Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons-Chapter 559 - 500: King? God!
Kane looked at the woman in front of him.
She was beautiful, with a tear mole beneath her eye, exuding a natural allure in her expression.
If one’s will was not strong enough, it was very likely they would become entranced by it.
Her face and demeanor both gave off a mature aura.
She resembled a striking woman in her thirties.
The allure she naturally emitted, especially through her movements, was unconsciously affecting Kane.
Kane frowned; such allure certainly had no effect on him, as his equipment was not just for show.
Using allure abilities right away displeased Kane.
She seemed to notice Kane’s displeasure and explained with a smile, "Sorry, I can’t control this allure, it’s due to my bloodline."
Kane nodded in understanding, then waved her off to indicate not to mind.
He was more concerned about why this woman referred to him as a subverter.
"Subverter? What do you mean?" Kane asked, looking at the unfamiliar woman.
The name didn’t sound like a regular title.
She approached Kane with a smile, extended her hand for a polite handshake, and said, "Before answering your question, allow me to introduce myself!"
"I am the builder of this city, you may call me Heideline."
Kane nodded, politely saying, "I’ve heard of Heideline, K mentioned you. I’m Kane."
She then began explaining why she referred to Kane as a subverter.
"I’ve already seen K’s letter. It stated that only a subverter would come to us with the token and letter."
"As for why you’re called subverters, isn’t it because it seems all of you want to overthrow the kings? Isn’t that quite fitting?"
Hearing her explanation, Kane nodded, "Indeed, very fitting."
Heideline smiled and said, "Follow me, let’s talk somewhere else. This isn’t a great place for a chat."
She then turned to Pedi and said, "Pedi, come with us, you haven’t interacted with the subverters yet."
After speaking, Heideline walked through the adjacent doorway.
Kane and Pedi both stood up and followed her.
The building’s size and internal structure were more complicated than Kane had expected; he thought it might just be two or three stories with a simple layout.
However, inside, it was winding and intricate, with perfect integration of decoration and space utilization.
It truly was a style of architecture Kane hadn’t seen before, provoking his curiosity to observe the surroundings.
Ever since building a house using Origin Skills, whenever Kane saw unfamiliar or novel architecture, he couldn’t help but observe and think.
Mysteriously, he developed a strange occupational habit.
Around him, he saw some maids doing cleaning work.
The dirty and tiring work, Kane noticed, was done by translucent-skinned little girls.
Yet the energy within these girls had surprisingly reached Silver level.
Strength and status did not match at all.
It seemed that the beggar girl with Silver strength, whom he had met on the street before, perhaps didn’t want to do bad things.
There might have been other reasons.
While thinking, Heideline had already opened a small door beside the corridor and walked in.
After Kane and Pedi entered, she closed the door.
"Sit, let’s officially start our discussion,"
Heideline sat in a cane chair by a small table and was the first to ask.
"Are you the only subverter this time?"
Hearing Heideline’s question, Kane stared at her for a moment, then slowly said, "Not the only one."
Facing someone who knew about the Explorers, Kane didn’t kill anyone, being the only one, but he also didn’t disclose the exact number of companions.
"Sigh." Hearing Kane’s answer, Heideline sighed helplessly and then said, "Are all you subverters so cautious?"
"To build trust, let us first share some intelligence."
"Firstly, this town, although built on the border of the Red Monarch’s domain, is nearly impossible for anyone to find; it is hidden by an illusion."
After speaking, she pointed to Kane and said,
"And you could see it because K gave you the map and token. Otherwise, you would have overlooked it, even if walking past."
"I believe you’ve seen the town’s residents; they come from various races, all having suffered from warfare, and finally found refuge under my protection here."
"As such, we’re actually struggling to protect ourselves, and can’t assist you in directly confronting the kings."
With that, Heideline was frank with Kane.
Looking at the exquisite-faced woman before him, Kane frowned and asked, "What help can you offer me in killing the kings?"
"Intelligence and information."
```
Heideline stared at Kane, her eyes narrowing slightly as she said, "Subversive one, it seems every time you come to this world, you’re at an extreme lack of information."
"Especially in the current situation."
As she said this, her face showed some sadness.
"Almost no civilians can live safely and normally on the land anymore; the entire surface is filled with monsters, cultists, and bandits."
"Leaving the territory of the Red King, it’s even worse."
"The last batch of subversives from over a decade ago, when we found them, they had already been killed by the Red King. Over the past century, it seems all the kings have become aware of the existence of subversives, making it difficult for our rebellious forces to survive."
"So, our goals are the same."
After speaking, Heideline gestured to Kane, "Now you can ask for the information you want to know."
Kane frowned, staring at Heideline in front of him, and asked, "From what you’re saying, it seems you can’t even resist under the kings’ rule. But if I’m not mistaken, your strength on this continent is considered top-tier, right?"
Although this woman said how powerless they were, when Kane first saw her, he could see the energy reaction in her body, nearly infinitely close to the golden level.
Just like Bonona’s energy reaction, if it weren’t for the suppression of this world, she would have upgraded to the golden level long ago.
According to the Angel, this world has strong individuals beyond silver but unable to reach the golden level because the world’s energy is being consumed by the Golden Bridge.
So the woman in front of me certainly counts as top-tier strength.
"Your perception is keen." Heideline responded without surprise, seemingly not at all shocked that Kane could see his strength.
But it’s not strange; after all, those who can come to this dungeon to complete task missions, the Explorer Squad’s configuration and strength rank among the top-tier in the outside world.
Skills in detecting individual strength are certainly standard.
"However, people like me are like ants for the kings who can crush us at will." Heideline’s expression was extremely serious.
Are those stuck between silver and gold that exaggerated in strength?
Burton at full blast can strike Kane and his team in a second.
But it’s important to know Burton is an ironclad golden-level powerhouse, although his strength just barely stands firm at this level.
Still, several pieces of golden equipment provide attributes and original skills.
These elements combined can instantly defeat Kane and his team.
As Burton said, crossing into gold and having half a foot in the golden level is worlds apart.
Neither can be considered a single being.
Crossing that step is not easy.
So Kane needs to accurately judge what level the kings’ strength really is.
Upon hearing her words, Kane thought for a while and then said, "Can you describe in detail just how powerful the kings are?"
To Kane’s question, Heideline did not refuse, considering the one before her genuinely intended to face the kings head-on.
"The actual strength of the kings is essentially only half a grade higher than mine. They are so powerful not because of their own force but because of the inheritance they obtained."
"Inheritance?" Hearing this word, Kane immediately thought of the power obtained by the five princes after the death of the King of Platinum.
"You mean the power of the King of Platinum?"
Upon hearing Kane’s words, Medeline nodded, "Yes, it’s the power of the King of Platinum, the divine authority."
"In our place, there are legends about the King of Platinum."
Yet before Medeline spoke, Kane took over, "Legend has it that wherever the King of Platinum walked, life flourished underfoot and dead wood came back to life. He could resurrect the dead, relieve suffering. He could turn stone into gold, create anything."
Medeline looked at Kane in surprise, "I didn’t expect your information collection speed to be faster than I imagined."
"Just happened to know it."
Hearing Kane’s words, Heideline didn’t dwell on it, continuing, "This poem that sounds exaggerated is not false, it describes facts. The King of Platinum indeed had authority akin to a god."
"After the King of Platinum died, these authorities were scattered among his offspring, and it is precisely these powers that make their strength far exceed ours."
After listening, Kane’s brows furrowed into a knot; he hadn’t expected his target’s strength to be so formidable. He already felt uneasy knowing the Black Monarch had death’s power, not realizing all the other kings did too.
This also explains why they vie for each other’s authority.
Once gathered together, it’s equivalent to being a god.
The temptation to become a god makes them disregard ordinary life, perhaps not even treating it as expendable.
In the face of choosing to become a god, no one can resist, no one can refuse.
"The Black Monarch holds death, so what about the other kings?"
Kane asked the information he most wanted to know now.
If they all hold authority, surely there are differences.
"The Red King possesses creation; as for the other kings, the information is incomplete because the two strongest subversive teams we’ve encountered chose as their targets the Black Monarch and the Red King. Only their presence has allowed us to know these two’s authority. Other subversives chose other kings but their strength fell short; some even never confronted a king directly."
Creation, huh? Kane thought of the other letter left to him by Cle.
Written on it were details targeting the Red King.
Finally, setting his objective, he said, "What preparations do I need to make to defeat the Red King?"
