"As a steward, I do have a map of the castle, but adventurers..."
The old butler finally stopped rubbing his hands, but gestured to Jenkins by twisting his fingers. Jenkins was taken aback:
"Did I get something wrong, you hired me to 'clean' the castle, why should I pay for a map?"
"You can choose not to use the map, but I want to remind you again that this castle is very dangerous."
After speaking, he rubbed his hands again. At this moment, this person is like the embodiment of the word "greedy".
"Well, if I want a map, what do I have to pay? That is, what do you want?"
Jenkins thought that the other party would want to demand the crime currency.
"In addition to the monsters that broke into the castle, there are actually other troubles. If you want a map, you need to solve one more trouble besides the four monsters."
The old man pointed to the castle:
"This castle has a long history, and there are many rooms that are not opened all the year round, not because the maids who clean the rooms are lazy, but because some rooms cannot be opened."
"That is to say, if you want a map, you have to increase the difficulty of passing through the strange environment, which is very interesting."
He thought to himself and asked again:
"Then besides the map, is there any other help I can get from you?"
"Of course, but to get help, you must solve the trouble for me. Including the map, I can provide you with three kinds of additional help."
"It turns out that Three is here."
Jenkins muttered inwardly.
"To get the map, you need to enter the hidden room on the second floor of the castle and bring me a painting. Some of the castle's servants also have combat power. I can ask one of them to help you, but accordingly, You have to enter the tower on the right side of the castle and pick the scarlet gem in the tower. In addition, as an extra reward for cleaning the castle, in addition to telling you the way to leave, you can take an item from the castle at will, and some rooms It cannot be opened unless you have the 'Master Key' of my butler."
"As the housekeeper here, you have the master key. Does your lord really trust you so much?"
Jenkins interjected.
"The so-called master key can only open a few fixed doors. In exchange for getting the keys, you need to clean up the big spider in the basement. How about it, do you need these help?"
"The map is easy to explore, the servants are extra help, and the key can increase the clearance rewards. At the same time, these help will also increase the difficulty of exploration... more and more like a role-playing game."
Jenkins thought in his heart, and asked again:
"Before that, was I lucky enough to know the name of the lord here? Speaking of which, I am also a descendant of nobles."
This is not a lie, as a descendant of the Middleton family, he is indeed a descendant of nobles.
"No, you don't have the honor."
The old butler resolutely refused, so Jenkins didn't ask further:
"Well then, forget about the master key, I don't intend to offend the lord here. I need a map, and I need the help of a servant."
Jenkins believes that among the three help given by the old butler, there must be a trap set by the difference engine. Therefore, the easiest choices of "all" and "nothing" must not be selected, and among the remaining options, theoretically speaking, what Jenkins needs the least is "servant's help", although he is worried about possible traps. The guy would have thought of that too, but it's more likely to think that, in the wisdom of Jenkins, would have thought of it, so this one must be selected.
For the remaining two options, the map needed it anyway, so he rejected the master key.
"No problem, but you need to pay attention. If you can't complete the two additional tasks, I will not tell you the way to leave."
As he spoke, the old butler first took out a brown parchment roll tied with a straw rope from his large robe and handed it to Jenkins:
"Here's the map."
Then he yelled into the darkness near the castle:
"Come here quickly."
Three humans with dull eyes came over, two men and one woman, they didn't look like servants in terms of their attire.
The oldest man was dressed in typical clerical robes, and the younger man wore leather armor and carried a sword, looking more adventurous than Jenkins.
And the remaining lady was actually an elf. She was carrying a beautiful blue longbow, engraved with complex vine-patterned runes, and even under such low light conditions, the bow could emit a little shimmer. Because she is an elf, Jenkins can't judge her age very well from her appearance, but at least she looks young.
"Are you sure these are the servants of the castle?"
Jenkins wondered.
"Of course they are servants, but they were originally adventurers like you. Because they failed to complete the task, they left them to eat."
"They are all outsiders from the Paradox? But didn't daddy say a long time ago that the Paradise will collapse after being used once... I have experienced so many paradoxes, and I understand that human beings don't understand the Paradise at all. All kinds of strange situations are formed due to different reasons, and things that can be repeated like this should actually exist, but because the interval between each occurrence is too long, the church doesn't understand it at all."
Thinking of this, he nodded and asked again:
"If I can't finish it..."
"You will stay too, don't worry, the food here is very good. Which one do you want to be your partner? You can only choose one, and if you successfully complete the mission, you can choose not to take away the extra rewards in the castle , but take the companions of your choice."
Jenkins looked at the three of them one by one. None of the three of them were supernatural beings under the system of benefactors. Therefore, they had no ability light spots and could only judge their strengths from their auras. The strongest among them is of course the man wearing the priest's robe, and the elf lady with the blue longbow is stronger than the young swordsman.
Considering Jenkins' own situation, he doesn't need additional healers and magical support, and he can support himself in close combat.
"This one."
He pointed to the elf.
So the other two returned the same way and stepped into the impenetrable darkness again. The elf trembled suddenly, and finally there was light in his dull eyes.
With a harsh creaking sound, the two iron gates of the castle that were originally closed slowly opened in front of my eyes. The old butler bowed his waist and made a gesture of invitation, but his expression seemed to be malicious.
Jenkins looked at the elf lady. After she regained her consciousness, her eyes were loose as if she was recalling, but she quickly understood the current situation.