Chapter 655 – Desperate Attempt.

“I’m sorry, Mister Siegfried. I’ll get your room ready soon.”

“It’s fine.”

Roland replied to Millie, who was frantically cleaning the room prepared for him. Because of her father’s arrival, she had been away from the inn, leaving her mother and a hired hand to manage everything on their own.

“There seems to be a lot of adventurers coming in. Is something big about to happen?”

He asked while leaning against the wall near the entrance. Although he already had some idea of what was coming, it was best to hear more from a local like Millie.

“Ah, have you not heard? A large-scale expedition is going to be held soon. I’m not sure of the details, but every few years the number of monsters increases and some kind of treasure appears somewhere within the draconic ruins.”

Roland nodded, as this confirmed the information his people had gathered. As always, the promise of rare loot drew adventurers out of the woodwork, some even traveling from other countries or from distant parts of the kingdom.

“The Draconic ruins…”

He mumbled softly, and Millie paused her frantic cleaning and popped her head out of the room.

“Yes. It’s past the Drake Meadows and within the Dragon Maw waterfall. I think there is a way to get inside. You really can’t miss it.”

Roland nodded. He had seen a large shimmering waterfall pouring from something that resembled a dragon’s jaw. If what Millie was saying was true, then within it lay some kind of treasure, along with another section of the dungeon filled with various traps and monsters.

‘Should I join this expedition or just stick to what I am doing now?’

He considered it for a moment. There were a few options. He could try to get there before the other adventurers and claim the treasure for himself. However, from what he knew, the entrance remained sealed until a specific moment. That likely meant the adventurers would gather in advance so that no one could gain a head start.

It was a region he had not explored yet. If he left now, he might arrive before the others. Perhaps opening the sealed chamber was possible, as it had been in other dungeons in the past. However, to reach it, he would need to cross the Drake Meadows, a vast stretch of land filled with massive, lesser wingless dragons known as drakes. The meadows were wide and open, with no trees or natural cover apart from tall grass, which made sneaking through extremely difficult.

The better option might be to travel with the other adventurers and use the opportunity to place his monitoring devices throughout the area. He could even establish another hidden lair for teleportation beyond the meadows. That would allow him to farm materials from the creatures there and perhaps visit the grand lake with the enormous monster rumored to live within it.

“If you want to sign up, you’ll need to hurry.”

“I see. You seem to know a lot about this dungeon. How long have you been here?”

As they spoke, Roland shifted the conversation. Instead of focusing on the dungeon, he wanted to understand how Millie had ended up in her current situation.

“Oh? About four years or so.”

“Four years? So you weren’t always here?”

The timeline fit almost perfectly with his suspicion that she had been brought here when she was ten. If that was true, then her level had increased only a few times over five years, which made her class quite unusual.

“No, we used to live above ground. I think it was somewhere in the middle of the kingdom. I am not sure now, we used to move a lot. Mama cooked, Papa hammered iron, but then I…”

She began reminiscing about a past that sounded ordinary and peaceful. After a moment, she cut herself off and even stopped cleaning.

“Ah, it is old history now. It does not matter anymore. We are here, and we are here to stay!”

Millie did not dwell on the past for long and quickly returned to work. He had clearly touched on a sensitive subject, but for now, he had no intention of pressing her further. Within the next few minutes, she removed several old items from the room. The previous owner had not returned for weeks, which made the room available for reassignment.

Then, to his surprise, she began fixing things. He peeked inside when he heard the sound of a hammer. She had a few nails between her lips as she secured several planks into place and quickly repaired the broken parts of a chair.

“There we go. All ready for you, Mister Sigfried.”

“Thank you. You seem to be good with your hands.”

“Oh, this? Just a few things Papa taught me.”

She smiled and shuffled out of the room with her toolbox in tow.

“And remember to come down in the morning for breakfast.”

“I will see what I can do.”

The girl hurried off, clearly with more work to finish and more adventurers to attend to. As a prospective apprentice, she met every expectation in terms of attitude. She worked hard and understood what needed attention and where adjustments were required.

“Well then.”

Roland closed the door behind him and found himself alone. The room reminded him of the place where he had first begun his adventure. Back then, he had spent half a year studying runes. Using his debugging skill, he had gradually learned how to inscribe them on paper.

“If my friend is going to make a move, it will probably be tonight.”

After inspecting the room and confirming there were no magical sensors present, he placed one of his own for later use. It was time to act. He had no intention of sleeping. The night had only just begun, and the leader of the perpetrators was still at large. According to his array of sensors, the man’s mana signature ended within the stronghold and had not left since.

‘He is still here, probably waiting to finish the contract and make one last attempt.’

Roland did not know much about the assassination organization, but he assumed it operated like many others of its kind. The man had clearly failed and likely could not return without completing his mission. Such groups maintained discipline through the threat of death. Even high-ranking members were not spared if they failed. The man was probably waiting for the right moment to strike, and as usual, that would be during the night.

He loosened his robe and laid it on the hard mattress nearby. His black armor was revealed in full, though only briefly. Runes began to glow with a pale blue light, and his body shimmered before gradually turning transparent, becoming fully concealed wherever no light touched him.

Roland moved toward the shuttered window and pressed a hand against the wooden frame. The latch gave way without a sound. A faint draft slipped inside, carrying the scent of distant forge smoke. Even at this hour, the smiths were still at work, their hammers echoing through the stronghold and providing the perfect cover for him and the assassin to move unnoticed.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Below, the stronghold’s inner streets were lit by magic lanterns mounted on poles. Their glow carved the roads into long stretches of shadow between pools of orange light, perfect terrain for someone who knew how to disappear.

Before moving further, he reached into his spatial storage and retrieved one of the humanoid golems he had used in the past. He placed the robe he wore over it and ordered it to pretend to be asleep in his bed. Only then did he slip out the window. Instead of dropping to the ground, he allowed his body to rise, floating upward until he settled gently on the roof.

He moved without a sound. Little light reached the upper levels of the stronghold, and the adventurers on watch duty were lax, their attention wandering. They were not concerned about thieves or lesser monsters slipping inside. They had lived here for years and had grown accustomed to a steady undercurrent of danger.

Roland remained crouched atop the Red Dragon Inn and moved only after making certain no one would impede him. His destination lay three streets east, closer to the guild building. Another inn stood there, where Inspector Harphon was spending the night.