Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons-Chapter 627 - 550: Coincidence? Inevitability.

With the surge of Wofas's magic power.

Wofas's plant-like arms transformed into several tendrils, winding up around the large tree in front of him.

The magic runes traveled along his arms and imprinted on the trunk of the tree, soon to be echoed by similar runes appearing on the tree itself.

The glow of the magic runes flickered as the tree's canopy emitted ripples of magic power that spread outward.

At this moment, a transparent wave-shaped shield could be clearly seen surrounding the forest's perimeter.

Wofas reached out to touch, a ripple effect like that of water waves transmitted across the shield.

"Your Majesty, it is done. Once you pass through this shield, the hidden ruins inside will become visible."

He then proceeded to pass through the shield first, and as the water patterns radiated outwards, Wofas entered and disappeared from sight.

Kane and the others exchanged glances and followed closely behind through the shield.

Once everyone had entered the ruins, the shield vanished shortly afterward, and the woods restored to their previous appearance, without any issues.

As Kane and the others stepped into the area, the true scenery unfolded before their eyes.

A sparse forest, made up of trees so large they would require a dozen people to encircle, towering over a hundred meters high.

Each tree stood over a hundred meters tall, with branches originating from their trunks that were exceptionally thick, crisscrossing and covering the entire sky.

Standing just outside the forest, one could feel their own insignificance.

Within the forest, besides the giant trees, there was an abundance of plants and animals.

Flowers and grass carpeted the ground, and countless small birds could be clearly seen flapping their wings between the trees. Some small animals similar to squirrels gazed curiously at Kane and his companions from the branches.

A few deer and foxes approached with puzzlement, their watery eyes curiously surveying the group.

Numerous birds flew over to perch on the branches around Kane and the others, their curious gazes fixed on them.

All these little animals were curiously observing these uninvited and strange creatures.

Subsequently, many of the animals began to gather around Lilu, interacting with her in a close-knit manner.

Even if not within the dungeons under the Mist's control, Lilu still relied on her race's natural affinity to more easily gain the goodwill of natural creatures.

However, a deer did come up to Kane, tilting its head as it looked at him.

Watching the deer in front of him, Kane reached out and gently patted its head, then gave it a scratch.

The deer closed its eyes contentedly.

At this moment, a round face made of mist emerged from Kane's body, warily eyeing the deer in front of it.

Kane withdrew his hand, chuckling at Cotton Candy, then gently tapped its head.

"It's so beautiful here, you can feel the pulse of life, unlike the dead atmosphere outside," Kreya said, standing next to Kane.

In response to Kreya's words, Kane nodded in agreement.

Compared to the outside, where the Golden Bridge frantically absorbs energy to sustain its existence, creating a dead atmosphere, this place was vibrantly alive for unknown reasons.

In truth, it was just slightly better than the ordinary areas of the Mist World or other natural dungeons, but the difference was significant when compared to the outside of this dungeon.

"It's because of the array here," Wofas answered their questions from beside them.

"Lord Heideline was here before; she said the array here is extremely concealed, even beyond the reach of her illusions. It's said to block out even the sunlight of the Golden Bridge, allowing it to evade the absorption of energy."

As Wofas spoke, he touched the massive tree beside him: "Waldri is also a race of nature, even the natural aura within the ruins is stronger than in ordinary places."

Kane looked at the area, feeling a strong sense of familiarity with the scenery.

The first dungeon he experienced was essentially a fallen, destroyed version of this area.

With the information he had currently obtained, he could piece together the background of the first dungeon he experienced.

The Giant Wood Forest he had been through should belong to this world, merely a fragment of the area or a snapshot of history.

Kane leaned more towards the historical snapshot because, in the dungeon he experienced, the Golden Bridge in the sky was more active compared to the one here.

Similar to a time period unsealed.

If that Golden Bridge were real and not sealed, it would be impossible to become a dungeon, and even if it did, it couldn't just be a copper-colored one.

Therefore, it could only be a historical snapshot; otherwise, the Mist couldn't have wholly incorporated it into its body and turned it into a dungeon.

If that dungeon could be accepted, there's no reason this one couldn't be.

Thus, the dungeon could only be a historical snapshot, likely depicting a place in Waldri that was destroyed by the Golden Bridge centuries ago.

As for how it was destroyed, having experienced Kreya's Authority of Death and visiting the core of the Black Monarch, one could ascertain that the Golden Bridge must have used the Authority of Death, saturating Waldri's gathering place with death.

For Waldri, who revered life born from nature, such a race would be exterminated using the opposing concept of death.

Transforming them from a race of life into a race of death, forever wandering their once homeland.

It must be said, if the Golden Bridge had consciousness, it would certainly be considered an exceedingly vile being.

Waldri at the time should have been antagonistic to the Golden Bridge because entering the Giant Wood Forest, one could feel the golden glow being shielded, just like here.

Kane truly has a deep connection with this dungeon. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Kane even suspects that the reason their team was chosen to conquer this dungeon, for the first time in nearly a decade, is inextricably linked to the first dungeon he cleared.

To call it a coincidence is to ignore the sense of inevitability about it.

After the angel was rescued by Kane and his team, she deliberately handed that Golden Bridge Ancient Coin to Kane.

It's hard to believe she wasn't instructed by the Mist.

As Kane looked at the scene of the dungeon, a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

"The gigantic trees, the golden bridge arching across the sky... wait a minute."

Kreya murmured to herself, suddenly recalling something, and turned to look at Kane.

She happened to see the expression of remembrance on Kane's face.

No wonder Kreya had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity since she entered this part of the dungeon. It seemed like she had heard about this dungeon somewhere but couldn't recall it right away.

Combining the golden bridge outside with looking at Kane, she suddenly remembered.

Isn't this the first dungeon Kane told them about, the one that made him an Explorer, a Mist Warrior?

"Kane, is the first dungeon you experienced just like this place?" Kreya couldn't help but ask.

Kreya's words also drew Longbei and the others' attention, and they, too, remembered the tales Kane had shared with them.

Hearing Kreya's words, Kane turned to look at them, smiled, and said, "Indeed, it should be a historical fragment of the world before it shattered, a place that was a Waldri homeland destroyed by the Golden Bridge."

Although Wofas didn't understand what they were talking about, he also realized that Kane had been to another Waldri homeland destroyed by the Golden Bridge.

Looking at Wofas, Kane smiled and then reached into his space equipment to rummage through it.

Then Kane took out a wrist guard, a wrist guard made of tree bark entwined with green vines, exuding a naturally birthed scent, with a few small white flowers adorning it.

Emitting a peaceful and natural aura, one could feel the surrounding air and trees seemingly cheering joyfully as Kane took out the equipment.

[Waldri's Enwrap]

[Leather Armor Wrist Guards]

[Color: Copper]

[Attributes]

[Slight Agility Enhancement - Both Hands]

[Slight Manipulation Enhancement - Both Hands]

[Slight Strength Enhancement - Wrists]

[Explanation: Formed from vines hanging from the Mother Tree as the humanoid plant race Waldri was born]

The first piece of equipment Kane acquired, marking his official beginning as an explorer of this world.

It holds significant commemorative value, so Kane replaced it, never sold it, and kept it well-preserved.

Kane handed the wrist guard to Wofas.

Wofas received it solemnly with both hands, as if receiving a sacred relic.

"Indeed, this wrist guard is a gift from the Mother Tree to the newborns." As Wofas spoke, tears slipped from his eyes.

"Waldri, much like trees, has a lifespan of hundreds of years. By the time I was born, the Mother Tree was no more, and all around were clansmen fleeing."

"I grew up on a small island far from the Platinum Country, where we external wanderers lacked knowledge of our race, only informed by elder tales."

"Without the Mother Tree, we are destined for extinction, as we are all born from the pods hanging from the Mother Tree."

Wofas returned the wrist guard to Kane, continuing his narrative.

"I have seen this wrist guard among the elders, said to be a gift from the Mother Tree to the newborn. We, who were born after the destruction of the Mother Tree, emerged from pods that somehow survived, didn't have such things."

"Before the world shattered, some of my clansmen and I came to this continent in search of a way to save our race. While searching, the world was destroyed, and we lost our way back."

"Unknowingly, I lost contact with my companions. Now, perhaps I am the only one left."

At this point, Wofas's face was filled with sorrow and a sense of death, devoid of the hope of life.

At this moment, Kreya whispered to Kane beside him, "His life is nearing its end, and there's not much time left."

Hearing Kreya's words, Kane could only sigh helplessly.

With the destruction of Waldri's Mother Tree, the race is destined for extinction, as they are born from the fruits of the tree.

With the source of their population gone, this race is already sentenced to extinction. They survive solely on the remnants of their clan and their long lifespans.

They are merely slowly approaching death.

Such feelings and situations, Kane has never experienced, and he cannot understand or empathize; he can only sigh and lament for this race.

"No, child, there is still hope."

A gentle, kind, elderly voice came from beside them.