Given a scalar field $f: \mathbb R^n \supseteq V \to S \subseteq \mathbb R, \vec x\mapsto f(\vec x)$, what is the $n$ dimensional hypersurface (or volume, however you want to call this submanifold of $S\times V$) of $\{(y,\vec x) \in S\times V \big|\ y=f(\vec x)\}$?
The case $n=1$ leading to the arc-length of $f:[a,b]\to\mathbb R$, $\int_a^b\sqrt{1+|f'(x)|^2}\,dx$ is well-known, but what about $n>1$?
If it is just about the $n$-dimensional area $\omega_n(G)$ of graphs $G$ lying in ${\mathbb R}^n\times{\mathbb R}$ you can argue as follows: Such a graph is given by an equation of the form $$x_{n+1}-f(x_1,x_2,\ldots, x_n)=0\ .$$ The surface normal at a point $p=(p',p_{n+1})\in G$ is given by $$n(p)=\bigl(-f_{.1}(p'),\ldots, -f_{.n}(p'),1\bigr)=\bigl(-\nabla f(p'),1\bigr)\ .$$ Denote the angle enclosed between $n(p)$ and the positive $x_{n+1}$-axis by $\theta$. Then $$\cos\theta={n(p)\cdot e_{n+1}\over|n(p)|}={1\over|n(p)|}\ .$$ An "$n$-dimensional surface element" ${\rm d}\omega$ at $p$ projects $1:1$ to an $n$-volume element ${\rm d}(x)$ at $p'$ and is thereby multiplied by the factor $\cos\theta$. Conversely: One has $${\rm d}\omega={1\over\cos\theta}{\rm d}(x)=|n(p)|\>{\rm d}(x)=\sqrt{1+(\nabla f(p')\bigr)^2}{\rm d}(x)\ .$$ This geometric argument then leads to $$\omega_n(G)=\int_V \sqrt{1+(\nabla f(p')\bigr)^2}{\rm d}(x)\ .\tag{1}$$ The formula for the arc length of a graph in the $(x,y)$-plane is the case $n=1$ of $(1)$.
The above geometric argument is of course a "quickie" derivation. Depending on the available or desired level of sophistication one may use a partition of $V$ into tiny cubical boxes and use some approximation of $G$ as a union of $n$-dimensional parallelotopes, or one might plunge into more involved machinery, using Gram determinants, or even Hausdorff measures.