Chapter 9: Returning Home Affairs

In the early morning, the sound of fine rain and footsteps coming and going outside the tent, coupled with indistinct chatter, roused Kane from the world of dreams.

He got up, stretched lazily, and picked up the weapon beside him, slinging it onto his back.

Passing through the tent he lived in, he shielded his eyes from the glaring sunlight with his hand while searching for the office points around the camp square.

The staff coming and going around seemed to have increased from yesterday, though Kane wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

He found a temporary office tent and lifted the curtain to go inside.

The large tent was filled with an equally large table and scattered stools, making the tent slightly crowded despite its original spaciousness.

President Gordon, whom he had briefly met yesterday, was sitting at the head of the table, writing and sketching on the pile of documents in front of him, seemingly too busy to notice Kane's arrival.

Nando, standing behind the president, was explaining something but stopped when he saw Kane enter, leaning over to whisper a reminder of Kane's arrival in the president's ear.

Gordon lifted his head to see Kane, rising slowly like a normal elderly man. If not for Kane knowing he was of the colorful rank, it would have seemed real.

As he stood, his beard, which had changed from three long braids yesterday to five equal ones today, was revealed.

"Did I interrupt your work, President?" Kane asked, scratching his head awkwardly.

Gordon shook his head, saying calmly, "Don't worry about it, the cumbersome paperwork is always meaningless and endless."

Just as he finished speaking, a mist appeared and disappeared by his ear, as if he had received some information, and a noticeable magic wave emanated from him.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask Nando; he will answer them for me." Having left this sentence, Gordon disappeared directly from the spot with a release of magic.

"Ahem," Nando's voice pulled Kane's attention back.

"Now you can ask me any questions you have, I will tell you everything I know, Sir," Nando said, holding his hand.

"Oh, okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Nando," Kane said, then he began to ask his questions.

"What exactly is a dungeon? What does it represent? And what does it bring?" Hearing Kane's questions, Nando began to explain slowly.

"Dungeons are the 'food' of our world. According to current theories, dungeons are the product of the world assimilating fragments from other worlds. Races like us, who depend on the world for survival, need to explore and consume the energy of the dungeons.

The monsters within are replicas of the area's original life, created to help the dungeon prevent us from assisting the world in digesting it."

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

"Therefore, the monsters in the dungeon will resurrect endlessly until the dungeon's energy is depleted, and they are hostile towards us Explorers. Of course, some dungeons are special, and you'll have to discover those on your own."

"As we assist the world, it also rewards us. Various power systems from other worlds are absorbed and learned by the world, then fed back to us as skills.

Novel knowledge, cultures, systems, and races have made our world's civilization colorful and rapidly developing."

"So are the equipment that drops after these monsters' deaths the world's reward?" Kane asked his final question.

"Of course, that is merely the most basic gift of the Mist. There are many more wonders waiting for you to explore," Nando replied with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Nando, for explaining all this to me despite your busy schedule. I won't bother you any longer; I will take my leave first."

"If you are ready to become an Explorer and venture into more wondrous dungeons, you can come to the camp; we'll grant you a free teleportation once."

Nando knew clearly how enticing exploration and adventure were to young people. Not to mention, this was a newborn Mist Warrior who would need this opportunity.

"Thank you, when I'm ready, I'll trouble Mr. Nando then," Kane said, and then took his leave.

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Noontime in Kara Town

This was the busiest time of day in the town, with traders, workers, and villagers from surrounding villages injecting vitality into the small town.

Kane walked along the cobblestone path of the town; the morning rain had left the road slightly muddy.

Along this short journey, he noticed several magical power reactions unprecedented in the town. These individuals carried weapons and wandered the streets in groups of three or five.

There were also many minor nobles and officials from the small city who stood whispering by the road. These people originally belonged to a small city 50 miles away, not to this remote town.

He quickly arrived at Uncle Ge Mu's house and knocked on the door, which was opened by Uncle Ge Mu's son.

Little Gemu exclaimed in surprise upon seeing him, "Dad, Big Brother Kane is back."

Then he whispered to Kane, "I wanted to find you yesterday, but Dad said you went out hunting. How was it, did you catch a magic beast?"

Kane smiled, patted his head, and placed a bird egg he had casually picked up on his way back into the boy's arms.

"Ah," Little Gemu exclaimed, and then, lowering his voice, he snuck upstairs with the egg, not forgetting to wink at Kane on the way.

"What's up with this kid?"

"Nothing much."

"Then why are you standing at the door? Come in," Uncle Ge Mu came over, patted his shoulder, and invited Kane inside.

"Have you eaten?"

"I have, there were three eggs in the nest."

He let Kane sit down, and Uncle Ge Mu brought two cups of green tea over.

"I heard that a dungeon opened in the woods with a pack of wolf corpses nearby. I was wondering if you had been drawn in, but now that I see you're back, I'm relieved. I don't know which unlucky guy got drawn in; I heard it's a copper-level dungeon." Seemingly reassured it wasn't Kane, he began chatting with him while holding the teacup.

"Uh..." Kane was momentarily speechless.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Kane's hesitant look, Ge Mu asked with concern.

Kane scratched his face awkwardly, saying, "I was that unlucky guy."

"Oh, so you're the unlucky guy, huh?" He seemed not to have fully understood Kane's meaning.

"What! You were the one lured into the dungeon?" In his shock, his voice cracked.

He threw away the teacup and grabbed Kane, checking him over repeatedly to see if he was injured.

After a bout of fussing, seeing there were no visible injuries, he still asked worriedly, "Are you hurt?"

"No, don't worry," Kane replied helplessly. After Kane's parents left, the Gemu family had been the kindest to him, treating him like their own son, so he didn't mind Ge Mu's concern.

"That's good. If anything had happened to you because of my commission, your aunt would never forgive me."

"Stay for dinner; then you can tell us about your experiences in the dungeon. I'll go out to ask your aunt to buy more groceries and to get your commission payment."

With those words, he left without giving Kane a chance to refuse, but Kane had no intention of doing so anyway.

He sat on the stool, gazing at the ceiling and thinking about how to say goodbye to them in the evening.

A nameless unease stirred in his heart.