Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill-Chapter 254: Abandoned Modern City

They kept moving along the stone road, glancing in all directions to see if they could spot anything interesting.

William knew there would be humans here. The shape-shifters liked to eat humans—that alone was a clear clue about what they might find on this dungeon floor.

As they walked through the area, William began to notice something strange. The scenery around them looked eerily familiar. It resembled the landscapes he used to see back on Earth.

There was no unusual vegetation, no magical plants—just the same old plain greenery.

"It's just a coincidence," he thought, trying not to overthink it.

But after walking for nearly two hours straight, they finally reached the first place where humans had lived. It was a city.

Not just any city—a city exactly like the ones from Earth, with tall concrete buildings, skyscrapers, paved roads, and light posts.

The city was abandoned, though. Vines crept up the sides of buildings, and many structures were partially destroyed. It reminded William of those post-apocalyptic settings from shows he used to watch back home.

When Rena and Burt saw the towering buildings reaching into the sky, they were stunned.

"What is this?" Rena asked. "I've never seen a city like this before."

"Me neither," Burt replied, equally shocked.

Only William remained composed. To him, it wasn't shocking—it was unsettling.

A large wall surrounded the city, clearly built long after the original structures. The materials and construction style were completely different from the rest of the city.

"This wall," William thought, "was definitely built by the people living here."

The materials and construction of the wall looked primitive—no technology involved. Anyone could tell that just by looking at it.

As they approached the area, a few people standing near the wall stepped forward to speak with them. It was obvious they were outsiders.

"Stop right there," one of them said. "We don't allow outsiders to enter."

For the first time, William wasn't allowed into a city. Normally, they would just search him for anything illegal or dangerous and let him pass. But this time was different.

"What do you mean?" William asked. "We mean no harm. We're just passing through and looking for a place to stay."

He tried his best to persuade them, but no matter what he said, the guards wouldn't let them in.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. There are rules I have to follow."

In the end, the man was just a guard. Someone else was making the decisions around here.

"Maybe you need the services of powerful adventurers? I'm sure we could help you," William offered.

At that, the guard didn't refuse right away. Instead, he looked like he was considering it.

"We do have a few problems… but I still can't let you through. Let me speak with the people in charge."

"No problem."

William didn't mind waiting. Neither did Rena or Burt. They found a few stones near the wall to sit on and waited patiently for the guard to return with an answer.

Rena placed her staff on the ground, tired of carrying it around.

Then she asked, "What kind of problem do you think they need help with?"

"Probably monsters," William said. "That's the usual issue people face in this dungeon."

It was typically about monsters, but they hadn't seen a single one on their way to the city. Maybe this time, the problem was something else.

They had a wall around the city and guards stationed there, so maybe William had just gotten lucky and avoided any magical beasts on the way.

Either way, they waited a while until the guard finally returned—with someone else beside him. This new man looked like a guard too, wearing the same type of armor as the others.

He was the one who addressed William. "I heard you want to enter the city and are willing to help us with a few problems? Well, let's see if you're capable."

Without another word, the man drew his sword and dashed toward William, launching a sudden attack.

No one was expecting that. The captain suddenly appeared in front of William and, with his sword, slashed toward him.

Despite the initial shock and being caught off guard, William quickly regained his composure and blocked the attack.

To the man's surprise, William didn't use his Asura sword to defend himself—he used his bare hands, grabbing the blade mid-air.

Blood started dripping from his hand, but the injury wasn't too serious. With his fast recovery, William knew he would heal soon.

"Not bad," the man said, a slight grin on his face. "You've got strength... and guts too. Just the kind of person we're looking for. Please, follow me."

They opened the city gate. William noticed he had earned the respect of that man—the one in charge of the city's defense—so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask a few questions.

"Could you tell me why you decided to set up your base here? I mean, it's clear this is an abandoned city," William asked.

"I guess it was much easier to use these abandoned structures than to build everything from scratch. I mean, we would never be able to construct something this big," the man said, pointing at the towering buildings around them.

Indeed, they would never be able to build something so grand. The city was highly technological—far beyond anything they could replicate.

And what the man said made sense. Why not use all those buildings already standing, just waiting to be occupied?

The real question William had to ask himself was: why was this city abandoned in the first place?

The people who created the dungeon must have been the ones who built that city too—that was the most obvious answer. But how had it ended up in such a state of destruction and abandonment?

That could only happen if the city had been left untouched for many years.

"Could it be that this dungeon was created such a long time ago?" William wondered.

It seemed like the dungeon's creators were becoming more and more mysterious with each new thing William discovered about them.

"And what exactly is the problem you're facing?" William asked.

The defense chief then explained what had happened.

"There's something strange going on beneath the city. Some people swear they've seen figures down in the sewers, but no one's really sure. At first, we ignored it… until recently, when someone went down there to investigate and never came back. Now everyone's afraid to sleep at night or even walk near the sewer holes."

That really was strange. William tried to find out what those people in the sewers looked like, but the man didn't know.

He then said, "Could they be shape-shifters? We ran into some recently, and they love devouring humans."

"You mean the shape-shifters from the forest not too far from here? No, it's not them. They stay in their territory," the man replied.

That made things even more interesting. William was curious about what kind of people—or creatures—were down there in the sewers beneath the city.

Anyway, as they walked, the security chief began showing them around the city and introducing the people who lived there. The population was small, and the people weren't exactly welcoming. Even when they saw William, Rena, and Burt walking through the streets, no one came to greet them.

They barely left their homes or workplaces. Everyone was quiet.

A city as big as that one, abandoned, with only a handful of people living there? Well, it made the place look quite scary.

The number of lights inside the city was almost non-existent too—only the main street and a few houses had any lighting. So, during the night, almost 95% of that abandoned city was completely dark.

William was glad they arrived during the day.

"I want you to go to the sewers today and see what you can find out."

The security chief wanted them to get to work as soon as possible.

They wouldn't even have time to rest before going down there.

Now that William was inside the city, part of him wanted to use his strength to take command somehow. He had already noticed that the security chief wasn't particularly strong.

But what held him back was the powerful aura he felt coming from one of the tall buildings in the center of the city.

That was definitely where the current ruler of the city lived—and that person was strong. William didn't want to pick a fight with someone like that.

So, with no better option, he did as the security chief said and headed down into the sewers to look for the missing person and figure out what was going on down there.

Rena and Burt had to go with him, of course. Rena didn't want to. It was dark, it smelled like shit, and it was obviously dangerous. Who in their right mind would want to go down there?

William was the only one who looked calm. He just wanted to get done with that as quickly as possible and return with his search for the portal leading to the next dungeon floor.