Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons

The sky was bathed in golden warm sunlight.

The air was chilly, and looking down, you could see the towering peaks covered in snow.

At this time, the airship was about to cross the mountain range separating the west and north, which blocked the northern cold wind.

On the airship's platform, Kane and the others were looking at the scenery around them; the long voyage necessitated occasional fresh air.

They were wearing thick woolen clothes, which Kane had prepared in advance when he learned the location of the dungeon.

For Kane and his team, snow was something rarely seen outside the dungeon.

After all, they had previously been in the southwest part of the world, where the climate was warm and pleasant, and even in winter, snow rarely fell.

Since they had now entered the northern region, it wouldn't be long before they reached their destination.

Snow piles accumulated on the deck, and Kane and his team were reluctantly dragged by Lilu to help build a snowman.

"Longbei's is really well-made!"

Receiving Lilu's praise, Longbei smirked and showed off his creation to Kane and the others.

"Ah! Meizike's is even better than Longbei's!"

Lilu's eyes shone as she flew around Meizike's snowman, exclaiming loudly.

"How is his better than mine?" But Longbei's question was ignored by the group.

Although they were just supposed to casually help Lilu with a snowman, everyone seemed to get competitive for some reason.

The snowmen built became increasingly exaggerated.

Kane, exploiting his abilities, crafted an impressive Gundam snowman.

"This four-handed guy did a pretty good job!"

"Really? I think that Dwarf's is not bad either."

"Shouldn't the best be this human lad's?"

"Indeed."

Many airship passengers admired Kane and his team's work, occasionally offering compliments.

...

After three days and two nights of flying, the airship finally landed in the Empire's border city.

Following the crowd, they got off the airship, wrapped in thick winter clothing, with windproof hoods on their heads.

They exited the airship station and entered the city.

Most of the people around were nearly two-meter-tall stout individuals, with a robust build, regardless of gender.

Living in a cold region for long periods gave them pale skin and usually dark or brown hair.

Kane and his group didn't plan to linger there or make too many stops.

Instead, they used the teleportation station to directly head to their destination, somewhere in the Empire, Frost Wolf Castle.

Passing through the crowd, they arrived at the teleportation station.

Although this place was at the Empire's border, it was a major thoroughfare for traffic with the west.

Besides the airship, various merchants crossing the mountains and the terminal of the Magic Power Train were located here.

So the buildings and economy were quite prosperous.

Getting on the teleportation platform, as the sunlight appeared before them again, Kane and the others arrived at their destination.

Stepping off the platform and onto the street, they could clearly feel the increased number of Explorers around, and in this locale, they were all Silver-level.

The city wasn't large, with the most striking building being the stone castle in the center.

From an outside view, the castle was clearly built entirely for war, with surrounding walls and various war machines still in place.

The entire castle gave the impression of having withstood the ravages of time and war, yet still stood firmly.

However, Kane and his team needed to find a place to rest first.

The days spent on the airship were uncomfortable, with limited space and activity severely restricting their freedom.

Walking down the street, the various buildings lined with wolf-related totems or statues lined the path.

Soon, they spotted an inn with a promising exterior—Frost Wolf's Nest.

The entire building's roof was a huge stone wolf head, howling at the sky.

Opening the door and entering the lobby revealed a tavern-like decor, indicating a combined tavern-and-inn business model.

At that time, only a few people quietly drank inside the tavern.

Kane and his companions approached the bar counter.

"New guests, would you like food, drink, or lodging?"

Behind the counter, a werewolf with white fur inquired of Kane and his friends while polishing a mug with a cloth.

Kane looked around and asked, "Do you have rooms suitable for me and my teammates?"

Listening to Kane's question, the werewolf cocked his head slightly, looking at the group behind Kane.

"Such a rare mix? We don't see many like you, but rest assured, our inn is very accommodating and we surely have rooms for your group."

"Is that so? Then we'll take one room each."

"Of course, please wait a moment."

Once the werewolf had the rooms ready, Kane and his team took their keys and searched for their respective rooms in the back.

Because some members of the group were quite large, their rooms were usually on the first floor with very few exceptions.

Kane opened his room door and looked inside. The interior decor and furnishings were quite different compared to what they were used to.

The bedding consisted of thick blankets, there were thick rugs on the floor, a fireplace with a chimney extended outside, providing warmth to the whole room.

The color of the furniture was very vivid.

Cotton Candy, detaching from its hosting form, floated out from Kane's body.

Afterward, Kane took out some purchased Magic Materials from his Space Equipment and handed them to the pensive Yu-Yu at his feet.

The airship had just landed when it informed him that its energy reserves were running low.

Finally, Kane began washing up and taking a bath, something impossible during the airship journey.

Having sorted everything, Kane went to knock on his teammates' doors.

What's the first thing to do when arriving in a new place? Of course, it's to taste the local delicious food.

Culinary delights convey the essence of the local race, their preferences, and their lifestyle habits, as well as their relationship with nature.

After receiving the menu in the tavern, Kane browsed through it. Sure enough, most of the options were various roasted or stewed meats, and it was rare to see vegetable dishes, which were relatively expensive compared to other dishes.

After all, in such a region, green vegetables are considered quite a luxury.

They ordered all the local specialties, especially the famous dish, whole beef barbecue.