"Have you heard? A dungeon appeared in Val City!"
"Where? Are you sure you didn't get that wrong?"
"No mistake—Val City, absolutely real! Luluwo from the Luluwo Team—no, the Skyrim Team—was shouting about it in the plaza with a megaphone just now!"
"And shouting through a megaphone proves anything?"
"Hey, are you trying to argue with me on purpose? Come on—they're even showing footage! Let's go watch!"
Inside the tavern, a group of half-drunk adventurers staggered to their feet and dragged each other toward the central plaza.
The plaza was packed with people.
A huge, eye-catching notice board stood in the middle, and in front of it burned a large bonfire, intentionally modeled after the bonfires in the Sein Dungeon. A railing had even been set up around it.
Apparently, the bonfire had already become some kind of symbolic icon.
The notice board itself had grown several times larger than before.
It was now covered with dense layers of information.
Compared to the early days after the Sein Dungeon's mutation—when the board was updated almost every moment—the pace of new information had slowed considerably.
Now the discoveries were more detail-oriented.
Which meant that the major discoveries had already been uncovered.
What remained were small details waiting to be dug out.
How small?
Things like:
"The Farron Undead Legion hits harder with the right hand than the left."
"After the Ghrus monster's horn is broken, it loses its balance."
But the most notable change was that the left third of the board had been specially reserved for a new section titled:
[Monster Weapon Crafting Formulas]
One of the most prominent formulas read:
15 Blue Bear Beast Fangs + 2 Blue Bear Beast Claws + 3 Blue Bear Beast Skull Plates + a decent weapon + incense prayer = Blue Bear Weapon Series
Contributor's note:
Increasing the number of fangs and claws improves sharpness.
But using too many may cause forging failure or produce strange negative effects.
A quick glance showed that every entry followed the same pattern:
Combine certain monster materials → obtain a specific weapon or armor.
What exactly were these things?
Why were adventurers currently more obsessed with this system than with endless roguelike runs?
This was the equipment forging system Wade had previously mentioned for the Forest Region.
Two hidden NPCs existed there:
Weapon Master Felyne
Armor Master Felyne
They lived in different tree hollows and had to be discovered by exploring the map.
Once found, adventurers could hand over monster materials collected from slain monsters.
After several hours of forging—
They would receive weapons or armor.
Since the discovery of the two Felyne masters, their popularity had skyrocketed.
Adventurers immediately began researching crafting formulas.
The Felynes would accept any monster materials players handed over and forge them all into a single piece of equipment.
So factors such as:
Quantity of materials
Body parts used
Material quality
—all influenced the final result.
For example:
More fangs → higher sharpness but lower durability
Shells and scales → increased defense but heavier weight
Some people wondered:
"Blacksmiths outside the dungeon can also forge with monster materials. Why bother with these unpredictable Felynes?"
Because the weapons and armor forged by the Felynes came with special combat skills.
And adventurers were absolutely addicted to them.
For example—a skill called "Dragon Ascension" (a Helmbreaker-style attack) had recently begun circulating among a small circle of adventurers who forged a strange weapon called a katana.
This weapon and skill had an almost magical influence.
Those who possessed it couldn't resist the urge to perform Dragon Ascension attacks.
Every morning, the moment they woke up, they rushed to the Forest Region to practice.
Besides Dragon Ascension, other skills had also begun appearing among adventurers:
Super Discharge
Demon Mode
All of them came from monster equipment forged by the Felynes.
Normal blacksmiths could never create such abilities.
And in terms of craftsmanship—
The cats completely outclassed the city's blacksmiths.
There were also restrictions on materials.
After defeating a monster, 1–5 glowing body parts would appear.
Only these glowing parts could be dismantled and used for forging.
Non-glowing parts were rejected by the Felynes.
Adventurers had to carry those out of the dungeon and sell them for money instead.
To obtain a weapon that suited them perfectly, many adventurers spent entire days farming monster materials in the forest.
They carefully experimented with different combinations to achieve the best results.
A small mistake could easily produce useless junk equipment.
And monsters in the Sein Dungeon only respawned the next day after being killed.
Typical elite monsters like Blue Bear Beasts or Great Jagras spawned two or three times per day.
Higher-tier elites like Rathian or Nargacuga appeared only once a day, and their type was random.
But the Bazelgeuse, acting like the dungeon's police officer, was always around.
You could always count on it to show up.
From any angle, this forging system was extremely grind-heavy.
If it were in a normal video game, players would probably curse the developers to death.
But adventurers had plenty of time—and plenty of hope.
Right now, even failed equipment from the Felyne masters could sell.
Why?
Because the weapons looked cool.
Even hanging them on the wall made great decoration.
Some beautifully failed creations were already becoming popular among collectors.
Given how popular the forging system had become, Wade briefly considered adding an upgrade system:
+1, +2, tier enhancements, and so on.
With higher upgrades having higher failure chances—and failures destroying the weapon.
Then he quickly abandoned the idea.
If he actually implemented that…
He'd probably get cursed by everyone's entire family tree.
He couldn't handle that level of karma.
"Hey, look! There's a new formula for Umbrella Bird weapons. Want to write it down?"
"Write your head! Didn't we come to see the Skyrim Team?"
"Oh right! They're right under the notice board—projecting footage on that white cloth!"
The Skyrim Team was the new name of Luluwo's group.
There were many rumors about the name change.
Some said it was because of Leon.
Others said too many teams were calling themselves "new Raid teams," making the name meaningless.
Either way, the name Skyrim sounded impressive.
It made people imagine dragons flying in the sky and snow-covered plains.
…Wait.
Why did the name "Skyrim" make people think about snowy plains?
"Everyone, look!" Luluwo shouted through an amplification spell.
"This is the terrifying monster we discovered in Liurnia of the Lakes!"
The crowd was already watching her closely.
She didn't actually need the magical megaphone.
"Because this monster was so terrifying, our scout could only hide in the grass and tremble. But thanks to his professional spirit, he bravely recorded this precious footage for everyone!"
Ding… ding… ding…
An eerie bell sound echoed.
Hoofbeats followed, each step striking at the audience's nerves.
The video showed a low-angle view, mostly blocked by tangled plants.
Only a small opening revealed the scene.
But that actually made everyone stare even harder.
Some people were already sweating.
Something emerged from the fog.
A thin, skeletal body—
It looked like a horse.
The narrow view made the details unclear.
But people could clearly see two withered feet crouched on the horse's back.
Something… or someone… was sitting there.
And it radiated pure evil.
The hoofbeats slowly faded.
The tension eased.
People began relaxing.
Then suddenly—
DING DING DING!
The bells rang violently.
The camera turned toward the sound—
And instantly a hideous ghost face lunged straight at the lens.
The footage ended.
A chorus of screams erupted across the plaza.
It felt far too real.
"These guys really chose the wrong profession," Wade muttered from within the crowd.
"They should be horror movie directors. It's just a ghost rider, but they filmed it like a final boss."
He looked around.
"Wait… did a few people actually faint?"
On stage, Luluwo looked extremely satisfied with the audience's reaction.
She raised the megaphone again.
"Everyone! What I just showed you is only a tiny glimpse of Liurnia's horrors."
"Did it scare you?"
"You scared the eggs out of me!" shouted a bird-type beastman.
"Haha! Getting used to fear is good training for adventurers," Luluwo replied smoothly.
"But don't let fear stop you."
"I won't talk about vague things like courage."
"I only need one sentence to make you willingly explore the new region."
"What sentence?!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Wade glanced over.
It was Belto, one of her teammates.
Ah.
A planted hype man.
Luluwo dramatically swung her cloak.
"The answer is—"
"Huge rewards! Everyone can become a mage!"
The projection suddenly changed.
A strange adventurer appeared on the screen.
Who was that?
"That's Wansi!" Belto shouted.
"The guy who could never learn magic no matter how hard he tried!"
"His magical talent is worse than even the Sword Saint's!"
People suddenly "remembered" him.
"Oh yeah! That guy!"
"Right!"
"Now witness a miracle!"
Luluwo raised her arm.
In the video, Wansi removed the Apprentice Sorting Hat from his head.
Then—
Flames ignited in his hand.
Fire magic.
Real fire magic.
"That's incredible!"
Excited voices filled the crowd.
When people saw someone who could never learn magic suddenly cast a spell—
The plaza erupted in excitement.
Even people who normally didn't care about magic were tempted.
If entering the new region meant learning magic, everyone wanted to try.
When the crowd's excitement reached its peak, Luluwo smiled.
Plan successful.
She waved her cloak again.
A huge stack of small booklets appeared on stage.
"Dear friends!" she shouted.
"Today you've been blessed by the Goddess of Luck!"
"I just happen to have the brand-new 'Raya Lucaria Magic Classroom Beginner Route Guide'!"
"It teaches you step-by-step how to obtain magic!"
"Limited to 300 copies! First come, first served!"
"Miss it—and you'll become the chosen of the Goddess of Bad Luck!"
Adventurers rushed toward the stage.
The Skyrim Team members below looked like they had finally completed a mission.
Watching the scene, Wade shook his head.
"These people feel more like transmigrators than I do."
"They even invented selling strategy courses."
He laughed.
"But since you helped bring me such a huge wave of players…"
"If you ever visit the Gourmet Zone, I'll treat you to a feast."
He squeezed into the crowd and bought a booklet himself.
The guide was actually very detailed.
It explained:
How to obtain the Transfer Certificate
How to use the Apprentice Hat
The limitations of temporary magic
And how traveling to Liurnia allowed permanent training
With this level of promotion, the Val Dungeon was about to become extremely popular.
As Wade flipped through the booklet, suddenly—
A strong floral fragrance spread beneath his feet.
Wildflowers were sprouting between the cracks of the plaza tiles.
And they kept growing.
Soon the entire square was covered in greenery.
"What's going on?!" the plaza manager shouted angrily.
"Who's using growth magic here? Cleaning this up will be a nightmare!"
"Look over there! They did it!"
Someone pointed.
Wade followed the direction.
A group of elegant figures approached the crowd.
Green hair.
Pointed ears.
Ah.
Elves.