Chapter 206: Climb the trees now!

Sunlight glimmered upon the ocean’s surface, the water stirring beneath the wind before turning into waves as it reached the shore.

The surface of the ocean seemed calm and soothing, while beneath it was a brutal struggle for survival. Stronger creatures preyed on the weak, while some smaller monsters hunted in groups to take down creatures twice their size.

It was a continuous, brutal cycle, while on the surface, humans knew nothing of the terrors lurking in the ocean’s depths. They had only caught a glimpse of the horror after the crab attack.

Walls had begun to take shape, while patrolling guards kept watch along the shoreline, preventing children and unreasonable adults from going out to hunt for fish under the guise of exploring the ocean.

Everyone was busy trying to create a home in this new place. Tents could be seen spread far and wide, while trees were being felled to create space for construction.

"Madam Grace is on leave. Meet with the other administrators to have your concerns addressed," the guard responded in a robotic tone. He had repeated himself nearly twenty times now.

He almost wondered if the other administrators had disappeared, because why did everyone keep coming to Madam Grace instead of going to the others?

"So infuriating. You’d think I’m a broken record. When will Madam Grace get back? I’m so tired of answering these people," he muttered.

Meanwhile, the person he was hoping would return was frolicking in a hot spring. A cup of freshly squeezed juice sat on the floating board beside her.

"I should have taken a break sooner. Haaa... so relaxing. I don’t want to go back," Grace murmured as she took a sip of the juice before letting out a relaxed sigh.

Leo, who happened to be returning with a huge rabbit in his hands, heard her words, and his lips curled into a smile.

"Didn’t I tell you to take a break sooner? But you kept postponing it until I had to abduct you in your sleep and bring you here to camp," Leo said as he headed toward the tent a few steps away from the spring.

"I had so much work to do at the time," Grace argued weakly, though inwardly, she was glad he had brought her here.

Two newly hatched beasts lay on the grassy ground, watching their masters curiously.

Their pale skin was covered in newly grown fur, but Grace and Leo still didn’t know which species of beast they were.

"Do you want the meat roasted or cooked and fried?" Leo asked as he stepped out of the tent, holding a kitchen knife.

"Cook it. We’ll use the stock to make soup. I’m tired of eating roasted meat," Grace responded, remaining in the water and leaving the cooking for him to handle.

"Do you think Dad has reached land by now?" Grace asked lightly as she swam toward the shore.

"Don’t worry about my old man. He’s been itching to explore the surface for a while. After he’s done fighting, he’ll come back. Just hope he doesn’t get carried away and forget why we sent him out of the island in the first place," Leo responded in a troubled tone.

His father was untrustworthy at times. He might actually forget that he was supposed to search for mineral resources and get lost fighting monsters.

Grace frowned, but remembering that she had sent one of her guards to accompany him, her frown eased.

"It won’t happen," Grace muttered with a shake of her head before walking into the tent to change out of her wet clothes.

"I hope so," Leo murmured softly, doubting her words.

...

Meanwhile, a large shadow of a bird was reflected on the water’s surface.

It flew at a steady speed toward the other side of the ocean.

A group of ten people was seated on the back of a huge falcon. Randall looked down at the blinking dot on the GPS. The area they were currently flying through was the same one the spaceship had travelled through.

"Sir, we’re reaching land," a man stated respectfully as he looked at Randall.

His words snapped Randall out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw clusters of tall trees ahead.

"We’ll land here and rest for an hour before we continue on our way," Randall instructed.

The man nodded and went to inform the others.

Some felt they should continue on their way instead of resting. After all, they had been sitting on the bird for hours.

Others felt it was better to stop and recharge before venturing into the unknown.

But they didn’t voice their thoughts.

Though the man leading them was old, their years spent in the dungeon had sharpened their survival instincts.

They sensed something dangerous from the seemingly quiet old man, and they dared not cross him.

Time passed, and the owner of the falcon directed it to land at the shore.

Everyone got down, stretching their numb limbs as they walked around the shore to loosen up.

Randall walked into the forest, his eyes gleaming with happiness at the thought of encountering a monster.

The others watched him leave and didn’t stop him. Instead, they made camp and gathered dry branches and sticks to build a fire before it got dark.

Though Randall wanted a good hunt, he wasn’t irresponsible enough to leave the people he had brought along with him completely unprotected. He could already picture his daughter-in-law screaming his ears off if anything happened to them because of his actions.

He only walked around the outskirts of the forest and didn’t venture too deep.

Seeing that the surrounding area was safe, he returned to the shore.

...

The next day, everyone trekked north into the forest, some riding their beasts and others traveling on foot as they followed Randall.

They encountered beasts on their journey, but they were easily taken care of by Randall. Upon seeing the brutal way the beasts died, they swore in their hearts to follow his words without contradiction. They became much more obedient.

"Who would have thought we’d be living on the surface, a place humans dreaded to go?" a man mused as he touched the leaves of a tree he walked past.

"At least we don’t have to die from air shortages. The air here is free and without impurities. Before, we had to pay taxes for air and water. Now, they’re in abundance and completely free. What a relief," his companion added, his voice trembling with emotion as he remembered the crushing bills he had to pay after risking his life in the dungeon.

The other man hummed, a wide smile splitting his face at the thought of enjoying basic necessities without having to pay for them.

They talked about anything that came to mind, pointing at the birds and animals that rushed past them in curiosity.

Then, a deafening scream broke the tranquility of the forest.

Everyone looked toward the sound in time to see a figure falling into a hole. The squeaks of rats and the crunch of bones rang out through the surroundings.

The sounds sent a chill through them, and their vigilance rose to an all-time high.

Randall, on the other hand, rushed toward the hole. As he got closer, the ground beneath them began to tremble, causing a bad feeling to settle in his gut.

"Climb the trees now!" he barked.

At that moment, holes began appearing around them, and huge rabbits with horns and long ears crawled out.

Their bloody red eyes flashed with frenzy as they stared at the humans.

....

Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Zoey massaged her trembling hands. Her clothes were splattered with dried blood. Though exhausted from the killing, it didn’t diminish the smile on her face.

Finally, she had broken through.

She was now a Dungeon Conqueror.

The thought made her scream inwardly in elation, but on the surface, she could barely move her body.

"Let’s rest here for a bit. The dungeon won’t spawn these moles so soon," Alex suggested to everyone.

They hummed in agreement, too tired to talk or move.

"We might be ejected from the dungeon very soon," Adrian added, feeling that the time was right. They had been in here for a long time.

As soon as he said those words, Alex used his speed to tie a rope around everyone’s wrists, connecting them together.

He feared this dungeon might be different and teleport them to different locations.

Fortunately, he reacted in time. A few seconds after tying everyone together, their figures blurred and disappeared.

But what they saw next shocked them to the core.