Where's My Exit Button?

"You're not faculty members from the academy, are you?"

Santa Claus, no, it was Ka Lie who looked at Jia Paer and the others and said:

"He doesn't look like a student. Oh well, he doesn't seem like he'll attack me. Shall we buy something?"

He sat quietly behind the counter of a street-side house, looking just like a businessman.

A faint noise came from inside the house. Was it a lurking monster? Actually, it was just a donkey-like mount he used to carry his goods.

It's just an afterimage.

Tu Erqi's voice suddenly appeared in people's minds.

[Looks like they're selling things, should we buy something?] Luo Jieer's voice rang out. [But what currency? I don't have any money on me.]

The afterimage that sells goods is not uncommon in other dungeons.

However, in other dungeons, selling items is often just a prerequisite for triggering the next event, and the required currencies vary widely. Some require money, some require shells, and some only require monster materials. In short, there is no unified system.

Most dungeons don't need to do business with adventurers.

[Buy some and see what happens next] Tu Erqi also regarded Ka Lie as a remnant of events that relied on selling things to start them.

"Do you have anything good? Bring it up for me to see." She walked to the counter and tapped on the damp cutting board.

"Please take a look." Ka Lie handed her a somewhat worn handwritten list, and everyone gathered around to examine it.

"What do the numbers after 'Tool Leather Bag,' 'Fire Grease,' 'Anti-Magic Dried Liver,' 'Healthy Jerky,' 'Sweet Brewed Dried Fruit,' and 'Forging Stone Forging Stone' mean?"

The list looks like it has a lot of items, but if you look closely, you'll find that the items used to expand the list are oils and livers of different properties. Dried fruit alone is divided into three types, taking up three rows. There aren't many truly different items.

"What is Anti-Magic Dried Liver?" Tu Erqi asked.

"Food made from the Beast Liver can temporarily increase resistance to magic after consumption," Ka Lie answered truthfully. "The mentors used to strictly prohibit the sale of such things, but there are fewer taboos now."

"Why?" she pressed, but the other person remained silent.

The other party will only speak when asked about the effects of other products, and will repeat the same description of the same product.

Tu Erqi and the others exchanged glances, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

The fact that this Ka Lie can repeat his words indicates that he is a true afterimage. After all, if the events don't continue to develop, almost all the afterimages in the dungeons will eventually become just ruthless repeaters.

Solaire in the Painting World: Wolf Knight seems a bit too intelligent, like a living person. This has been mentioned in the reports of adventurers who have entered the Painting World. After that, people who enter the Painting World will consciously try to talk to Solaire to see how far he will go before repeating himself.

So far, Solaire has not repeated his studies, leading people to speculate whether the afterimages in the Painting World are different from those in the outside world.

"Money is the soul," Luo Jieer said. Each item was labeled with the number of souls required. The Tool Leather Bag was the most expensive, costing a full five thousand souls, while the cheapest was the Roya Dried Fruit, which cost only ten souls a handful, seemingly meant for the poor to fill their stomachs.

Well, who would buy these things that have no special effects in the dungeon? Even if you're hungry, you can go back and have a good meal when the dungeon closes.

Then he saw Jia Paer buy a handful of Roya Dried Fruit, stuff a handful into his mouth, chew it, and then spit it out with a "whoosh".

"It doesn't taste good, and I can't digest it." Jia Paer frowned and spat on the ground.

This stuff was meant for animals like cattle and horses to be used as mounts later on; humans can't digest it. What people actually eat are dried meats.

Tu Erqi asked about the effects of all the products before he was satisfied. He found the afterimage in front of him quite novel because it looked like the other party was really selling things, without triggering any other events.

"These things are quite unique," she muttered to herself, before spending a whopping five thousand dollars on the Tool Leather Bag.

According to Ka Lie's explanation, this is a magical tool that automatically produces a finished product when raw materials are thrown in. However, if you stuff everything into it, the raw materials will turn into garbage and waste, and the leather bag will be damaged, reducing its lifespan.

As a gift, he gave Tu Erqi the crafting notes for [Fire-Resistant Dried Liver], which requires the liver of any wild animal, Roya Dried Fruit, and Fire Star Butterfly.

Tu Erqi tried stuffing in some random materials she'd collected along the way, and ended up with a bunch of junk.

Luo Jieer also bought a few things. Everyone bought Anti-Magic Dried Liver. In the world created by mages, having a way to resist magical damage is very precious, and everyone knows its importance.

After everyone had made their purchases, Ka Lie spoke up again.

"My name is Ka Lie, and I come from a nomadic tribe. I travel and do business at the same time."

"The Raya Lucarian Magician moved their land to this enclosed space. I was traveling here at the time and didn't have time to escape, so I got trapped here."

"Looks like he's an unlucky guy," everyone thought.

"Fortunately, I can still do some business. If I had a soul, I wouldn't have lost my mind. But this town has been abandoned for a long time and there haven't been any customers. You've come at the right time. Please take care of me in the future."

What caused it to be abandoned?

"I don't know. I don't know when it started, but there are fewer and fewer people. The mentors and students no longer show up. Maybe something happened to that college."

He pointed to the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy on the distant cliffs and said:

"If you want to explore that place, it's best to do it during the day, because magicians are all night owls and are especially energetic at night. This is just my advice. I'm saying all this so that you'll buy more of my stuff."

Ka Lie gave everyone a piece of dried meat, "But my original intention was to hope that important guests could survive."

Wow, this person is actually quite nice.

The afterimages of the underground city were once living people, and a kind-hearted person could earn the respect of Jia Paer and his companions.

However, they really wouldn't dare to eat this jerky, which is made from who-knows-what kind of animal.

Tu Erqi tried to continue the conversation, only to find that Ka Lie then turned into a broken record.

"What would you like to buy?"

"You're back again? Welcome."

Goodbye, it was a pleasure doing business with you.

There was no new dialogue; was this really just a fleeting image of someone selling things?

This was the first known instance of a pure "merchant," and the currency used for transactions was uniform, which felt perfectly natural.

It's worth recording.

"Let's go look at other places," Ka Lie suddenly said as she turned to leave.

"See that huge bonfire in the center of town? Light it; the firelight will drive away beasts and evil spirits."

"What?" Tu Erqi turned around and stared at the other person.

"That place was originally the location of the blessing, but many people could not see it. Moreover, the reason why the magicians fled here was also related to the blessing, so they hated the blessing and changed it into a campfire that everyone could see."

A campfire... that really fits the setting of the Zane Dungeon.

The group headed towards the town center and saw a huge bonfire in the square, which was only slightly flooded. It was ten times larger than a normal bonfire and, if it were to burn, it could probably roast the people nearby alive.

The flames had gone out; it was unclear whether they had been extinguished by the lake water or due to a lack of fuel.

The three mages worked together, using earth magic to raise the plaza a certain distance, causing all the flooded lake water to flow away. Although it looked rough, it should not collapse if used temporarily.

Anyway, things will be back to normal by the next day, so let's just make do.

"Boom!"

The moment the magically created sparks touched the campfire, a mighty flame shot into the sky, and the equally enormous Spiral Sword crackled and popped.

Along with the flames rose a sense of security in people's hearts.

Even Jia Paer had to admit that the moment he saw the campfire—no, no, when he heard from Ka Lie that there was a campfire in the town center—he breathed a sigh of relief.

Since entering the magic Classroom Area, he hadn't seen a single campfire along the way, and he even felt increasingly empty the further he explored.

Flames represent safety, a place where one can rest peacefully without fear of monster attacks, unlike the pavilion just now.

For Jia Paer, a campfire means a place to rest; for ordinary adventurers, a campfire is a lifesaver, and seeing it is more exciting than seeing a lover.

I don't know if it was just my imagination, but when the campfire was lit, the temperature in the entire Academy Gate Town rose a bit, the coldness of the lake was dispelled, and only warmth remained.

Jia Paer realized it wasn't an illusion when he saw the dry ground!

The lake in Academy Gate Town has receded!

When the ground returns to its dry embrace, this place becomes a habitable place, at least you don't have to worry about it being too damp.

"Judging by the time, it's about time for the dungeon to close."

Tu Erqi had been silently calculating the time. It was already late at night in Lake Liurnia, and the sky here actually corresponded with the time outside, changing in sync with the changing of the sky.

"It's time," Jia Paer said, sitting down by the campfire. He wasn't afraid of the heat; he just felt comfortable.

"We have made great progress today, and the results have been truly fruitful."

The origin story of Star Magic, Magician Set, Caria Small Crest, Preliminary Exploration Research Area, Tool Leather Bag.

Thinking about it, they actually did quite a lot today. Other adventurers would need ten days or half a month to accomplish the same thing.

We're really strong.

Everyone sat down in the most comfortable positions around the campfire. Tu Erqi was still rather reserved, while Luo Jieer simply lay down on the ground. He De Si, wearing a sapphire crystal shield, stared at the moon in the sky, wondering what that genius brain was thinking.

While relieving their fatigue, they quietly wait for the dungeon gates to close. For adventurers, this is a rare moment of relaxation in the day.

The sound of a campfire always brings peace, as if all worries have vanished, and nothing can stir up emotions anymore.

"Wait, the time has passed, why haven't we been teleported out yet!?"

Luo Jieer exclaimed in surprise.