Chapter 166: Rewards II

Kaiser nodded as he picked up the skill crystal. Because the skill belonged to the Sin, Darkness, and Life categories, he was able to learn it thanks to his Life affinity.

He immediately absorbed the skill crystal, allowing the information contained within it to enter his mind.

[You have learned the legendary Skill: Sin Forest Domain]

After making sure there were no other rewards, Kaiser looked around the area.

"Today’s haul was pretty good," he said.

Alex nodded as he looked around the forest. "And the mist is no longer here. That means we can finally leave the forest."

Kaiser also looked around.

The thin mist that had constantly surrounded them since they entered the Forest of Sin had completely disappeared. The oppressive sensation that had covered the entire area was gone as well.

"We should leave quickly," Alex said. "According to the information I have gathered, this condition will only last for the next twenty-four hours. After that, the Forest of Sin will spawn again, and we’ll have to deal with it all over again."

Kaiser nodded in agreement.

There was no reason to stay any longer. They had already obtained everything they needed from the Forest of Sin, and staying behind would only increase the risk of encountering another dangerous situation.

Kaiser summoned two undead horses, giving one to himself and the other to Alex. The two quickly mounted their horses and began riding away from the Forest of Sin.

Alex took out his map and guided Kaiser toward the safest route out of the forest. With the mist gone, their journey was much easier, and the two continued riding through the forest as they put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Mysterious Forest.

The two continued riding for some time.

Fortunately, they did not encounter any more dangerous monsters or unexpected situations. With the mist gone, the forest had become much easier to navigate, and Alex was able to follow the safest route shown on his map.

After traveling for a while longer, the trees finally began to thin out.

Soon, they reached the edge of the Mysterious Forest.

The dense trees behind them suddenly gave way to a vast open plain.

Alex looked at the open landscape ahead of them and immediately raised both hands.

"Yesss! Finally, I’m out of that cursed place!"

Kaiser looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

"It can’t be that bad."

Alex immediately turned toward him.

"What do you mean it can’t be that bad?"

He pointed angrily toward the forest behind them.

"I felt like a fucking animal in a zoo in front of those bastard Elves! They were always looking at me like I was some kind of exotic creature."

Kaiser couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Maybe you were just too interesting to them."

"Interesting?"

Alex stared at him.

"They literally followed me around and watched everything I did. Even when I was eating, I could see some of them staring at me!"

"Not to mention, I am pretty sure some even peeped at me while I was bathing" He said shivering as if it still gives him creep.

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"Man, thats nasty"

"Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about!"

Alex sighed and looked back at the Mysterious Forest.

"I don’t want to see that place again anytime soon."

Kaiser looked at the enormous forest behind them.

’The Mysterious Forest really is strange.’

"Though, it’s a good place to farm Rule Crystals," Kaiser said.

Alex shook his head.

"No, it’s not like that. What we encountered is more like a once-a-year phenomenon, and it can happen at any time. There is no fixed interval between appearances. Do you really think the Elves would give up such a juicy reward?"

Kaiser thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, you’re right."

Alex then looked at his map.

"Anyway, let’s go to the nearest city first. It’s the Free City of Redali. It’s a city where all kinds of races live together. Since it’s a neutral city, it doesn’t belong to any single race and is instead managed by several races together."

Kaiser nodded as they continued riding.

As they traveled farther away from the Mysterious Forest, the scenery around them gradually changed.

The endless forests became less dense, and large roads began appearing across the plains. They soon started encountering more travelers, merchants, adventurers, and people from different races heading toward the same destination.

Kaiser looked around with interest.

"This place is much more beautiful. I might move here."

Compared to Winter Hold City, the surroundings here were completely different.

Winter Hold City was dominated by cold weather and snow, while the area around Redali was much warmer and filled with green grass, rivers, farms, and large stretches of open land.

The roads were also much busier.

Kaiser could see humans traveling alongside Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, Demons, and several other races.

"Not to mention, this place is much more powerful. I can probably level up faster and find more opportunities here," Kaiser said.

Alex nodded.

"The average Rank here is around Rank 5, so you can understand how powerful the people living here are."

Kaiser raised an eyebrow.

"Rank 5 is the average?"

"Yeah."

Alex pointed toward the road ahead.

"Redali is one of the major neutral cities in this Continent. Powerful adventurers, merchants, nobles, craftsmen, and even people from major races frequently come here. Because no single race controls the city, everyone has to follow the rules agreed upon by the city’s governing council."

Kaiser nodded.

’That means there should be plenty of powerful people here.’

He became slightly more interested.

With his current strength, Rank 5 experts were no longer completely out of his reach, especially with his powerful undead and newly awakened Rules.

’Though, if any of them have also awakened a Rule, which might be normal considering that even a Rank 3 monster like the Forest of Sin possessed one, then I would probably die in the blink of an eye against them.’

More importantly, a city filled with powerful people would naturally have access to better resources.

High-level materials.

Rare equipment.

Special skills.

And powerful people mean powerful corpses too.

And possibly even information about places he had never heard of before.

Kaiser smiled slightly.

’This city might actually be worth staying in for a while.’

Alex suddenly looked toward the road ahead.

"We’re getting close."

Kaiser raised his head.

In the distance, he could finally see something enormous.

A massive city wall stretched across the horizon.

The walls were several hundred meters tall and covered in countless magical formations. Large towers stood at regular intervals, while powerful energy barriers surrounded the entire city.

Even from several kilometers away, Kaiser could sense the powerful auras coming from inside.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

’This formation is powerful enough to even wipe out a Rank 8 monster.’

The closer they got, the more people they encountered.

There were huge caravans pulled by magical beasts, groups of adventurers wearing different types of equipment, flying creatures carrying passengers, and even several powerful individuals traveling alone.

Kaiser looked at the enormous city gates.