Man down! MAN DOWN! All of them are down! And in bed.

"Guuh..." - Noire

"My...money..." - Mira

"Zzz..." - Alf

We're currently at the local hospital, where the three indisposed idiots are having a break. It seems that they didn't go well with the poisonous mushrooms yesterday.

"I cannot believe this. Why can only one sleep despite being exposed to this many toxins? Do their bodies not require rest?" - Doctor

I think it is rather that Alf always looks exhausted..., no, that's not it. ALL THREE OF THEM are hopeless.

"In any case, they need to stay in bed for a few days to allow the poison to safely exit their systems." - Doctor

"Can't you use antidotes?" - Garami

"We have already used them, but antidotes alone will not hasten their recoveries, nor would it allow them to regain their stamina." - Doctor

Oh, right. I remember reading a book about poisons that antidotes and such were only helpful against toxins, while "sicknesses" are a different type of beast. That, and hastening their recoveries through artificial means could negatively affect their bodies in the long run. Despite all the various skills and magical medicines out there, nothing beats a good night's sleep.

Also, I glanced a little at the fees for the high-tier medicines. It's enough to make even me broke. Better not show those to Mira. Her condition would just worsen if she knew.

Anyway, it seems like I have some free time today. It's been a while since I've been on an adventure all on my own. The break week doesn't count, as the most "adventurous" that happened back there was kidnapping Noire. Not that I'm planning on doing anything weird. Just some simple mining for rare stones should do the trick. This place has a lot of Gem and Crystal aether, so valuable minerals are formed in the ground quite easily.

I decided to buy various preservable food and water from the stalls placed in the town's shopping district. Even if the other guys are down for the count, I can still prepare for when they are up and running again. Besides, all that toxic materials we obtained yesterday ain't worth much on their own. We need something to stabilize their deadly influence...

Speaking of poison, why aren't I down for the count? I was exposed to the same amount of poison from the event yesterday. Maybe it's because I am specializing in the Poison attribute?

Whatever the reason, I am fine, and that's what matters. Instead of pondering about something I won't be getting an answer from, let's check out the map over the island I got from the Adventurers' Union again.

It is a fancy piece of paper with detailed information from the adventurers of the past who dared to brave this network of danger-infested pipelines. The map is even magically enchanted to provide more information on any specific location through a touchpad-like function. It is sorta like a tablet PC in the shape of a paper map.

And man, was it expensive. I must have spent more on it than all the food items I bought today. Maybe I should start doing some money-making for real sooner than later...

From the map, I can see several areas simply referred to as "shrines of ordeals". I bet that they are Trial Grounds but deliberately misnamed so that only people who already know about them would get the meaning behind the name.

...None of them are close by. Tch. Mira told me how to enter the Trial, but she used the "danger" mode compared to the "safe" one. I've got 2 Extra Medals on hand, named Fairy and Spider respectively. Alf also has a Bat medal that he found in the Knocker's Grotto, but that's his to keep.

Anyway, since I have 2 of them on hand, I was thinking to use 1 of them on a "safe run" to consider whether or not to try the dangerous one with the other Medal. Since I'm stuck working alone for a while now, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test out an Extra Trial...but alas. With there being so much distance between me and...

Hmm? Hey, there's one I overlooked. And it is "in the neighborhood" so to speak. Some notes added to the area says to be careful due to the area being naturally rich in Shadow-type aether, making it impossible to travel without a light source that can overcome the aether. Even lanterns and flashlights (the magical version of what Earthlings know as flashlights) are useless there unless they are super-magically enhanced!

...It could work as a test run for the [Evil Eye of Dark Sight]...

---

And therefore, I have arrived! The "Shadow Pits"!

"Master, you are a master in choosing horrible places to visit." - Bloom

"Hey, this place beats the sewers." - Garami

Since I was all by my own here, I brought out Bloom to kill the lonely-..., *cough*, I mean, I brought her here so we would have multiple eyes to spot any enemies that may be sneaking around.

The place is...pitch black. And not only because of the constant darkness that lingers here, a darkness that even snuffs out the light of the lantern I brought just to test the rumors, but the underground tunnel is also darker than tar. It looks like a huge coal tunnel, just way more solid than what you'd expect from coal. Then again, the closest thing I know about coal is the kind you use on the grill.

"But the Evil Eye works like a wonder." - Garami

"It is rare enough to be considered a real wonder~." - Bloom

Jokes aside, the darkness doesn't bother me, nor does Bloom who shares my perception skill effects. Honestly, I find it quite comfortable down here. Now that I think about it, I was born and grew up in a cave, so am I a cave girl? ...Just to warn you, I am NOT going to change my weapon into a wooden club.

I walked through the darkness for a while, enjoying the atmosphere completely free from other lifeforms. Not even blind bats would like to live in these caves. It almost feels kinda cursed. And yet, I don't mind it. Guess I'm a demon in both body and mind after all this time. Not that I find it bad.

"...IIIK!!" - Bloom

What!? I thought these caves were supposed to be barren for monsters! Yet still, Bloom, who had flown ahead, let out a horrifying scream around the corner. I hurried up to her and found...

"What, it's just a corpse." - Garami

"Don't be so nonchalant about it, you damn demon necromancer!!" - Bloom

Hey, that's my game. Don't blame me for it.

Still, this guy has been here for a damn long time. All the flesh has decayed, leaving only a skeleton dressed in deteriorated rags. From his appearance (that remains), I would peg him as an adventurer. Did he try to get to the shrine even without any lights? But why did he die? Even if you can't see anything, you could hypothetically reach the end of the place by following the golden rule for Dungeon exploring: keep your left arm at the wall.

"Should I convert the corpse...?" - Garami

"Why do you ask?" - Bloom

"No, I was just thinking out loud. Aren't there any rules in the Adventurers' Union to report missing adventurers or whatnot?" - Garami

"That does sound like a real rule." - Bloom

In the end, I decided to leave the remains of the poor guy behind. There are no signs that they are turning into some sorta undead either, due to any Undead-type aether or their own converting due to the grudges they have when dying. There was something on the ground that I think they won't mind me taking.

"...An Extra Medal!?" - Bloom

"Yup. This must be the reason why he went down here in the first place." - Garami

The medal has an obvious picture of a dragon's head drawn on one of its sides, with the word "dragon" on the other. No need to guess twice what this trinket represents. However, it looks sort of decolored compared to the two I have.

"...Master, this seems to be a limited Medal." - Bloom

"Limited? Does that exist too?" - Garami

"Yes. Any medal that can only use them in specified Trial Grounds, and/or they cannot be used to obtain an Extra Skill just by offering 10 copies of them, are considered a limited Extra Medal." - Bloom

What an on-the-point name.

"And this thing is restricted to this place?" - Garami

"Seems like it." - Bloom

That explains why this guy decided to bet everything going through these dark tunnels. Try to at least have some sorta advantage before you start gambling your own life.

We left the remains and started to walk through the gloomy pits until I started noticing something weird. It's not like anything has changed...but I'm getting shivers down my spine. Is this [Danger Sense] working? [Detect Monster]? No, it doesn't feel like either of them. What is going on?

Following my bad gut feeling, I decided to create a Lesser Skeleton and have it take the lead. I've yet to "evolve" this blueprint to the next level, a fact that is irritating me just as much as my lack of decent equipment other than the Thaumaturgy Scythe, but as a decoy, Skelly works just-

*CRUNCH!!*

... just...fine? SKELLY!!

My poor, poor, fragile Skeleton got crushed by something huge, black, and...dangerous. That much I understand now. A draconic beast with black scales and flesh that almost bugles out from behind them. Overgrown arms, a small head, yet a mouth bigger than a car. It was this guy who my raw, instincts were trying to warn me about. Even before my skills could!

"...*Glance*." - Draconic monster

"Wha..., MASTER?!" - Bloom

Sorry. I'm going stealth behind this corner. You do the decoy duties.

"Master...YOU HEARTLESS DEMON!!" shouted Bloom as she fled with lightspeed back the way we came from. The draconic beast followed her without noticing me...

Phew. Since it lived down in these dark caves, I was afraid it used different methods for detecting prey than sight. ...Actually, how is this thing sustaining itself down here? I can't see anything it could go eating, maybe except for a few unlucky adventurers, but that's that.

Then it hit me. This is the Extra Trial! I took out the Dragon Medal I picked up and saw it glowing darkly. In addition, a text window similar to the System Messages appeared in front of me.

Extra Trial: The Darkest Dragon's Lair Requirements: Medal: "Dragon", "Darkness", or stealth-based medals. Gloom-type Trial Ground. Quest Content: Locks the challenger in a labyrinth-type area with no way out. Causes a draconic monster to chase the challenger. Encountering it will only lead to the challenger's death. To clear the Trial, one needs to reach the Trial Ground's Main Terminal and present the Extra Medal. Rewards: Possible rewards from the "Dragon" category based on the score: Extra Skills T3 Skills Ex-rarity Items

Yeah, there are no doubts anymore. Where did all the talk about "safe mode" go!? Isn't this forced participation!? Let's NEVER use those limited Extra Medals if I ever find one again.

Grr..., maybe the guy I saw earlier ended in the same situation as I am in and got crushed by that beast before he could fight back? As for me, I've got Bloom distracting the guy, so let's find that shrine post-haste! Let's hope that my map's still right...

---

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

You have cleared the Trial: [The Darkest Dragon's Lair]!!!

Pick your prize:

Ex-rarity item: Equipment: [Darkness Dragon's Invisible Cape].

Extra Skill: [Darkness Dragon - Zahhak].

Bonus objective: [Undetected Travel] cleared!!

Acquired material-type item: [Darkness Dragon Scale Pack].

And it seems my fears were unneeded!

Luckily for me, nothing had changed on the road to the shrine, the "main terminal" as the quest described.

However... I encountered a dozen more of those dragon beasts on the way. All the time, I created a Skelly to act as the decoy while I lurked behind it. When they got crushed, I dismissed Bloom, had her reappear, then lure the current beast away from its post so I could move on.

Thanks to those monsters, a 10-minute walk through the tunnel was extended to 2 hours. And the pressure of being potentially watched by a killer beast has been tearing at my sanity.

".........(looks around scared)." - Bloom

And I guess the fairy who just returned is in the same..., no, having a worse case of it.

Anyway, it seems I not only obtained the "trial cleared" reward, but I also unlocked a bonus objective. "Undetected"? Are they kidding me? Or is it that avatars such as Bloom, or spawns such as the Skellies, do not count?

Whatever the case, a bag of black scales appeared in front of my feet along with the System Message. Dragon scales... Those seem useful.

And finally, it seems the "clear prize" can be chosen from several options. Two, in fact, but there's only one answer here. That cape does look cool, but I bet there's a punchline that says "only Darkness Dragons can use it". Even so, it would make my stealth skills obsolete,

Plus...that second option sounds so much more alluring...

*Bip*

*CLANK!!*

Eh? A trap dooooooor-!?