In the dark space, a severe sense of falling surged up, followed by a dizziness akin to motion sickness.
The pitch-black space restored to brightness, and all sorts of noisy sounds echoed in his ears.
"Quick, quick, quick, hurry down."
"If you've arrived, hurry down, don't lie up there."
"Hold it in, vomiting within the teleportation range incurs a fine of 1 gold coin."
"Ah, don't puke on me!"
"Stop pushing, do you know who I am?"
"Let's go, let's go, stop urging."
Opening his eyes, a giant blue Teleportation Stone floated before him in the air. Below it were dense and varied teleportation discs. Blue light occasionally flashed, with all sorts of people, or not necessarily people, emerging from them.
Some people, perhaps like Kane, were teleporting for the first time, either lying down or crouching while rubbing their heads, while some even vomited directly on the teleportation discs, being fined by nearby armored soldiers.
Through the crowd, a city from a fantastical story unfolded before his eyes.
Buildings of varying heights sat beside the streets, and in the distance, tall structures resembling Magic Towers shone with different lights.
The road was as wide as a highway from his previous life, with lamp-like devices standing on both sides.
Looking toward the direction where there were fewer tall buildings, he could see structures resembling city walls looming far away, so majestic they were visible from such a distance.
The most captivating sights were the luxurious buildings in the city's center, boasting symmetrical, grand, and magnificent architecture. At the top of the tallest building rested a giant lion head glimmering in gold under the sunlight.
Explorer Squads, dressed in diverse attire and carrying weapons and loot, came straight from the teleportation discs into a large three-story building beside the Teleportation Stone.
Looking up, a flag of the Mist Council was displayed, with 'Explorer's House' written on it. Beside it stood a clock tower, showing a time of 10 o'clock.
Is this the place Nando told me to go, Kane thought.
He suddenly felt someone pulling at him from behind.
Turning around, he saw an older woman with a smiling face asking,
"Do you need accommodation, meals, or mechanical vehicle travel?"
Kane chuckled awkwardly, refusing quickly and heading towards the Explorer's House without looking back.
"We're cheap and affordable!" the woman shouted in an attempt to hold onto Kane, even though she dared not block him as he headed to the Explorer's House.
In reality, can't any world escape from this, Kane mused.
Arriving at the entrance of the Explorer's House, he pushed open the door and entered.
Upfront on the first floor was a reception desk, with the sounds hinting at a tavern-like place behind it.
The second floor was visible, showing people eating and drinking. The entry to the third floor was not visible.
Approaching the reception desk, Kane encountered a cute humanoid girl.
She had a pair of coiled horns on either side of her head and short, wool-like white curly hair. What race was this? Ram people?
Long white hair and horns, yet quite cute indeed.
"Can I help you with anything?" the ram girl tilted her head and asked alluringly.
Kane took out the card Nando gave him before leaving and handed it over.
"You must be Mr. Kane, who Mr. Nando just informed us about," the ram girl said after receiving the card, then continued,
"My name is Edoma, Edoma Dasci Dasci. I'm the reception consultant at the Explorer's House. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me."
Saying this, she led Kane into a meeting room, let him sit on a sofa, and asked, "Do you want wine or a beverage?"
"A glass of plain water, please."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
After placing a glass of water before Kane, she pulled out a small blackboard and said, "Mr. Nando mentioned you're a newcomer Explorer, and he asked me to help you understand Explorers."
"Let me explain to you some basic knowledge about the Explorer profession," she seemed genuinely interested in explaining this.
Clearing her throat, she with a clear tone explained,
"Explorers are a profession that earns by clearing dungeons, and a dungeon can be cleared multiple times until its energy is exhausted.
Each person can only clear the same dungeon once in their life. Once cleared, the dungeon will deny further entry to that person."
"Most Explorer careers are short-lived, often ending in disability, poisoning, curses, madness, or ultimately death.
Yet, many people will still rush in because dungeons hold everything imaginable and unimaginable."
"Upon clearing a dungeon for the first time, Explorers can visit places with Mist Gates to receive a Blessing of Mist, a skill that suits them best.
Tommorrow, Mr. Kane can visit here as there is a Mist Gate. A recent group of new Explorers who just cleared their first dungeon will gather, and you will receive a skill best suited to you then."
Realizing she strayed off topic, she paused and resumed,
"An Explorer's abilities comprise core skills and equipment; the more dangerous dungeons cleared, the better the potential equipment acquired.
The skills may often be enhanced, and one's magic power will increase, potentially upgrading when it reaches a certain threshold."
"All skills, equipment, and magic powers follow a grading system: copper, silver, gold, and colorful."
After explaining, she handed a small booklet to Kane, saying, "If there's something you still don't understand, you can take a look."
"If you still have questions after reading, you can come straight to me. I'm the reception consultant here," she declared, patting her chest proudly.
Kane took a look at it.
"Explorer's Professional Guide"
Why didn't you just give me this earlier?
But seeing her pleased expression, he refrained from asking.
"Oh right, Mr. Kane, you don't have a place to rest yet, do you?" she suddenly remembered to ask.
"Just arrived, I haven't found an inn yet."
"Would you like to rent a house specially prepared for Explorers here? There are single rooms, double rooms, and ten-person rooms for squads."
"Alright then, thank you."
"No need to thank me, it's my pleasure to serve you."
————————
Edoma led him to the back of the hall. Various buildings were scattered along the roadside of different sizes.
Some doorways were only 1 meter high, while others surpassed 3 meters, suggesting they catered to various races.
He reached a brand-new house with a delicate and cozy exterior.
"This one has just been built, and it only costs 1 gold coin per month, quite economical," Edoma introduced.
Kane was very satisfied indeed.
"This one, then."
He followed Edoma to complete the renting procedures, placed his luggage in the room.
Taking his spoils from previous hunting magic beasts, he headed out.
He arrived at a room to the left of the hall, with a bag icon hanging by the door.
While completing the lodging procedure, he already learned the functions of the various parts of the Explorer's House.
For instance, this was a general store, mainly selling magic consumables for Explorers and buying magic materials.
Next door was an equipment shop for selling, repairing, and buying magic equipment.
Another was a potion shop, clearly a place selling consumables.
The back of the first floor was for dining and drinking, while the second floor was where Explorers acquired information, teamed up, and accepted commissions.
The third floor served as an office area.
Soon, Kane exited, now holding 25 gold coins from his previous spoils.
Kane now had previous savings of 121 gold coins, commissions worth 20 gold coins, 36 gold coins Uncle Gemu secretly added to his commission, and having spent 2 gold coins on a house rental including a deposit, totaling 200 gold coins remaining.
It was quite a significant amount of cash.
Confidently, he entered the equipment shop.
Exited dejectedly from the equipment store.
The magic equipment here is too expensive; even ordinary copper equipment like Sentinel Bindings cost around 500 gold coins, and items like Giant Wood Gloves, decent among copper equipment, cost over 2000 gold coins, with silver starting at 20000 gold coins—practically daylight robbery.
Though, the buying prices were also significant, momentarily tempting Kane, though it remained just temptation.
He went out, purchasing clothes and daily necessities while getting familiarized with the nearby streets, returning to his rented house under a starry sky.
At the doorstep, memories of Kara Town came back to him.
Let it be, tomorrow is the first day of my exploration career, better get some sleep.