Chapter 211: There’s an outsider!

Adrian and the others were still in a state of disbelief as they walked around the little village housing hundreds of people, including newborns.

A Month Earlier

Alex tied the last rope around his wrist when they suddenly felt the space around them churn.

Their figures were pulled away, and in the next moment, they appeared on a vast grassy plain.

There were no tall trees in sight. The entire area was covered by tall grass that stretched as far as their eyes could see.

They weren’t aware that they were in the lower plain. They were still somewhere between the hilltops and the middle plain.

"Where were we teleported to this time? I can’t see anything except these grasses," Daniel complained.

He parted the grass in front of him like curtains, but no matter how far he pushed through, more grass continued to block his path.

After walking a few steps and parting the grass again, a wave of impatience washed over him. He was almost tempted to set everything on fire.

But feeling the breeze and seeing the grass covering the entire area, he quickly squashed the idea.

’I might end up burning everyone along with it.’

The others weren’t faring any better.

The tall grass blocked their sense of direction and made it difficult to see where they were going.

Only Zoey quickly came up with an idea.

She ordered her beast to transform into its larger form.

The cheetah let out a roar as its body rapidly grew until it towered over Zoey.

Even then, the tall grass only reached its hind legs, coming within a few hairs’ breadth of touching its stomach.

Adrian and the others turned to stare at the enormous cheetah with glowing eyes.

The beast immediately took a few steps backward in fright.

It feared these humans might eat it.

"My beast is big enough for everyone to travel on."

Zoey made an inviting gesture.

The cheetah lowered its body, making it easier for Zoey to climb onto its back.

"So it can grow this huge?"

Alex’s voice was filled with surprise as he scrutinized the cheetah.

A feeling of anticipation grew inside him when he thought about his unhatched beast egg.

"Mhm. But whenever it uses this form, it becomes extremely hungry. It could eat five beasts its own size before it becomes even partially full and energetic."

Zoey explained helplessly.

She felt that her beast still had room to grow even larger, but it hadn’t reached that stage yet.

She suspected the same might be true for other beasts.

She had always made it transform into a size slightly taller than herself to conserve its energy and reduce its hunger.

She couldn’t possibly allow it to hunt five giant beasts—which might even be stronger than it—just to satisfy its appetite.

"We won’t let it starve. Buddy, get ready to be stuffed with plenty of meat. Just do a good job and get us out of here."

Marvin dangled the tempting promise before the cheetah as he patted its rump.

The others hummed in agreement as they climbed onto its back.

"Growl!"

The cheetah released an excited growl.

It could perfectly understand Marvin’s words, and it believed they had the ability to fulfill that promise.

It straightened its body.

Their vision immediately broadened, allowing them to finally see above the tall grass.

"Those hilltops seem higher than where we are currently standing," Zoey gasped in surprise.

It felt as though they were standing at the bottom of a massive mountain and would have to climb all the way to the top.

They soon noticed that the area was free of tall trees.

Only the endless grassy landscape stretched before them.

Farther ahead, they spotted huge four-legged beasts. Some had horns, while others had long, inverted ears. They peacefully grazed on the grass.

The beasts were scattered in groups, each staying with its own kind.

The group began traveling across the grassy plain without a specific direction in mind, although they were gradually moving toward the hilltops.

"It’s so peaceful here. There are no beasts out to get us, and even the weather isn’t reminding us of its destructive force," Adrian mused aloud as he stared at the blue sky dotted with sparse clouds.

He lay on his back, his body swaying gently with the cheetah’s movements.

Cole was already asleep, lulled by the slow movement beneath him.

The cheetah’s back was large enough to accommodate all six of them, with plenty of space left over.

Each person sat or lay in their preferred position as they continued traveling.

The journey was so peaceful that they eventually fell asleep without keeping their guards up.

Hours passed, and the sky gradually darkened.

Stars dotted the vast sky, making it seem almost as bright as daytime.

At some point, they stopped to allow the cheetah to rest and hunted some of the beasts they had seen earlier for dinner.

The only problem was that there were no trees or wood around to keep a fire burning.

They could only rely on Daniel’s powers.

"This is the last time."

Daniel warned them before reluctantly using his powers to roast the meat for everyone.

He ignored the fact that Cole had to use his powers to wash the meat clean beforehand.

Once Daniel finished roasting the meat, they sat beside the resting cheetah and began eating.

The cheetah was happily enjoying its share of the meat as well.

"There’s no end in sight. Before, I thought the hilltop was closer, but since we started this journey, we still haven’t reached it."

Zoey complained as she bit into her meat.

The glistening oil stained the corners of her lips.

She chewed aggressively, as though she wanted to release all her frustration into the meat.

She had slept so much today that she was beginning to get tired of sleeping.

’How is that even possible?’

Her body felt weak, as though she didn’t have a single bone left in it, while her eyelids remained heavy, as if trying to lure her into another sleep.

"I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s so peaceful that it feels unreal."

Alex muttered as he took a huge bite of meat.

The meat was more flavorful than usual. Its flesh was firm but not so tough that it became difficult to eat.

"We’ll hunt more of those inverted long-eared beasts later."

He announced before taking another bite.

This time, he didn’t rush. Instead, he savored the taste.

Daniel and Marvin hummed with their mouths full.

They almost fought over the last piece of meat, but Adrian grabbed it first and ran before they could stop him.

They eventually caught him and beat him up.

But Adrian felt no regret.

The meat was already in his stomach.

Zoey lay on her back, gazing at the dazzling stars above.

They seemed countless and brighter than normal.

’I’ve never stared at the sky without the obstruction of those tall trees before.’

Here, there was only tall grass beneath a seemingly endless sky, making the sky appear much closer to the ground.

The thought lingered in her mind until her eyelids grew heavy.

She eventually fell asleep, despite expecting to stay awake all night because she had already slept so much during the day.

The others settled down as well.

Four people slept while two kept watch.

Before dawn, they woke the others so they could take over the watch while they slept.

However, Zoey wasn’t woken up.

The next day, they washed themselves using Cole’s unlimited supply of water.

After eating the leftover meat from the previous day for breakfast, they continued their journey.

Two peaceful days flew by.

They finally began edging closer to the hilltop.

Relieved smiles crossed their faces.

It was only about an hour away.

When they finally reached it, however, they froze in shock.

Each of them wore the same dumbstruck expression as they stared at the sight before them.

"Someone pinch me. I must be hallucinating. There must have been something wrong with that meat, and now I’m seeing things!"

Daniel almost shouted as he went as far as punching his thighs in an attempt to wake himself up.

"Umm... There are people... houses... children..."

Zoey murmured in broken words, too shocked to form a proper sentence.

Ahead of them was a settlement.

Mud houses were scattered throughout the area, with smoke rising from their chimneys.

Children could be seen playing outside, their small bodies wrapped in fur clothing.

The warm, lively scene was a stark contrast to the outside world they had known.

"They shouldn’t be the Oasis people, right? They couldn’t have built these houses so quickly. Some of the houses even look old, as if they were built a long time ago..."

Alex trailed off, finding the conclusion he was reaching difficult to believe.

"They must have been here before us."

Marvin muttered in a deadpan tone, saying what everyone else was thinking.

They stood there, their minds overwhelmed by shock as they struggled to accept the fact that they weren’t the only people on the surface.

"Hey! There’s an outsider!"

A loud shout snapped them out of their thoughts and alerted the settlement to their presence.

The adults emerged from the huts, picking up their weapons as they rushed toward Adrian and the others.

Their faces were guarded, but a hint of curiosity flickered in their eyes.

They seemed to be wondering what kind of people the dungeon had teleported to them this time.

Alex and the others didn’t put up a fight.

They allowed themselves to be escorted into the settlement.

They were far too curious about their surroundings and wanted to find out exactly what was going on with this mysterious village.