（263...... 084...... 458...... Book friend skirt, if you want to come, join the group. P.S. Friends who have passed by ask for collections and recommendations, and your support is my biggest motivation. In addition, it is good for everyone to give more opinions, thank you. PS2: The title of the book has been changed, please see the work related)

Early morning.

The glimmer of the morning light pierced through the damp mist of the forest, shrouding the Dragon's Scar region. In the distance, at the edge of the forest, birds hovering and flying in the canopy, and the crisp chirping of birds shattered the silence of the night, heralding the arrival of a new morning. As the birdsong became more and more dense, the roar of the beast gradually came from the depths of the dense forest, which was accompanied by the occasional scream of the beast before it died.

Hunting, hunting at the same time, a new day begins between leisurely and bloody.

But today is different from ever. Just as the birds and beasts began to renew their day with the same habits that had been unchanged for thousands of years, an accident happened.

"Boom. A dull, faint sound came from the depths of the earth, accompanied by a slight but clear shaking of the ground. Troubled by this change without warning, the beasts of the forest began to run in a panic, not knowing where their destination was, and only instinctively fleeing. Fortunately, the tremors subsided after less than a minute and did not cause any damage in the forest. The frightened beasts waited cautiously for a while, and found that there was nothing further unusual, and then began their day with confidence.

What they didn't notice was that in the Dragon's Trace area, at the edge of the border between the forest and the Dragon's Trace, a Mithril metal disk hidden under the ground suddenly emitted a faint light, and a large magic array unfolded with the metal disk as the core, emitting bursts of magic fluctuations. The four figures suddenly appeared out of thin air, and as soon as they materialized, they staggered and fell to the ground and rolled into a ball.

"It's dangerous, it's dangerous. Lina lifted her face from the ground, her delicate face was covered with dust and rotting leaves, and the black and brown ones looked particularly interesting: "It's too dangerous, but fortunately Vivien has been prepared." However, it is said that teleportation circles need to be activated for a long time, how did Vivien do you activate them instantly?"

"It's not instantaneous. Vivien sat on the ground and gasped and replied, "It's just that according to the pre-agreement, I have always maintained the teleportation circle in the activation critical state, so that it can be activated at any time." ”

"It's been on the verge of being on the line?" Catherine was also startled, "Didn't that last a few hours?"

"Hah, what's a few hours compared to the daily needs of my adventure?" Vivien smiled proudly, "I can't afford to be too much of a burden at all. ”

Actually, although Vivien said it lightly, in the eyes of a normal mage, such a thing is tantamount to a myth. For an ordinary mage, the act of keeping a large spell in a critical state of activation is already considered a difficult control skill, not to mention maintaining this state while also engaging in normal walking, conversation, and even research and exploration during the adventure. It's a struggle for them to keep moving spells and moving targets, but they don't even dare to think about it when they're moving.

But for Vivian, a high paraplegic with muscle atrophy all over her body, these are just part of her daily life. Except for the time when she sleeps, she needs to keep the spell in a state of casting at all times, and every movement of her body and even every word requires her to control the magic effect to achieve it. This situation causes her endless distress and pain, and she lives in torment every day, but sometimes the difference between gain and loss is always subtle, which also makes her terrifyingly strong magical manipulation and magical stability, as well as her ability to multitask, which would be the envy of anyone. If it weren't for the disease, Vivien might be a once-in-a-century magical genius, but that's all, but it was precisely because of the illness that she was such an unprecedented anomaly in the wizarding world, and this result might be precisely the compensation that fate brought to her for the pain she endured.

"No, I'm going to sleep, good night everyone. Vivien gasped for the last words and immediately fell to the ground on her back, quickly letting out an even breathing sound.

"It's nothing, it's just that she used a portable teleportation circle to teleport four people and all the equipment items at once, which is beyond the limit of her burden, and some mental power is overdrawn. Catherine had flashed to Vivien's side the moment before her head hit the ground, grabbed her neck, carefully held her in her arms and examined her, and then said reassuringly: "It's good to sleep for a while, it's no problem." ”

"Did Elad end up dying in the ground?" Lina looked around, "Why did he do this?"

"He's gone mad. Pannis shrugged: "The idea of a madman, how can a normal person understand." ”

"Is he really crazy?" Catherine said thoughtfully, kneeling on the ground with Vivien in her arms, "Pennis, do you think it's possible that he didn't go crazy at all?"

"Yes. Pannis sighed and reluctantly said, "It's a possibility." ”

"Looks like you've thought of it too. Catherine smiled wryly and said, "You just don't want to tell me, do you?" ”

"Actually, I just thought of it. Pannis sighed: "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just ......"

"It's just for my mood, right. Catherine's lower lip was slightly pale from being bitten by herself, and she said with some amazement: "If he is not really crazy, then there are too many hidden meanings in this." ”

"Sister, you still thought of it. Lina no longer pretended not to know: "Actually, I think it's more likely that he is not crazy, otherwise how can a crazy person accurately find the self-destruction trap installed on the top of the cave in a pitch-black environment, which we have all ignored before?"

"It's not just that. Catherine shook her head and said, "That's not the point, the key is how he knew about the trap? Why did he pretend to be crazy and then activate the trap to self-destruct, did he really want to die with us? I don't think it's possible." ”

Actually, if you imagine it irrationally from the existing situation, I have an interesting inference. Pannis sat back on the floor and grabbed a few gravels and played with them: "Very, very interesting inference, do you dare to listen to it?"

"Say it. Catherine gritted her teeth: "I'm mentally prepared. ”

"Haha, it looks like you've already guessed a little. Pannis crushed the gravel one by one in his hand, apparently not in the same good mood as he appeared: "I wonder if the trap designer of this treasure likes to play with people's hearts, so he will also play such a game in the placement of treasures?"

"Sure enough. Catherine covered her face and groaned, "Go on, leave me alone." ”

"I've always thought it was weird. Pannis continued: "The number of treasure maps is a bit too much, the treasures of a kingdom should not be like this, they should be very secretive, only the special members of the king's most trusted direct family are qualified to know, but according to the information we have received, including Elard, there are far more people with treasure maps than this number. So could it be that the treasure map itself is fake?"

"Hah, I see what you mean. Linaha burst out laughing, "You're saying that this treasure map itself is meant to deceive people, in order to tell everyone that my treasure is here." When the seekers find them disappointed and come back and make the news public, there will be no more people coveting their true treasures?"

"That's one of the goals, but I don't think it's quite. Maybe I should be more rigorous, could it be that this treasure map itself is incomplete?" Pannis looked at the sky and said: "For example, the real meaning of this treasure is actually only to hide a key item or key information, and only when combined with this key item or information can the treasure map be truly complete, and the real treasure can be found with it." Or rather, maybe the key to the treasure is hidden in this fake treasure, and only with it can the door to the location of the real treasure be opened. ”

"Then, all we know is the location of this fake treasure, and Elad has the real location?" Lina speculated, "Well, this can also explain why he knows that the real treasure exists but is still around here, it is because he can't find a way to enter the fake treasure, and he can't get that key item or information." Well, no wonder he pretended to be crazy and rummaged through things to get something like that. ”

"To take it a step further, he wasn't just sniping at people who wanted to hunt for treasure before. "He's just trying to filter out someone who has the strength to give him access to the treasure and won't kill him because of some situation," Pannis said. Of course, he was unlucky and was exposed by us in advance, but his luck was good, and he did succeed in entering. ”

"He tricked us like this, and Dora's teammates who were killed and maimed were killed, and finally let him get his wish. Lina said indignantly: "I knew that I would have killed him at that time, and I would have avenged the gopher and the shadow wolf." ”

"Well, we have a good reason to kill him, and if we really want to kill him at that time, he will be afraid, and maybe he will survive by telling the secret of the true treasure. Pannis's voice gradually became lower, and his tone gradually became full of **: "In that case, maybe we can really find a real treasure, instead of the current fake." Alas, the accumulated wealth of a kingdom was missed just because it didn't kill a person who intended to take advantage of us, and it was a pity, what a pity. ”

Catherine hung her head and fell silent. Pannis didn't speak again, and even quietly stopped Lina from interjecting, allowing the awkward silence to continue. The silence lasted for a full ten minutes, and Catherine suddenly raised her head, looked directly into Pannis's eyes, and said in a firm tone, "I don't regret it. ”

"Oh?" Pannis raised an eyebrow, "No regrets?"

"Yes, I don't regret it. Catherine seemed to have figured out something, and no longer had the previous depression and hesitation: "Yes, I do wish he died, but at that time he had given up resistance, or no resistance at all." Where possible, it is the basic morality of a good knight not to kill the weak who have given up resistance, and to give them a fair and open trial as much as possible. I'm sure I wouldn't have chosen that way if I had done it again, even if I had known in advance that I might get the treasure by killing him. ”

"Oh, why?" said Pennisto, his chin tilted slightly.

"Why? haha, because I'm me, I'm Catherine, Katherine the Knight. Catherine's confusion finally faded, and she raised her head with a proud smile and said, "Money, power, fame, status, and life, these are indeed very important and very attractive. But is it stupid to give up oneself for the sake of this? to give up the faith and persistence that has been going on for many years? No, no, no, no. They may make me hesitate and confuse, but they can never overcome a knight's beliefs, and that's the only way to be a true knight, aren't they?"

Pannis looked at her with a strange gaze, nodded with a smile, and pulled out a silver-white cylinder: "In that case, let's talk about the harvest worth rejoicing, such as this." ”