Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?-Chapter 1138 - 738: The First Discouragement Brother

"I haven't seen newcomers like you in a long time."

"To think there are still people who come for such impossible missions—it's easier to just stay in the Northern Undead Asylum."

"And also, stop dancing foolishly."

The man whose face seemed to be written all over with discouragement spoke to the crowd.

His voice, besides being low, seemed to have a hint of hidden sarcasm.

It was unclear whether he was ridiculing himself or the people in front of him.

"Hevi, I find this guy's tone unpleasant, can I beat him up?"

"He's just a residual shadow in the dungeon, bear with it."

Hevi easily calmed down the somewhat hot-tempered companion, re-evaluating the man whose equipment looked ordinary, his strength unknown, but he didn't resist during the singing and dancing earlier by the others; maybe he couldn't resist?

It's also possible he's given up on interacting with the Starfire Knights.

A world-weary aura emanated from him; if people were like a bonfire, this guy's flame was extinguished, leaving only ash—unlikely to reignite.

This person has lost faith in life.

"Hmm?"

A thought suddenly struck Hevi, his expression turning peculiar, as he pondered how this man's aura oddly resembled another residual shadow from the Sain Dungeon.

That would be the escapee Hawkwood, a former member of the Fran Undead Team.

That guy also exuded a discouraging and gloomy aura, attacking adventurers with words, making many dislike him, though he was said to be quite brave on the Ancient Dragon Peak, earning some favor.

The aura of this discouraged warrior was so similar to Hawkwood that, if not for the different appearance, he would have thought Hawkwood lived as long as Patch!

"May I ask for your name? And what is your mission?"

For safety, Hevi decided to ask this man's name, maybe it's Hawkwood before any cosmetic change.

As for the mission, he recalled the words of the Astara Upper Knight who unfortunately died in the Northern Undead Asylum, saying a similar thing—knock two bells to learn the true mission.

"My name? It's of no importance; it's meaningless anyway."

The discouraged man didn't even think about sharing his name, considering it a meaningless act.

"Can I call you Discouragement Brother then?" Hevi said, using rather disrespectful words.

He intended to provoke the man to angrily reveal his real name.

To his surprise, the discouraged man merely chuckled with an indifferent expression, seemingly accepting the nickname, or appearing unconcerned about Hevi's naming.

What's up with this guy, imbued with a deeper negativity than Hawkwood...

Hevi couldn't help feeling that the new area of Sain Dungeon not only saw a strength surge in monsters but also an increase in the distinctiveness of the residual shadows' personalities.

No matter, just call this guy Discouragement Brother.

Since he doesn't care about nicknames, I'll spread this name worldwide; let's see if he remains indifferent!

Though bickering with a residual shadow is pointless, he's enjoying it now.

"As for the mission, hey, seriously? You rushed over without knowing even this?"

Discouragement Brother's tone was indeed irksome—a different kind of irksome compared to Patch.

Todd retorted immediately, "Of course we know, we have to ring two bells first!"

"See, you do know," Discouragement Brother switched to a more comfortable posture, then queried, "So, do you know where those two bells are?"

With these words, everyone was stumped.

Actually, they didn't know; the deceased knight hadn't said.

"Since I've got nothing better to do, I'll teach you," Discouragement Brother's expression seemed nimble, "In the undead mission, the Awakening Bell is mentioned with two bells, one of which is above here, see, just atop the bell tower of the Undead Church."

"And the other is deep underground, beneath the ancient ruins in a village called Sick Village. It's said that ringing these two bells will cause something to happen, but who knows what? At least I've never heard what happens thereafter... it doesn't matter anyway."

His string of words seemed to contain quite practical information; even those previously upset by his tone hurriedly noted it down.

"Since the lift is broken, you'll have to climb the mountain cliff beside here, using seldom-traveled paths to enter Undead Town. As for the other bell, just head down from there."

At this point, Discouragement Brother's tone took a odd humorous turn:

"But speaking of which, heading down from Undead Town leads to a Sick Village full of patients. Personally, I'd want to stay far away from there, wahahaha."

Spending too long with this guy feels like it can dampen one's fighting spirit. However, the crowd ignored the negative emotions in his voice, focusing on recording the names and location information precisely. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The so-called residual shadow, in their view, besides understanding its own experiences, serves primarily to gather information and obtain rewards.

Hevi and the others gathered to discuss the information they had just received from Discouragement Brother. Although they all wished to leave the Dungeon as soon as possible, since they couldn't escape, they were committed to exploring it thoroughly.

However, this discussion was taking quite a long time.

Seeing that these people weren't responding, Discouragement Brother unexpectedly spoke up:

"What's wrong? Stopped there unmoving for so long, are you scared? If that's the case, just sit here like me. Living life aimlessly until you become a Wandering Soul is the easiest thing, hahaha..."

"This guy really is filled with negative energy..."

Hevi couldn't help but grumble, but he quickly tried to ignore Discouragement Brother's influence and asked the most pressing question.

"Do you know where Fran Fort is?"

Indeed, what they wanted to know was the location of Fran Fort. As long as they could find that old map, perhaps they could find a way out.

However...

"Fran Fort? What is that, never heard of it."

"What?"

Discouragement Brother's answer left everyone in a state of shock.

Even Hevi's eyes showed some panic due to this unexpected answer. They hurriedly asked about the names of those regions they were familiar with.

The responses were surprisingly consistent, all were "Don't know."

Now everyone was a bit panicked.

However, when they mentioned some people, there were indeed some that Discouragement Brother recognized.

"Elden King? Who's that, never heard of him."

"Ornstein? How could I possibly know about that Knight under the King, why ask this, planning to challenge him? Hahaha."

"Patch... This name makes me feel disgusted, don't mention it anymore."

The crowd tried mentioning names they knew one by one, and the more people Discouragement Brother recognized, the more relieved they felt.

The reason they felt relieved was because, despite the mutations occurring within Sain Dungeon, there were still some familiar elements present.

As the questioning went on for a while, Discouragement Brother also seemed to grow impatient, finally waving his hand and saying, "You're asking too many questions. Asking too much can be annoying."

"Well then, I'll ask one last question," Todd said hopefully, "Do you know if there's any Painting World nearby?"

This question was entirely self-serving.

The reason for asking was simple.

Since the Painting World has the trait of absorbing any person who touches it within Sain Dungeon and cannot be left unless certain conditions are met, often trapping them for several days and leaving them exhausted upon exit, requiring a long rest.

Yes, this was also part of his preparation to escape from Dorian. If he could obtain a Painting World to trap Dorian inside, he wouldn't need Sain Dungeon's Teleportation Gate to run far.

Todd was always planning.

But with too many plans, he never really took action.

"Painting World? Such a rare thing couldn't possibly appear in a poor rural area like this."

Discouragement Brother flatly denied Todd's hope, and upon hearing this, Todd immediately hung his head in disappointment.

But a few seconds later, Discouragement Brother's voice rang out again.

"However, I've heard some rumors recently that something like that seems to have appeared nearby."

When he said this, not only Todd but even Hevi and the others perked up.

"Where?"

Hevi's intuition in Sain Dungeon had always been quite sharp; upon hearing Discouragement Brother's words, his intuition felt something noteworthy.

The presence resembling a Painting World mentioned by Discouragement Brother might hold considerable importance for them.

"I'm not sure if it really is a Painting World, but it is said to look very similar, and those who went looking for it never came back... If you're interested, I won't stop you, feel free to go look for it. It's better than sitting idly here, right?"

Discouragement Brother pointed towards the step built against the mountain, clearly indicating the location to them.

The Starfire Knights exchanged looks and quickly made their decision.

"Head over there!"