This expedition into the dungeon finally came to a successful conclusion just before the mana tide arrived.
After distributing the loot, Hierophant put the World Tree Boat back into his cards, and everyone exited the dungeon together.
【Ding! Congratulations to Lan Qingyou, David Angel, Gu Xiaobei, Esmeralda, Li Huai, Vivian Nadasdy Bathory, Ingrid, and Nemo for completely clearing the dungeon 'Undead Bay'. The dungeon is now closed. Please keep up the good work.】
Once everyone had left the dungeon carrying their Bubble Beads, the dungeon portal slowly closed, followed by the voice of the world consciousness.
“What's going on! Did they just gut a dungeon?”
“If a dungeon closes entirely, that must mean it's been cleared, right?”
“Holy crap, look at their levels! Every single one of them has reached Level 15!”
“Can one dungeon really give that much experience? This is unbelievable!”
“Then they must have made a killing, right?”
“Who knows, but most likely.”
“I went to a dungeon with a team before, and there were quite a few mines inside. My squad is still hauling stuff out of there now.”
“Isn't that just printing money?”
“More than that. My squad has already replaced all our equipment once over.”
“So jealous.”
“Stop being jealous. Right now, I just want to know what kind of good stuff the Witch and the others got for clearing the dungeon.”
“Wait, now that you mention it, I looked at those names. It seems they're all from that Tarot Villa.”
“Are they in the same guild? That makes sense then. I bet all the rewards are being kept internal.”
“God only knows. But I heard Tarot Villa and the Supreme Council have a lot of cooperation. Wasn't that Star Dragon King Essence Blood from before the best example?”
“They've clung to a real powerhouse. Now I'm even more jealous.”
“Is that so? I think it's hard to say who's clinging to whose coattails.”
“Does the guy above have some inside info?”
“It's not really inside info. I just heard the Supreme Council took on over ten years of debt just to buy those portions of Star Dragon King Essence Blood.”
“Huh? The Council? In debt? For over ten years? Why does that sound so niche?”
“After all, it's something that can evolve over a hundred thousand people. So they have to provide the Witch with a batch of materials every week.”
“A batch every week?”
“Envy and jealousy aren't enough to describe this anymore. The Witch is making money while lying down.”
“Haha, then join our exploration team! Our team was assembled specifically to find ancient bloodlines, and we have many excellent members.”
“Really? Can I join too?”
“Of course. As long as we find an ancient bloodline, we split everything equally.”
“I want to join!”
“Me too! How do you recruit? Are there any other benefits?”
“Does such an organization really exist? Count me in too!”
The world channel was incredibly lively, but it didn't have much to do with Lan Qingyou and the others. After exiting the dungeon and hearing the world consciousness's announcement, they immediately hopped onto Hierophant's bamboo raft.
Although Hierophant now had the World Tree Boat, the thing hadn't been 'debugged' yet—meaning it hadn't undergone a full inspection and been converted into a shelter—so it couldn't be used just yet.
“Well then, Hierophant, we'll be heading out first.”
“Alright, off you go. I need to hurry back to the shore and secure the anchor. Otherwise, I won't be able to withstand the mana tide when it hits.”
Since the Main Array was originally on Hierophant's bamboo raft, everyone bid him farewell after boarding.
Hierophant saw them off with a beaming smile.
No joke, a World Item—and it was a ship, the thing he was most familiar with. After this trip, it could be said that everyone had made a massive profit.
“Gu Xiaobei, are you coming back with me directly, or are you going home first and then I'll come pick you up?” Lan Qingyou asked Gu Xiaobei as the others departed one by one.
“I'll go to your place first and then you can send me back.”
Gu Xiaobei waved her hands around, her eyes occasionally darting toward the Magic Broom beneath Lan Qingyou's seat.
“Could it be...”
“Huh?”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“N-nonsense! How could a grown adult like me be afraid of heights?”
As if she had been found out, the frequency of Gu Xiaobei's hand-waving increased.
“Is that so? Well, that's good then.”
Without exposing her, Lan Qingyou nodded and flew over to Hierophant, handing him a folded piece of paper.
“What's this?”
The confused Hierophant took the paper and looked at it.
“These are some details about the World Tree Boat that I identified. Take a look so you have an idea of what you're dealing with.”
“So the name of that ship is the World Tree Boat. Quite fitting... hiss...”
When Hierophant saw the enchantments, blessings, and functions of the World Tree Boat recorded on the paper, he couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
Among them, his favorite attribute was the 'Sea's Favor' blessing, which ensured the ship would never capsize no matter how large the winds and waves were.
“Is... Is this for real?”
The old man Hierophant couldn't help but look up at Lan Qingyou blankly.
“It's real. At least, that's what my Magic Eye identified. As for whether there's anything even my Magic Eye couldn't pick up, I wouldn't know. After all, a ship's true quality is only known to the helmsman once it's actually sailing on the sea.”
“True enough.”
Hierophant agreed wholeheartedly with Lan Qingyou's words.
As someone who spent years sea fishing, he naturally understood that with something like a ship, you had to get your hands on it to know exactly where any issues might be.
Lan Qingyou and Gu Xiaobei then waved goodbye to Hierophant and were the last group to step into the teleportation circle.
...
Flash!
A blue light swept over the paper teleportation circle.
【High Priestess】 Vivian slowly opened her eyes.
What met her gaze was her own Gothic-style room, decorated primarily in black with dark accents like beige and deep red. Standing nearby was a white-haired housekeeper dressed in a black bodycon skirt with golden accents, white gloves, and black stockings with tall boots.
On the housekeeper's shoulder was a black single-shoulder cape embroidered with a white four-leaf clover.
The woman looked incredibly capable.
“Welcome back to your castle, Your Eminence.”
Upon seeing Vivian appear, the housekeeper lightly pinched a corner of her long skirt and performed a bow.
“Lilith, haven't I told you not to call me 'Your Eminence'? It makes me sound like some kind of religious leader,” Vivian said, rolling her eyes at the woman before walking straight toward the high-backed chair carved with a four-leaf clover.
“Phew—finally, some peace and quiet.”
Sitting in the chair, Vivian let out a long sigh of relief.
To be honest, she had gained a lot from this trip.
Not only had her level gone up several times, but she had also obtained many good items and pieces of information.
But truth be told, she was exhausted.
By nature, she was a shut-in who didn't much enjoy interacting with others. Facing so many people at once had inevitably made her feel a bit uneasy.
Fortunately, everyone at the villa was quite fun. Spending several months together had helped her lose that sense of fear toward strangers.
During the days of communication and interaction that followed, she had even become good friends with Gu Xiaobei, who was around the same age as her.
“Oh, right. Take these things to the storehouse. Give them to whoever can use them, and just remember to register who takes what.”
Rate on N.U.
