Frieren: Attribute Hero

A pillar of magic light pierced through the water.

A massive purple creature came into Shane's view.

It was a monster with numerous tentacles and five eyes. Its back was covered in scales, with fin-like structures growing from it. Sharp fangs jutted outward, and its four tentacled limbs clung to the stone wall deep within the pool in a twisted posture.

From Shane's angle, he found himself staring directly into those five eyes beneath the water.

A chill shot straight to his scalp.

"It's a Venom Dragon."

Frieren spoke calmly.

Shane went numb. Please, don't explain—just attack.

But it seemed his silent plea wasn't received. After the magic beam ended, Frieren simply maintained a guarded stance, stopping her attack without any intention of continuing.

At first, Shane didn't understand what she was doing.

But soon, he realized something was off.

The Venom Dragon didn't react to Frieren's actions.

The giant serpent earlier had attacked the moment it noticed an enemy. But this Venom Dragon deep in the pool—clearly a pure-blooded monster—didn't move at all. Even after Frieren attacked, it showed no response.

Why?

"It's dead. No… more accurately, it's lost its life force," Frieren concluded.

"I don't get it…" Shane admitted honestly.

"When monsters die, they turn into magical particles and disappear. This Venom Dragon is already dead, but it hasn't vanished. That can only mean someone drained its life force, but didn't truly kill it in the conventional sense."

Frieren's explanation made Shane frown. Then a word came to mind—specimen.

"You mean… someone turned it into a specimen?"

Shane's eyes went wide.

"Specimen?" Frieren tilted her head in thought. "I think I've seen that term in some grimoire before. That's probably what it means."

What kind of person could turn a dragon into a specimen?

Shane couldn't help but take another step back.

His hand pressed against the hilt of his sword as he scanned the surroundings warily. In the shadows beyond the reach of the glowing crystal sphere… was there some deranged old witch hiding there?

Frieren lightly swept her staff across the water's surface and continued, "Don't touch this water. There's a very sinister energy inside. Whoever did this might be using it to extract something."

As if I'd touch it!

Shane complained inwardly.

He wasn't some middle-aged man obsessed with medicinal wine. Why would he be interested in water that had a dragon soaking in it?

At the same time, he felt deeply grateful for his habit of drinking plain water. Good thing he hadn't refilled his water pouch earlier, or it would've been wasted.

They circled around the pool and continued forward, only to find that the entire room had no exit leading elsewhere.

At the end of the hall, there was only a massive mural.

It depicted the omniscient and omnipotent Goddess who created the world, surrounded by her followers. The solemn and dignified scene gave off a sacred aura.

"This kind of large-scale carving should be from the Unified Empire era," Frieren said.

"It's truly magnificent."

Shane praised it sincerely.

Aside from the earliest mythological age, the Goddess had never appeared again throughout history.

Yet faith in her had never ceased.

Shane had seen monks holding the Holy Scriptures and had even gone to a monastery for treatment when he had an upset stomach. While he didn't have much faith in the Goddess of this world, he had a good impression of the monks.

"It's not just magnificent."

Frieren, who had shown little expression along the way—even when her mana was sealed—now revealed a sly smile.

She approached the mural, pressed her ear against it, and tapped lightly.

"There's a hidden room behind this wall. There must be treasure inside. Judging by the surroundings, there might even be some very valuable grimoires."

At the mention of grimoires, a glint flashed in her eyes.

She began running her hands over the mural, clearly excited.

Shane marveled. Of course it's you.

"But… it looks like there's no other exit in this room…"

"That's true. But based on my years of dungeon exploration, there's definitely a room here."

As she spoke, Frieren lay on the ground and started searching along the bottom edge of the mural.

Shane raised an eyebrow at the sight of a white-robed backside sticking up in the air.

After a few minutes, she actually found it.

With a press on an unremarkable stone brick, the mural began to change.

Rumble.

The angel wings beside the Goddess, which had originally hung downward, spread upward as if taking flight. The entire mural slowly rose, revealing the stone wall behind it.

Then, the bricks in the wall seemed to come alive, shifting on their own.

In just a moment, a narrow staircase leading upward appeared before them.

"Hehe."

Frieren showed a slightly smug smile.

Shane gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive."

Pleased with the praise, Frieren hummed happily as she stepped onto the stairs.

After just a few steps, they arrived in a brand-new room. Compared to the vast, open palace hall earlier, this space felt downright cramped.

It was only a few dozen square meters, with extremely simple furnishings.

A crude wooden bed, an empty bookshelf, and a desk holding a diary and a quill…

Everything was covered in dust.

Clearly, no one had been here for a long time.

The once-excited Frieren immediately lost her enthusiasm upon seeing the room. Even her long pointed ears drooped.

She even unwillingly checked under the bed…

Unlike her, Shane grew excited.

Because before his eyes, a flood of dazzling information appeared—

[Diary of Great Sage Sharl]

Status: Decayed

Attributes:

[Wisdom Under a Simple Mask (Gold/Legendary)]: Simplifies complex magical formulas and theoretical knowledge into easily understandable "attributes." Mastering the attributes allows rapid learning of the corresponding magic.

[Accelerated Thinking (Gold/Legendary)]: A true sage must possess a sharp mind. Permanently increases your intelligence and comprehension, accelerating your interpretation of texts.

[Time Manipulation (Gold/Legendary)]: Where is the boundary between past and future? The best way to avoid "future sight" is to suppress your own flow of time. Now, you can deceive those who like to "read the future."

Evaluation: Experiment No. 142857 completed. Teacher, we succeeded.

Holy shit.

A single pull… and it's gold. A triple gold pull.