observe more, ask more, think more. That’s it.”
When Red came to conduct research and investigation, he didn’t just spread a bunch of Blood-Hunting Spiders and call it a day.
Instead, after conducting a personal on-site investigation, he would return to the Town and ask other Adventurers, searching through the records of predecessors to obtain these useful clues and intelligence.
He had always prepared this way.
Although it was safe, it consumed a lot of energy and time.
“Ah, this?”
Mason was so shocked he was somewhat speechless.
“Before you conquer a Dungeon, don’t you go and ask the other Hero Parties who have already cleared it?”
Hearing Red’s words, the corner of Mason’s mouth twitched as he said irritably.
“You think everyone has skin as thick as yours and a brain as useful?”
One had to know that within a Dungeon, the relationship between different Hero Parties was basically competitive.
Even if you did ask, people might not be willing to pay any attention to you.
“Regardless, it’s all information gleaned from asking and digging through various Adventurer journals. As long as you have the heart to look, it’s not a problem.”
Red didn’t think it was difficult; it was just a matter of talking and flipping through Books.
Even if there were many Books and asking those Adventurers didn’t necessarily yield results, it didn’t matter if he was a bit more tired than usual.
After all, as Letia put it: sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime.
Although that girl had never sweated, there was no denying her words held some truth.
“I really don’t know whether to praise you or not.”
Mason could only say that he couldn’t learn this; he simply couldn’t learn it.
As the two of them chatted, they finally arrived at the entrance where the small path Red had discovered was located.
“It’s right here.”
Red pointed to the path in front of them.
At the same time, his gaze fell to the ground.
After seeing those familiar footprints, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“It seems Liz and the others really took this path. However… our Plan remains unchanged. Let’s keep moving forward.”
From the very beginning, Mason had suggested taking this path.
Naturally, he wouldn’t change his mind now.
“OK.”
Thus, the Team of three people and one dog also entered the small path.
Satania, walking in the center of the Team, had no opportunity to speak.
She could only look left and right, casting a curious gaze above Red at those floating Mechanical Constructs that looked like dragonflies.
In the center of these Creations was something glowing red, appearing like an eye.
But Satania always felt that this eye looked like it would shoot lasers.
They just floated there without doing anything.
Having held it in the whole way, Satania finally couldn’t help but ask.
“What are those six big dragonflies floating above you?”
“You mean these?”
Red hadn’t expected Satania to ask him this question, but he explained patiently.
“This is the G3 Tracking Silver Wing. It’s a type of Mechanical Construct for sentry and defense. Once an enemy enters, it will automatically trigger a search mechanism and fire lasers to cut the target. Honestly, it’s not considered a very advanced thing.”
Mason didn’t speak; he just looked at Red, falling into deep thought.
If judged solely by appearance, these simple mechanical structures really didn’t count as very advanced Mechanical Constructs.
But according to Red’s explanation just now, this Creation called the Tracking Falcon had a function that the vast majority of Great Magicians of Creation could not manufacture.
Automatic enemy detection.
In Mason’s deep-rooted perception, the Mechanical Constructs driven by traditional Great Magicians of Creation were all extensions of the Magician’s will.
They were marionettes precisely controlled by threads of Magic, and it was absolutely impossible for true autonomous consciousness to be born.
The previous Blood-Hunting Spiders, though flexible and eerie, were ultimately tied to Red’s fingertips by Magic threads for control; they hadn’t truly stepped out of the scope of a Great Magician of Creation.
But this… was somewhat outrageous.
Then he thought back to that eerie Magical Doll that had lost control and escaped the Puppet Store, its whereabouts still unknown… perhaps Red’s abilities and Talent were far more than simple than he had imagined.
Because of the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Mason’s pace slowed down bit by bit until he finally stopped.
Watching Red’s gradually receding back, an indescribable shock slowly grew in his heart.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now seeing this Mechanical Construct called the Tracking Silver Wing, he suddenly realized.
What did this mean?
It meant that by his own power alone, Red possessed the terrifying potential of a “One-Man Army.”
As long as he was given sufficient Magic and time, these endless mechanical legions capable of autonomous combat would continue to be generated… this would be a disruptive power capable of rewriting the rules of the battlefield.
Furthermore, in this Dungeon, he knew a little-known piece of advice.
A Hero Party should preferably not exceed six people.
This advice was not aimed at the first forty floors, but… it was told to the Adventurers who intended to break through the final ten floors.
There, more people did not necessarily mean more strength.
That place was filled with Madness.
People with unstable minds or lack of strength would go completely insane and launch attacks on their former Team members.
Moreover, the Dungeon’s enhancement of a Hero Party’s strength was equal; the more people there were, the smaller the enhancement each person received.
In short, when a bloated team stepped into the final area, because the power boost obtained by its members was quite scattered, they would be completely unable to resist the erosion of surging Madness and the ferocious Monsters… what awaited them was only annihilation.