At Fog Gate Plaza, when the Abyss-Sniffing Serpent Witch Dela arrived alone within the Mist, her first impression of the place was novelty.
This was her first time seeing such a unique Dungeon, like a theme park, with Adventurers conducting all sorts of adventures in an orderly fashion under the Mist’s arrangements…
Unfortunately, the Mist’s recommended adventure Level was only Second Rank.
If it were a bit higher, Dela might have been more interested.
On her way here, she kept hearing Adventurers complain about how difficult and treacherous the Mist’s Dungeons were, but even more so, she heard about how great the special Limited-time Events opened by the Mist were, and how everyone should hurry up and open Treasure Chests.
A special Limited-time Event? This Mist Dungeon has something like that too?
‘So this Mist Dungeon has stuff like that as well?’
Dela thought, growing even more intrigued by this Mist Dungeon.
Too bad she was Sixth Rank… However, her purpose for entering the Mist this time wasn’t to experience it, but to try and find that Dragon Egg the Hodgson Family had lost.
Five minutes later, Dela stood directly in the center of Fog Gate Plaza and flicked out her serpent’s tongue, instantly absorbing the vast and complex pheromones in the area.
At the same time, this action attracted the attention of many nearby Adventurers.
Most of the Adventurers in the Mist were native-born citizens of Deya, so this was their first time seeing an Eastern witch’s attire like Dela’s, and they were all curious and intrigued:
“Look, which country is that outfit from? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“Deya City is really coming up in the world. The number of foreign women I’ve seen lately just keeps growing.”
“Could she be from that island in the far east? I heard the people from a place called ‘Sunrise Isle’ dress just like her.”
At that moment, a well-traveled female Adventurer recognized Dela as an Eastern Beastman from Sunrise Isle.
Sunrise Isle sits at the far eastern edge of the Mist Domain Continent, a land of tolerance where all kinds of races intermingle, and it was a large Eastern aesthetic Map introduced in the game’s 6.0 update.
For PvE players, the monster balancing there was a complete mess.
The difficulty and rewards of Minor Monsters and Elites were completely disproportionate, and Mechanic-type Monsters were everywhere.
You could say Sunrise Isle was a big stage—if you’re a masochist, feel free to come.
It wasn’t until several balance patches later that the place went from disgusting to somewhat disgusting…
For Fashion players, Sunrise Isle was a great place to take beautiful screenshots.
Its art design saved its atrocious monster stats and mechanics, making it the perfect spot for most players to AFK and enjoy the scenery…
Due to the large number of Adventurers at Fog Gate Plaza, Dela spent quite some time analyzing most of the pheromones she had collected.
At the same time, she quickly detected a very familiar scent from the vast amount of information!
She immediately followed the source of the scent and turned around, spotting a petite figure in a hood followed by several masked men, as well as a lavishly dressed girl wearing a mask?
Dela didn’t recognize the lavishly dressed girl or the group of men, but the petite Priestling leading them was all too familiar to her.
……
The Ninth Saintess? Why is she here all of a sudden?! A chill ran down Dela’s spine.
If she had to pick the creatures she feared most in the world, one of them would definitely be the Ninth Saintess!
Without hesitation, she chose to distance herself from the Ninth Saintess, leaving Fog Gate Plaza alone and venturing deep into the Mist’s Free Exploration Area.
……
They said the Mist had a peculiar trait of making people lose their way.
But for someone of the Sixth Rank, that trait shouldn’t apply, right?
Yet just as Dela was thinking this while stepping into the Mist, the very next second she found herself completely Lost within it, and the scent information she could gather was few and far between!
Dela showed a hint of shock:
“Huh?! Even a Sixth Rank… gets affected…?”
That shouldn’t be right, right?
Normally, if an Adventurer’s Rank exceeds the Level restriction of a Dungeon, they shouldn’t be affected by its special mechanics anymore, right?
Could it be that this Mist Dungeon’s actual Level is above Sixth Rank?!
But… everyone I saw on the way here was basically around Second Rank too!
Dela couldn’t understand it. She just suddenly had a feeling that this Mist Dungeon ran deep, very, very deep…
“I want to leave now, but… how do I leave…”
…..
Meanwhile, at Fog Gate Plaza.
Under Truth’s guidance, Dilen and the others experienced the uniqueness of the Mist Dungeon firsthand for the first time, immediately recognizing the exceptional commercial value of Fog Gate Plaza!
As the hub connecting the Mist to various special zones, the number of Adventurers here was astonishingly high, giving Dilen the illusion that all the High-Rank and Low-Rank Adventurers in Deya were gathered here.
Forget buying weapons and items—just setting up a stall to sell snacks would net a fortune!
This made him ask: “Is this Mist Dungeon… really that attractive?”
Truth replied calmly without turning around:
“Based on the Adventurers’ performance over the past few months… yes, the Mist Dungeon is exactly that attractive to Low-Rank Adventurers. And as the Mist’s reputation spreads, more and more Low-Rank Adventurers will come here. Unfortunately, you all don’t seem to meet the Mist’s standards. Currently, the Mist’s challenge Dungeons only accept Adventurers of Second Rank or below.”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t experience it yourself; as long as it can attract Adventurers, that’s enough. But…”
Dilen first exchanged glances with his companions behind him and nodded, then cleared his throat and said seriously to Truth:
“Holy Maiden, this Mist Dungeon you’ve shown us is indeed very novel, and I can see its commercial value is enormous, but its fatal flaw is that it’s only a Second Rank Dungeon!”
“An extremely novel Second Rank Dungeon is hardly appealing to Wangsheng City. So, Holy Maiden, if you just want to exchange Diplomatic Relations and the development rights of the Mist Dungeon with us for a Legendary Grade weapon, it’s really…”
“Wait, hold on!”
Truth turned around and replied seriously: “I never said I’d trade you the development rights of the Mist! My only request from start to finish has been to allow Wangsheng City access to the Mist’s Market. As for the development rights, don’t even think about it. Besides, I haven’t even finished introducing everything about the Mist to you yet…”
“You should have heard on the way here, right? The Mist has its own unique update mechanism. Every so often, it updates new content for Adventurers to challenge and collect.”
“Yes, we have a general understanding.” Dilen nodded, listening quietly to Truth’s additional explanations about the Mist.
“Then do you also know… that this current Second Rank Mist Dungeon was only First Rank last month?”
“Huh? This… we’re not too clear on that… Wait?!” Dilen seemed to catch on, quickly asking: “Holy Maiden, do you mean that this Mist Dungeon will…”
“That’s right! What I mean is, the Mist undergoes large-scale updates every so often, raising its Rank! I estimate the next Rank-up to Third Rank will happen within two to three months… Well, it might even be doable within a month.”
‘I’ll probably reach Third Rank soon too,’ Truth thought.
“Ah! Is that true?!” Dilen’s breathing suddenly grew heavy. Suppressing his excitement and doubt, he asked: “Then… then what Rank will this Mist Dungeon eventually reach?”
Truth pondered for a moment: “Hmm… at the very least, it’ll reach King Rank, for sure. I just don’t know how long that will take. Maybe five years? Maybe ten? Maybe fifty…”
“You… you’re not deceiving us, are you?!” Dilen asked earnestly.
A large Second Rank Dungeon was worthless to Wangsheng City, but a large King Rank Dungeon was a different story entirely—this was top-tier resources that every faction would fight tooth and nail over!
Never mind King Rank; if the Mist could just reach Intermediate Rank in the future, Dilen would be willing to invest.
That would greatly alleviate Wangsheng City’s problem of having too many Adventurers.
And if it could reach Eighth Rank, then using a Legendary Grade weapon to join forces wouldn’t be out of the question either.
But if there really was a large King Rank Dungeon, Wangsheng City would be willing to exchange two Legendary Items for it!
Unfortunately, it was just wishful thinking, because by then the North Empire would definitely offer three or even four Legendary Items to trade.
……
Because a large King Rank Dungeon can produce Epic Grade items, and occasionally even drop Legendary Grade items—it’s a cornucopia.
As long as you can keep clearing the Dungeon successfully, it’s only a matter of time before you make back your investment!
“Deceive you?” Truth spread her hands and asked back: “Why would I use my identity as the Holy Maiden to deceive you? It’s not worth it. Forget it, I can’t be bothered to explain any more. I’ve said what I needed to say. The rest is up to you whether you’re willing or not. If you’re not, I can always find other partners. For the remaining time, feel free to wander around and learn about the Mist on your own.”
After speaking, Truth gestured for the group to disperse like a tourist Guide, then said to Dilisha, who had been curiously observing the Mist from the back of the group: “Dilisha, come with me. I’ll take you to do a little ‘test’ for good friends.”
“Oh, okay…” Dilisha happily followed Truth into the vast Mist…
“City Lord, is it really alright for the Miss to just follow the Ninth Saintess in there…?” One of the attendants behind Dilen whispered in reminder.
“No worries. Don’t forget, the Ninth Saintess has two Saint’s Shadow Guards by her side. If anything, following the Ninth Saintess is the safest thing you can do.”