On the planet Eberron, there is a creation myth that is familiar to all races.

The entire world was born from the hands of three ancestral dragons: Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber.

At the dawn of the world, these three cosmic beings created 13 planes, each containing a concept.

Their final work was to create the Material Plane, where all thought would manifest: a realm that could know war and peace, life and death, order and chaos.

But the cruel Khyber wants ultimate dominance over the universe.

So she attacked Siberys without warning and tore him to pieces.

Eberron struggled with Khyber, curling the traitor within her, but was unable to defeat her.

Thus, Eberron became a living prison, a planet that held Khyber captive forever.

After that, the shattered Siberys became a ring of golden dragonglass surrounding the planet Eberron, which is said to be the source of magic.

The surface of Eberron gave birth to today's natural life and formed today's civilization.

And Khyber, located inside the planet, is buried deep in darkness and is the source of all kinds of monsters and evil spirits.

When people dig deep enough, they enter Khyber's realm.

There are countless half-plane dungeons and countless caves here, which are breeding grounds for all kinds of evil creatures.

…

“Plop!”

In a dungeon demiplane filled with a faint smell of sulfur, Carl and Hope suddenly rolled out of a portal.

The two people hugged each other and rolled until they finally stopped when they hit a rock.

In the distance, the portal that brought them here began to become illusory and eventually disappeared.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

Carl couldn't help coughing because of the pungent smell. He looked around and saw mushrooms and mosses emitting orange fluorescence all over the ground.

After checking Hope's condition, I found that the head trauma was not serious and it should be just a normal coma.

After putting the other person into a more comfortable sleeping position, Carl twisted his back, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Hiss~, I think I hit my back just now, why does it feel so hot and painful?"

Looking at the surrounding environment, Carl didn't dare to take off his armor.

Although they escaped from the Mind Flayer's base, the current situation is actually not much better than before.

Although some demiplane dungeons are strong and some are weak, the environment is notoriously harsh.

Even if there were no powerful monsters, it would be difficult for the two of them to survive here.

After looking up at the demiplane for a while, Carl sighed and took off the crossbow from his belt.

The basic ability of the artificer is to inject magic into items. When they reach level 2, they can turn ordinary weapons into magic weapons through magic injection.

"Of course, I have to give the crossbow the [Rapid Fire Weapon] infusion. This way, I can also be considered to have a Desert Eagle with unlimited bullets."

"I hope the monsters in this dungeon aren't ridiculously strong."

In the past, many people thought that carbon-based creatures had no ability to fight back against thermal weapons.

But in this magical world, monsters that can resist bullet damage with their flesh alone emerge in endlessly.

Placing the crossbow on the ground, Carl stretched out his hand and guided the magic power into it.

The azure magic etched patterns on the crossbow, and its essence was rapidly changing in the process.

This process required Carl to maintain a high degree of concentration, but fortunately, as the most basic injection method of the mechanic, the principle of [Continuous Fire Weapon] was not too complicated, and it was quickly completed.

Picking up the crossbow emitting a blue halo, Carl followed the techniques taught by the school instructor and pulled the trigger towards the stone in the distance.

The crossbow arrow formed by magic power flew out, and after hitting the stone, the magic crossbow arrow dissipated, and a new magic crossbow arrow condensed on the crossbow.

"If there is a chance, I need to modify the crossbow. This style is too old."

Carl smacked his lips as he re-stringed the crossbow, feeling that this thing was not as easy to use as he had initially imagined.

Fortunately, the magic-infused weapon can be used as a magic weapon by the machinist, so he doesn't have to keep one hand free to hold the wrench.

After a long while, Hope's eyelids on the ground suddenly twitched, and then she let out a muffled groan.

"Hmm~"

After opening her eyes, she got up from the ground and looked around with some confusion.

"Where is this?"

Because she was unconscious when she fell into the portal, she was not aware that they had drifted to a demiplane where a dungeon was located.

After explaining to Hope what had just happened, Carl looked at him helplessly, looking a little discouraged.

He was the one who suggested going to the end of the tunnel, and he was also the one who caused the two of them to end up in this situation, which made Carl feel a little uncomfortable.

As a result, even the fact that the Mind Flayer larvae had become his plug-in did not make him so happy.

Seeing the reason for Carl's low mood, Hope thought for a moment and tried to comfort him, "At any rate, it's better than falling into the hands of the Mind Flayer again. I heard that this kind of dungeon will occasionally have portals to the outside world. Maybe we can take the opportunity to get out then!"

As a lonely tiefling whose family was killed in Droaam, Hope is not good at comforting people.

But after hearing Hope's words, the expression on Carl's face became even more depressed.

"For a portal to appear in a demiplane-type dungeon, certain inducements are often needed. These inducements vary and are not fixed. If you are lucky, a new portal may appear soon, but if you are unlucky..."

Looking up at Hope's heroic face, Carl's mouth twitched twice and he didn't continue speaking.

If you're unlucky, maybe the portal will never be triggered in this lifetime.

If this is true, Carl and Hope might have to start a hard life of survival in the wilderness.

Of course, the more likely possibility is that they will be killed by the monsters in this dungeon.

Although Carl didn't continue speaking, Hope understood the meaning.

Sitting on the rock with her chin resting on her hand, she looked at Carl, blinking from time to time, not knowing what she was thinking.

But Carl could sense Hope's confused emotions through telepathy.

"Okay, it's almost time to rest. Let's go find some food. Man is made of iron and food is made of steel. We have been busy for such a long time and we haven't eaten anything yet."

Calculating the time, it has been almost ten hours since Carl was captured by the Mind Flayer. Combined with the previous strenuous exercise, his physical strength is almost running out.

In order to maintain sufficient physical strength, they must find something to eat.

(End of this chapter)