The "anchor" DemiDevimon discovered, however, was not a physical object.
Rather, it was a picture formed by trees of a different color, one that could only be seen by looking down upon the forest from high above!
"So it's these trees?"
Following DemiDevimon's guidance, Dark arrived at the location of the "anchor" and, sure enough, found a type of tree with a different color.
The tree was about as thick as a person's embrace, with a long, straight trunk and leaves as dense as red maples.
His knowledge of plants was still extremely limited, so he couldn't identify the species.
But at the moment, there was no need.
With DemiDevimon's reminder, Dark quickly noticed that the arrangement of these red-leafed trees was indeed unique, forming the exact shape of an "anchor."
But if this was the fifth landmark, where was he supposed to go next?
Dark couldn't help but pull out the treasure map for a closer look.
However, at this point, the map offered no real route; it was basically just a diagram connecting the landmarks.
He examined it closely, then circled the red-leafed trees that formed the "anchor," finally stopping before the one at the very "tip of the anchor."
There was no particular reason for it, other than the fact that the so-called "anchor" looked quite a bit like an arrowhead.
If he had to pick one special spot, it would have to be the place indicated by the "tip of the anchor."
"Is there some secret hidden in this tree, or is it a hint to proceed in the direction the anchor is pointing?"
He immediately signaled for DemiDevimon and Gatomon to search the red-leafed tree before him from top to bottom.
More than ten minutes later.
The search yielded nothing.
He began to tentatively advance in the direction the "tip of the anchor" pointed.
Unexpectedly, this path led him directly to the sixth landmark!
It was an unprecedentedly massive cherry blossom tree!
Its enormous canopy formed a perfect umbrella shape, its pink blossoms swaying in the wind like rosy clouds.
The fragrance was rich but not overpowering, and the surrounding environment was comfortable and elegant.
If he weren't in the middle of an expedition with no time to spare, it would have been an excellent spot for a picnic.
Dark pressed on.
The rest of the exploration went surprisingly smoothly.
He encountered almost no danger and had no puzzles to solve. It was as if he were sightseeing along the way, naturally finding one landmark after another.
The seventh landmark was a landscape mural carved into a mountainside.
The mural, which bore absolutely no trace of human craftsmanship, was actually quite famous. It was said to be entirely naturally formed, yet it possessed a depth rivaling the works of a master.
Dark happened to have read about it in "Claire's Travels." Claire had sketched it by hand for an illustration in the book, and it was almost identical to the mural before him.
The eighth landmark was a jade statue of a "praying maiden," also naturally formed and without a single flaw.
The ninth landmark was a charming lake where water vapor rose like a misty marsh. Within the lake swam a school of flawless, snow-white fish, their only color a spot of golden-red in their eyes.
The tenth landmark was a vast flower field. Countless rare and exotic flowers competed in beauty, spread across the open terrain like a piece of exquisite embroidery decorating the earth. Butterflies and birds danced among the flowers, showing no fear as he approached.
...
At each location, Dark would sketch the scenery, his pace becoming less hurried.
He gradually began to feel that ever since entering this ancient forest, the journey of exploration had become less of a trial and more of an experience.
It was as if Alvit was presenting a poetic scroll to those who came after her, from the red-leafed forest to the giant cherry tree, then to the natural mural, the holy maiden statue, the misty lake, and the garden of myriad flowers...
She had moved many beautiful and wondrous sights from all over the world onto this path of exploration.
Every step of the way forward was filled with surprises.
Dark truly felt the sentiment from Alvit.
It was likely a sudden inspiration she had during her student days, when she followed the trend of leaving treasure for future adventurers.
Even if the final treasure was not entirely satisfactory, the wonderful experience of this journey alone was worth the price of admission.
"I just wonder if the treasure map left by Hero Bright is also like this?"
The glowing moss on the rocks began to dim, while the fungi on tree roots and branches started to emit their own light.
Although this softer, dimmer light could still illuminate the path ahead, the forest seemed to be veiled in black gauze, transitioning from day to night.
The path ahead gradually grew steeper, continuously ascending an upward slope.
Dark found the fifteenth landmark on the mountainside!
It was revealed in a casual glance back.
The entire forest came into view.
The edges of the forest were densely planted with a vast number of fungi that, in the dim environment, emitted an extremely rich pink glow.
The outline of the forest illuminated by this light was, unexpectedly, a giant heart!
Dark stared for a full half-minute before finally sighing, "It's practically overflowing with girlish sentiment!"
...
"Besides the treasure's location, there's only one landmark left."
"Let's rest here for a bit."
Having come this far, Dark planned to press on in one final push until he found the treasure!
However, after the day's journey, he was feeling an unbearable fatigue. It was a good time to sit down, eat, drink, and recuperate for a while.
For today's adventure, he had specially prepared long-lasting sandwiches and jerky. Taking them out now to eat with some juice had a certain charm.
DemiDevimon and Gatomon sat on his left and right, gazing curiously at the forest below the mountain.
An idea struck Dark, and he decided to spend some time summoning all his other Magic Guide Spirits.
A total of ten Magic Guide Spirits sat on the mountainside in the quiet night, watching the rare nocturnal forest scenery with curiosity and joy.
They had been born in the castle, and besides DemiDevimon, only Hawlucha had flown outside the night before.
While the other Magic Guide Spirits had thought about wandering outside, they hadn't yet had the chance to do so.
This nocturnal forest view was the most expansive and beautiful scenery they had seen since their creation!
...
The night was slightly cool.
Dark packed his things and continued on his way.
The Magic Guide Spirits other than DemiDevimon and Gatomon had been returned to their cards.
Having reached this point, continuing up the mountain was the only path forward.
And the sixteenth and final landmark was no longer a hand-drawn landscape, but a small, cute lizard with big, round eyes.
Recalling the previous panda and cat, Dark raised his guard.
With only one landmark left before the treasure, the most logical assumption was that it was the final guardian boss!
Therefore.
Even if that lizard turned out to be a ferocious dragon, Dark wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
He gradually ascended the peak, only to find a forest of densely packed trees ahead.
So he continued forward.
About ten minutes later, the view suddenly opened up.
Passing through the woods, he found himself on a relatively open, flat area. Further ahead was an endless expanse of clouds!
He had reached the top of a cliff!
"DemiDevimon!"
DemiDevimon immediately obeyed, flapping its wings and flying out over the cliff's edge to look down!
What it saw gave it a fright.
It quickly turned back and frantically tried to describe what it had seen with its claws and wings.
"Use your words," Dark said helplessly.
Only then did DemiDevimon calm down, sticking out its tongue. "It really is a dragon!"
...
"It's actually a dragon?"
Dark carefully crept to the edge of the cliff, and a strong smell of sulfur immediately hit him!
He quickly covered his mouth and nose to keep from coughing.
Looking down from here, he saw a small, crater-like basin. The magical beast marked as a lizard, but in reality a dragon, was coiled within it, snoring.
It was a demon dragon over ten meters long, with what looked like magma flowing between its crimson scales.
Not far behind it was a dragon's lair!
According to the popular "Hero vs. Dragon" scripts of that era, the dragon's lair was most likely the seventeenth and final landmark—the location of the treasure itself!
"Are they really going with this trope?"
Dark had an ominous feeling from the moment he first looked at the treasure map.
The youth of that era had an inexplicable fondness for "dragon slaying"—no, that wasn't right. It was the same even in this era, otherwise "Alibaba's Fourteen Dragon-Slaying Forms" wouldn't be such a bestseller.
Whether it was "a hero journeys far to rescue a princess captured by an evil dragon" or "an adventurer endures hardships to vanquish an evil dragon, thereby gaining glory and treasure," the vitality of this story theme was terrifyingly strong.
There was a high probability that Alvit had been influenced by such stories when designing this stage.
The only fortunate thing was that if you ignored the head and tail, the demon dragon before him was probably only about five meters long. It didn't belong to one of those extremely terrifying giant dragon species!
In other words, it was most likely a Tier 3 creature.
Or perhaps it was even lower, a six-star Tier 2 magical beast.
This was, after all, a treasure intended for academy students. Any higher difficulty would be unreasonable.
Dark carefully assessed the combat power at his disposal and concluded that it shouldn't be a problem!
In a flash, several plans appeared in his mind.
Among them, the most direct and effective method was undoubtedly to crush it with brute force!
To do this, he had to make the most thorough preparations.
He had to ensure a one-hit kill!
He absolutely could not give that demon dragon any chance to counterattack!
...
"Magic Guide Summon!"
Under the dim night sky.
The golden-haired boy stood atop the cliff, holding a Magic Guide Card and looking down.
In just a little over three seconds, a Magic Guide Spirit was summoned.
Gatomon stood guard by Dark's side with extreme caution. When it saw the [Magic Beast: Eevee], with only 100 in Magic Attack, Attack, and Defense, appear, it couldn't help but show a slight hint of confusion.
But Dark immediately followed up by using [Pride II], forcibly raising Eevee to the two-star level.
Then, he continued to summon.
This time, the casting took over a full minute.
A four-star Magic Guide Spirit—Miltank—quietly appeared through a normal summon!
"Moo?"
The moment Miltank appeared, it pressed up against Dark.
A flash of disgust crossed Gatomon's eyes.
This disgust deepened especially when Dark gently stroked Miltank's head and said the two words, "I'm counting on you."
But Miltank, on the other hand, became unusually excited!
...
All preparations were complete.
Dark took a deep breath and summoned [Shuckle] once more, just to be safe.
The sleeping demon dragon was completely unaware that disaster was upon it.
It was just like the dragons in legends that inexplicably became public menaces, despite simply living deep in a secluded forest, guarding treasure they had accumulated over many years.
Yet someone called a "hero" would show up to rob them, not only skinning them and pulling their tendons but also stealing all their treasure!
Even more outrageous were the so-called adventurers who were only after the title of "Dragon Slayer"!
Just for a hollow title, they would hunt dragons relentlessly!
As for the whole "evil dragon kidnaps the princess" drama...
Are you kidding me? With the princess's size?
It was as if being born a dragon was an original sin.
...
Fortunately, the dragon before him was not a real, living creature of flesh and blood.
So Dark felt no pressure in dealing it a ruthless blow.
He stepped back to a safe distance and asked his Magic Guide Spirits, "Are you ready?"
"Moo moo!"
"Buibui!"
"Moo moo!"
Dark nodded slightly. "Very good. Miltank, use [Defense Curl]!"
Miltank's spirits soared. It curled its body into a ball, its surface flashing with a bright metallic sheen as its defense skyrocketed!
Next, Dark gave an order to Eevee: "Use [Helping Hand]!"
Eevee immediately stood on its hind legs and clapped to cheer for Miltank!
"Bui! Bui! Bui!"
As its cheers grew louder, a brilliant light erupted from its body. The light then detached itself and shot entirely into Miltank's body!
In that instant, Miltank felt a vast amount of energy injected into it, an energy that desperately needed to be unleashed!
Dark's eyes shone. "Now's the time! Miltank, use [Rollout]!"
Miltank began to roll forward without hesitation.
Rolling down from the top of the cliff, aided by the power of [Defense Curl], [Helping Hand], and immense potential energy, would perfectly overcome [Rollout]'s weakness of extremely low initial power.
It boosted the initial power of [Rollout] from a mere 30 to a full 90!
Although the power of [Helping Hand] would only affect the first roll, that was enough.
From the second hit onward, Rollout's power would be 120!
The third, 240!
The fourth, 480!
And the fifth, 960!
As long as it hit all five times, not even a seven-star dragon could withstand the damage of [Rollout]!
...
Under the effect of acceleration, Miltank rolled faster and faster, stronger and stronger, generating an extremely powerful airflow around it, as if it could crush anything in its path!
Gatomon quietly walked to the cliff's edge and then leaped off!
The demon dragon was finally awakened by the commotion of [Rollout]!
It snapped its eyes open from its deep slumber, and a terrifying draconic pressure suddenly descended, striking fear into the heart!
In the next instant, however, the curled-up Miltank rolled right across its face, leaving a tire-like mark!
As it roared in extreme fury, a white cat suddenly appeared before its eyes!
Within its field of vision, a light like a crimson wheel rapidly expanded!
The demon dragon fell into confusion!
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