Can a Frankenstein's monster be an adventurer?

Chapter 89 Prank Graffiti

After the meal, the proprietress led the way, taking Luo Lan into the tavern's kitchen and storage area.

The kitchen storage area wasn't large, but it was packed full.

The air was filled with the stale aroma of spices and the pungent smell of dried chili peppers, along with the earthy odor of soil.

Rough burlap sacks were stacked in a row against the wall, and wooden barrels were piled up in two layers, with bunches of dried rosemary stuffed in the gaps between the barrels.

Dozens of blackened meat legs were piled on the shelves against the wall, and bags of flour and grains were stacked on the ground.

The proprietress was right; the ingredients here are plentiful.

But in the innermost corner of the warehouse, several rough burlap sacks that should have been filled with vegetables and tubers were now lying deflated on the ground.

The proprietress, hands on her hips, walked over to a few empty sacks, kicked one at her feet, and flipped it open, revealing not a single vegetable leaf left inside.

"Look, he only steals the cheapest vegetables and fruits. I don't know what's wrong with this thief."

Luo Lan stepped forward, squatted down, and opened the nearest rough burlap sack.

The bag was empty, except for the rough linen of the burlap itself, and at the very bottom of the bag, a yellowed white paper lay quietly.

Luo Lan reached out and picked up the paper. The paper was rough, the edges were torn crookedly, and it was wrinkled.

Examining it in the morning sunlight, I saw a painting done with unknown pigments:

A blue-haired girl with two butterfly wings of different colors, one blue and one red, holds up an exaggeratedly large fireball that takes up almost half of the screen.

Opposite the girl was a hideous, red-eyed monster made of haphazardly intertwined black lines.

It looked as if the blue-haired girl was about to throw a giant fireball at the monster.

Luo Lan gripped the edge of the paper:

"Is this the prank graffiti?"

Looking at this painting alone, which completely disregards proportion and perspective, has immature and rough brushstrokes, yet is brightly colored, Luo Lan could indeed understand the landlady's guess that the "culprit" was playing a prank.

This style of drawing is so unique that even if an adult tries to imitate it, it would be difficult to fake such a naturally childlike style.

Given that he only stole the cheapest vegetables, it really does seem like a child's innocent prank to attract adults' attention.

The proprietress turned around and walked to a few empty bags next to her. She bent down, pulled them out, and took out a few more sheets of similar drawing paper.

Then, the proprietress walked up to Luo Lan, opened her hands, and stuffed the entire stack of papers into Luo Lan's hands:

"Look, there's one of these under every empty bag. What else could it be but a prank?"

Luo Lan picked up the graffiti and quickly flipped through them.

In every painting, there is that girl with red and blue butterfly wings, only her pose is different.

Some paintings depict girls holding up large orange-red fireballs, others show them wielding green, curved wind blades, and still others show them conjuring several blue ice spikes.

The targets of the attack are various different thread-like monsters.

To the naked eye, these paintings do indeed look like children's scribbles.

The proprietress pointed to the painting and said:

"I don't know where these pieces of paper came from, and they're all drawn on in a mess."

Luo Lan didn't reply for the time being, but a faint light flickered in her azure eyes.

[True Sight lv.1] Silent activation.

Everything in the field of vision changed instantly.

Under the analysis of [True Vision], the few pieces of "torn paper" in Luo Lan's hand underwent extremely magical changes.

The first doodle, depicting a girl holding a giant fireball, is described as "coming to life."

The canvas zooms out, revealing the girl with her mouth wide open in an exaggerated manner, roaring silently.

He raised a huge fireball high into the sky, launched it in a perfect parabola, and smashed the black-threaded, red-eyed monster into ashes.

After defeating the monster, the girl clapped her hands, flashed a bright smile, and made a peace sign at the viewer outside the frame.

However, in the blink of an eye, the graffiti artwork returned to its original state—the girl still held the fireball high, and the black-lined monster was still there.

[Are these graffiti... supernatural props?]

In Luo Lan's line of sight, the clear [True Sight] panel also appeared:

【Title: Fairy Painting - Hot Fireball】

[Tier: Iron+]

[Effect: Consumes mental energy to infuse the painting, unleashing a peak Black Iron rank fireball spell. After activation, the elemental graffiti in the painting will dissipate.]

Upon closer inspection, the other scribbled papers in Luo Lan's hand also revealed their true nature in the field of vision of [True Vision].

They were all [fairy paintings].

These abstract and imaginative colored lines correspond to [chilling icicles], [whistling wind blades], [hard boulders], and so on...

"What, you actually discovered something?"

Seeing that Luo Lan hadn't said anything for a while, the proprietress took a half step forward, her thick eyebrows furrowed together, and she squinted as she stared intently at the papers.

"Besides that little winged man, what else is on this tattered piece of paper?"

Luo Lan handed the other drawings back to the landlady, keeping only the doodle with the large fireball for herself:

"This might not be a thief, nor a prank."

"What do you mean?"

The proprietress looked puzzled.

Explaining the ability of [True Sight] would be too much work. Luo Lan didn't waste any time, simply offering a suggestion that seemed logical:

"Boss lady, you can take these drawings to the prop shop in the village and ask someone to take a look. Maybe you can sell them to make up for the loss of these sacks of vegetables... I'll look around again and see if I can find any other clues left by the 'culprit'."

The proprietress scratched her head with some skepticism. Although she didn't understand what money this pile of waste paper could be exchanged for, she still decided to give it a try.

As the proprietress walked out, she gave him instructions:

"Okay, I'll go check out the prop shop. Remember to close the door when you leave the warehouse."

"Um."

Luo Lan nodded.

As the proprietress's footsteps faded into the distance, Luo Lan was left alone in the warehouse.

Maintaining the state of [True Sight], his gaze carefully swept across the crowded warehouse.

Just at the edge of those empty sacks that weighed down the paintings, small patches of dust, shimmering with red and blue light, were scattered.

To the naked eye, this dust is indistinguishable from ordinary soil or dust on the ground.

With the clues clearly laid out before her, Luo Lan became wary instead:

"Cat, can you see these glowing dust particles on the ground?"

The white cat at Luo Lan's feet flashed a faint, digital light in its eyes, and immediately gave a definite answer:

"Yes. These are elemental scales, nothing rare. Casters of bronze rank or higher, or those with elemental affinity, can sense them."

The neutral synthesized voice maintained its calm and composed declarative tone.

Luo Lan now felt more confident. What he saw with [True Sight], Victor could also confirm through [Data Vision].

This indicates that the elemental powder is a way of guiding the way deliberately left by the unknown "thief".

They stole various vegetables and fruits, left behind eye-catching magical graffiti, and scattered elemental powder along the way that only the caster could detect.

This method is neither covert nor obvious, which is somewhat contradictory.

Luo Lan's curiosity was piqued.

Whether these glowing dust particles point to a twisted sense of humor or a trap, Luo Lan is determined to find out the truth.