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

"It's a bit like a dust explosion from a past life, but very different."

Roland stood beside the dead monster, examining the ground where the black ashes had been swept away, with cracks in the middle caused by the intense heat.

The scene just now did resemble a dust explosion, but there were no flames throughout, which prevented the explosion from spreading.

"About a foot," Roland said, his gaze sweeping over the area of ​​black embers consumed by the explosion. "Just this little bit of black embers was enough to trigger such a violent explosion."

If the black embers of the entire dungeon were detonated, wouldn't that be...?

No, the association must have implemented insurance measures in this regard, so it shouldn't be that easy to cause a large-scale explosion.

Another point worth mentioning is that this kind of black ash only has this unique explosive property in dungeons, and it is worthless once it is taken out.

Environmental constraints, non-chain operation, and controllable risks are the three main characteristics that have allowed the Black Ash Dungeon to remain open to all adventurers rather than being tightly controlled by the Association.

"It's a pity that my knowledge is too shallow to understand the principles behind it, otherwise I could have made a lot of money by making projectiles from the ashes."

"If the opportunity arises, we can try to extract abilities from items left behind by scholars. In this era, knowledge can also be transformed into power."

With the thought running through his mind, Roland carefully cut off a relatively intact piece of the giant cockroach's carapace, worth a few silver coins, and then walked forward.

Perhaps startled by the sound of the exploding black embers, the rest of the journey was incredibly smooth, and no monsters were encountered until the entrance to the next level.

This continued until he went down the stairs to the second floor and pushed open a solid stone door.

"Coo coo coo... A new member is here! A new member is here!"

Inside the small hall, a winged balance scale hovered in mid-air, accompanied by pale golden light, but it did not cause the black embers to explode.

The sound just now came from it. Strangely, it had no organs involved in vocalization and looked like nothing more than an ordinary, mottled balance scale.

This is the "Exchange Scale," one of the man-made proofs of the Black Ash Dungeon. It is said to be a tamed construct that knows most of the dungeon's situation, but adventurers need to pay a corresponding price to exchange information.

This was the first time Roland had encountered such a strange creature, and he couldn't help but take a second look.

As soon as he paused, the scales flew to him and eagerly asked, "Coo coo... newbie, do you know where my master is?"

Just as rumored, Libra asks this question every time a new adventurer arrives.

Roland, of course, had no idea. The owner of this underground city had disappeared since it was discovered, and he had asked this question countless times over the decades without receiving an answer.

Lying is also impossible; the balance scales have the ability to detect lies, and once detected, they will immediately summon monsters to surround and kill them.

However, it still has its value.

Roland took out a silver coin and tossed it to the left side of the scale: "Tell me, where will the entrance to the third floor appear today?"

"Coo coo... The transaction is fair. After you go inside, at the fork in the road, you'll see the big door from there."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Roland nodded slightly and then asked, "How does this underground city currently operate?"

"Coo coo... I'll give you the answer to this question with 50,000 gold coins."

Fifty thousand... that's probably more than the entire wealth of the Black Ash Dungeon combined.

Roland shook his head slightly, preparing to ignore the strange creature, but just a second before taking a step, he suddenly paused: "Are there people in the dungeon who maliciously hunt adventurers?"

"Coo coo... Five silver coins!"

Five glittering silver coins were tossed into the air, and the exchange scales nimbly caught them precisely before saying, "Coo coo... Right at the exit of this hall, there are three adventurers preparing to hunt."

So close?

Roland narrowed his eyes slightly, not at all surprised, as this was a common occurrence.

There are basically no monsters at the entrance of each floor, which is a safe zone and the place where many adventurers are most likely to let their guard down.

Attacking at this time often yields extremely effective results.

These people specifically hunt down newcomers who are unaware of this information and do not understand the principle of balance.

After spending another silver coin to confirm that these people were not formal professionals, Roland suddenly had a plan.

As he walked toward the exit, even with the thick door in between, he deliberately made his footsteps heavy before slowly pushing the door open.

squeak-

The rough stone gate groaned under its own weight.

Along with the sound came an arrow that gleamed with a cold, icy light.

call out!

Boom!

Two voices rang out almost simultaneously. The attacker from the outside, before he could even see if his arrow had hit its mark, roared in a rage that seemed to shatter his will: "Run!!!"

boom--

The violent explosion was shut out as the stone door closed. Thirty seconds later, when the scorching heat no longer emanated from the door, Roland cautiously opened a crack again.

Blood soaked the area below the stone door red, and severed limbs lay scattered on the black ashes that had been swept away. On the ground, there was a head with its eyes open, looking at Roland as he pushed open the door.

Three people, not one missing.

Roland nodded slightly, bent down and was about to reach for the bag of the broken corpse on the ground when he suddenly stopped and then twisted his body abruptly.

call out--

Another arrow, imbued with immense force, shot from the corner in the distance. Its powerful force swirled up the black embers in the air, altering their trajectory. Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound as it hurtled straight towards them.

We've fallen for their trap!

This was Roland's first reaction after being hit by the arrow, but it was immediately followed by a surge of anger.

Although he dodged in time, the arrow, which had been prepared for a long time, still hit his abdomen accurately. Fortunately, the leather armor that had just been repaired was still tough enough, and although the arrowhead had pierced his flesh, it was not fatal.

"Walk!"

Seeing that the arrow had failed to kill, the assassins hidden in the shadows immediately gave the order, and several figures disappeared with a soft footstep.

Roland didn't give chase. These people were clearly prepared, and he was injured. He needed to heal his injuries first.

After returning to the hall, he quickly figured out the plan.

"The Scales of Exchange don't lie. These people took advantage of its mechanism. The three who just died weren't the attackers the Scales of Exchange mentioned; they were probably their slaves or something."

"Having slaves disguise themselves as attackers, and then strike after I kill them, not only allows for a more accurate assessment of my strength, but also gives me the advantage of distance to move freely. What a brilliant plan."

The plan was actually not complicated, but Roland trusted his own judgment too much, which led to his injury—a lesson learned.

Having figured out the general situation, Roland took a deep breath, kept this experience in mind, and began to treat the injury.

However, a fierce killing intent had begun to flash in his eyes.

These people thought they were clever, but ambushing adventurers to steal their money is inherently a high-risk activity.

Just as the stone tablet at the entrance says, the dungeon doesn't kill people; it's their own choice to kill.