Legend of Mir 2: Seeking the Truth in Marfa

Bayin spent nearly two hours training Light of Temptation to the third level. However, the magic potions in her backpack had been used up half an hour earlier. For the last half hour, her mana was replenished slowly every 2 seconds.

Bayin was delighted. She was now level 25, with 15/50 experience points. She'd soon reach level 26, allowing her to summon Black Maggots. She'd always envied Brooke for having baby skeletons, and now she was about to have five! The thought of this brought a smile to Bayin's face.

Brooke saw Bayin still laughing and was puzzled as to what she was laughing at.

"Ahem~ Here are the potions for you. And this is the map of the stone tomb that I promised to give you yesterday." Brooke handed over 20 bundles of potions, as well as a map of the 1st to 7th floors of the stone tomb, including how to navigate the stone tomb formation.

"Wow! Thank you!!" Bayin thanked in surprise. She didn't expect Brooke still remembered this.

It turned out that Brooke did not rest immediately last night, but took a quarter of an hour to copy the topographical information of the stone tomb from his notes.

"You're welcome. Should we go directly to the pharmacy to hand in the quest, or should we level up first and then go to the pharmacy?" Brook still had more than 30 bundles of magic potions on him, plus Bayin's more than 20 bundles, so there were still plenty of potions.

"I want to reach level 26 as soon as possible. Let's follow the route to the pharmacy and clear out all the monsters that pass through the rooms along the way!" Bayin said proudly.

"Are you feeling energetic after waking up? Okay, I'll listen to you and clear all the monsters!" Brook also wanted to reach level 26 quickly, so that he could not only learn "Psychic Revelation" but also practice 3 levels of summoning skeletons.

"There are not many torches left, so we need to use them sparingly." Brooke would habitually check his backpack before setting off.

"I only have three torches left. We can share one torch." Bayin said.

"Also, we can use the eternal lamps in the four corners of the stone tomb room for lighting," Brook added.

After some discussion, the two men left the clothing store and began to kill the monsters in the stone tomb formation. They tried to fight in the four corners with eternal lamps, which was both safer and could save torches.

The Stone Tomb's rooms are square, approximately 20 paces long. Brooke roughly estimated that each room held approximately 200 monsters. With the exception of the White Boar, all the monsters found in the Stone Tomb are present, including the 500 HP Elite Boar. This area is ideal for leveling mages, provided they are well protected from monster attacks and have group attack abilities.

As they leveled up, they discovered a prime spot in the left corner of the room. Bayin could stand there, with only two empty spots next to her, perfect for Brooke and Xiaobai to occupy, shielding her from the monsters outside. Once they were positioned, Brooke would run out to lure the monsters to the left corner. Bayin would then unleash her mage-like group attacks, including fire walls and blasting flames, setting the wild boars howling. Despite their low intelligence, they continued to move back and forth within the fire, killing a large group. This way, they could clear a room in about 2 minutes.

Unfortunately, Bayin's fire wall was only at level 1, so its power was still quite weak. Otherwise, the monsters would have been eliminated much faster. Despite this, the two were already quite satisfied with the current efficiency.

As for the items dropped by monsters, they were more difficult to deal with. Because backpack space was limited and the Stone Tomb merchants couldn't sell items, the two of them only picked up the more valuable weapons and clothing, which they would sell at the shop back in Tucheng. Each piece would fetch at least 5000 gold coins. Ordinary jewelry would fetch less than 2000 gold coins, so they simply passed on any jewelry unless it was a truly gleaming piece of top-quality jewelry. After each wave of monsters, the sight of the jewelry left on the ground was a painful sight for both of them.

From the clothing store, you first need to go back to the starting room of the stone tomb, and then go from the starting point to the pharmacy. In fact, you only need to go through 4 rooms. So after more than 2 hours, the potion has not been used up yet, and the two people arrived at the pharmacy.

"Dear pharmacist, we've fulfilled our mission. We've found your three friends: the weapons shop owner, the jewelry shop owner, and the clothing shop owner. We've also given them potions. They're all safe. We've completed your commission." Brooke approached the pharmacy owner. Thinking that this man had even betrayed his own friends, he stared at him with a burning gaze and smiled. "They asked me to bring you a message: we'll save up enough money as soon as possible to redeem their backpacks. Also, the jewelry shop owner asked if I could return the backpack to him first so he can start a small business and earn money to pay you back faster."

Bayin stood quietly by, looking at the pharmacy owner with a clear gaze, saying nothing. He might have felt contempt and displeasure in his heart, but he didn't show it.

"Ahem~ My friends, it seems you all already know." The drugstore owner looked a little embarrassed, then sighed and said, "Alas, things are not what you think. I did this because I had no choice but to do so."

Brook and the other man didn't respond. As expected, the pharmacy owner continued, "You don't know. Before we entered the Stone Tomb, the City Lord spoke to me privately and explained: In the Stone Tomb, you can only sell medicine, but not buy anything."

"Why is that?" Brooke was puzzled.

"Because the Stone Tomb Array is too dangerous, with dense monsters, accidents are easy to happen; it is close to the deepest 7th floor of the Stone Tomb, which is even more dangerous. If the Stone Tomb Array can be used to buy medicine and sell items, it would be so perfect, and the Marfa monks would definitely be greedy for this place; and a long stay would inevitably cause unnecessary casualties. So I used a trick to take the backpacks of my three friends. Alas~ Who can understand my painstaking efforts? Those who know my heart say that I am worried, and those who don’t know me ask what I am looking for." After the pharmacy owner finished speaking, he put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and had a righteous expression.

Brooke and Bayin looked at each other in bewilderment. Could there be such a hidden secret? Could they have truly misunderstood the pharmacy owner?

"Why don't you tell them directly?" Bayin asked doubtfully.

"Speaking frankly might not be helpful. Consider this: if you were a merchant and saw a business offer that offered double the gold, would you refuse? Even if you were perfectly honest and always remembered the city lord's instructions, if this customer was a close friend and pleaded with you, could you still refuse? Just let him sell, and only him. Since he can buy potions and sell equipment, this friend must be obsessed with the Stone Tomb Formation. Over time, he's bound to encounter danger or even an unexpected event. Wouldn't that be harmful to him?" The pharmacy owner finished his words, then looked up at the sky, revealing the demeanor of a sage. "Human beings are greedy, whether they're merchants or monks. Even someone as upright as me is not immune."

Bayin and Brook lowered their heads at the pharmacy owner's words, pondering the matter. Given the weapon shop owner's temperament, if he had a good relationship with him, he would undoubtedly agree to Brook's weapons sales privately. And given Bayin's relationship with the clothing store owner's wife, if she had a backpack and gold, she would definitely let Bayin sell his items. Therefore, the two of them would definitely stay here for a long time. The Stone Tomb Formation was indeed very dangerous. If they were not careful, they would be petrified by the wedge moths and surrounded by monsters, unable to move, take medicine, fly, or return to the city, and they could die. Although it was a small probability event, it was possible over time.

It seems to make sense! It seems that I really misunderstood the drugstore owner. He is not a profiteer, he is not a bad person, he is a wise man.

The pharmacy owner stole a few glances at the two men and saw their admiring expressions, clearly convinced. He then bowed and said, "Respected Brother Mafa, please promise not to spread this matter. Even if you meet my three friends, don't say anything. Some things need no explanation; let me, the captain, handle them alone. Rest assured, I will return the backpack to them next time I return to Tucheng."

Bayinbuluke and the other man were already deeply impressed. Since they had agreed to return the backpack, what else was there to say? They all nodded and said, "Okay, no one will say anything."

The drugstore owner was secretly delighted. "Looks like I was fooled. I even believed what I said just now. If word gets out that I won the merchant's backpack playing dice, it won't do me any good. When we return to Tucheng, forget about the 100 billion gold coins. I'll take whatever they make from repairing the equipment and return the backpack to them."

The truth was, the city lord had indeed mandated that only medicines could be sold, not purchased. The pharmacy owner could have simply told the three men not to bring their backpacks into the Stone Tomb Formation. But he didn't. Instead, he stole their backpacks and filled them with potions, hoping to make more money in the Stone Tomb Formation. After all, while a merchant's backpack has ample space, it's also limited.

The best lie is 8% truth and 2% falsehood. Seeing that Brook and the other man had completely believed it, the drugstore owner sighed inwardly: "Young people~" Then, smiling, he set up his stall and invited the two to choose their medicines.

Brook and the others restocked their potions and returned to the Stone Tomb Formation room to level up again. This time, they didn't have a specific destination. After clearing out the monsters in one room, they randomly chose a cave entrance to enter another room to level up. Because Situ Haoyun had mentioned about the Stone Tomb Formation, if you kept walking in a certain direction in any room, you would reach a specific room. For example, walking straight to the lower left cave entrance would definitely lead to the 6th floor or the clothing store; walking straight to the lower right would lead to the jewelry store or the pharmacy. So the two didn't have to worry about actually getting lost.

During the period, the two also went into a clothing store and a jewelry store, and told the two owners that the pharmacy owner would return the backpack. The clothing store owner and the jewelry store owner were very grateful. Although they still could not do the acquisition business, they finally put their minds at ease.

Brook and Bayin chose to burn the pig in the left corner with Fire Wall and Exploding Flame. They ran out of potions and had to go to the pharmacy to refill. After more than five hours of hard work, they both finally reached level 5. Brook learned the level 26 Taoist skill "Spiritual Revelation", while Bayin directly upgraded to the level 26 mage weapon, the magic wand.

The leveling went smoothly, leaving both of them feeling a bit unsatisfied. Their backpacks still had plenty of potions, so they decided to use them up before leaving the Stone Tomb. This time, they headed for the sixth floor of the Stone Tomb, hoping to see the 6th and 6th floors they had never seen before.

The sixth floor was a separate room, similar in size to the one in the Stone Tomb Formation. Instead of a tomb in the center, there was a staircase leading down to the seventh floor. The monsters here were also densely populated, but this proved no challenge for Brook and Bayin. Empowered by their Ghost Shield and Holy Armor spells, they first used collective invisibility at the cave entrance, forcing themselves against the monsters' attacks and clearing out a small wave. Then, they moved along the wall to a corner, taking their position. Brook ran out to attract the monsters, while Bayin laid down a wall of fire, completely clearing the entire room of monsters.

The two of them came to the staircase entrance, and Bayin repeatedly reminded them to be careful. Brook nodded, and stepped onto the stairs with extreme caution.

After a period of darkness, the scene immediately became bright again. Brook's peripheral vision had already caught sight of a circle of monsters surrounding him, including a large white wild boar. Taking advantage of the monster's hesitation, he immediately became invisible. Before he had time to observe carefully, the wedge moth spit saliva on Brook. It turned out that a wedge moth was blocked by the tall white wild boar and was not seen for a while. Brook's invisibility failed, and the white wild boar immediately raised a hammer and smashed it hard on Brook. There were also two evil maggots and a black wild boar around who also attacked Brook. Brook's health was knocked down by more than half. Taking advantage of the backward momentum, he retreated and walked back to the 2th floor.

"How is it?" Bayin asked with concern.

"No, I can't go down. The stairs are surrounded. A white boar, a wedge moth, and three ordinary monsters. They've knocked 1 HP off my body in one blow." Brook healed himself. Situ Haoyun had mentioned that there were two types of white boars: one with 1-3 attack power, and the other with 120-30. This white boar might have 55 attack power.

The location of this staircase is not good. Once you go down, you are almost at the bottom of the stairs, and there are 5 empty spaces around you. If it is just a Wedge Moth and 4 ordinary Wild Boars, it will not be a big deal. The two of them can take the damage and kill the Wedge Moth first.

But now there are wedge moths and the leader, the white wild boar, which is really unbearable.

Could I fly in and take a chance? No, too dangerous. This wasn't the Incense Stone Tomb, but the seventh floor of the Stone Tomb. With the White Boar, the leader, not to mention Bayin with 7 HP, even Brook with 106 HP would likely be killed instantly.

Or could Brook go in first, and then Bayin follow at the same time. Immediately after entering, they would unleash a wall of fire, allowing Brook to withstand the monster's initial attack. Then, the two of them would retreat and burn the wedge moth to death this way? No, it was still too dangerous. This was just theoretical strategy; even the slightest mistake in actual coordination could result in death.

The two looked at each other, shaking their heads, unable to think of a solution. At this moment, they were truly envious of the warriors from another world. They could be reborn infinitely and take risks as they pleased. Brook and Bayin, on the other hand, only had one life.

The two decided to give up entering.

Gen below and Kan above, the Water Mountain Jian hexagram. Retreat when necessary, and advance and retreat appropriately.