Layla smiled at the man's compliment while Vicente muttered, "So there is such a history behind this area... But considering the origin of this place, Dark Path magicians should search this area a lot."

"There are definitely interesting things for Dark Path magicians in The Skull City." The orange-haired man said as his four companions watched Vicente and Layla. "But I don't know if Dark Path magicians have ventured here. From what I know of the history behind these ruins, Professor Dirty Scout was originally a Light Path magician, while Deerfall was an area known for its Dark Path magicians.

Professor Dirty Scout eventually becomes corrupted, using unorthodox methods to increase his strength and gain dark powers in the process. But his hatred for Dark Path magicians didn't change after he became one of them. So there's a good chance there will be restrictions on Dark Path magicians in the area ahead or even punishments and challenges within The Skull City for people with a negative elemental affinity.

I can't prove how right I am, but the lack of sightings of Dark Path magicians here should be enough to prove my point."

Vicente's eyes narrowed. "Interesting."

"Anyway, are you planning on entering The Skull City?" The man asked.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Layla asked.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask." The man smiled as Vice and Layla understood why he had told them about this place's history.

Vicente didn't like to owe favors and said. "Depending on what it is, we can try. What do you have in mind?"

The man became more serious and answered. "Three of my companions entered The Skull City four months ago. We're still waiting for them, but with each passing day, our hope that they're still alive diminishes.

All I ask is that you take this with you." He summoned a device from his spatial ring, which could demonstrate magicians' vitality by means of a flame.

The flame was lit in the normal position, which in normal situations would indicate that all was well.

'The Skull City is a cursed land, so this device is probably showing an outdated signal.'

Only by entering The Skull City with it could someone confirm the vital status of this group's companions.

"All I ask is that you take my companions' Flame of Life to The Skull City. If you return and we are still here, please return their flame to us."

The Flame of Life was special. It wouldn't go out even if you put it under water or blew on it. It would only change when the life force of its target changed.

Upon entering The Skull City, such an artifact would update itself to the actual vital state of the group's companions, and when Vicente returned, the Flame of Life would show the actual situation of those three.

"We can do this," Vicente said. "But why didn't you do it yourself? Wouldn't it be enough to go a few meters ahead and then come back?"

A woman sitting on a rock shook her head negatively and explained. "No. Once you go through that entrance, you can't come back the same way.

In a way, it's not wrong to think of The Skull City as a labyrinth. But when you enter that labyrinth, there's only one way out, and it's not the same way you see here.

So if you go through this entrance, you have no choice but to continue your journey to the end in that area."

"So that's the case." Vicente understood.

Layla asked. "And where is the exit? You are waiting here for your companions for a reason, aren't you?"

The orange-haired man explained. "The exit from this place is a spatial distortion. It's somewhere in the area we're in, so if you succeed, you'll come out in this area here. But we don't know exactly where that distortion is. Only a Paragon can identify it."

According to legend, Professor Dirty Scout was a Paragon when he created The Skull City. Therefore, only someone of his level could understand what he had done, and only someone stronger could permanently change this place and its rules.

There were only a few people like that on the entire continent, and most of them wouldn't be interested in places of influence for Mages. Therefore, these people didn't know exactly where the way out of this ruin was.

Vicente kept the Flames of Life away from the three companions in this group and said. "Alright, let's try to find out if they are alive or not. I can't promise you anything else, so don't expect anything other than answers to your questions."

"That's all we want."

Vicente took the initiative and went to the place's entrance, not hesitating to go through the Skull Portal, even though he was a Dark Path magician himself.

But Vicente didn't fear the oppression or hatred of the creator of this place. As someone with the highest form of evil power, he was confident he would not be threatened.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't be careful! Aware of his bad luck, he armed himself and prepared to fight as soon as he stepped through the portal.

Layla followed him after waving goodbye to the people at the entrance to The Skull City and soon arrived at the canyon that lay beyond the entrance to this ruin.

She felt a different sensation when she stopped and looked back, noticing a numbness in her lower limbs as the passage they had just passed through disappeared.

Vicente felt nothing in his being but also noticed that some kind of distortion in space had 'erased' the path they had just taken.

Then he looked at the canyon in front of him, where there was an abandoned city full of stairs and ramps, a place half the size of Millfall in area.

But the buildings there looked much more sophisticated and beautiful. At the same time, the drainage system and water supply seemed to be better than in Saltstar City and Millfall.

The view from the top of the hill was also surreal, completely different from what one would expect in an abandoned and cursed land.

Vicente immediately summoned the three Flames of Life he had just received, curious to know the situation of the companions of the group he had just seen.

He and Layla narrowed their eyes when they saw that of the three flames, one was extinguished, and another was red, a sign that the person connected to it was in mortal danger or already mortally wounded.

"One of them is alive, and the other is about to die..." Layla muttered.

"If they're both together, they'll probably die in the next few minutes," Vicente commented as he put the devices back into his spatial ring. "Sigh, that's not our problem. Let's go."