Chapter 146: Hot Spring

Kaiser stored it in his inventory.

He didn’t know what he would use it for yet, but his Reconstruction Talent made even ordinary materials worth keeping.

After Marina finished buying the materials she needed, the group continued exploring the market for a while.

Eventually, Emilia looked toward the setting sun.

"It’s getting late."

Michael nodded.

"We should find somewhere to stay."

Kaiser agreed.

"Yeah. We’ll rest here tonight."

He looked at the map he had received from the Adventurer Guild.

The Hollow Ground wasn’t far from Steel Forged City.

Kaiser folded the map.

’We’ll enter the Hollow Ground tomorrow.’

For now, there was no reason to rush.

They had traveled a long distance, and both Michael and Emilia had just completed their Rank-Up Trials.

A good night’s rest would be useful before entering a dungeon filled with Rank 2 monsters.

Kaiser looked toward the busy street.

"Let’s find a hotel."

Michael nodded.

"Sounds good."

The four of them continued deeper into Steel Forged City as the sound of hammers and the glow of countless forges filled the streets.

It didn’t take long for them to find a good hotel.

The hotel was fairly large and had several rooms available. What caught Kaiser’s attention was that the hotel also had separate hot springs for men and women.

After checking in, they quickly settled into their rooms and changed.

Kaiser headed toward the men’s hot spring with Michael.

The hot spring was built into a large stone room connected to the mountain. Steam filled the area, and the water was naturally heated by the volcano beneath the city.

Kaiser stepped into the water and immediately relaxed.

"Ahh..."

He leaned back against the edge of the pool.

"This is heaven."

Michael entered the water beside him and nodded.

"Yeah."

He closed his eyes and relaxed.

"The dwarves really know how to enjoy themselves."

Kaiser let out a small laugh.

"I can understand why they built their city around a volcano now."

The warm water slowly eased the tension in his body.

After traveling for several hours and dealing with everything over the past few days, the hot spring was exactly what he needed.

On the other side of the hotel, Emilia and Marina had also entered the women’s hot spring.

They sat in the warm water, enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

Emilia leaned back against the edge of the pool and sighed comfortably.

"This feels wonderful."

Marina nodded.

"Yes. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I entered the water."

The two continued relaxing as the steam slowly filled the room.

Outside, the city remained busy.

The sound of hammers striking metal could still be heard from the nearby workshops, even though evening had already arrived.

But inside the hotel, the four of them finally had a chance to rest.

The sound of hammers striking metal, combined with the relaxing warmth of the hot spring, created a unique sense of calm.

Kaiser continued relaxing in the hot spring for a while.

After a few minutes, he looked toward his father.

"Dad, what was your Rank-Up Trial like?"

Michael opened his eyes and thought for a moment.

"I chose the normal difficulty."

Kaiser nodded.

"So what kind of trial did you get?"

Michael smiled.

"It was just a simple escort mission."

"An escort mission?"

"Yeah."

Michael leaned back against the edge of the hot spring.

"I had to protect a group of people while they traveled through a dangerous area. There were several monsters along the way, but nothing too difficult."

Kaiser nodded.

"Sounds pretty simple."

"It was."

Michael chuckled.

"I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks. Since I only needed to pass the trial, I chose the normal difficulty."

Kaiser nodded in understanding.

"That makes sense."

He then looked at his father curiously.

"And Mom?"

Michael smiled.

"You should ask her yourself."

Kaiser nodded.

"Alright. I’ll ask her later."

The two continued relaxing in the hot spring as the sound of hammering from outside echoed through the city.

After a few more minutes, Kaiser looked at his father again.

"Did you get any good rewards from the trial?"

Michael thought for a moment.

"Nothing too special. The normal difficulty doesn’t give very impressive rewards."

Kaiser nodded.

"That makes sense."

Michael glanced at him.

"What about you? Your Rank-Up Trial was probably much harder."

Kaiser smiled.

"Yeah. I chose the Nightmare difficulty."

Michael’s expression became serious.

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah."

Michael shook his head.

"You’re really not interested in making things easy for yourself, are you?"

Kaiser laughed.

"I wanted better rewards."

Michael sighed.

"That’s exactly what I expected you to say."

Kaiser relaxed against the edge of the pool.

"At least it worked out."

Michael looked at him curiously.

"What did you get?"

Kaiser thought about the Frost Light Wyvern Egg and the other rewards.

"I got some useful things. Nothing that I can’t handle."

Michael nodded.

"Good."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The warm water continued flowing around them while the sounds of hammering echoed from outside.

After a while, Kaiser remembered something.

"Dad, how strong are you now compared to before?"

Michael smiled.

"Much stronger."

He raised his hand slightly.

A faint layer of frost appeared around his fingers before disappearing.

"My Frost Dragon has become stronger as well. The Rank-Up Trial also improved my overall physical abilities."

Kaiser nodded.

"That’s good."

Michael looked at his son.

"You’ve been worrying about us too much."

Kaiser blinked.

"I wasn’t."

Michael laughed.

"You definitely were."

Kaiser looked away.

"I just wanted to make sure you two were safe."

Michael smiled.

"I know."

The atmosphere became quiet again.

After a few more minutes, Michael suddenly asked,

"By the way, how strong is this Hollow Ground?"

Kaiser answered immediately.

"It’s a Rank 2 dungeon."

"Level?"

"Monsters can reach around Level 300."

Michael nodded.

"Then it shouldn’t be a problem for us now that we’re Rank 3."

"Probably not."

Kaiser smiled.

"But I’m not going there to challenge the dungeon."

Michael raised an eyebrow.

"I know. You’re looking for a suitable undead."

"Exactly."

Kaiser looked toward the ceiling.

"I want something that can move around unnoticed and infiltrate places without being detected."

Michael nodded.

"A Ghost-type undead does sound useful for that."

"That’s what I’m hoping for."

Kaiser closed his eyes.