Ashen Dragon

The four of them, holding the ten Gold Coins they had scraped together, went to the Tiefling Trading Center and bought the Mysterious Invitation.
Your next chapter is on empire

When Singo handed the shiny Gold Coins to the Tiefling merchant, Mantou felt an immense pain. He thought to himself, "How many pieces of equipment could this buy, you spendthrift!"

The invitation in their hands felt heavy.

They returned to their rented cabin and excitedly opened the invitation.

The paper inside was a delicate pale yellow, thin and seemingly no different from ordinary paper, but the words on it were written in burning flames, constantly flickering.

There was only one short sentence——

"You will meet the most distinguished person here."

"Is it really that influential?"

"Seems like this gamble was worth it, at least we'll break even."

Looking at the tiny words on the invitation, Mantou was filled with anticipation.

Singo, however, remained calm: "I told you, anything that costs so much Gold Coins will definitely yield significant rewards."

The Natural War Maniac chuckled: "Come on, stand still, I'm about to use it."

"Okay."

[Confirm using Mysterious Invitation!]

Immediately, the space in front of the four of them started to ripple, then gradually twisted and cracked, forming a door-shaped space rift. Flames roared around the edges of the rift, making it look like the "doorframe" of this Dimension Door.

"Wow, a teleportation portal? This is top-notch!"

Mantou exclaimed.

So far in the game, no Magic System Profession had developed teleportation skills. Mages without scrolls would be out of the question, and even those now called "true mage masters," the sorcerers, didn't have such high-end abilities.

Both Summer Night Autumn Rain and the Natural War Maniac were pleasantly surprised, and even Singo, who usually had a sour face, showed a hint of excitement.

But he still reminded: "The item description said, the other side could be dangerous or a reward, so we need to be fully prepared."

"That's true. We don't want to get wiped out as soon as we go in."

Mantou nodded.

"Blessing Spell!"

Summer Night Autumn Rain waved a wooden staff, and beams of light descended, enveloping everyone.

This Divine Arts could give the recipients an advantage in attack and saving throws, an all-purpose spell for priests in their early stages.

"Healing Potion, Toxin Resistance Potion, Wyvern Toxin, Slippery Oil, Oil of Precision..."

Singo pulled out one item after another from his backpack and introduced them as if they were his treasured possessions. Before long, these items were piled like a small mountain.

"Where did you get so much stuff?" Mantou couldn't help but ask.

In this resource-scarce early stage, many newbie players couldn't even gather a basic set of equipment and would lose to the large goose raised by the Tiefling aunt next door. Yet Singo had accumulated such a stash.

"Look more, practice more, grind more."

Singo simply replied calmly.

Mantou finally understood what set these top-tier players apart; in this respect, he had to concede—he couldn't compete with their show-off skills.

After applying oil to weapons and armor, placing potions in his backpack to handle various situations, and making a series of preparations, Singo was finally ready. Although he looked quite bulky, an epitome of practicality over aesthetics.

"Let's go."

"Alright."

The four of them stepped into the flaming teleportation portal.

A wave of heat hit them, seemingly leaving a mark on each person's face.

"Wow, it's so dark."

"Where is this?"

"It feels a bit warm."

"Autumn Rain, use a Light Spell; we can't see anything."

"Okay."

Summer Night Autumn Rain raised the wooden staff and began to cast Divine Arts.

"Light Spell!"

The tip of the staff emitted a faint light.

Though the glow was weak, it was enough for the four to barely see their surroundings.

They were now in a dim, narrow rock tunnel. The air inside was stuffy, with hard rock walls surrounding them and the tunnel leading into an unknown darkness.

"What should we do, should we keep going?"

The narrow rock tunnel made Mantou feel uneasy, and the Light Spell hardly provided any comfort.

Singo grit his teeth and said fiercely: "We're here now, we can't just turn back. Let's go all in!"

They carefully made their way forward along the tunnel.

Finally, the four seemed to have exited the tunnel; the space in front of them was much wider.

"This should be the place."

"Everyone, stay alert. Report any findings."

But the Light Spell no longer reached the rock walls; all around was darkness. The vast, dark cave echoed now and then, making them even more nervous and sweaty.

Suddenly, an unknown light appeared, followed by more lights.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With the sound of flames igniting, hundreds of intricately dragon-headed oil lamps along the rock walls lit up consecutively, illuminating the surrounding darkness and revealing the cavern's expansive interior.

Waves of heat rolled over them.

A spacious road appeared before them, with blazing fires on both sides,

and at the end of the road stood a man.

He had black hair and golden eyes, with delicate features. Dark gold pupils reflected the blazing flames, exuding an inherent arrogance. Red scales faintly appeared on both sides of his face, and bone-white dragon horns adorned his forehead.

He was adorned in a dark red, gold-bordered luxurious robe, his tall frame radiating an aura of nobility and irresistibility.

Summer Night Autumn Rain couldn't help but blush, exclaiming, "Wow, the official model looks really good."

Mantou, on the other hand, joked, "Wow, is this NPC really this handsome? Almost as handsome as me."

Summer Night Autumn Rain couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Singo urged, "Mantou, quickly cast a detection spell. We must have encountered a key character."

"Oh, right."

Mantou instinctively responded, then skillfully brought up the panel.

Mysterious Dragon Vein Sorcerer – Cassius

Affiliation: Ashen Nest

Basic Ability: ???

Challenge Level: ??? (Extremely Dangerous!)

Favorability: -5 (Slight Disdain)

Mantou realized what he had done and cursed, "Damn you, Xin Dog! You've tricked me again, now our favorability dropped!"

Singo, hearing his nickname, still wore his expressionless face, "Everyone will remember your sacrifice. So, what did you see, Mantou?"

Mantou shook his head, "Nothing, all the information is unknown."

Singo clenched his fists with excitement, "Great! We really found him."

"Based on my observations, the only one in Barto City with an unknown Challenge Level is the Oathbreaker Sword, Mezulash. Others, like Guard Captain Damacus, have visible Challenge Levels. We've found the second key NPC first, so we definitely—"

However, a steady male voice interrupted his speech from afar.

"Honored guests, using detection upon meeting might be considered impolite, don't you think?"