Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons

Inside the ruins.

Kreya was pacing around the entrance of the dungeon, observing the surroundings and occasionally peering into the tunnel.

Suddenly, the sound of chaotic footsteps emanated from the entrance.

Then, the figures of Kane and others emerged from the tunnel.

Kreya immediately walked toward them to check if anything unexpected had happened.

"Is everything okay? Was there anything down there?"

"What could possibly happen, as for anything unusual..."

Kane turned aside to reveal Longbei and others behind him.

It was then that Kreya saw Longbei holding a mechanical head.

"What is that?"

"This was what was in the room below the tunnel. You could consider it the will of the dungeon."

"Is it dangerous?"

Longbei and the others had just asked the same question below.

"No problem, Mist has guaranteed it."

With Mist's guarantee, what issues could there possibly be?

The mechanical head in Longbei's arms was currently opening its mechanical eyes, glowing blue, scanning its surroundings.

"Has the outside world shattered like this? The world is truly heading towards destruction, and I am indeed a sinner."

As it spoke, the blue light in its eyes began to flicker.

"My energy is insufficient, flesh creatures, take me to the center of this area. I will awaken then."

Without giving Kane a chance to speak.

The blue light in its eyes completely extinguished, the sound of mechanical turning echoed, and the entire head began to fold inward, eventually becoming a steel cube the size of a palm.

Kane looked at everyone, helplessly shrugged, and placed the cube, once the mechanical head, into his space equipment.

"Don't worry about its mission for now. Let's sweep through every part of this dungeon, then head to the center."

Kreya reminded anxiously from the side: "This is Mist's mission, are you sure it's fine?"

To the native inhabitants of this world, Mist is akin to their Creator God.

How dare they neglect the commands from a god.

However, to Kane, Mist did not hold such a high place in his heart, even though it was the will of the world.

"It's alright, this mission didn't specify a time limit. We just want to use up some of this dungeon's energy, Mist will understand us."

Kane said as such, and though the group was anxious, they had no choice but to agree.

After all, the mission was passed onto Kane by Mist, so only he had the authority to decide.

Everyone collected their thoughts and continued along the predetermined path.

...

By noon the next day.

Kane and his crew finally made a round along the periphery of the dungeon.

Along the way, they encountered varying sizes of dungeons, but the energy cores they obtained were all yellow.

The red ones were nowhere to be found.

Could it be that this dungeon only had blue and yellow ones?

Kane stared at the map projected into the sky, pondering.

"We've now explored the general range of this dungeon. It's time to move inward and fill in these blank spaces in between."

Based on the dungeon and the general range recorded by You, although they only walked a circle around the edge, Kane and his group had practically explored half of the dungeon's range.

Now they've returned to the area where they encountered the first mechanical monster.

Once they enter the central part of the dungeon and circle around it, they should almost have explored the entire dungeon.

They organized the team and set off toward the interior.

The deeper they went, the slightly better the environment seemed compared to the outside.

The land was no longer as cracked as on the outskirts.

Sporadically, drought-resistant plants appeared by the roadside, rarely but still stubbornly alive.

Larger, fairly intact boulders also occasionally appeared, along with scattered ruined structures.

Yet after such a long trek, no ruins were encountered, as if an isolation zone existed between the inner and outer section.

During their advance, Kreya and others occasionally encountered one or two mechanical monsters that attacked them.

The attacking mechanical monsters were diverse; most no longer had relatively complete shapes, as if patched up like broken dolls.

The protective casings on their bodies, the slightly better parts, also showed signs of being worn by wind and sand over time.

Being weak, it was naturally difficult for them to drop magic materials. During the journey, ten or so attacked, yet only two magic materials were dropped.

Flying in the sky, Kane suddenly became excited at what he saw in the distance.

What excited him wasn't ruins or monsters, but a small oasis, with even a small lake visible in the middle.

He had already decided that tonight, they would rest at that oasis.

Kane quickly descended on Cotton Candy to his teammates below, sharing the good news.

After hearing Kane's news, Kreya and others quickly headed for the oasis.

Both their eyes and behavior betrayed their excitement.

Who knew how long they'd endured this barren Gobi Desert, without a speck of green, let alone a drop of water.

Kreya had long been fed up with her own smell, going three days and nights without a bath.

Even though she was in light leather armor, combined with the environment and her physique, her body odor was unbearable.

Upon reaching the oasis, everyone didn't immediately let their guard down. They cautiously examined the oasis for any dangers.

And Kane, too, opened his Eagle Eye, scanning the lake's surface, checking for underwater threats?

This oasis wasn't large, about the size of three football fields, with a large portion occupied by the lake.

After thorough inspection, they finally confirmed there was no danger and were relieved.

To express their gratitude for Kreya's logistical support over the days, Kane and Longbei allowed Kreya and Lilulu to clean up in the lake while they set up camp and prepared food on the other side.

"Hmph, you do have a conscience, but thank you anyway."

Then, clutching Lilulu, she ran joyfully to the lakeside, her cheerful steps and the clattering of hooves reflecting her happiness.

Kane and his team began setting up camp.

Once they more or less had the camp and ingredients ready,

Kreya, with her hair dripping wet, walked over.

Just then, a shared message from the dungeon entered their minds.

This oasis served as a checkpoint; they could return here from outside the dungeon and would reappear here upon reentry.

If they missed this chance, the next opportunity would be when they'd face the boss.