Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Level 40 (1)
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"Phew."
After exiting the dungeon, I returned to my lodging and grabbed a simple lunch.
I was eating meat, but... it was a bit bland. Such a shame.
I miss the taste of seasonings.
"Guh."
Having finished my meal, I was about to head back to the dungeon...
The question was, which floor to go to.
"Should I go to the 4th floor after all?"
Judging purely by the power of my magic, hunting on the 4th floor seemed feasible without issue.
However... starting from the 4th floor, it becomes impossible to escape the dungeon using a return scroll.
On top of that, Blink becomes unusable as well.
With my current combat prowess, even in a one-on-one against a knight, as long as I could land my spells first, I wouldn't lose.
But that was only in a true one-on-one scenario.
"If they come at me with real intent, I wouldn't be able to escape."
Since I didn't know what history my current body had with the kingdom's knights, I had to be extra cautious about this.
Moreover, once I entered the 4th floor, I couldn't rest freely until I found a spot where monsters didn't respawn.
If luck was bad, I could get caught in repeated battles with monsters and fall into danger.
Sure, the experience points would be incomparable to the 3rd floor.
But was there any real reason to take on that risk?
After some deliberation, I made up my mind.
"Let's hunt Orcs mainly."
The Orcs on the underground 3rd floor were monsters everyone avoided.
However, precisely because of that, they gave a lot of experience.
Above all, since most parties chose to avoid fighting Orcs, their numbers should still be plentiful.
From my test last time... a single Frozen Spear took down an Orc.
Considering hunting efficiency compared to the 4th floor, this wouldn't be bad either.
Most monsters tended to spawn in specific locations.
For example, Silver Wolves on the 3rd floor always appeared in packs, so they only spawned in large rooms.
Therefore, areas concentrated with Orc terrain would see less traffic from people.
Meaning I could monopolize the experience there.
I immediately grabbed my staff and headed to the dungeon.
From today until level 40, it's Orcs all the way.
Ah, but first.
"Let's sell these mana stones and go."
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Ding-a-ling-
As I opened the door to the city hall, a clear bell sound echoed inside.
"Welcome! Ah, Rain!"
The clerk behind the counter spotted me and waved with a bright voice.
Her gaze lingered on me for a moment before widening slightly in surprise.
"Wow...! You've gotten even more sturdy in just a few days!"
It seemed the physical growth from the soulstone was visible to others' eyes too.
Last time she saw me was before I'd reinforced the soulstone.
I placed the heavy pouches of mana stones on the counter in lieu of a reply.
The clerk quickly weighed them, appraised the value, and jotted it down in the ledger.
"450 platinum coins! You're bringing in more and more each time?"
"Thank you."
It definitely felt good as the weight grew heavier day by day.
With this, my current platinum coins totaled 1,100.
It was about time to prepare for more spells.
"Ah! You're a mage, right, Rain? Have you tried the magic library on the 3rd floor of our hall?"
The clerk asked with sparkling eyes, as if something had just occurred to her.
Labyrinth City offered various supports for beginners.
All provided for free through the city hall, including basic training, and even swordsmanship or magic if desired.
However.
"I've never been. I don't need 1st circle magic."
The library only stocked 1st circle grimoires.
And even if free, internalizing them from reading would take half a day.
It was different from learning via runes.
"Ah... In that case, do you know about the Magic Tower folks at the east entrance?"
"Have Magic Tower mages come to the city?"
"Yes! They're selling rare grimoires and ritual materials. Might be helpful for you, Rain!"
The Magic Tower periodically came down to the kingdom or empire to sell grimoires.
Unlike wandering merchants, being affiliated with the Magic Tower meant their goods were high quality.
They mainly sold magic catalysts or low-circle magic, but rare grimoires popped up sometimes too.
I should check it out.
"Thank you. That..."
Come to think of it, I didn't know her name.
She caught my glance.
"Ah! My name's May! You'll call me by name next time, right?"
"Yes."
I gave May a light greeting and headed to the city's east entrance where the Magic Tower group had arrived.
"...It's packed."
The east entrance was already swarming with people.
Around the magically glowing luxurious carriages stood several figures in blue robes.
The familiar sight of Magic Tower mages.
Surrounding them, robed adventurers—mostly mages or shamans by the look—were excitedly browsing the wares.
To learn magic, one either studied grimoires or received direct instruction.
Few sold magic items of the Magic Tower's quality.
"Welcome. Are you a knight, sir? We happen to have mana-infused steel gauntlets on sale."
As I approached a carriage, one blue-robed mage called out to me.
"I'm a mage."
"Pardon? Haha, good one. Those solid shoulders and stance scream knight."
The mage eyed me up and down with puzzlement.
Hm, is it that noticeable?
Certainly, since equipping the soulstone, I'd felt my body grow... but not to a knight's level.
"I'm here to see the grimoires."
"Ah... then this way."
The mage led me to the innermost carriage.
With all the guards in front, the grimoires must be there too.
"Here! The ledger. Mana leaks just from opening grimoires, so pardon that. Oh, no fakes here! Guaranteed by the Magic Tower."
I took the grimoire ledger and scanned for anything useful.
Fireball, Energy Bolt, Freeze...
All just 1st or 2nd circle magic.
"No 3rd or 4th circle spells?"
"...Pardon?"
The mage chuckled as if I'd said something absurd.
"3rd circle magic is rare even in the Magic Tower. Let alone 4th..."
The mage narrowed his eyes.
He wore a smug look, like he'd seen through a lie.
"You really aren't a knight? A mage would know what 3rd circle means."
"I am a mage."
"Come on, that won't fly. Curious about magic?"
"That's not it."
The man muttered something like, see, my eyes didn't deceive me.
I stopped the pointless back-and-forth.
Mages never listened well anyway.
More importantly now.
"Any items that boost mental power?"
I stated my next goal.
Mental power prevented status ailments in the dungeon, aided learning magic, etc.
Applied in many situations.
My current level was 35.
Soon I'd hit 40 and learn 3rd circle magic.
From 3rd circle on, the mental power required per spell skyrocketed exponentially.
Just 2nd circle had me foaming at the mouth, so tackling 3rd with this mental power...
One misstep, and my head might explode trying to learn a single spell.
Better to boost it in advance for smoother progress.
Deeper in the dungeon, mental power became crucial too.
The more the better.
"Mental power? One moment..."
Oh?
The mage said wait and headed to the opposite carriage.
He'd brought mental-boosting items too.
Normally you'd have to go to the Magic Tower itself. Lucky.
"Here it is!"
The man lightly shook a glass vial containing a brown liquid.
"What's this?"
"High-grade elixir made from mandrake root. Clears the mind and increases capacity."
Mandrake elixir, huh.
A top-tier elixir for boosting mental power.
However.
"Isn't it a bit small?"
"Ah... Precious ingredients mean few buyers, so we portioned it."
Fair enough.
This wasn't the Tower proper, so no way they'd carry whole vials of rare mandrake elixir.
"How much capacity is this?"
"When we made this batch, it came from 100 elixirs total."
"..."
Meaning... this one has about 1/100th of a mandrake.
1/100th... basically just scented water?
A bit ridiculous, but better than nothing.
From the sound of it, he probably had only one.
No, likely more. Buying about 10 and drinking them should give a meaningful boost.
"So... how much per vial?"
"Ah! As I thought, you recognize value—you must be a knight! Just 300 platinum per vial!"
300 platinum?
I chuckled inwardly.
A full mandrake elixir went for 5,000 platinum. 1/100th should be 50 platinum simple math.
Selling this for 300?
I turned away without hesitation.
"No, sir! I can adjust the price...!"
"It's fine."
Way too much of a rip-off.