The Beginning of the New Version

The Glintstone Dragon Smarag did not return to its lair; no one knows where it went.

Otherwise, just because its nose was shot with a Stink Bomb, it would fight the adventurers to the death.

It's probably best to avoid it for now; I wonder if it will hold a grudge.

Thanks to this, Jia Paer and Leon were able to reach the Glintstone Dragon's lair without any major incidents, without even having to draw their swords.

But a strange thing happened at this moment: no purple light appeared in the nest, and there was no Radiant Stone Key!

There were only some scattered white lights; when I picked them up, they were all Forging Stone or something similar.

This thing is no different from roadside Waste Stone to adventurers right now, because nobody knows how to use it.

The Hunting Handbook says that this item can improve the quality of weapons when used by blacksmiths, but to this day, adventurers have searched all the blacksmith shops and have not found anyone who knows how to use Forging Stone to strengthen weapons. Perhaps, how exactly do blacksmiths hammer Forging Stone into weapons?

Some people tried to make weapons from Forging Stone, but without exception, all of them failed. The techniques used by those blacksmiths could not even change the shape of the Forging Stone.

Therefore, in the eyes of adventurers, Forging Stone became a slightly better tool than garbage scraps and dung, because at least Forging Stone could be used to hit people due to their hardness.

What method can be used to use Forging Stone?

Could it be that a series of related forging techniques will appear in the Zane Dungeon?

"Why is there no Radiant Stone Key?" Jia Paer was puzzled. Did they take the previous key and it would never reappear?

That doesn't make sense. A single sapphire key can only remember five people. So what about the others? Perhaps there are other keys hidden somewhere else?

He was a little embarrassed, after all, he had confidently guaranteed that he could find the key item needed to enter the academy here, but when he arrived, he found nothing. This was quite awkward.

Leon didn't mind at all; in fact, he thought the situation was quite normal.

Why would he think it's normal? Because he believes that the exploration of the Zane Dungeon is unlikely to be smooth sailing. If your adventure here goes very smoothly, it means that you may have already fallen into a trap without realizing it.

But

He looked at the portal behind Dragon Nest Hill and thought: Although Lake Liurnia can be reached through the Zane Dungeon, can this place really be considered the Zane Dungeon?

After all, the scenery outside that portal was completely different from that of Bede City, something that a considerable number of people would rather not recall.

"Why don't you take this key first? It can also let one person in." Jia Paer handed over his sapphire key.

Leon shook his head, decisively refusing the Sword Saint's offer. This key belonged not only to the Sword Saint, but also to the Magic Professor and Luo Jieer, so how could he take it?

Besides, he's not good enough to go to the magic academy alone; he'd be better off going with everyone to find a new key.

"Alright then." Jia Paer smiled. "When I get back, I'll personally take you to find the key."

The reason Jia Paer wanted to go out was simple: he just wanted to get some food. He didn't like drinking stamina potions to fill his stomach.

Moreover, Lake Liurnia currently seems to be exhibiting characteristics of no time or number of people, making ample food supplies even more necessary.

Although the dried meat sold at the Ka Lie is cheap and filling,...

For adventurers, food is paramount. After a long day of battling monsters, returning to the Academy Gate Town, gnawing on hard jerky, and then taking a bite of an indigestible Luo Ya Fruit, they feel like they've got everything they need for life.

Life and the future can turn into darkness in an instant, okay?

Jia Paer has a very disciplined and comprehensive diet, which must include meat, meat, meat, with the occasional vegetable to soothe his throat.

As for his claim of "going out to find some equipment and then continuing to explore the dungeon," that was just a lie. Given his status and position, no one would doubt that he left the dungeon just to satisfy his appetite, just as no one would doubt that the truth behind an idol pausing his performances due to illness was that he went home to give birth to twins.

"Leon, take care."

After giving his apprentice a brief instruction, Jia Paer walked into the portal, with Tu Erqi and the others following behind him. Everyone had some things to take care of back home.

When they saw that half of Jia Paer's body had entered the portal, not only Leon, but also the entire Strategy Team behind him, suppressed their laughter and took a few steps back to make room for him.

The Sword Saint stepped into the portal, but everyone believed he would return soon.

Sure enough, before Luo Jieer, at the back of the line, even stepped into the portal, he suddenly bumped into someone's head and stumbled backward.

"Who, who is it?" Luo Jieer exclaimed, clutching his forehead, only to see a rare sight when he looked up.

Jia Paer had already walked out, came back.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, isn't it said that each person can only enter the dungeon once a day? How did he get in again?

This place has no limit on the number of people, no time limit, and no limit on the number of times you can enter.

No, no, that's not right.

He shook his head; what he should be most concerned about now was why the Sword Saint had come back.

The next second, not only Jia Paer, but also He De Si and Tu Erqi returned.

Aside from He De Si, whose expression was obscured by a hood, the other two stared at the portal with complicated expressions.

Jia Paer took a deep breath and stepped into the portal again.

Then they came back.

Repeat the inhalation, then walk in again, then walk back, until finally only half of your body is inside.

And Tu Erqi was doing the same thing, with a 100% synchronization rate with Jia Paer.

Seeing the two of them looking like they were contemplating life, Leon finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, slapping his thigh.

He was a professional adventurer and rarely laughed out loud unless he really couldn't help it.

What could be more delightful than seeing the famous Sword Saint looking completely bewildered?

No, absolutely not!

Hearing the burst of laughter behind him, Jia Paer didn't feel embarrassed at all, because what he was going through was just too outrageous.

Stepping out of the portal, he didn't see the bustling ancient city Zane Dungeon as usual, but rather...

A barren, yellow wasteland where no grass grows?

The vast open space was so barren that not even a few weeds grew there; one could only see a glimpse of green in the distance by looking as far as the eye could see.

This place looks like it has been the site of a horrific battle; the intense aura of death prevents even the most resilient weeds from growing here.

And this place looks somewhat familiar.

Jia Paer rubbed his eyes and saw the large crater left by the meteorite impact on the ground, as well as the deep sword marks.

It's confirmed, this is the ruins of Val City!

He and the professor were the ones who caused the meteorite and the sword mark, how could he forget that!

The ruins of Val City are not surprising, but it is surprising why one would arrive here after coming out of the portal in the Zane Dungeon.

"Yes, why?" Tu Erqi murmured to herself, this was the first time she had ever seen such a situation.

Has the Zane Dungeon expanded to this extent?

Amidst the shock, Jia Paer had another concern.

The distance from Val City to Bede City is less than the distance he would have taken from Lake Liurnia back to the Firelink Shrine!

"What exactly is going on?"

He glanced at the laughing crowd behind him, and his intuition told him that these people must know something.

"Hahaha," Leon laughed loudly, because he had the same expression when he first went out, so when he saw such an expression on other people, especially on his respected and always serious and reliable teacher, he really couldn't hold back.

"Bang!"

Leon only calmed down after the Sword Saint punched a huge, cartoon-style bump on his head, wiping away tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes as he said:

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't hold it in anymore, haha."

"#" Jia Paer's forehead veins bulged. "Still laughing?"

"I'm not laughing anymore, I'm not laughing anymore."

Leon waved his hands repeatedly, asking Delu to cast Tranquilizing Spell on him, before calmly saying:

"We don't know exactly how this happened either. In fact, the reason we found this place is because we were teleported to the nearby Resurrection Room ruins after we died."

The ruins of the Resurrection Room? How could there be Resurrection Room in Val City? There are no dungeons here, so what use would Resurrection Room be?

Each time an adventurer dies, they are teleported away by Teleportation Crystal. The reason they are teleported precisely to the Resurrection Room is because of something called a "Crystal Pillar Stone," which can be thought of as a coordinate. Within its attractive range, all Teleportation Crystal will be attracted by it.

It is a standard feature of every Resurrection Room; without it, it cannot be considered Resurrection Room.

This simple and straightforward thing was used in amazing ways by a group of people with extraordinary wisdom decades ago.

There was once a popular dungeon that attracted many adventurers with its generous rewards, which was a good thing for the surrounding towns.

However, there are two cities next to it!

The two cities are not far from the underground city, so the nobles of the two cities set up their own Resurrection Room and Crystal Pillar Stone in order to compete for the Resurrection Room business. The more Crystal Pillar Stone a city has, the more attractive it is to the Teleportation Crystal.

This led both sides to continuously expand the scale of the Crystal Pillar Stone, and each time an adventurer revived, it was like opening a blind box; no one knew which city they would revive in next.

Finally, the adventurers, enraged, rose up and demolished both Resurrection Room.

This led to the development of the "one pillar, one crystal" scheme, which, simply put, binds the Teleportation Crystal to a specific Crystal Pillar Stone. Unless it exceeds the effective range of the Crystal Pillar Stone, it cannot be stolen by other Resurrection Room.

However, such Teleportation Crystal are more expensive than ordinary ones, since they require special processing.

After Earl Ka Rong came to power, he issued a subsidy for adventurers to purchase Teleportation Crystal, but only for ordinary crystals.

Anyway, there are no other Resurrection Room around here competing for business, and using ordinary crystals won't teleport you to an unfamiliar place.

"The previous Earl Val and Earl of Bede have always been at odds. He came up with a dirty trick to use the Resurrection Room and the Crystal Pillar Stone to rob adventurers from the Zane Dungeon."

"That's so stupid," Tu Erqi couldn't help but comment sharply, noting that doing so would provoke a strong backlash from adventurers.

"Yes, it was stupid, so the plan was abandoned before it could be implemented. Later, it was discovered that the previous Earl of Val was born with intellectual disabilities due to inbreeding."

Leon shrugged. "But the Crystal Pillar Stone wasn't taken away; instead, it was buried underground. Fortunately, it wasn't destroyed in the recent battle."

This explanation seems to make sense why they would resurrect nearby, but there are still many questions.

The first question is, isn't the Resurrection Room in Bede City the closest to the Zane Dungeon? It's impossible that the Crystal Pillar Stone in Val City is the one that attracts people. Could it be that the Lake Liurnia region is geographically far away from Bede City?

The second question—

"Who resurrected you?" Tu Erqi asked.

"Mr. Na Ba, he happens to be conducting research near the ruins of Val City."

Na Ba? Who is this guy whose fighting power sounds like it's at least in the four digits?

"It was him!"

Tu Erqi looked helpless. "He told me he had something to do and was going out, but I didn't expect him to come here."

Na Ba, the last of the four magic professors who came to Bede City, specializes in resurrection and large-scale offensive magic.

Leon and his companions were quite lucky to encounter Na Ba and be resurrected by him.

Thank you, Professor Na Ba, and thank you, Count Val, the previous Earl.

So what should we do now?

Luo Jieer gasped for breath as he asked, sensing that things were spiraling out of control.

I thought it was just a normal dungeon exploration, but what has it turned into? How did it suddenly involve Val City?

Let me think about it.

Jia Paer rubbed his temples and closed his eyes in deep thought.

"I need to think about it carefully."

Just as he was lost in thought, Malu suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings coming from afar. She looked up and sure enough, it was the Glintstone Dragon Smarag.

However, with the appearance of the Glintstone Dragon, faint purple lights appeared in the dragon's nest, which were the Academy Glintstone Key.

Exactly two hours had passed since Jia Paer and his men took the first key!