"Pah, pah, pah! You damn bastard, that's a gnome, we are dwarves! I'm Hark, this is my brother Harry, and Hani are all apprentice warriors. This is Dark Elf Deff, an apprentice archer. Are you human? How did you get here? Are you a fire mage?" Hark, the warrior tangled in spider silk, had a short stature but impressive equipment—home boots, plate chest armor, a helmet with only eye openings, and two axes. He pulled his helmet off and curiously circled around Ryan, answering his questions with irritation while inspecting Ryan closely, then started asking a barrage of questions.
Ryan looked at the small figure in front of him, barely reaching his armpit. However, Hark's personality was just as straightforward as described in the records. Ryan smiled wryly and replied, "I'm human. From the Alliance Empire. My name is Ryan, a level 1 mage. But, do you have any food? I'm starving."
"Tsk, tsk, so this is the legendary human?" Hark and the others gathered around Ryan when they heard he was human, curious. They started poking him and even pulled up his pants to touch his legs.
Ryan quickly took a step back and asked in frustration, "I say, shouldn't we find something to eat first? I'm really starving."
Hark and the others exchanged odd glances at Ryan, then the three brothers began collecting their loot—spider silk, carapaces, poison fangs, and other items. Ryan could see that they clearly hadn't handled these things much before, making a mess of it all.
"Here, this is food." The archer took out two items from a pouch and handed them to Ryan.
"Thanks." Ryan took them and saw one was dried meat, the other an iron water flask. He thanked them again and started eating while carefully observing the legendary, highly seductive dark elf. He quickly noticed a difference. According to the records, dark elves had black skin, but this one's skin was clearly very pale. Although the distant volcanoes lit up the area, Ryan could still tell the difference clearly.
"How did you come down here?" Deff asked curiously while examining Ryan.
"I don't know. I was in a forest, and then an enemy opened a scroll, and suddenly I ended up down here. Where is this place?"
"This is the Dark Region," she answered.
"The Dark Region?"
"You don't know it?"
…
Ryan finally understood. The Dark Region referred to what humans on the surface called the exiled races—dark elves, gnomes, dwarves, goblins, black dragons, and other races, including humans. These races were considered evil by those on the surface. Deff, who was 40 years old, seemed like a little girl by the standards of dark elves, who could live for up to 1000 years. Hark and the others were about 20 years old, but dwarves could live at least 200 years. Although Ryan was the youngest among them, by human standards, he was actually quite old since the average human lifespan was around 60 years. Ordinary peasants didn't live past 50, but adventurers had longer lifespans. Ryan had ended up in the first layer of the Dark Region. It was said that the region was divided into three layers. The first layer consisted mainly of dwarves, gnomes, dark elves, goblins, and a large number of low-level monsters. The second layer had intermediate-level monsters and some underground natives, while the third layer housed high-level monsters like black dragons and fire lords. There were countless tunnels connecting the layers, and the tunnel Ryan emerged from led directly to an area full of 200 level 3 fire spiders—extremely dangerous. Ryan shuddered when he heard this. If he had run into them, he'd have definitely died. However, it was said that this area was a half-month's journey away, so he was safe for now.
"Let's go, let's go!" Ryan chatted with Deff, who seemed like a little girl despite being 40 years old. She was no match for Ryan in terms of information. Not long into their conversation, Ryan had gathered a lot of intel, including the fact that there were plenty of mages down here, but alchemists were rare. There were enchanters and gem-setters, but there were no alchemists as humans knew them, and potion masters were unheard of. At this moment, Hark and the others had finished collecting the loot and were happily waving Ryan and Deff over.
"Hark, are you all blood relatives?" Ryan asked curiously as he looked at Hark and his brothers, noting they all seemed to be around the same age. But dwarves weren't supposed to reproduce easily, so Ryan couldn't help but ask.
"No, Hani and I share the same parents, while Harry is our half-brother, but we three brothers are the most united in Mu'an City." Hark walked ahead, carrying a spider's carapace on his back. The sight was rather comical, but Ryan knew Hark was also carrying two one-handed axes weighing 20 kilograms each. This wasn't a joke—these apprentice warriors were much stronger than surface-level level 1 warriors.
"Ah, ah, look, our little warrior is back!" Just as they crossed a stone bridge, Ryan noticed that the bridge was not naturally formed. Below, it was pitch black, and the bridge was unusually wide, stretching dozens of meters. As they crossed it, they saw a group riding on Terror Claw Beasts—massive creatures similar to ancient dinosaurs, walking on their strong hind legs, with small forelegs capable of tearing steel. They were level 3 beasts, about 5 meters tall and 10 meters long, typical omnivores, with sharp teeth that could crush even monster bones.
"Hey, Grett, could you not always appear right next to me?" Hark looked displeased at the sight of an armored dwarf riding a Terror Claw Beast, then walked over directly.
Grett glanced at the group, and what caught his attention was the strange figure among them—someone wearing a hood that covered their head. Grett raised his voice and asked, "Who are you? Take off your hood."
Ryan had already been informed by Deff and the others that he would need to cover his face to enter the city. To help, Deff lent him her cloak. Ryan knew that as a human from the surface, he would definitely be subject to scrutiny, but he didn't want to be discovered by these little creatures. Furthermore, Hark had promised to help Ryan obtain a legitimate identity once they entered the city. Ryan let out a cold hum and, with a fireball appearing in his hand, he responded in a low voice, "Do you need any further proof?"
"Honorable Mage, please, please." Grett quickly jumped down from his Terror Claw Beast, bowing repeatedly, but his small stature made him resemble a circus clown.
From a distance, Ryan could see the city. It wasn't so much a city as it was a settlement built on a solitary island, surrounded by deep ravines. Only a few large stone bridges connected it to the outside world. The volcano was still far from Mu'an City, and Mu'an itself meant "peace." As they crossed the stone bridge, they soon arrived at houses made of large rocks. These houses varied in style—some had a rugged, practical appearance, while others were artistically beautiful. And Mu'an City itself was massive.
"Our Mu'an City is a multi-racial settlement," Hark explained as they walked. "It's not like other cities that only have one type of resident. For example, Nightshade City, where the dark elves live, is surrounded by several smaller cities inhabited entirely by dark elves. Hammer City is home to dwarves, but we are the gray dwarves—the best at forging. In the dark caves, there are nasty goblins, who are thieves. Ironclad Cliff is full of gnomes. The human Fire City is the largest, occupying several cities in the second layer, and most of the residents there are humans, though there are also some intermediate-level races. Most of what we eat is dried meat, though we also have delicious fish and fungi that grow in nearby caves. The most common food here is dried meat, but the most expensive food is the fruit that grows on these trees. It's said to be brought down from the surface. For example, the spider we hunted today can produce over a hundred pounds of dried meat. Its legs can be used to make arrowheads and bows, the tendons can be made into bowstrings, and the brain is a delicacy. The most valuable thing, however, is the venom—money can't even buy that. Of course, that's for us apprentice warriors, and we can't go hunting in the caves. Look, that's my house. My father is one of the best blacksmiths in Mu'an City."
"Oh my god, what is that? Is that a tree?" Ryan had just entered the city and noticed a few enormous trees. These trees were over 20 meters tall and their trunks were so thick that it would take several people to embrace them. The trees were covered with fruit as large as footballs, and strangely, they also had faces on them—just missing ears and noses, but every other feature was intact. Ryan stood there in shock. He had already seen many bizarre things on the Twin Star Continent—whiny magical pets like Yuris, the mischievous Niu Niu, and the pampered Big Nose, to name a few. But this was a tree, not an animal.
"Mage, and a human mage at that! Where did this little one come from?" Just as Ryan finished speaking, the tree opened its mouth, revealing a pair of green, glistening eyes that locked onto Ryan.
"Grandfather Keta, hello," Deff said warmly as she ran toward the large tree.
"Ryan, that large tree is a War Ancestor Tree from the Elven race, and it's also Deff's home. As you know, elves are born from the Tree of Life, and Grandpa Keta is the name of this War Ancestor Tree. During wars, it could throw its fruit over 1000 meters, and when it hits, it explodes with a 'boom.' It can penetrate three layers of leather armor, and the fruit is coated with a paralyzing toxin. Just a tiny amount of contact, and within three breaths, you'll fall to the ground unable to move. Grandpa Keta can also use wood-based healing magic. Our Mu'an City has thirty-five of these trees, but only five can attack autonomously. The others will take 6000 years before they can attack on their own. Grandpa Keta hosts more than ten dark elves in its branches, and they serve as the main long-range attack force defending here." Hark explained to Ryan in detail while glancing at the old man.
Ryan was astonished when he heard this. The War Ancestor Tree was a unique weapon of the elven race, but it was also a type of plant monster. The Continent Travelogue book extensively introduced this powerful war tool of the elves. Not only could it move, but it had great range—practically a mechanical version of a trebuchet. After 6000 years, the War Ancestor Tree would be able to act independently, continuously attacking and even slowly moving by itself. Its close-combat abilities were also formidable, with its massive branches able to strike powerfully. War Ancestor Trees grew extremely slowly, so their branches were as hard as steel. In the history of human invasions of the elves, thousands of heavily armored knights had been defeated by these War Ancestor Trees. Additionally, War Ancestor Trees were equipped with magical archers—an advanced form of archers. The key feature was that War Ancestor Trees could instantly cast wood-based healing magic. Of the three major healing magics—water, light, and wood—wood magic was the most potent. Water and light magic merely sealed wounds, while wood magic replenished enormous life force to heal. Thus, the War Ancestor Tree became the continent's top war fortress and the deadliest magical beast. Anyone who encountered one would be in great trouble. However, Hark mentioned that Mu'an City had over thirty of them. Were War Ancestor Trees really so common? But they did have natural enemies—elemental creatures like Fire Giants or high-level fire mages. However, the War Ancestor Trees had magical archers, which were their natural counter. It was said that the entire elven race had only a few dozen of these War Ancestor Trees, so Ryan was curious why they were so prevalent underground. His eyes lit up as he stared at Grandpa Keta.
"Ryan, Grandpa Keta asked me to tell you that he'd like you to visit him when you have the chance." Not long after, Deff came running back and told Ryan.
"Ryan, you're the first stranger Grandpa Keta has ever invited." Hark spoke with a hint of jealousy before leading Ryan down a side street. On one side of the street, there was a house built from large stones. If one didn't know any better, they might think it was a giant's home based on the door and the house's structure.
"Typical jealousy!" Ryan glanced at the door, which was over five meters high. When they entered, the space inside was even more massive—at least seven or eight meters high. Ryan looked at Hark, who was only about 1.5 meters tall, and muttered to himself. Now Ryan finally understood why the gates of Ironforge in the World of Warcraft were so large. The person who designed those gates was probably also feeling a bit out of balance.
"Haha, it's because you saved me, Hark. Thank you, thank you." As soon as Ryan stepped inside, he saw a figure rush toward him, calling out loudly while spreading his arms, ready to embrace Ryan. However, due to the size difference, the embrace became quite awkward and froze in place.