Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons

Chapter 985 - 855: Outer Ring City

The group was unsurprised by Kane’s decision since he had already shared the council notice he received with everyone.

Each person had read it, and the rewards for joining the patrol team were certainly higher than exploring beyond the Mist.

They had explored beyond the Mist three times already, spending almost half a year each time.

Their curiosity about what lay beyond the Mist was no longer as intense as it had been initially.

Moreover, this time after they came out, each of them had developed their own skills.

Kane had even managed to develop three skills, even though they weren’t all perfect compared to others at the same level.

As long as the person in charge of the patrol team wasn’t foolish, they wouldn’t separate them; this way, they would have plenty of combat power as a group.

Moreover, Orochi had mentioned that if they joined the patrol team this time, he might be the one assigning them tasks.

With a familiar face, they would likely have more freedom.

With their current strength, Kane calculated that the five of them working together could effectively challenge at least one five-colored level expert without falling behind.

After all, the gap in power between five-colored experts and three-colored ones wasn’t insurmountable.

It was said that in the past, there was no classification between five-colored levels; it was a refinement that came with the passage of time.

From this, one could infer a bit about the strength of the five-colored level.

Kreya was the first to nod, agreeing with Kane’s proposal.

"No problem, joining the patrol team could also help us learn about the three-colored level Explorers."

Speaking of which, after reaching the three-colored level, they hadn’t really interacted deeply with the other three-colored Explorers of the Mist World.

Of course, excluding Kane, who participated in the Secret Council.

"The outermost patrol, what will it be like? It’s close to the stars already, right? Or maybe even among them?" asked Longbei with a curious tone beside them.

About Longbei’s question, Kane could only shrug and answer, "I don’t know either, I’ve never heard specifics."

"We’ll find out when we get there."

"True, but our synesthesia hasn’t fully recovered yet. We need to train well during this time, otherwise, it would be embarrassing to encounter enemies and get humiliated in front of outsiders."

"After all, I’m also a Mist Warrior and have appeared in worldwide magazines; I’m somewhat of a celebrity, you know."

Longbei rambled on.

Hearing his words, everyone rolled their eyes, except for Lilu, who nodded in firm agreement.

This time, Longbei received the most solid affirmation.

Even though these two often argued, their personalities actually had similarities.

Kane said, "Alright then, since it’s decided, everyone must put in the effort."

After speaking, they started sparring in the training grounds once again.

Sparring intensely in the training arena was the fastest way to increase proficiency.

...

Half a month later,

they finally fully recovered their synesthesia.

It was time to venture beyond the Mist again, and they wondered how the outer situation was after over a half-month.

Had those assailants been contained?

"Everyone ready? Then let’s enter."

With those words, they disappeared from where they stood, re-entering the vast misty expanse of the Mist World.

With their now restored synesthesia, they stood upon an invisible path.

Kane reached into his Space Equipment and drew out a card.

Seeing the familiar card, Longbei took a closer look and his expression changed immediately.

"Isn’t... isn’t this the Teleportation Card from before?"

"Yes." Kane nodded calmly.

Longbei opened his mouth, only to sigh helplessly.

They had come to this point, and it seemed they had no choice but to use this card for teleportation.

The last teleportation felt like it had just happened, with its miserable outcome still fresh in mind.

Holding the card, Kane turned to the group.

"Don’t look so grim, it’ll pass soon enough. Haha."

Forcing a smile, Kane infused a bit of Magic Power into the card.

The card dissolved into a thin thread that shot out into the Mist.

The thread began to quiver.

The moment it went taut, Kane reached out to grab it and said, "Now."

Reluctantly, everyone reached out to grasp the thread, and like a slingshot, they were flung with furious speed.

Dragged through at an indescribable speed within the Mist.

"I... swear... swear, I’ll never use this teleportation again. I’d rather walk..."

Longbei’s fragmented words reached them unclearly.

But his tone conveyed enough, revealing that Longbei was not speaking kindly.

Shortly after, they felt themselves slowing down, likely approaching the landing point, adjusting their posture accordingly.

Feeling the ground beneath their feet, they steadied themselves immediately.

Longbei was swaying and eventually collapsed to the ground.

This teleportation method didn’t tear open space; rather, it was like being dragged forcefully through.

Being pulled brutally at the front, being dragged from behind at an incomprehensible velocity.

For those with inadequate Constitution, they’d be dust, not people, upon arrival.

After resting a while on the ground, they stood back up.

They then lifted their heads to observe the scene in front of them.

The sight ahead caused them moderate surprise.

The scene before them reminded of their first time arriving at a marked point, resembling a dilapidated village.

So they didn’t have high hopes for the Outer Ring City, but the scene before them was quite different from what they imagined.

One after another, magnificent buildings neatly and orderly lined up in front of them.

Each of these buildings was sufficiently exquisite, and judging by the appearance and details, the builders clearly put a lot of thought into them.

The style of these buildings was extremely chaotic, with almost each one having its own idea.

It was clear that every building here was crafted by different hands.

Kane could roughly determine that the building conditions here might be similar to the previous point.

As long as you have the intent, it’s possible.

There were quite a few buildings, arranged together to form a small city.

Moreover, the colorful explorers of Outer Ring City far exceeded those at the previous marking point.

Although somewhat sparse, you could see many explorers bustling on the streets.

"Oh, now this feels like a proper marking point."

Longbei commented.

The group walked towards the Outer Ring City, finding the streets quite empty.

Around them, some buildings were ordinary residential houses, while others were shops set up by various forces.

For instance, Kane saw the Radiant Commerce Association, one of the top forces in the world, even having a gathering point in the Outer Ring City.

They also took on the function of trading accordingly.

Similarly, Kane saw the Food Guild, still in a classic two-story building, with the first floor used as a restaurant.

Through the transparent glass, they could see a few scattered diners inside.

As they ventured further in, they even saw the Explorer’s House.

Here, the number of people around them increased noticeably.

You could hear conversations on the street, unlike the outskirts where the streets seemed quiet with only a few people.

"Kane?"

Suddenly, a somewhat magnetic and gentle male voice sounded from behind.

Hearing someone calling his name, Kane turned his head, and Kreya and others curiously looked to see who it was.

When Kane saw the person, he smiled and stepped forward: "Miraste, what a coincidence that you’re here."

Miraste smiled and hugged Kane briefly.

"I also just regained synesthesia, preparing to join the perimeter patrol in the Outer Ring City."

It seems they indeed had some fate.

Kane smiled and nodded, then introduced Kreya and the others behind him to Miraste.

"This is my fiancée and teammate, Kreya. These are also my teammates, Longbei, Meizike, Lily Lu."

"Though I’m sure you’ve read about them in magazines."

Upon hearing the introduction, Miraste stepped forward and shook hands with each of them.

"I’ve heard a lot about you, Kane often speaks of you all, and your journey from bronze to this level is truly admirable."

Kreya and others exchanged pleasantries.

Kane then introduced Miraste to Kreya and the others.

"This is Miraste, president of the Forest Songstress Guild."

The Forest Songstress is a guild established by Miraste, and for the prodigies of the Secret Council, it’s almost impossible to join other forces.

Each of them has their own force.

For instance, Orochi, who has long patrolled the outside.

He has his own patrol team, all of which are colorful ranked.

The forces within the Mist World are unknown, but certainly not small.

Then there’s Bagri, who is directly the president of the Food Association, and established a very famous association in the Mist World.

Spanning the entire world.

These two are the oldest in the Secret Council.

Since Miraste and Kane shared the same purpose, they acted together temporarily.

"Speaking of which, this is your first visit to the Outer Ring City, isn’t it?"

Upon hearing Miraste, Kane nodded.

"Compared to other marking points, the Outer Ring City looks much better, mainly because the number of colorful-ranked explorers is not numerous, and even fewer have the leisure to wander."

"And the marking point of the Outer Ring City, being close to the perimeter line, serves as an entrance and exit, so eventually, most people prefer to gather here."

Hearing Miraste’s simple explanation, they nodded their heads.

As they chatted, they passed by a treehouse built like a giant tree.

Miraste pointed to the treehouse and said, "For example, this treehouse is built by me, whether for gathering with friends, waiting, or simply resting, it’s here."

"If you want, you can also build a structure, as long as it’s not too extravagant or the area too large."

As he spoke, he pointed to a nearby building resembling a pillar-like crystal.

"That is the Brilliant Monarch’s resting place, even rainbow monarchs have not built large houses here."

The resting place of the Brilliant Monarch satisfied Kane and the others’ curiosity.

Unexpectedly, the simple rules even applied to rainbow monarchs.

Though when considered closely, rainbow monarchs were once merely tricolor or pentacolor, weren’t they?

Thinking this way, it’s normal for their resting place not to be too large.

As they continued forward, they saw a huge crowd gathering ahead.

Upon closer inspection, there were at least a hundred people, all of them colorful-ranked explorers.

This many people in one area was extraordinary.

Before them was a very inconspicuous black building.

The explorers lined up simply, one by one entering inside.