Returning Home

In the morning, the sound of drizzling rain, footsteps to and fro outside the tent, and muffled chatter woke Kane from the world of dreams.

He got up and stretched himself, picked up the weapon beside him, and slung it over his back.

Walking through the living tents, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun, he searched for office space around the camp square.

The number of staff to and fro seemed to have increased since yesterday. Kane did not know if he was imagining it.

Finding the temporary office tent, Kane lifted the curtain and stepped inside.

The enormous tent was crowded with an equally enormous table and scattered stools, making the otherwise spacious tent slightly crowded.

President Gordon, whom he'd met the day before, sat at the head of the table, poring over the papers piled on it through his glasses. In his busyness, he seemed unaware of Kane's arrival.

Nando, standing behind the president, was recounting something. He stopped when he saw Kane and leaned into the president's ear to tell him about Kane's arrival.

Gordon looked up and saw Kane, and rose as slowly as a typical senior citizen. Kane would have taken him seriously if he hadn't known he was a color-level powerhouse.

His beard showed as he rose, changing from yesterday's three-strand braid to today's five-strand equivalent.

"Am I interrupting your work, President?" Kane asked sheepishly, scratching his head.

Gordon shook his head. "Don't take it to heart. The tedious paperwork is always meaningless and endless."

As soon as he finished speaking, a mist appeared and disappeared in his ears, as if it had received a message. Then a distinct magic fluctuation emanated from his body.

"If you have any questions, you can ask Nando. He will answer them for me." After saying this, Gordon disappeared as the magic was released.

Nando's cough drew Kane's attention back.

"Now, if you have any questions, you can ask me. I'll tell you everything, sir." Nando held his hand and said.

"Oh, oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Nando." Kane began to ask his questions.

"What exactly is the dungeon? What does it represent? What does it bring?" Listening to Kane's questions, Nando began to reply slowly.

"The dungeon is the 'food' of our world, according to the current theory. The dungeon is the product of the world's absorption of the fragments of other worlds, and we, the races who rely on the world for survival, need to go in to explore and consume the energy of the dungeon.

The monsters inside are all replicas of the original life in its place, helping the dungeon to stop us from helping the world consume it."

Nando paused, took a sip of water, and continued.

"Therefore, the monsters in the dungeon will revive indefinitely before the dungeon runs out of energy. They are also filled with hostility when they see us Explorers. Of course, some dungeons are special. You can only understand these in the future.

But we help the world, and the world also gives back to us. The power systems of all kinds of other worlds are absorbed and learned by the world, and then fed back to us as skills.

New knowledge, culture, institutions, and races make our world's civilization colorful and develop rapidly."

"So when these monsters die, the equipment they drop is also a reward for the world, right?" Kane asked his last question.

"Of course, this is only the most basic gift of the mist. There are still many wonders waiting for you to explore." Nando smiled and said.

"Thank you for answering these questions for me, Mr. Nando. I won't disturb you anymore. I'll take my leave first."

"If you're ready to become an explorer and venture into more magical dungeons, come to the camp. We'll provide you with free teleportation."

Nando knew exactly how attractive explorations and adventures were to young people. Moreover, this was a new-born Mist Warrior. He was going to need this opportunity.

"Thank you. When I am ready, I'll have to trouble Mr. Nando." With that, Kane bade farewell and left.

…

The Town of Kara at noon.

The town was at its busiest time of day, with traveling merchants, workers, and the villagers of the surrounding villages. They pumped energy into the small town.

Kane walked on the gravel roads of the township, which were slightly muddy from the morning drizzle.

The short journey led him to discover magic reactions that he had never encountered in various small towns. People were armed and wandering along the roads in groups of three or five.

There were also many small-town noblemen and officials standing and chatting on the side of the road. These people should be in a small town 50 miles away, and not in this poor, remote town.

He hurried to Uncle Gorm's door and knocked. The door was opened by his son.

When Little Gorm saw who it was, he said in surprise, "Daddy, Brother Kane is back."

Then he whispered to Kane, "I tried to find you yesterday, but Dad said you were out hunting. How was the hunt? Any magical beasts?"

Kane smiled, stroked his head, and put the bird eggs he'd dug up on the way into his hands.

"Ah," Little Gorm exclaimed, then lowered his voice, and snuck upstairs with the eggs. He did not forget to wink at Kane on the way.

"What happened to the boy?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you still standing at the door? Come in quickly." Uncle Gorm walked over and patted his shoulder, inviting Kane into the house.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes." There were a total of three eggs in the bird's nest.

After sitting Kane down, Uncle Gorm came over with two cups of green tea.

"I heard a dungeon opened up in the woods, along with a pack of wolf carcasses. I wondered if you'd been lured inside. I'm relieved to see you back. I wonder if any unlucky bastard was lured inside. I heard it was a copper dungeon." As if reassured that it wasn't Kane, he began to chat with him over his teacup.

"Er…" Kane was momentarily lost for words.

"What is it?" Gorm asked with concern when Kane looked like he was about to say something.

Kane rubbed his face and looked embarrassed. "I'm just the unlucky one."

"Oh, so you're the unlucky one." He didn't seem to register what Kane said.

"What! You're the unfortunate one who was lured into the dungeon?" He seemed so shocked that his voice cracked.

Putting aside the teacup, he grabbed Kane and turned him to face him and to check for injuries.

After making sure that there were no external injuries, he still asked worriedly, "Are you injured?"

"No, don't worry," Kane said helplessly. The Gorms had been the nicest people to him since his parents had left. It could be said that they had raised him like their own son, so he didn't resent Gorm's concern.

"Good. If anything happens to you because of my commission, your aunt will never forgive me.

Stay for dinner and tell us all about your experience in the dungeon. I'll go out and tell your aunt to buy more groceries, and I'll pick up your commission."

Without giving Kane a chance to refuse, he headed out. Of course, Kane wouldn't refuse.

Sitting on a stool, staring up at the ceiling, he thought about how to say goodbye to them that night.

He felt an inexplicable wave of frustration.