Whispering Verse

It was pitch black outside the passage as usual, but Shade's first feeling after stepping out was that it was very hot here, and there was an indescribable strange feeling.

After sniffing carefully, there was no smell of grape fermentation in the wine cellar, nor was there the smell of vegetables in the hotel's underground warehouse. After the feet left the passage, it was obvious that the ground under their feet was no longer flat, which meant that this should not be an underground place with artificial facilities.

Dark vision can clearly see part of the situation in front of him. He seems to be at the inner edge of a wide cave. If you listen carefully, you can't hear any sounds of insects or birds or animals here. Even if you listen with "echoes of the past", thaumaturgy can't detect any sounds:

"There is no life. Even if the way out is blocked, there won't even be bugs, right? Powerful spatial perception!"

When the thaumaturgy is activated, the surrounding terrain generally enters the mind, and even the range that can be seen increases a lot.

Shade's guess just now was correct. This was indeed a huge underground cave, roughly circular. Although the ground is not flat, it can generally be regarded as a flat space. The location of the exit is probably on the northeast side. Apart from the only exit, the entire underground cavity has no other passages connecting it to other places.

After making sure that there was no one else's heartbeat here except his own, Shade lit up the moonlight to let himself see further:

"Silver Moon."

The height of the huge underground cave is about three stories, and the area is two Saint Teresa Square. This place is not empty. Surrounding the cave, there are murals on the side walls that have faded so badly that the original appearance is completely unclear. At the same time, various skewed stone pillars stood at the edge of the cave. Those stone pillars with some traces of elements remaining should have been powerful alchemy items in the past.

This seems to be a place of worship. Although the glory of the past has completely dissipated, from the murals, stone pillars, and fallen beast skeleton decorations, you can still see what it looked like in its prosperity.

Although the ground seemed flat, when Shade reached the center of the cave, he found that this location was not only more sultry, but the ground was significantly smoother, and even had a downward concave arc.

Upon closer examination, he actually found several rusty ancient gold coins rummaging through the soil. Although I can’t tell what year it belongs to, I can be sure that it is a genuine antique:

"Gold coins. I seem to have guessed where this place used to be."

Continuing to inspect this wide cave, not long after, I found a large amount of rusted precious metals piled up in the corner. I dug up the ground and found bones that were almost fossilized. There are human bones among them, but more are the bones of various animals.

There are no live animals here, but there are plants. The most conspicuous plant growing in the hot cave is the large patch of bright red grass located southwest of the exit of the "hidden passage". Shade recognized it at a glance as "Ambergris", a special herb born in the dragon's lair. It is said that this herb needs to draw nutrients from the saliva of the dragon in its dormant stage, which is rich in ether and spirit. grow.

This precious herb was needed when Fiona was preparing the "Dragon Sleep Growth Ceremony" in "Eternal Night City". Unfortunately, Shade didn't have it at that time, so he casually wiped some of Fiona's saliva and blood with celery leaves, but the ritual was successful in the end.

"The price of ambergris seems to be quite expensive. This area is at least worth it. Wasn't this once the dragon's lair?"

After waking up from the memories of the past, Shade was not surprised at first, but was happy that he did not encounter a real dragon just after walking out of the passage.

He then continued to investigate in the cave, and in addition to ambergris, he also found some red moss on the rock wall. This is also the "dragon blood moss" that can only grow in the dragon's lair. Of course, it actually has little to do with dragon blood.

After flying with the "Red Butterfly Incarnation", Shade discovered some remains of huge runes etched on the top of the cave. Relying on "a piece of true information - dragon" obtained after the adventure in the Lost Forest, Shade interpreted the meaning of those runes as "sleep aid", "restoration", "constant temperature" and "protection", which are quite ancient dragon language runes. arts.

But because too much time had passed, he could not know more accurately what kind of ritual these runes were combined into.

"Even if it is really a dragon's nest, the time when this nest was abandoned should be the fifth era at the latest."

In the sixth era, it is rare to see pure-blooded dragons now. He took out the map of the old continent and the Moon Bay area, and once again used "powerful spatial perception" to locate his current position behind the Moon Bay. Shade also confirmed again that this lair had been abandoned for a long time. After all, if a powerful dragon appeared next to such a big city in the Sixth Age, there is no reason why it should not be recorded in the book.

The former owner of the dragon's nest must have been extremely powerful. Even though he has been gone for thousands of years, the once magnificent nest has become as dilapidated as it is now. No living thing dares to haunt here. The hot air should also be the influence left by the dragon. . Thinking of this, Shade also realized that the strange feeling he felt after walking out of the hidden passage was the mental illusion brought to him by the dragon's racial talent "Dragon Power" - a peculiar mental suppression ability.

It's just that his mental strength is extremely high, and he has been in contact with the demigod Red Dragon Witch, so these residual mental influences do not have a great impact on him.

After basically confirming that this was an abandoned dragon's nest in the Fifth Era, Shade transformed from the red butterfly form back to his original appearance. He stood in the depression in the center of the cave, raised his right hand and looked towards the illuminated nest. Relying on the resonance of his spiritual power, he suddenly seemed to actually see a cave filled with gold and silver treasures, with a huge silver dragon sleeping on the pile of treasures.

[Outlander, you have some insights into "dragon". 】

"She" suddenly reminded me gently in his ear, and Xia De calmed down and nodded:

"It's really interesting that the exit this time is in such an interesting place. But the abandonment of the nest happened in the fifth era. The way out now won't be blocked, right?"

[Before you go out, you should probably look to the right. 】

Shade followed "her" guidance and continued to explore the cave. In front of the wall almost opposite to the "hidden passage", he saw another brown clay statue. The base of the statue is a circular platform. On the platform is an egg-shaped object with a delicate little dragon lying on it.

Clear dragon language runes can be seen on the front of the platform:

【Dragon is born great. 】

Shade reached out and touched the brown egg-shaped object. After touching it, he felt extremely slight traces of elements.

"It should be able to be activated. How to do it?"

He tried reciting the runes in dragon language, but to no avail. Summoning the life ring, he remembered that he did not have any spiritual runes related to "dragon". So he turned around and returned home through the "space maze", took the "Higgs Head Stone" and used it to touch the egg-shaped object.

This time there was a different phenomenon. The brown soil layer on the surface of the "egg" that was touched by the relic peeled off, revealing the golden luster inside. But that only lasted five seconds before the layer of soil enveloped the "egg" again.

"Interesting. Long-haired Luvia said dragons are very useful."

Finally, he took out Fiona's glove, put it on her right hand, and placed her palm against the egg.

Click~

A clear cracking sound was heard, and then the small mud dragon lying on the egg actually moved.

Shade took a few steps back and watched the circular platform base radiate light upwards. He watched the egg slowly rise into the air and float. The brown soil peeled off inch by inch on the surface of the egg shell, along with the mud layer on the mud dragon's body. Peeling. What finally appeared in front of Shade was a golden dragon egg floating in the air on a golden platform, with a shining golden light. A small golden dragon statue lay on the egg, with its eyes closed but still seemed alive.

Of course, dragon eggs and metal dragons are both dead objects, and when Shade reached out to touch the radiant dragon egg again, "she" in his ear also gave a reminder:

[Outlander, you have come into contact with a miracle. 】

[The ancient Dragon Altar recognizes your identity as a member of the same race. If you touch the altar, you will get the following effects:】

[Restore all your own soul;]

[Heal some injuries;]

[Expel some negative states;]

【Acquire wealth. 】

[Note that the power of the altar is limited and the effect can only be triggered once per day. 】

"Each effect, once a day?"

[Altar effect, once a day. 】

The golden light illuminated Shade's puzzled expression:

"So, what is this? It's a good thing to save the essence so close to your doorstep, but is this altar similar to an ancient sacrificial place like the Night Temple? I want wealth."

Then the little dragon lying on the egg opened its mouth, and with a clanking sound, a small gold coin fell on the altar.

Shade picked it up and found that it was a pure metal coin. The material is unclear at the moment, but it has miraculous elements on it, and there are dragon language runes on both sides, so it should be more than just an antique:

"Interesting, this is such an interesting exit."

However, Shade did not rush to explore the origin of this altar. Instead, he sent the coins back home, and then planned to move forward and try to find a way to leave this ancient dragon's nest. No one knows the impact of thousands of years of changes and geological movements. Shade's worries are not unreasonable. In the worst case scenario, he may have to use "fossils as mud" to forcibly dig a road to the ground.

As for the "Dragon Altar", it did not remain in a sparkling state. Twenty steps after Shade left the altar, the floating dragon egg fell back to the altar, and the soil that emerged from the surface enveloped the altar. The dragon egg and the little dragon returned to their original inactive state again.

PS: There will be an additional chapter tomorrow during the Mid-Autumn Festival.