In a tavern in Prudence City, Mark and Hardy were sitting in a corner, hiding themselves in


    the shadows and watching every drinker who came to the place. They are waiting for someone,


    a contact for the underground union.


    They''ve been here half a day, ever since Vincent left for the Black Crystal Tower, and they''ve


    been making their own decisions about what to do. Their purpose was to find Littlefinger


    Phelps again and take him away from the Guild. While the Guild has decided to take action


    against Vincent, a mage from the surface, having Halflings working undercover inside gives


    them a better idea of what''s going on with the enemy. But Hardy has figured out in the last


    few days that Littlefinger is in more danger than the Mage.


    Mark looked bored at the glass in front of him. The ale had lost its froth from too much age.


    He looked at the bloody dwarves in front of Hardy and sneezed when he caught a strange


    smell of the ale.


    "Good health, little Mark." Hardy looked at the dwarf. "Or you can go back to the inn and rest.


    It''s bad if you catch a cold."


    "No, nothing is wrong with me, just a little bit of wine in front of you." Mark took out a


    handkerchief and wiped his nose hard. He frowned at the Burgundy liquor. "Hardy, what is


    your glass of wine made of, and why does it taste so strange?"


    "Oh, it''s fermented with honey," said Mark.


    "Hardy, don''t lie to me. Honey tastes sweet. How can it be fishy?"


    "The smell, you mean. The name of the wine is Bloody Dwarf. Naturally, the blood of the


    dwarves is mixed with fermented honey to make this wine." When Hardy saw Mark''s gag look,


    he said, "Don''t worry, that''s Orc winemaking. They don''t do that anymore. This wine is made


    with special spices, a lot of underground fungi and twice fermented. It just smells the same


    now."


    Mark looks at Hardy. "How do you know so much about brewing this stuff?"


    The soldier stared at the dwarf for a moment, sighed gently, and slowly said, "In fact, my


    greatest wish is to open a small tavern, brew and drink by myself, and sell the undrinkable


    wine to customers, how happy it will be."


    The dwarf did not realize what he was saying, but he froze for a moment and then burst into


    laughter. He covered his mouth with his sleeve to suppress his laughter, but he stifled his


    tears.


    "You drink yourself, Hardy, before you sell the rest. Is it possible, then, that you have any


    liquor in your pub?"


    ''Why not? A blushing Hardy explains: "I like to taste wine and not drink in large quantities.


    Besides, I''ve got a plan."


    ''What plan? Tell me.'' Mark perked up and sat a little closer in the direction of the soldier,


    listening.


    "I''ll make wine and manage the counter, and I''ll be in the lobby watching the people come


    and go. If the guest wants to compete, I will take care of him. As for you, Mark, I''ll leave the


    cleaning up in the pub to you. Of course, instead of doing the dirty work, you could invent a


    tool that washes the dishes yourself. Plus, if you have a beautiful sister coming, you can


    welcome them. I''m sure you''ll be very popular, you''ll make a lot of money, and you''ll never


    have to worry about research funding."


    "Why do I have to wait on the sisters? Won''t you get a waitress to wait on them?" Mark did


    not understand Hardy''s joke and said solemnly, "So who''s the owner''s wife?"


    "The landlady is Li, of course..." Hardy cut the sentence short. "Why do you ask?"


    "Nothing." Mark tilted his head and thought, "By the way, what are you going to ask Vincent


    to do?"


    "Cooking!"


    The dwarf widened his eyes, stared at the soldier with two round shining water balloons, and


    stammered a little, "Do... Cooking? Vincent…… You let a mage be a cook? ''


    "Yeah, I''m pretty smart. Think of it this way, Mark... '' Hardy leaned close to the dwarf''s ear.


    "You know, there might be people of all races and tastes, but there''s a mage. Don''t you notice


    how good Vincent cooks for all of us? That''s because he uses magic! He makes all the meals


    taste good somehow. How else can he take care of both our tongues?"


    Seeing Mark''s surprise, Hardy put on a smug look and said, "I knew you''d love this idea. You


    know, Vincent is a guy who can conjure up some simple tricks with no effort. Remember, last


    time he turned rocks into volcanic rocks and saved both our lives. When the time comes, let


    him create a dish, whether it is delicious or not, if he uses a little magic, it will become delicious,


    won''t it?"


    ''And... Can you still do that? ''


    ''Of course, I''ve got a better idea. Mark, honestly, can you tell that the dark Elf is interested in


    our mage?" Speaking of the Dark Elf, Hardy lowered his voice, raised his eyebrows twice, and


    added a sinister smile.


    "What interest?"


    "Oh, nothing. You''re too young to understand." Hardy saw that Mark was not interested in


    such "juicy" information, and had also discovered the contact person, and did not go further.


    But he did whisper, "That girl is pretty much anything but white hair and white skin. She''s a


    little too white. I wonder if Vincent will feel dazzling if she goes out into the sun..."


    By this time, the wizard had climbed out of the tub and had just put on his robes when he


    sneezed violently. He rubbed his nose, touched his forehead with his right hand, and shook


    his head in confusion: "Not sick..."


    The mage sat in his room for a moment, waiting for Hardy and Mark. But the two companions


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.had not returned until the time reported above the tower pointed to night. Bored, he


    descended the stairs and saw Stone-legged Boss on the floor, foaming at the mouth and


    twitching his limbs, unconscious.


    Vincent rushed to the wine-keeper''s side and touched his breath. "Fortunately, he is not


    dead." Healing the sick was not his forte, and the mage stood up, ready to use the "floating


    dish" spell to carry the stone legs to the temple. Though he was only a dwarf, the Drow would


    not heal foreigners, but in his position as an advisor mage to the First House, they would have


    to take care of him.


    Before he could pull out the scroll of the spell, his ever-discerning eyes leaped and he saw a


    humanoid monster standing before him.


    Its bluish-purple skin was covered with slime, making its skin appear smooth and shiny, as if


    it had been coated with thick wax. On his lower jaw grew a number of finger-sized tentacles,


    each twisting in the air as if it were conscious and pointing toward Vincent. These tentacles,


    together with their huge blue eyes, make his whole head look like a giant squid.


    He stretched out long, thin fingers, stroked his tentacles, and flung the mucus off them to the


    floor in a bared voice.


    Vincent was very surprised. Since he had the insight, he had never been sneaked up on. The


    Eye of Insight always finds something suspicious in the first place, and no matter how it


    changes its body, whether it is invisible or prowls like an assassin, it cannot escape its


    observation. Originally, there was only one way to avoid detection, and that was with


    teleportation spells. But the glow of all spells can still be found, and you won''t feel it at all.


    "How do you do it? How did I..." Vincent suddenly closes his mouth. If he continued to ask,


    he would reveal the power of his penetrating eye. And would anyone ever tell anyone the


    answer to a technical question like this?


    "Did you ask me how I avoided your detection?" A voice rang out in Vincent''s head, as if


    echoing from the depths of a mage''s skull.


    The monster pointed at his own head, and then at Vincent''s: "I just made your mind think I


    didn''t exist. However, you are a strong man for being able to detect me at the last moment."


    "Who you are."


    "Is it necessary to ask that question?" His tentacles twitched quickly, clapping each other with


    a "pop" sound. "I think I found something delicious!"


    "What do you want to do..." Before Vincent could finish this sentence, a sudden and huge


    stinging pain suddenly penetrated deep into his brain. The feeling was as if someone had


    released a freeze in the innermost part of his head. The whole head was suddenly frozen, and


    the protruding ice blade penetrated every place of the head shell. Before Vincent''s eyes,


    countless shining stars appeared. They were spinning and glowing red.


    Unable to stand steadily, the master stepped back for several steps, and finally reached the


    bar behind him with his hand, barely able to support himself.


    "Not bad. You''ll survive the shock, just as I expected." Once the voice of the monster


    thundered inside the mage''s head, and this time the language of the mind was like incessant


    super thundering, mixed with the roar of the rain and the wind, deafening.


    "You fellow! Vincent picks up the staff of Power, flicking his fingers as his spell is about to be


    cast.


    "This is the kind of brain that tastes good, and I mean really good." The monster leaned


    forward and suddenly his eyes glowed blue. Then he disappeared. All his tentacles were


    tensed in the wizard''s direction.


    This time it was like a fireball bursting in his brain. The heat and the impact made Vincent see


    nothing. His eyes became completely black. He could not hear anything. The tone of his voice


    rose in his ears and finally disappeared, leaving only pain. Nothing to smell, only hot liquid


    left in the nose, even the original taste of blood is gone; The only thing that did not disappear


    was the touch, but only one feeling remained -- pain, and even the air that gently glided


    through the skin became like a knife.


    Fighting back the tearing of his trachea and lungs, Vincent gulped in fresh air. He knew that


    the only way to deal with such monsters was to persist, to seize a gap, break their mental


    shock, and regain the initiative.


    Vincent worked hard to concentrate and first resumed the observation of the discerning eye.


    Only by understanding the enemy''s movements and position can there be a way to fight back.


    By the looks of it, the monster is nervous now, too, with a constant stream of mucus dripping


    from his head, staining the floor with a blue-purple hue. The monster''s tentacles moved, and


    these words rang out in Vincent''s head: "You make me... I am amazed! But humans... You


    can''t stand the next attack!"


    A white ball of light flew out from under his tentacles and headed straight for Vincent''s brains.


    It was a powerful mental blast that the monster had gathered, and only after the energy had


    reached a certain level did it change into this glowing semi-solid form.


    After launching this attack, the monster also expends a lot of power, his body convulses, and


    he stumbles. At this point in time, the pressure on the mage''s body was slightly relieved.


    However, at this time, the light ball was only one foot away from Vincent''s forehead.


    "Die! Human!" The monster shook his tentacles with excitement. Victory was in hand.