More than 100 meters tall, requiring a dozen people to encircle its trunk. Even such towering giant trees inevitably have sporadic tree holes of varying sizes, resembling scars on a giant's body.
Kane sat in the tree hole of the giant tree, slowly recovering his physical strength. Upon learning that the monsters in the Dungeon might drop equipment, his hunter's instincts began to stir.
Knowing these plant creatures are easily ignited due to their constitution, he targeted them for slaughter.
Including the plant creatures he hunted upon entering, he has now taken down 25 of them. Unexpectedly, among them were 3 elite monsters that could shoot arrows.
Fortunately, Kane was prepared for encountering special individuals when he started hunting, and he managed to give these plant creatures a free cremation without any real danger.
While hunting, he also confirmed the characteristic that monsters in the Dungeon drop equipment. But apart from the initial wrist guards, only a long-range elite monster dropped an item, the rest were Crystal Cores. However, the cores can recharge Magic Stones, so it's fair to say these plant creatures are walking treasures.
He raised his hand to look at the gloves with simple wood patterns, which was the new Magic Equipment he obtained.
[Giant Wood Fist]
[Leather Gloves]
[Color: Copper]
[Attributes]
[Primary Strength Enhancement - Palm]
[Weak Fire Resistance - Palm]
[Description: Originally just ordinary deer leather gloves, they were blessed by giant wood, shedding their mundane form]
This equipment made Kane's triple shot less difficult.
He waved away the information display.
Taking out the prepared deer jerky from the bag, one bite of meat, one sip of water, he began quietly recovering his physical strength.
The hunt by the wolf packs left Kane with little prepared food, and the Dungeon's navigable area is not vast. Apart from the forest of giant trees and a narrow plain encircling it, all other areas are covered in mist.
With his enthusiasm for collecting equipment waning, this became an issue Kane had to consider.
The forest only housed various plant creatures, with no signs of any animals, not even bitten plants.
Thus, he had to find a way out as quickly as possible, or risk dying of starvation in ignominy here.
Lacking a thorough understanding of the Dungeon left Kane at a loss. He could only act based on his understanding of dungeons from previous games: defeat the boss at the end, reach a place to pass the level, obtain a crucial item, or accumulate a certain progress bar.
These were the methods Kane could think of, so while hunting, he kept Eagle Eye constantly activated to not miss any unusual magic power reactions.
This also forced Kane to frequently find a place to rest and recover his physical strength and magic power.
...
Having regained some magic power, Kane crawled out of the tree hole.
The urgency of food made him no longer waste energy cremating plant creatures.
White, tough Spider Silk shot from Kane's wrist, connecting to the tree crown 100 meters off the ground. Using the Spider Silk to swing between the giant trees, thanks to the height and sparsity of the trees, he could maintain speed without alarming the plant creatures, searching for anomalies.
The airflow brushing his cheeks felt piercing but not cold. The faint scent of wood in the air, elegant yet discomfiting.
The deeper he ventured into the forest, the more obvious this contradictory experience became.
The plant creatures patrolling around became fewer and fewer.
Suddenly spotting something, Kane stopped on a branch, his Eagle Eye fixated on a crooked, withered tree in the clearing ahead.
In a forest of healthy, straight trees, the crooked withered tree was particularly conspicuous, not to mention the massive copper-colored magic power group hidden within it.
No plant creatures wandered around either, with their keen perception, they instinctively avoided this place.
A faint green glow floated on the ground around the withered tree, giving a sense of abundant vitality and joy.
Harmonious yet eerie.
At Kane's first sight of the withered tree, he received a message from the Mist. Having experienced it once, he wasn't startled this time.
The message indicated that if Kane killed the monster inside the withered tree, it would count as a successful exploration. He would receive a first-clear reward from the Mist, though he could also choose to abandon it now, but would forfeit first-clear eligibility.
Kane breathed a sigh of relief. Since he had a way out, there's no reason not to try.
However, there's no rush. The cores from 23 Waldri are about to fill the next Magic Stone, just need to kill 3 or 4 more plant creatures.
After extracting new skills and recovering physical strength, it wouldn't be too late to tackle the Dungeon's final push.
With this in mind, Kane swiftly retraced his steps.
En route, he hunted a few plant creatures, and the cores they dropped filled the copper Magic Stone in his hand.
Returning to the tree hole where he previously rested.
Standing at the mouth of the tree hole, he surveyed the surroundings, using Spider Silk to weave a net around, creating a protective perimeter for resting.
Looking at his creation before him, Kane clapped his hands in satisfaction, finally able to rest with peace of mind.
Crawling into the tree hole, he used Spider Silk to seal the entrance, then wove a web in mid-air, flipping onto it with a contented sound, "I'm starting to feel more and more like a Spider Demon."
He summoned the system.
A giant, ancient book condensed in the air, flipping open the Book of Adventure, placing it on the Skill Extraction Array.
[Extract Skill]
[Would you like to use a Copper Magic Stone to extract a skill?]
[Yes][No]
"Yes"
[Skill Extraction in progress·······]
The array slowly rotated, the Magic Stone in Kane's hand disappeared, replaced by a stone tablet with glowing patterns.
[Name: Material Transformation - Steel]
[Category: Active Skill]
[Color: Copper]
[Explanation: Consumes magic power to transform the material of an object to "steel". The hardness and duration of the steel material depend on the amount of magic power, though with a certain material limit.]
[Description: Reiss Horn, a magic researcher, said, "A steel rod may cost more than 10 gold, while a wooden one might only cost 10 copper. You know which to choose, right?"]
To turn an object into steel?
Kane dragged the Skill Stone into his remaining skill grid, looking at all the skill grids filled, feeling satisfied instantly.
Kane checked the other page of the skill section.
[Skill Grid 1: Eagle Eye]
[Skill Grid 2: Spider Nest Weaver]
[Skill Grid 3: Material Transformation - Steel]
[Skill Warehouse: Empty]
He's officially taken the first step toward greatness.
Kane drew an arrow from the quiver, using his left hand to apply "Material Transformation" on the arrow shaft. A light blue flow of magic gently adhered to the shaft, and the wooden arrow shaft gradually took on the metallic luster of steel.
Examining the arrow, transformed from wood to steel, he held it in one hand, feeling the change in weight. Kane was amazed to find that the material change did not affect the original weight, but he could imbue it with the weight of steel if desired.
Whether the material transformation affects the original weight is up to Kane's decision.
Using both hands, he tried to bend the arrow, and the strength boost from his equipment slowly bent it.
Such hardness was extremely satisfying, especially since it didn't affect the weight.
Kane grew increasingly pleased with this skill, now to see how long the minimum magic consumption could maintain its effect.
After about 5 minutes, the arrow gradually reverted to its wooden structure.
To change the material without increasing weight, along with such low magic consumption, Kane started constructing an effective battle strategy in his mind using his current 3 skills.
And the giant creature within the withered tree would be the test subject for this strategy.