"I haven't seen newcors like you in a long ti."
"To think there are still people who co for such impossible missions—it's easier to just stay in the Northern Undead Asylum."
"And also, stop dancing foolishly."
The man whose face seed to be written all over with discouragent spoke to the crowd.
His voice, besides being low, seed to have a hint of hidden sarcasm.
It was unclear whether he was ridiculing himself or the people in front of him.
"Hevi, I find this guy's tone unpleasant, can I beat him up?"
"He's just a residual shadow in the dungeon, bear with it."
Hevi easily cald down the sowhat hot-tempered companion, re-evaluating the man whose equipnt looked ordinary, his strength unknown, but he didn't resist during the singing and dancing earlier by the others; maybe he couldn't resist?
It's also possible he's given up on interacting with the Starfire Knights.
A world-weary aura emanated from him; if people were like a bonfire, this guy's fla was extinguished, leaving only ash—unlikely to reignite.
This person has lost faith in life.
"Hmm?"
A thought suddenly struck Hevi, his expression turning peculiar, as he pondered how this man's aura oddly resembled another residual shadow from the Sain Dungeon.
That would be the escapee Hawkwood, a forr mber of the Fran Undead Team.
That guy also exuded a discouraging and gloomy aura, attacking adventurers with words, making many dislike him, though he was said to be quite brave on the Ancient Dragon Peak, earning so favor.
The aura of this discouraged warrior was so similar to Hawkwood that, if not for the different appearance, he would have thought Hawkwood lived as long as Patch!
"May I ask for your na? And what is your mission?"
For safety, Hevi decided to ask this man's na, maybe it's Hawkwood before any costic change.
As for the mission, he recalled the words of the Astara Upper Knight who unfortunately died in the Northern Undead Asylum, saying a similar thing—knock two bells to learn the true mission.
"My na? It's of no importance; it's aningless anyway."
The discouraged man didn't even think about sharing his na, considering it a aningless act.
"Can I call you Discouragent Brother then?" Hevi said, using rather disrespectful words.
He intended to provoke the man to angrily reveal his real na.
To his surprise, the discouraged man rely chuckled with an indifferent expression, seemingly accepting the nickna, or appearing unconcerned about Hevi's naming.
What's up with this guy, imbued with a deeper negativity than Hawkwood...
Hevi couldn't help feeling that the new area of Sain Dungeon not only saw a strength surge in monsters but also an increase in the distinctiveness of the residual shadows' personalities.
No matter, just call this guy Discouragent Brother.
Since he doesn't care about nicknas, I'll spread this na worldwide; let's see if he remains indifferent!
Though bickering with a residual shadow is pointless, he's enjoying it now.
"As for the mission, hey, seriously? You rushed over without knowing even this?"
Discouragent Brother's tone was indeed irkso—a different kind of irkso compared to Patch.
Todd retorted imdiately, "Of course we know, we have to ring two bells first!"
"See, you do know," Discouragent Brother switched to a more comfortable posture, then queried, "So, do you know where those two bells are?"
With these words, everyone was stumped.
Actually, they didn't know; the deceased knight hadn't said.
"Since I've got nothing better to do, I'll teach you," Discouragent Brother's expression seed nimble, "In the undead mission, the Awakening Bell is ntioned with two bells, one of which is above here, see, just atop the bell tower of the Undead Church."
"And the other is deep underground, beneath the ancient ruins in a village called Sick Village. It's said that ringing these two bells will cause sothing to happen, but who knows what? At least I've never heard what happens thereafter... it doesn't matter anyway."
His string of words seed to contain quite practical information; even those previously upset by his tone hurriedly noted it down.
"Since the lift is broken, you'll have to climb the mountain cliff beside here, using seldom-traveled paths to enter Undead Town. As for the other bell, just head down from there."
At this point, Discouragent Brother's tone took a odd humorous turn:
"But speaking of which, heading down from Undead Town leads to a Sick Village full of patients. Personally, I'd want to stay far away from there, wahahaha."
Spending too long with this guy feels like it can dampen one's fighting spirit. However, the crowd ignored the negative emotions in his voice, focusing on recording the nas and location information precisely.
The so-called residual shadow, in their view, besides understanding its own experiences, serves primarily to gather information and obtain rewards.
Hevi and the others gathered to discuss the information they had just received from Discouragent Brother. Although they all wished to leave the Dungeon as soon as possible, since they couldn't escape, they were committed to exploring it thoroughly.
However, this discussion was taking quite a long ti.
Seeing that these people weren't responding, Discouragent Brother unexpectedly spoke up:
"What's wrong? Stopped there unmoving for so long, are you scared? If that's the case, just sit here like . Living life aimlessly until you beco a Wandering Soul is the easiest thing, hahaha..."
"This guy really is filled with negative energy..."
Hevi couldn't help but grumble, but he quickly tried to ignore Discouragent Brother's influence and asked the most pressing question.
"Do you know where Fran Fort is?"
Indeed, what they wanted to know was the location of Fran Fort. As long as they could find that old map, perhaps they could find a way out.
However...
"Fran Fort? What is that, never heard of it."
"What?"
Discouragent Brother's answer left everyone in a state of shock.
Even Hevi's eyes showed so panic due to this unexpected answer. They hurriedly asked about the nas of those regions they were familiar with.
The responses were surprisingly consistent, all were "Don't know."
Now everyone was a bit panicked.
However, when they ntioned so people, there were indeed so that Discouragent Brother recognized.
"Elden King? Who's that, never heard of him."
"Ornstein? How could I possibly know about that Knight under the King, why ask this, planning to challenge him? Hahaha."
"Patch... This na makes feel disgusted, don't ntion it anymore."
The crowd tried ntioning nas they knew one by one, and the more people Discouragent Brother recognized, the more relieved they felt.
The reason they felt relieved was because, despite the mutations occurring within Sain Dungeon, there were still so familiar elents present.
As the questioning went on for a while, Discouragent Brother also seed to grow impatient, finally waving his hand and saying, "You're asking too many questions. Asking too much can be annoying."
"Well then, I'll ask one last question," Todd said hopefully, "Do you know if there's any Painting World nearby?"
This question was entirely self-serving.
The reason for asking was simple.
Since the Painting World has the trait of absorbing any person who touches it within Sain Dungeon and cannot be left unless certain conditions are t, often trapping them for several days and leaving them exhausted upon exit, requiring a long rest.
Yes, this was also part of his preparation to escape from Dorian. If he could obtain a Painting World to trap Dorian inside, he wouldn't need Sain Dungeon's Teleportation Gate to run far.
Todd was always planning.
But with too many plans, he never really took action.
"Painting World? Such a rare thing couldn't possibly appear in a poor rural area like this."
Discouragent Brother flatly denied Todd's hope, and upon hearing this, Todd imdiately hung his head in disappointnt.
But a few seconds later, Discouragent Brother's voice rang out again.
"However, I've heard so rumors recently that sothing like that seems to have appeared nearby."
When he said this, not only Todd but even Hevi and the others perked up.
"Where?"
Hevi's intuition in Sain Dungeon had always been quite sharp; upon hearing Discouragent Brother's words, his intuition felt sothing noteworthy.
The presence resembling a Painting World ntioned by Discouragent Brother might hold considerable importance for them.
"I'm not sure if it really is a Painting World, but it is said to look very similar, and those who went looking for it never ca back... If you're interested, I won't stop you, feel free to go look for it. It's better than sitting idly here, right?"
Discouragent Brother pointed towards the step built against the mountain, clearly indicating the location to them.
The Starfire Knights exchanged looks and quickly made their decision.
"Head over there!"
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