The Great Alchemist's Laboratory had been abandoned.
It had remained undiscovered by anyone for an extremely long time.
The worn bricks of the castle walls alone made that obvious.
‘That is why this place, where all manner of rare alchemical materials were gathered, became a Dungeon.’
During the life in which the original protagonist had lived as Great Alchemist Ranix, he had been even more of a scoundrel than he was now.
He had been so consumed by vengeance that his only obsession was exterminating Demonic Beasts.
That was why he had personally invaded the lands of the Demonic Beasts and captured living experimental subjects.
‘That was why the metropolis of Aletica was pioneered. It was not because he possessed some burning sense of justice.’
In any case, the Demonic Beasts captured by the original protagonist had served as excellent experimental subjects.
He stitched their brains together, soaked them in disinfectant, grafted severed noses into their eyeballs…….
After undergoing all manner of cruel biological experiments, most of them became permanent residents of this ancient castle.
Originally, they had been confined within designated areas, but their long abandonment had eventually allowed them to escape.
Because of the commands imprinted upon them as experimental subjects, they could not leave the ancient castle. As a result, this place had ultimately transformed into a Dungeon.
“Gasp! Mister! That……!”
“Lower your voice.”
Kranol covered the startled Plumpy's mouth.
Heavy footsteps were echoing through the first-floor corridor.
A Biological Golem covered in messy stitches was roaming the halls.
Its appearance was grotesque, consisting of the decaying bodies of several Demonic Beasts fused together.
However, the most frightening thing was what the monster was muttering.
“Reproductive organs, crush! Prevent species reproduction!”
The two little ones whispered innocently.
“Rooooar?”
“Mister, what are reproductive organs?”
“Something you must not handle carelessly.”
Plumpy tilted her head.
“Then what happens if you handle them carelessly?”
“A child is born. Through an unexpected accident.”
“Rooooar?”
Chubby's eyes suddenly sparkled with delight.
“Rrah! Rooar!”
“Ah, Mister! Chubby says you should hurry and cause an accident so she can have a younger sibling!”
“…….”
Kranol sighed.
“Let us go. The Golem has passed.”
The Great Alchemist's Laboratory had been sealed and closed off.
However, failed experimental subjects continued to wander throughout it.
Those creatures were monsters obsessed solely with ‘extermination.’
‘They are complete failures. Biological experimentation was not easy even for the Great Alchemist.’
The failed experimental subjects desired the extinction of every living creature they encountered.
In other words, merely running into one would cause considerable trouble.
However, where countless failures existed, there was bound to be at least one success.
‘The Philosopher's Stone. It was the original protagonist's only successful creation at the time.’
However, it was hidden at the very top of the laboratory.
Numerous Barriers surrounded it, making it impossible to fly directly upward.
In other words, reaching it required overcoming countless experimental subjects.
A Biological Golem like the one they had just seen represented only a tiny fraction of them.
‘Even more horrifying and powerful creatures lurk on the upper floors.’
Its structure resembled the underground cavern they had previously explored, where increasingly powerful Demonic Beasts appeared as they descended.
However, the difficulty of conquering this place was incomparable to that cavern.
That was why Kranol hurried onward.
“Mister! Where are we going now?”
“We will visit the basement first.”
They avoided the wandering experimental subjects and reached the basement.
Plumpy tilted her head.
“Mister! Instead of going through all the trouble of avoiding them, why can you not simply exterminate them with the Magic you used to defeat that enormous bone monster?”
“I cannot use that power recklessly. It consumes my own life.”
An attack of Madness.
The momentary power it granted was extraordinary, but its aftereffects were horrifying.
Therefore, he needed to reserve it as a last resort whenever possible.
He had no desire to die young before curing his Madness.
Kranol found a small square box in the basement.
‘As expected, it is here. The Great Alchemist's Preservation Vault.’
When he touched it, he felt a distinct chill.
It was a storage vault personally transmuted by the original protagonist.
Unlike the Subspace Storage, it possessed a limited capacity, but it could preserve items for an exceptionally long time.
Kranol removed its contents.
CREEEAK.
There were ten bottles filled with liquids of various colors.
They were valuable Potions of several varieties, personally created by the Great Alchemist.
They could not even be compared to the handmade potion he had previously received from Demonic Beast Hunter Aria.
Their effects were far superior, and their colors were much richer. They were all exceptionally high-grade items.
‘Potions are tremendously useful in both combat and production, as long as they are not overused.’
Then Plumpy's uncanny eye for detail discovered something.
Something other than Potions had been stored in one corner of the Preservation Vault.
It was an elegant box filled with chocolates of various colors.
“Wow! It is a luxurious box of chocolates! They look extremely sweet and delicious!”
It appeared to be a snack the original protagonist had placed there long ago.
Despite their age, the chocolates remained in excellent condition.
“These should be safe to eat.”
“Wow!”
Plumpy jumped excitedly and took out a chocolate to eat.
She immediately pressed her hands against her cheeks in delight.
“It is so sweet and delicious! Everyone, hurry and try one!”
“Rooooar.”
Unlike Plumpy, Chubby did not particularly enjoy sweet things.
She therefore offered her chocolate to Kranol.
Without thinking, he chewed and swallowed it.
Then…….
“Guh!”
Kranol's eyes suddenly trembled after eating the chocolate.
A violent headache struck him, and blood poured from his nose.
Plumpy was horrified.
“Chubby! I never thought you would do something like that! Why did you put poison in Mister's chocolate?!”
“Rooooar?!”
The startled Chubby shook her head with tears in her eyes, clearly protesting her innocence.
Kranol hurriedly took out his herbs and chewed them with desperate intensity.
The sweetness that had briefly lingered in his mouth was once again overwhelmed by an intensely bitter taste.
Only after the dizzying pain subsided could he finally breathe again.
“Haaah.”
An unexpected threat had been hidden within the luxurious box.
Some of the chocolates had been filled with whiskey.
The moment the alcohol passed down his throat, his Madness erupted.
‘……Damn it. I never imagined alcohol would affect me this severely.’
Kranol had unintentionally learned something new about his Madness.
Swallowing even a minuscule quantity of alcohol could trigger an attack.
He had not known that his condition possessed another weakness besides loud noises.
‘Was this body naturally intolerant of alcohol? Perhaps it is related to how drinking causes headaches.’
This information had never appeared in the original novel.
Kranol had been a villain who only appeared near the very end, and there had never been a scene in which he drank alcohol.
In retrospect, perhaps he had avoided alcohol entirely because it was his weakness.
Living after possessing this body had taught Kranol all manner of useless information.
“Haaah.”
After wiping away his nosebleed, Kranol opened the Subspace Storage.
Recently, Chubby had shared her access privileges with him, allowing him to open and close it freely.
He removed an old piece of parchment from the crack in the air.
It was the invitation he had previously received through ‘Summon the Berserk Dragon.’
“Mister! Why are you suddenly taking that out?”
“Because this is the perfect time to use it.”
Countless experimental subjects were wandering throughout the ancient castle.
Even the failures were still Demonic Beasts that had passed through the hands of the Great Alchemist.
Their considerable numbers and individual danger surpassed those of most Dungeons on the continent.
‘The Reward hidden at the top of this place is the Philosopher's Stone. A miracle cannot be obtained easily.’
Even with Chubby and Plumpy, conquering this place would not be simple.
They would need to bring at least several hundred elite soldiers to have a reasonable chance of victory.
A direct confrontation would force them to endure devastating losses.
Therefore, Kranol's strategy was perfectly clear.
“Auto-Hunting truly is the best.”
RRRIP!
Kranol tore the invitation to the Hall of Berserk Dragons.
***
The Hall of Berserk Dragons.
It was a place of recreation for dragons who spent their lives secluded within their lairs.
By linking their souls, they could communicate there across vast distances.
[The ‘Abandoned Hatchling’ accepts the invitation.]
[She is too young to enter the Hall of Adult Berserk Dragons.]
[She will be moved to the ‘Hall of Young Berserk Dragons.’]
Unfortunately, the Hall divided its members by age.
The adult Berserk Dragons had no desire to converse with childish Hatchlings.
Therefore, Chubby was connected to the Hall of Young Berserk Dragons.
[Daughter of the Great Forest: Ugh, I am tired of fasting. Mom keeps starving me because I tried to run away from the lair.]
[Son of the Underground King: You are still fortunate, are you not? At least she worries about you. My father only cares about treasure. Last night, I fought off the dwarves who invaded us, but he did not even glance at my injuries. He only asked how many gems I recovered.]
[Granddaughter of the White Night: I made a snowman, but Grandpa smashed it! He told me to stop wasting time and become stronger…….]
Sadly, most conversations in the Hall consisted of complaining about their parents behind their backs.
Even Berserk Dragons were weak when they were young.
None of them could voice a single complaint in front of their strict and powerful parents.
Furthermore, only three dragons were ordinarily connected to the Hall.
Berserk Dragons rarely reproduced and were not particularly sociable in the first place.
Then, an unfamiliar message appeared within the otherwise monotonous Hall.
〈A new young Berserk Dragon has connected.〉
A new dragon of their own age had appeared!
The young Berserk Dragons began murmuring in surprise.
[Daughter of the Great Forest: What? Did someone receive an invitation recently?]
[Son of the Underground King: Ah! It is her! I sent it! She is around our age, but I heard she already has an Orb!]
[Granddaughter of the White Night: Hmph. That little brat? The one who is younger than us but still tried to summon my grandpa!]
The young Berserk Dragons were fascinated by the unfamiliar newcomer's arrival, but they were also wary.
Since the three of them had always been the only members of the Hall, they were naturally territorial toward outsiders.
However, the newcomer's first words left all of them astonished.
[Abandoned Hatchling: Rrah! Rooooar!]
[Daughter of the Great Forest: ……What is she saying?]
[Son of the Underground King: Hehe, she must still be a very young Hatchling! She is adorable!]
[Granddaughter of the White Night: What? She cannot even speak properly yet? Then she is younger than all of us!]
The three young Berserk Dragons were dumbfounded by Chubby's unexpectedly young age.
At the same time, they developed an inferiority complex over the fact that someone younger than them already possessed an Orb.
However, the youngest newcomer's strange behavior did not end there.
[The ‘Abandoned Hatchling’ uses Summon the Berserk Dragon.]
[Granddaughter of the White Night: H-hey! She is summoning us!]
Using the Secret Art while connected to the Hall was a different matter.
Since their souls were already linked, it was difficult to ignore the summons openly.
The Hatchling was asking the young Berserk Dragons for assistance.
After the three young Berserk Dragons exchanged uncertain glances, one of them spoke.
[Daughter of the Great Forest: Hey, Son of the Underground King. You should go.]
[Son of the Underground King: What? Why me?]
[Granddaughter of the White Night: Why else? Exploiting the weak is your father's specialty! You inherited his greedy blood, so you must have a talent for it. This is our chance to steal her Orb and earn praise from the adults!]
[Son of the Underground King: Ugh…… Is that so?]
The young dragon appeared uncertain.
However, the others eventually pressured him into answering the summons.
[A Berserk Dragon responds to the Secret Art.]
[‘Son of the Underground King’ is summoned.]