As far as the eye can see, everything is shrouded in darkness.

  Flickering dim flames struggled to tear a bright path in the darkness. The leading warrior grasped a giant axe in one hand and held a torch aloft with the other, striding forward with large steps. The low, muffled sound of steel boots hitting the floor echoed through the corridor, sounding especially jarring.

  "Hey, take it easy, old chap!!"

  The thief, hiding in the darkness beside him, shot a discontented glance at the barbarian warrior by his side.

  "This is a dark area, damn it, not your home that's on the verge of collapse. Can't you take lighter steps? I don't want to worry about attracting monsters with your footsteps in this pitch-black situation!!"

  "Haha, I'm eager to have a fierce battle with those monsters!"

  Hearing the thief's warning, the barbarian warrior revealed a cruel and confident smile.

  "I once took on an entire pack of winter wolves! I'd like to see what's more terrifying than those beasts in the dark lands!"

  "The scariest thing is you!!"

  In the face of the barbarian warrior's wild words, the thief turned his head and glared fiercely at his comrades beside him.

  "If you don't shut that big mouth of yours, which is going to get us into trouble, I think we might not be able to make it out of this tunnel alive! Open your eyes and look at the ground beneath your feet, those aren't uneven earthy paths, but flat brick roads. We're not strolling through a leisurely sunset forest, but in a dark domain!! For goodness' sake, can you move that pea-sized brain of yours and shut that foul-smelling mouth of yours, so we can avoid some trouble?!!"

  "You..."

  "That's enough, shut up!"

  Just as the barbarian warrior clenched his fist to give this disobedient thief a good lesson, a voice from behind him interrupted the quarrel between the two.

  "Shut up, all of you. This is a dark territory and we're here for the first time, so it's better to be overcautious... Alright, let's gather ourselves and move forward, remember to stay vigilant..."

  "Boom!!"

  The captain's words were not yet finished when the crowd heard the sound of objects falling to the ground behind them, which made them instinctively turn their heads and look back.

  "Damn it, I said... where's Joe?"

  In the back, the warrior named Qiao who was originally responsible for covering the rear had disappeared, leaving only a torch that had fallen to the ground still emitting flames. It seemed that the sound just now came from the torch, but the owner of this torch was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

  "My god!!"

  At this sight, the thief took a step back, leaning against the wall and looking around nervously. He no longer cared about complaining about the foolishness of the big guy beside him. In this dark region, there were as many dangers as treasures, and the former far exceeded the latter. Now the thief felt that they seemed to have strayed too far from the main force, and perhaps returning to the base to regroup would be a good idea...

  This was the thief's last thought, and he didn't even have time to express it out loud, because just as he opened his mouth, a sharp and pointed tail had silently descended from above, wrapping itself around the thief's neck with no mercy, cutting off his airway. This caused the thief's scream to be reduced to a mere "gurgling" sound, and in the next instant, his body was quickly pulled upwards, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye, never to be seen again.

  "Be careful, be careful!! Everyone get ready to defend, watch out for your surroundings!!"

  At this moment, the barbarian warrior was completely unaware of the thief's disappearance. He gripped his massive axe with both hands and loudly shouted for others to be vigilant and prepare their defenses.

  But it's too late now.

  When the huge black shadow fell from the ceiling, burying them completely, the only accompaniment was the desperate wails and howls. The torches that had fallen to the ground illuminated the twisted shadows struggling, then were extinguished in a cold, blood-scented gust of wind.

  Soon, the dark region returned to its usual tranquility once again.

  The enemies invading the underground castle have been completely annihilated, and the lord of the castle has gained 125 experience points.

  "A drop in the bucket."

  Glancing at the system prompt that suddenly popped up in front of him, Zhan En shook his head and then "slapped" the system prompt shut.

  "This group of humans is endless, and their experience value is frighteningly low. Can you imagine it? Enyo, the experience value of a whole team of humans is actually less than that of five bear goblins?"

  At this point, Zhan En made a rather exaggerated gesture of helplessness.

  "I thought the church would send someone more capable, but instead I get this kind of trash? It's been so many days and my experience points have only increased by a tenth? To be honest, I'm starting to doubt whether building the dungeon above ground was a mistake. After all, this isn't a garbage dump! The money on these bastards doesn't even add up to 300 gold coins! This is really enough! I think their only use is as food for the aberrants, at least that would improve the diet of my lovely pets."

  It's no wonder Zhan En complained, since the church recruited "braves" to enter the dark region again, more than ten days have passed. And in these ten days, these "braves" are like mice that can get everywhere, wherever there is a hole they drill in, making the entire dark region chaotic and smoky.

  Fortunately, Zhan En was well-prepared for this and had sealed off the main passages of the underground city with secret doors before these guys arrived, leaving only a secret path to satisfy their insatiable curiosity and desire for exploration. Of course, following the principle of "diverting disaster elsewhere", Zhan En had also opened another exit of the maze on the edge of Brandon Stone Castle. This way, at least those brave adventurers who managed to escape from the tunnels after much hardship would not feel disappointed due to their lack of gain.

  Jaren could be certain that Caddek was now regretting sending people to wipe out the group of goblins. If they still had those annoying, stupid and ignorant two-legged creatures around, they might have been able to attract some human attention to a certain extent. But the goblins were already gone, and he had spent a lot of manpower and resources to renovate and expand the second district of Brandonstone Castle, only to stop their work now because of these damned, foolish, and ignorant two-legged animals. It was imaginable how angry Caddek must be - Jaren knew that his construction team outside Brandonstone Castle was not the first time they had been attacked by humans. And as for the results so far... it wasn't something that could be easily bragged about.

  "These humans are accelerating their exploration of the dark territories, and Krix is a bit worried that they will discover several hidden entrances to the underground city. Do we need to take the initiative to give them a little lesson? Verena can't wait to take action."

  "It doesn't matter, let them be."

  At Enya's inquiry, Zhan Yan listlessly waved his hand.

  "Unless those guys can dig holes, they won't be able to get into the underground city. As for Verna... I think her slender sword is getting a bit impatient? Let her go help the dwarves deal with the invaders then, as long as she doesn't stray too far from Blackstone Tower. As for other matters, let's not make any rash moves for now, only those brainless fish would take the bait..."

  Said here, Zhan En took another glance at the map.

  The troops of Hei Maren Shi Cheng have left, after contacting humans several times, they quickly retreated, it seems that they have returned to Hei Maren Shi Cheng. But this is not surprising, facing these aggressive humans, Hei Maren Shi Cheng obviously feels a bit overwhelmed, after all, this is not their territory, and with their strength, dealing with humans here is clearly not the best choice.

  However, Zhan Enke would not let them off so easily, as he still needed the Black Agate City to help him complete his next plan. Of course, before that, Zhan Enke still had to wait patiently for a period of time - perhaps it wouldn't be too long.

  Thinking of this, Zhan En withdrew his gaze and looked at the system panel in front of him again. Soon, a line of information floated before his eyes.

  "Spell research progress 98.5%, spell research is about to be completed."

  If there's one thing that Elrise has contributed the most to since joining the dungeon, it would be her research on magic. Of course, Elrise herself hasn't been actively doing this work. However, as long as she remains in the library studying and researching magic, the system can automatically obtain information from it to "evolve" and acquire a brand new spell.

  I just don't know what kind of wizard I'll get.

  Watching the progress bar jumping in front of him, Zhan also felt a little excitement and tension. In the dungeon system, due to the different levels and races of researchers, the spells they studied were also varied and unpredictable. So even Zhan couldn't guess what surprise Elise would bring to himself.

  But fortunately, the answer will be revealed soon.

  Time was passing minute by minute and second by second, and in front of Zhan En, the system information was also slowly flashing.

  "Spell research progress 99%, spell research is about to be completed."

  "Spell research progress 99.5%, spell research is about to be completed."

  Finally, accompanied by a "ding" sound, the system prompt he most wanted to see appeared in front of Zhan En.

  Spell research progress 100%, spell research complete.

  Acquired Spell: Evil Eye

  Evil Eye: This world is full of unknown secrets, shrouded in a mist of time that makes it impossible for mortals to see the path forward. Only those who are most diligent can pierce through the fog and uncover the hidden truths - Consumes 500 magic points, allows you to scout a designated target with a certain chance of obtaining detailed intel.

  Evil Eye?

  Zhan En was taken aback, it was clear that this wasn't an attacking spell or a defensive spell, but rather seemed like a supportive spell...... What's the use of this thing?

  Just as the thought occurred to Zhan En, suddenly, a soft "ding" sound was heard again in his ear. Following that, another line of system information appeared before Zhan En's eyes.

  Cucumbers are not just for eating, and dumbbells are not just for working out. Even instant noodle containers have unique uses that can comfort single dogs. It all depends on how you look at it and what you do with it. Task: Find five uses for the "Evil Eye" within three days, and you will understand what it means to be carefree. Reward: Obtain special equipment "The Book of All Methods".

  “……………”

  Seeing this speechless task prompt, Zhan En involuntarily twitched the corner of his mouth, and now he only had one thought.

  Can this crappy system be even more shameless?