Ruins of the Ancient Monkel Kingdom

Rein wandered around the city for a while, intending to go to the tavern information merchant to find out some information.

Unexpectedly, after wandering around, they heard that the hunters on the street were all in a hurry, and a shocking piece of news was circulating among them.

"Have you heard? A huge ancient city ruin has suddenly appeared in the 'Tehersen Desert' to the west! Most of those Skeleton Monster last night came from that ruin!"

"Huh? Those Skeleton Monster with gold artifacts?"

"That's right! Early this morning, someone followed the trail and discovered some broken walls and ruins in what was once a vast expanse of yellow sand. Upon closer inspection, they found a large area of ancient architectural remains. Didn't you see the large Scavenger Gang from the city is already fully prepared? They're headed for those ruins. Let's hurry up and set off too; maybe we can get a piece of the action."

"If the news could get back, wouldn't the ruins have been cleared out long ago?"

"Clear it? Impossible! I heard that the ruins are like an ancient kingdom, incredibly vast. Moreover, they discovered a very complex Underground Palace, its depth unknown; it's impossible to explore it completely in a short time."

"Huh? With so many zombies attacking the city last night, the ruins are probably deserted. Can we really get anything if we go now?"

"Hehe, of course. I heard there are a lot of tricky bugs in those sands and palaces. Some of the first people who went there made a lot of money, but many of them died. That's why everyone's back to pack their exploration gear and plan to go deeper into those Underground Palace. I heard it's an ancient kingdom from the 'Monkell Civilization,' and maybe there are even temples!"

"Holy crap, a temple? Let's go check it out!"

"."

At first, Rein thought the news was just a rumor, but later he found that almost all the hunters in the entire Mechanical City were talking about it.

Moreover, various large mercenary groups and the city lord's mansion have also organized large-scale Scavenger Gang to set off, clearly heading towards that ancient desert city.

"Perhaps there really is a temple?"

Upon hearing this news, Rein thought of the gold piece he had bought at a street stall and fell into deep thought.

That was just a leadless clue; we didn't know where the gold disc came from.

Now that the ruins have been confirmed to be those of the Ancient Monkel Kingdom in the desert, the temple is very likely from there!

I have personally visited two temples in Rein.

One was the one in the Kolman Central Courtyard Tribe, from which I obtained the "Divine Power Crystal", the "Great Strength Demon God" stone slab relief, two totem beads, and the "Morogos's God-Hunting Spear".

The second time was when I encountered that legendary skeleton, and I obtained the "Divine Power Crystal", Petra's exclusive inherited Cultivation Method [Ice Disaster], an ice sword, and more than two thousand sets of [Vine Talisman Armor].

A "temple" that has never been discovered before is fatally attractive to anyone.

Judging from the current situation, given that there are so many gold artifacts in the ruins, it is highly likely that they have never been excavated!

As Rein thought about this, the eager glint in his eyes grew stronger.

Besides, trying to grasp the "momentum" behind closed doors always falls short of the mark, so he decided to go out and explore.

Exploring ruins is a great option!

Instead of relying on hearsay, it's better to buy directly from a news merchant.

Those guys have a bunch of informants among the common people, so they always have the most complete first-hand intelligence.

Since he had decided to go and take a look, Rein spent tens of thousands of dollars to buy the latest information about the ruins.

Two hundred kilometers west of "Black Wind Territory" lies a desert spanning tens of thousands of square kilometers. The area originally had very few resources to plunder, and few hunters had ventured there to explore.

However, after the zombie horde last night, the desert suddenly sank by hundreds of meters in one section, revealing broken walls and ruins.

The Ancient Monkel Kingdom, which had been sealed away for countless years, has finally seen the light of day again.

"Intelligence reports that there are almost no large-scale undead. The greatest threat is a large, Armored Sandworm that can defend against ordinary firearms. Its mouthparts are highly venomous and extremely lethal to low-level Transcendent."

Rein looked at the intelligence in his hand and began to ponder it.

The absence of a large-scale zombie horde is good news. As for those insects, whether they are highly venomous or have exoskeletons, he can handle them now, so they are not a major problem.

As for the threats deep within the ruins, no one knows the situation.

But now, there's another problem: he's all alone!

Exploring such large ruins alone without a guide can lead to many other problems, such as mechanisms that require multiple people to operate, lock-picking skills from thieves, dispel abilities from mages, and pathfinding from shield warriors.

Moreover, the ones we need to be most wary of are not sandworms, but those unscrupulous fellow travelers or phantom thieves! So traveling alone is not a good choice.

With this in mind, Rein decided to go to the Hunter's Hall to form a temporary team.

Doctors can easily find teams to join the hunt, no matter where they are.

Moreover, because the sandworms are highly poisonous, doctors immediately became a sought-after "resource," and many teams added multiple doctors to their roster in case of emergency.

They could just pack up and go.

No, that's not all. Rein then went to the Liar Hunter's Hall in the city.

This place is somewhat like a "job market" from my previous life. In addition to posting and handing over tasks, there are also various job advertisements recruiting teammates.

Hunting is an extremely dangerous activity, and attrition is commonplace. Therefore, it's frequent to see standard hunting teams return with only half their members remaining. They then need to recruit new members before embarking on the next hunt.

When Rein arrived, the place was packed with people, more than ever before.

Because he was wearing a white coat, as soon as he entered, someone greeted him, "Hey bro, are you a doctor? What level of medical certification do you have? Our 'Straw Hat Group' is short of a doctor, let's get everyone together and then we'll go."

He didn't say where he was going, but everyone seemed to understand that the destination was the desert ruins.

Rein glanced at the man, First Tier lightly armored swordsman with poor equipment and a pale complexion.

He had no intention of going hunting with a team that might be wiped out by a single monster, so he politely declined, saying, "Sorry, I'm just a medical apprentice."

"Tch~"

Upon hearing that Rein was a medical apprentice, the man immediately lost interest and turned to find someone else.

Then, on the way in, we encountered several more teams that were also recruiting medical-related Transcendent.

Instead of joining immediately, Rein squeezed into the crowd to take a look at the magic screen displaying the recruitment advertisement.

Only teams that can afford to pay to post their recruitment information on the bounty screen are truly capable and effective.

"3301: The 'Black Bear Scavenger Group' is recruiting five spellcasters (Level Second Tier Transcendent and above) and three medical professionals (with relevant certifications preferred). Reward: 8,000 Lisuo/day + loot distributed according to contribution."

"3557: The 'Iron Boots Scavenger Group' is recruiting twenty spellcasters (formed mages only) and ten Transcendent healers (those with relevant certifications will be given priority). Reward: 7,000 lisos/day + loot distributed equally among all members."

"3773: 'Firebird Scavenger Group' is recruiting three Resilience-talented Heavy Armor Shield Warriors, with a cultivation level of mid-stage or above [Ascender]; and Transcendent Healer-type Transcendents, with no cultivation limit, and a beginner-level medal. Rewards: Rank-based kill bonus + loot distributed according to contribution."

"."

Rein glanced at the scrolling intelligence above and understood it at a glance.

Those that can be displayed on the screen are mostly large Scavenger Gang whose names are well-known.

His goal was to find a medium-sized Scavenger Gang of thirty to fifty people, not necessarily for treasure hunting, but at least with enough strength to protect themselves.

Then, my attention was drawn to a "bold message".

Special Announcement: The Redwood Merchant Guild is recruiting Hunters/Guardians of all professions, with a cultivation level of Second Tier or above; and five Transcendent Healers, requiring an Intermediate Professional Assessment Medal; Compensation: 15,000 Lisos/day + 100% Tier Premium + Contribution Bonus + Bonus + Loot Distribution.

Every word in this recruitment notice screams "deep financial resources".

This recruitment is very demanding, but the compensation is almost double, or even more, than other recruitment ads.

Rein was immediately drawn to the recruitment information.

I originally wanted to form a team based on my identity as a doctor, but now it seems that's not realistic.

The "certificate" is what keeps them at the threshold.

He currently only has one "Doctor Apprentice" medal to assess. With that, apart from those "cannon fodder teams" that he can't lead, most capable hunting teams wouldn't want him.

But he can also be Second Tier fighter!

This recruitment ad is just right.

"The Redwood Merchant Guild? Isn't that a branch chamber of commerce under Canossa?"

Rein vaguely recognized the name. She remembered that before she came, Canossa had told her that if she encountered trouble, she could contact someone from this chamber of commerce?

And clearly, Rein wasn't the only one interested in this information.

When this "bold message" flashed on the screen, the hunters who looked up at the screen started discussing it amongst themselves.

"Tsk tsk. The minimum requirement is Second Tier Transcendent. That's quite a demanding condition."

"They're the 'Redwood Merchant Guild,' they're not short of money, so they're definitely recruiting elites. But the pay is really something else. If I weren't First Tier, I'd want to join too."

"Tsk tsk, the reward is high, but recruiting people will be difficult. Second Tier Transcendent are the core members of large Scavenger Gang; they're either captains or elites. The small new team is practically at the team leader level. How could they possibly recruit for them? Besides, the 'Redwood Merchant Guild' isn't an officially recognized merchant guild of the Glorious Nation. Their taxes are outrageously high. The reward may seem high, but in reality, it won't be that much more. Unless they recruit privately, bypassing official channels..."

"Forget it, we don't meet the requirements, so let's just enjoy the view."

"."

After listening, Rein understood why the reward for this recruitment was so high; it turned out that taxes were also levied.

Now that City of Radiance has been established as a nation and has formed an alliance with Omar, the "Sunflower Merchant Guild" has become the only officially cooperating merchant guild. Other merchant guilds, such as the "Redwood Merchant Guild," are unofficial private guilds, and therefore pay much higher taxes.

For recruitment like this, if you go through the Hunting Wilderness Guild platform, you must register and pay taxes.

Rein didn't care, because he didn't care about the compensation, let alone the taxes.

Since we're going to find Scavenger Gang anyway, we might as well find someone we know.

The recruitment message from the "Redwood Merchant Guild" was exactly what he wanted.

Without looking at it any further, Rein went straight to the guild application window and registered his identity card. Then he received a recruitment notice for a meeting at "Big Beard Tavern" at six o'clock the next morning.

Rein brought plenty of emergency supplies with her this time.

However, to cope with the desert environment, he had prepared plenty of drinking water. As for Antidote Potion, forget about buying them; the pharmacy, Gibbon, was sold out, and the remaining ones were of poor quality and ridiculously expensive.

Since he wasn't leaving until tomorrow morning anyway, he simply bought some medicine materials and rented a laboratory to start preparing the Antidote Potion himself.

After so much practice in dreams, his potion-making skills have now reached the level of an intermediate or even advanced potion master.

The success rate of refining some basic and intermediate-level detoxification medicines is extremely high.

He spent a sleepless night concocting several hundred doses of Antidote Potion.

He casually clipped a few to his person, then put the rest in his Storage Ring.

I left home at 5:50 in the morning.

Three minutes later, he arrived at "Big Beard Tavern," where many people were already seated.