That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Emmett moved quickly, as if he had already made up his mind to kill his teammate.

Roland actually had a chance to stop it.

But just as he was about to raise his sword, Yog grabbed his left arm and gestured with his eyes.

The orc wanted to negotiate in person.

This is unusual, as Yogurt is usually quiet and reserved, only willing to talk to people she knows well. Yet here she is, actively trying to communicate with a stranger.

Therefore, Roland stopped what he was doing and wanted to see what he had to say.

"Your archery is very interesting," a deep voice said, clearer in the extremely hot room. Yogurt's amber eyes were fixed on the half-elf. "I've seen that combat technique from my teacher; it's a technique unique to elves."

"Oh?"

Emmett turned his head, revealing a handsome and refined face. He brushed aside the light golden hair that was stuck to his cheeks with sweat, and his pointed ears twitched slightly: "That's rare. It seems that your teacher was also an exile."

The expelled.

Roland listened quietly, feeling that he might have stumbled upon some secrets.

Yogurt's voice was tinged with anger: "He's not a half-elf like you, yet he's received the same treatment. The elves of Whispering Forest are all fools."

"Perhaps," Emmett glanced indifferently at the corpse on the ground, already crouching down to begin looting. "I no longer want to have anything to do with those elves. You don't need to try to win me over to take revenge on them."

"It's not about courting, it's about cooperation."

Yogurt said, "I'm willing to introduce you to the teacher so you can acquire the learning methods unique to the elves, provided you help us this time."

Emmett's steady hand paused for a moment.

He then pulled a pocket from the bald, muscular man's corpse on the ground, took out a card made of white crystal, and threw it to the two men.

"This is your share, which contains 220 gold coins. The rest is all mine... As for cooperation, I only promise not to get involved in anything too troublesome."

Indirect consent.

Roland looked at Yogurt with some surprise, not expecting him to actually have some skills.

Or perhaps, the Elven professions were really that tempting?

Yogurt remained expressionless, seemingly unsurprised, and turned her gaze to the blazing furnace: "I want to know what this place is, and how you got here."

"Here?" Emmett glanced at the flickering flames, a smile playing on his lips.

"This place was once a secret realm discovered by a dwarven clan, containing abundant subterranean flames, which they later used as the venue for their forging competition."

"That dwarven clan ruled this place for many years, but later migrated for unknown reasons, leaving behind countless treasures—this is what Balor told us this morning when he was hiring."

Roland raised an eyebrow: "Clearly, she lied to you, but you weren't completely fooled."

"Of course."

Emmett got up and led the two toward the hall, making sure to feel the pockets of the corpses by the door as they walked, stuffing a few items into their bags.

"Although this wanderer was a bit greedy, his thieving skills were extremely good, which is why we weren't coerced."

The three of them entered the hall.

Roland's gaze swept over the dense array of metal doors, and he found that, apart from the one he had just come from, the vast majority were locked.

Emmett took out a dusty black leather scroll, and as it was gradually unrolled, marks resembling flame burns appeared on it.

"The Rupture Roller, though it can only be used once, is enough to break through any barrier and get us out of here."

Emmett offered an explanation.

Roland nodded, understanding that this was how Ms. Barlow left, and his gaze swept over the other corners of the hall.

He noticed that all the metal doors were engraved with different inscriptions, which were flowing at an extremely slow speed.

"Are all these doors behind forges?" he asked Emmett, turning to her.

"I don't know, that's what Barlow told us, but they're all protected by magic, and we can't break them unless we use this scroll."

But then they wouldn't be able to leave.

Although it was somewhat regrettable, Roland had no other choice but to see if he could find a better solution after returning home.

hum-

The scroll vibrated, emitting a dazzling blue light that rippled outwards, causing the surrounding space to shake and gradually inducing a sense of dizziness.

However, just as the spatial tremors grew stronger, orange-red light suddenly emanated from the walls on all sides, freezing the scroll's patterns in place.

Then, they slowly retreated.

Emmett's expression changed. He looked down at the scroll and found that the burn marks on it were quickly disappearing, as if they had been pressed back by an invisible force.

"That's impossible, unless Barlow never intended to go back, otherwise..."

Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!

Rumbling--

A rumbling sound came from beneath the floor, as if some long-dormant mechanism had been reopened. Runes on all the surrounding metal doors lit up simultaneously and converged towards the center of the hall.

Click!

The ground slowly slid open, and a stone platform rose up.

The stone platform is about half a person's height and is made entirely of some kind of dark green rock. Three items are quietly placed on it.

An unfinished heavy hammer.

A metal lever.

A stone slab with writing on it.

At the same time, a sound echoed in the air, not in a common language, but old and heavy, like some ancient dwarven language.

Roland couldn't understand, but glancing at the expressions of the other two, he saw the same bewilderment and confusion.

Oops.

He sensed something was wrong, but before he could react, the voice rang out again, this time in Common Language, and tinged with anger.

"Intruder—Get out of here!!!"

hum...

A slight vibration was felt as the runes on the metal door emanated from it, followed by the sound of gears meshing overhead, revealing a huge crater.

boom!!!

A huge figure fell, smashing the metal ground and creating a dent.

That was a giant beast.

It was about the size of a Red Bull, covered in dark red scales with faint, lava-like red veins flowing between the scales, and its claws burned with crimson flames, leaving scorching marks on the ground with every step it took.

Three rows of bone spikes grew on its back, extending from its thick neck to its tail, which was three zhang long. At the end of the tail was a deep blue crystal the size of a head, which flickered with its breath.

It stared at the heavy hammer on the stone platform, then glanced at the three people beside it, a human-like contempt flashing in its eyes, before letting out a low growl.

"Lava giant lizard?"

Emmett's voice was filled with astonishment, and his hand gripping the longbow trembled slightly: "Wasn't this creature already extinct?"

"Obviously not."

Roland spoke as he drew his longsword; his movements were incredibly fast, but he rushed not toward the giant lizard, but toward the stone platform.

He noticed that the giant lizard's first glance was at the heavy hammer, its eyes flashing with disgust, and it kept its steps away from the stone platform.

There must be a way to break this deadlock here!