The number of quests available in the City of the Circle was far greater than in Rain Town.
Most commissions in Rain Town were limited to the small wilderness surrounding the town itself.
But the commissions issued in the City of the Circle covered an immense territory.
[Golden Crimson Ant Nest][Black Burrow of the Iron Ants][Surging Ant Tide Cavern]…
Rei accepted five commissions related to ant nests.
Then, at the receptionist's recommendation, he also picked up two additional dungeon commissions along the same route.
It was probably because he belonged to a Legendary Adventurer Party.
When he accepted the quests, he was even invited into a private reception room, where a young woman in a low-cut dress and black stockings carefully introduced the features of each dungeon.
Hmm…
Having a high adventurer party rank was indeed useful.
The service was almost too attentive.
After accepting the commissions, Rei followed Akase to the Heavenly Transit Bridge.
The City of the Circle was simply too large.
Mounts were also prohibited within the city.
These transparent bridges that stretched across the sky in every direction were one of the city's defining features.
The bridge was enchanted with numerous magical effects:
[Acceleration][Rapid Movement][Sprint][Stamina Recovery]
The entire structure was reinforced with magic.
It was said to be the joint creation of a Level 5 Architect and a Level 5 Mage.
All across the city were bridge entry stations.
The bridges crisscrossed the skies, connecting every district.
Walking across them—
One step felt like covering a hundred steps.
It was almost like a public transportation network, except it accelerated the walking speed of the pedestrians themselves.
Which made sense.
Since mounts were forbidden.
For ordinary citizens living in such an enormous city, without mounts, traveling from the city center to the outskirts would take several days on foot without these bridges.
Leaving the City of the Circle and traveling to the Thousand Hollow Expanse took roughly one hour.
Rei's flight speed was now noticeably faster than before.
Although Ice Shuttle was still his primary flight method, he had acquired several additional spells that increased his movement speed.
Along the way, he saw many adventurers traveling on the ground—riding horses, chocobo-like birds, and land lizards.
The Thousand Hollow Expanse was a very popular adventuring region near the city.
Monster populations were abundant year-round, and dungeons appeared constantly.
Of course, abundant monsters weren't exactly a good thing.
But because of that, the area also supported a large number of adventurers.
After landing in the Thousand Hollow Expanse, Rei took out a compass needle provided by the Adventurers' Guild.
It pointed toward the location of the dungeon.
Otherwise, in such a massive area, it would be very easy to get lost.
The cave entrance in front of them was the [Golden Crimson Ant Nest].
A Tier-3 Dungeon.
Rei stepped inside.
Akase followed casually behind him, his hands clasped behind his head.
Inside were tunnels branching in every direction.
Small ants were scattered across the cave walls.
Each ant was only about the size of a thumb.
Yet they were Tier-1 monsters — Crimson Ants.
"Sea of Fire."
BOOM!
Before the ants could even launch an attack—
Rei unleashed the spell instantly.
A blazing inferno spread across the ground and walls!
Waves of flame surged upward!
The fire rolled forward like a burning wall, incinerating everything in its path.
[Soul +125][Soul +152][Soul +111][Soul +164][Soul +138]…
Rei could feel thousands of tiny souls flowing into his body.
They were stored within the Death Priest specialization:
[Soul Storage]
The two of them continued walking deeper into the tunnels.
Rei maintained six barrier-type defensive spells at all times to protect himself.
As for the ants burning on the ground…
Ant-type monsters were among the most disliked enemies for adventurers.
Their extremely small size made them troublesome for classes like warriors, archers, and assassins.
More importantly—
Ant monsters were widely considered worthless.
They rarely dropped valuable loot.
Killing them barely earned any money.
Akase picked up a slightly larger ant from the ground.
He rubbed it lightly.
The damage on the ant's body gradually repaired itself.
Then Akase snapped off one of its legs and stored it in his spatial inventory.
He was still a Level 3 Gatherer, so he casually harvested materials along the way.
Ahead was a corner.
Before Rei even reached it, he raised his hand.
Light, darkness, ice, water, fire, lightning, wood, wind, earth, mana, and arcane magic—
All erupted forward simultaneously!
BOOM!
A dazzling explosion of magical fireworks erupted ahead!
The entire tunnel trembled violently.
When they turned the corner—
The floor ahead was covered with the corpses of small ants.
Two massive ants lay nearby.
Their forelegs were shaped like blades, but their bodies were already completely shredded.
Kid…
Did scouting really require that level of firepower?
That was a little too cautious.
These two [Blade Ants] had their blade limbs completely destroyed.
Akase silently marveled.
After defeating these two elite monsters, the next room would contain the Lord-class Boss.
For an ordinary Level 3 adventurer party, fighting a Tier-3 dungeon lord would require a fierce and prolonged battle.
But for Rei—
It was simple.
The moment they met—
Spikes of ice, earth, and wood erupted from every direction.
The [Blood-Scarlet Black Ant King] was instantly skewered and torn apart.
Akase clapped from behind.
"Nice."
Then he went over to loot the corpse.
"Akase, what do you think the total profit is?" Rei asked as he walked over.
"Profit… probably about 5 gold."
That's really low.
It couldn't compare to Harvest Month at all.
During Harvest Month, even a wild Lord monster would give at least 10 gold.
Clearing a Tier-3 dungeon would start at 20 gold.
From entering to exiting, the whole run had taken less than five minutes.
However—
Rei had gained over 50,000 souls.
As expected, ant monsters were the best choice.
If the remaining dungeons were similar in scale, this trip would yield about 250,000 souls.
Still…
It didn't quite feel like enough.
"So, what do you say? Want to go to that dungeon over there?" Akase pointed toward another cave.
"We didn't accept a commission for that one, did we?"
"The commission rewards are tiny anyway. Doesn't matter."
The dungeon entrance glowed with a faint pale blue light, indicating another Tier-3 dungeon.
There was no Adventurers' Guild marker beside it, meaning the dungeon had not been officially registered as a commission yet.
After thinking about it, Rei realized Akase had a point.
Back in Rain Town, dungeons were scattered and difficult to locate.
Accepting a commission was the easiest way to learn their exact location.
But here—
They had already passed seven or eight dungeons along the way.
Even without commissions, spending a day farming here would yield substantial rewards.
However, as Rei looked at the dungeon entrance, he fell into thought.
"Akase… is there anyone around us?"
"Huh? Why are you asking that?"
"I want to test something."
Akase scanned the surroundings.
Most adventurers who came to the Thousand Hollow Expanse were here specifically for dungeons.
Once they found their target dungeon and discussed their strategy, they would immediately enter.
So there were actually very few people lingering outside.
Akase swept his perception across the area.
Although he was a warrior and lacked the mental power of a mage, a Level 6 warrior's perception was still extremely formidable.
"There are five people within one kilometer, but none of them can see us."
The Thousand Hollow Expanse was filled with interconnected caves and extremely complex terrain.
"Good."
Rei raised his hand toward the dungeon entrance.
"Sacrifice — 1000 Souls."