Skill Extraction: Exploring Dungeons

Chapter 459 - 426: Girl Soldier Units and Bond Links

The dark castle.

The massive opened doors.

Through the gap leading into the castle where one person could pass through.

Kane could clearly see the darkness inside stirring slightly.

Footsteps echoed from within the castle.

A pair of pale slender legs emerged from the darkness.

Hmm?

Not the butler?

A seemingly naive-looking girl stood before Kane.

The girl’s face was obscured by a white mask, featureless and devoid of any design or sculpting.

Her short, jet-black hair complemented a form-fitting black outfit, the style of which Kane had never encountered, leaving him at a loss for words.

Below, she wore a short skirt revealing her slender white thighs, with straight legs leading down to black ankle boots.

Black mist swirled around her form.

No weapons or even a hint of armor adorned her attire.

Yet, judging by the black mist encircling her, perhaps she was akin to a Mage?

"Are you my master?" The voice was crisp, yet hollow and emotionless.

Kane instinctively denied it, "No, but if by ’master’ you mean recruiter, then that would indeed be me."

Seeing Kane acknowledge this, the girl nodded slightly and silently stood beside him.

She didn’t seem like a Ghost, so a Dark Servant? Unexpectedly a girl.

While Kane pondered, text flashed before him, capturing his full attention.

[Bond Connection with Kallen]

The long-missed bond connection notification left Kane bewildered; how long had it been since he’d last seen it?

Perhaps it had been a year.

But who was this Kallen? Kane knew he definitely didn’t know anyone by that name.

Wait a moment.

Kane turned his head, looking at the girl quietly standing beside him.

Could it be?

"Is your name Kallen?"

Upon hearing Kane’s voice, the girl lifted her head to gaze at him, but all he saw was a white mask.

"Yes."

It was indeed her, but why? She was a lifeform from the Dungeon? Why would she form a bond connection with him?

Countless questions whirled through Kane’s mind, yet none were answered.

He resisted the urge to summon the [Book of Adventure] and delve into details about Kallen.

He awaited the emergence of the other troops he recruited, needing to ascertain whether this was an exception or standard.

Kane didn’t have to wait long, for within two minutes of Kallen’s appearance, footsteps echoed from the dark castle once more.

This time, a girl nearly identical to Kallen emerged, indistinguishable due to the same white mask obscuring her face, with matching height and build.

Yet Kane keenly spotted subtle differences.

This girl’s thighs seemed slightly fuller than Kallen’s, more fleshed out.

Drawing upon his years as a Hunter, Kane was sure of it.

After emerging, the first thing she did was stand before Kane, posing the same question as Kallen: "Are you my master?"

Her voice was slightly different from Kallen’s, but still hollow and robotic.

"Uh... no, I am your recruiter, and it might be better if you call me Officer or Sir." Kane calmly explained.

The girl nodded, then moved to stand beside Kallen.

[Bond Connection with Kasi]

As expected.

Bond connection information reappeared before Kane, confirming it wasn’t an isolated case.

Though confirming one thing didn’t dissolve Kane’s doubts; instead, it multiplied them.

Soon after, another girl appeared, dressed similarly to Kallen and the others.

The same question was repeated.

Upon Kane’s response, bond connection information manifested once more.

[Bond Connection with Karen]

The next girl followed suit.

[Bond Connection with Kana]

[Bond Connection with Kai]

Kane looked at the five girls with white masks standing beside him, identical in attire, height, hairstyle, and hair color, with names differing by only one character.

The sole method Kane had for differentiating them was their individual body types.

They could generally be distinguished by bust, waist measurement, and thigh thickness.

Another girl emerged from the doorway.

This time, she differed from Kallen and the others, with obvious distinctions.

Firstly, her black hair was long rather than short, and she was taller than Kallen and the others.

"Are you my master?"

The tone and sentence remained unchanged.

The difference was Kane was too weary for explanations, simply nodding, "Yes."

[Bond Connection with Eva]

Well, the name was different now.

This girl moved directly to Kane’s other side, not aligning with Kallen and the others.

[Bond Connection with Ah Ya]

[Bond Connection with Aina]

[Bond Connection with...]

...

Thus, gradually, twenty girls stood beside Kane. They were the Dark Servants.

The girls stood in 4 rows, each row with 5 people.

Kane looked at them and asked, "Are you grouped in teams of 5?"

Kallen, who was the first to step forward, answered, "Yes, Master."

Kane nodded, and it was quite easy to distinguish who was in which group.

Same height, same hairstyle, and same initial letter in their names, that’s how you identify members of the same group.

If you don’t look closely, you would think they’re quintuplets.

Kane stared at the slightly open door, waiting for the Ghost Maid to appear. He wondered if the Ghost Maid would also form a bond connection with him, or if this phenomenon was exclusive to the Dark Servants.

He didn’t have to wait long; a girl formed from white soul-like mist floated out.

This girl was composed of white mist, with distinctly visible facial features, wearing a maid outfit made of white mist. Below the skirt, there were no legs, just a billowing white mist.

She just floated quietly before Kane.

Exactly as the name suggests, a ghost maid.

"Did you recruit me?"

The voice was ethereal and emotional, very different from the Dark Servants.

Kane nodded and said, "Yes."

Upon Kane’s confirmation, the Ghost Maid pinched the hem of her skirt, bowed slightly, and said, "Then I’ll take care of your daily needs from now on, Master."

"Uh... never mind." Kane wanted to correct her address but decided to let it slide.

[Connected in bond with Rosalie]

The Ghost Maid has it too?

Why do connections form with these spectral entities in the Dungeon?

Kane still couldn’t comprehend.

Seeing Kane deep in thought, Rosalie floated over and asked gently, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking of some questions."

Upon hearing Kane’s reply, Rosalie nodded and then lingered beside Kane, slightly behind.

Then followed the appearance of the other 9 Ghost Maids, each linking in bond with Kane. Unlike the Dark Servants, the Ghost Maids were quite distinct.

Apart from their outfits, they were almost all different.

Rosalie, the first to appear, was their leader, though she called herself the head maid.

Looking at the total of 30 girls around him, representing all recruited soldiers, Kane wondered whether to call them soldiers at all.

The castle in front began fading away until it completely vanished.

Kane had anticipated this scene.

The records mentioned that each outdoor camp disappears once its recruitable units are all recruited.

Now Kane turned to look at the two types of girls before him and asked, "Do you have a fast way to travel?"

If not, Kane would have to slowly walk back with them.

Kallen stepped forward and said, "We don’t have a fast travel method, but we can attach ourselves to you, Master."

Intrigued by this, Kane said, "Let’s try it."

Kallen nodded and transformed into a mist that struck Kane’s hand.

A fingernail-sized white mask pattern appeared on Kane’s hand.

Looking at his arm, Kane slightly waved it. The mask pattern was just like the one on Kallen’s face, and he felt a life form residing in his arm. It was a strange sensation.

He then looked up at the Dark Servants: "You all come as well."

As soon as he spoke, all the girls transformed into black mist and charged at Kane’s hand.

When the mist dissipated, mask patterns densely covered his hand, even reaching his fingers.

The entire hand was full of masks.

How bizarre.

Having one Dark Servant was already strange, but now with 20 of them on his hand, Kane felt as though his hand belonged to someone else.

He tried not to feel it closely.

Kane turned to Rosalie and the others: "How about you?"

Rosalie laughed and said, "Although we’re fast, we can also attach to you to care for you anytime."

Am I a baby? Kane wondered.

"Fine, you attach too."

Rosalie laughed and directly entered Kane’s body.

Kane felt he could hear Rosalie’s voice.

"Master, I’m inside."

"Use different phrasing, that sounds odd."

"Master, I’ve moved in?"

"Forget it — just stick to what you said before."

The Ghost Maid’s attachment method was like temporarily housing a soul within Kane’s body. It wouldn’t harm him or affect him, only allow speaking beside him.

Has my body become a home for others?

Truly worthy of being a slightly dark unit, so sinister.

"You all together." He said to the remaining maids.

The other Ghost Maids let out laughter like silver bells, lined up eager to enter his body.

"Is this what Master looks like inside?"

"It’s so warm here."

"Hehe."

...

Soon Kane’s body became lively, with all the maids’ voices echoing around him.

Then Rosalie’s voice came: "Silence, this is the master’s body. Maintain quiet and decorum, don’t disturb him."

"Yes" ×9

Kane’s body instantly quieted down.

He inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

So now I have 30 girls inside me, Kane thought.

Too strange.