CHAPTER 135: CHAPTER 135 ARRIVAL AND DUNGEON SECRETS

"Dear passengers, we are about to arrive at our final destination, the Wraith Islands. Please gather your personal belongings and line up orderly at the cabin door to avoid any accidents."

Kane and the others, having already packed their luggage, were seated in the center of the living room.

Hearing the announcement, Longbei picked up the glass on the table and downed the last sip of his drink, "Phew, we’ve finally arrived. I feel like my body is about to rust."

Lilulu was fluttering her wings, flying back and forth in front of everyone, humming her own tune.

"La la la~ Lilulu is about to disembark. Beautiful earth, lovely plants, all are my friends."

With Lilulu’s lively personality, staying on the cruise for 8 days had left her entirely trapped in a boring grayness, eventually engaging in Fog Card games with Kane and the others.

After all, no matter how big the cruise was, Lilulu managed to explore it all in just one day.

Everyone then left the room and headed to the cabin door to disembark.

By now, a long queue had already formed there.

Taking their time, Kane and his group were at the tail end.

However, it seemed someone was even slower than them.

It was Philis’ team of elves. Her reindeer horned captain nodded politely upon seeing Kane and his group.

Philis flew over excitedly, and Lilulu immediately greeted her. The two little ladies happily linked hands and spun around.

Both groups of teammates smiled watching the pair.

As time slowly passed, Kane and his group finally stepped off the cruise onto the island’s soil.

Welcoming the cool sea breeze and gazing at everything on the island.

The harbor where the cruise docked was quite simple, seemingly newly built from its materials, with a Mist Council flag fluttering not far from the harbor. A dirt road stretched from the port to the nearby settlement.

Walking along the road, one could still see the previously deserted jungle surrounding the settlement.

Arriving at the settlement.

The various buildings in the settlement were also very simplistic, just recently assembled as temporary bases.

People coming and going were of various Explorers and staff in Mist Council uniforms.

It had to be so, as this island was severely off the beaten path of international routes. If not for the mist detecting the dungeon on the island was opened, perhaps no one would come.

But even that’s not entirely accurate, as the person who opened the dungeon had disappeared, and the dungeon wasn’t cleared then.

When Mist Council arrived, they could only see traces of simple camping around and a broken sunken ship, suggesting the person who opened the dungeon had fallen inside.

This aligns with the norm — not everyone is Kane after all.

After parting with Philis’ team, Kane and his group began searching for a hotel in the settlement to rest.

Though the settlement was simple, the Explorers’ necessary facilities and resources weren’t lacking. Quickly, they found a relatively decent hotel and began resting.

Because Mist Council specializes in serving Explorers, rooms for various Races were prepared, much to Kreya’s relief.

While teammates tidied the room, Kane turned to the hotel bar, leaving the room organization to Yoyo.

This hotel resembled the old Big Gold Teeth.

The hall on the 1st floor was converted into a tavern.

In the tavern, the hotel’s owner sat at the bar.

The hotel’s owner was a male Elf, with a robust physique not typical of Elves, wearing a vest and puffing a big pipe.

"Hey, lad, what would you like to drink?"

Kane walked over, sat at the bar, and pondered, "I’ll have a ’Bone-Chilling Cold’."

"Alrighty." The owner casually grabbed his liquor mixer from behind and started mixing Kane’s drink.

"Can you tell me about this dungeon, boss? Why are so many Explorers suddenly here?"

Upon hearing Kane’s question, the owner’s expression appeared a bit strange.

"You dare delve into this dungeon without knowing much about it? Kids today sure are gutsy." He said, hands still at work.

"No, we had planned this place long ago, just didn’t expect so many peers en route, thought it’d be sparsely populated."

"Oh, I see." The owner nodded and finally poured the mixed drink into a glass for Kane.

The pale blue liquor slipped into the transparent glass cup, instantly frosting its surfaces.

Kane picked up the glass and took a sip.

The bone-chilling cold entered his body, causing Kane to shiver, defying the hot and humid island environment for now.

"How is it? Pretty good, right?" The owner drew a puff from his pipe, "When this dungeon first appeared, I came over. There weren’t as many people then, the death rate speaks volumes."

He tapped the ash out of his pipe.

"But just last week, aside from Mist Council’s preliminary exploration, it was cleared again. The team that did it was from an exploration group, and after clearing it, all were promoted to Silver level. Nothing too surprising about that but..."

Listening to the owner’s pause, Kane quickly ordered another drink, "’Soul Summoner’ please."

The owner swiftly resumed, laughing, then continued, "But this team was led by an old Explorer, stuck at the Copper peak. Intending to escort newcomer Explorers but ended up Silver himself. You know, he hadn’t crossed the last threshold in 10 years, virtually cutting off any Promotion chances."

Skilled hands quickly prepared Kane’s requested drink and handed it over.

Wiped hands, he continued, "When this news spread far and wide, one could imagine the dungeon’s newfound popularity, even leading Mist Council to dispatch another team to re-investigate.

Yet with more people, issues arose like the dungeon struggling to cope, now housing 3-4 teams at once while only one team could clear it, as if the difficulty level had increased."

After hearing the owner’s news, Kane paid him for the drink, then consumed it in one gulp, said farewell, and left.

Finding Kreya and the others, he shared the news he had just received.

Upon hearing Kane’s news, Kreya and the others couldn’t help but ponder.

As their group rarely interacts with other Explorers.

Longbei was the only one with experience dealing with other Explorers in the team.

Now they had more considerations to ponder.

The typical dungeon form abruptly became a joint one while increasing in difficulty.

Which compelled them to interact with other Explorers’ teams in the dungeon.

Even prepared for conflicts and bloodshed, as folks with their heads on the line weren’t all gentlemen.

Outside there’s the pressure of the Mist Council, allowing Explorers to maintain goodwill, but once inside a joint dungeon, anything goes.