Chapter 250: The Secret Door in the Cabin

"What is this thing?!"

Delaford shrieked. Despite his extensive experience handling emergencies, the Goblin Hunter only just managed to roll out of the way of the monster’s lethal bite from behind. Even so, its drool-slicked fangs grazed the tip of his pointed ear, drawing blood instantly.

But a veteran hunter is not an easy target. Even under these circumstances, Delaford managed to draw an arrow and, with a reverse grip, forcefully plunged it between the monster’s scales.

"Counterattack! Counterattack!"

The Goblin Hunter, ignoring the blood that now covered half his head, roared and launched a furious counterattack. In that same moment, the others reacted. Sera and Aive charged forward, while Ron and Silvia began Casting Magic from the rear.

The two students from Elden Academy were completely stunned by the sudden attack, proving what Ron and Elden had said: Gordon and Shiva didn’t need to bother preparing any complex Magic. Under these circumstances, they’d be lucky to cast even their most practiced spell.

Their dean, Elden, however, made Ron look twice. This washed-out Dwarf was no old fossil who just sat in an office at the academy. He was intimately familiar with the order and location of his Scrolls, and he hadn’t forgotten his conventional Casting either. The ambushing monster didn’t even have time to roar or howl before it dropped dead under a saturation of attacks from weapons and Magic.

Only then did Ron and the others finally get a clear look at their assailant.

"What is this thing? Was it skinned?" Delaford asked, still shaken. Victoria took out a Potion and some bandages to dress his wound. He prodded the motionless creature with his bow, trying to figure out what it was.

"This blood-red layer is its skin," Elden said. He first took several Scrolls from his pack to replenish the ones on his belt, then cautiously approached the bizarre corpse. "You see, its surface only looks like exposed flesh. In reality, it’s composed of scales of varying shades."

"No wonder the first arrow felt wrong when it went in," Delaford said, shaking his head. Victoria’s bandaging was reliable, but the extra weight on one ear was still incredibly uncomfortable. "Aha! Look at this. It’s a real freak!"

The Goblin Hunter pointed. Everyone followed his finger and saw that the monster’s limbs weren’t where they should be. Its two hands, tipped with sharp claws, looked as if they had been detached from their original positions and stitched to the top of its head. Perhaps that was why Delaford hadn’t been more severely injured.

The creature’s only weapon was its gaping, lizard-like maw.

"This looks like..." The two students had finally regained some of their composure. Gordon ventured closer, mustering his courage. He felt he might have seen this type of monster in a book, but it was so different that he couldn’t be certain.

"It is what it ’looks like’," Elden affirmed. "This is a miniature Flesh Golem. I just don’t know what possessed the creator to stitch it together this way."

"Ghost Witches generally use Flesh Golems as servants and laborers. I can’t imagine what kind of job would require hands stitched to its head."

"Maybe to serve tea?"

Silvia, who had just made the wisecrack, earned an eye-roll from Elden and could only shrug. "Some slave owners in Carolina do require slaves to hold things over their heads when serving. If they happen to drop something, the slave gets a thorough beating on their hands and arms."

"But that isn’t fair, is it?" Shiva raised an eyebrow. "If that’s the case, how could they maintain their balance for future tasks with injured arms?"

The Vampire Descendant gave the young, naive student a sorrowful look. "Congratulations, you’ve found the logical flaw. But that’s precisely why so many slaves are abused to death."

"A single mistake is enough to cost them their lives. The resilient ones come to envy their frail companions. After all, when the outcome is already certain, the weak ones suffer fewer beatings before the end."

Elden looked up at Silvia. "You sound very familiar with this. Were you a victim of this vicious cycle?"

"If so, how did you survive?"

"First, I am half Blood Race, which gives me far greater regenerative abilities than an ordinary slave," Silvia said, opening her mouth to display her fangs. "Second, I was raised to be a Mage’s slave, which made both my life and my hands more valuable than those of other slaves."

"I was their property back then. When you’re upset, you might throw things around. But would you choose to smash your most valuable possessions first?"

Before Elden and the two students could even look thoughtful, Silvia held out her hands, displaying the countless scars. "The answer is yes, you would. Because you need to vent, and anything within reach becomes an outlet, regardless of its value."

"Carolina..." Elden shook his head, then turned to Ron. "So, Lord, you’ve said that you’ve dealt with the Ghost Witch here before. Is her temperament so vile that she’d be capable of this?"

"Nearly all Ghost Witches are vile by nature," Ron said, casting a light spell that illuminated the pitch-black interior of the hut. "But this particular Ghost Witch had most of her Magic Materials stolen by her mother and aunt. Creating a Flesh Golem, even a small one, is no simple task. I don’t believe this is her handiwork—at least, not hers alone."

"With a few redcaps helping?" Sera kicked over a small tea table in the hut. "Look at these footprints and scrapes under the table!"

"Only those twisted little things in their iron boots leave marks like these!"

"But the tracks vanish right here. How is that possible? Their trails aren’t easy to hide!"

"The reason is simple. They didn’t vanish, they went underground," Elden said after studying the tracks on the floor for a long moment. He suddenly reached out and twisted one of the four legs on the overturned tea table.

There was a small, hidden mechanism on the table leg. The instant Elden activated it, the floor beneath their feet began to tilt. A moment later, the entrance to a dark, narrow passageway appeared before them.