Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Level 40 (2)
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The dungeon entrance was still crowded as ever.
The area around the 1st floor entrance bustled with the most people.
Quite a few were stationed on the 2nd floor, taking a break.
I pushed past them and arrived at the 3rd floor.
Wooong—
The 3rd floor had its fair share of people too, forming parties or resting.
A decent crowd had gathered around the entrance.
As I tried to slip by, I spotted a familiar face.
"…!"
The chatty mage I'd met during the 2nd floor boss raid.
The moment he saw me, he jolted in surprise and fled like he was running for his life.
I hadn't given it much thought at first… but with him acting so blatantly, it made me want to tease him a bit.
"Senior."
"Uh, y-yeah? Oh, the junior from the 2nd floor…?"
When I called out, he trailed off in obvious panic.
He fidgeted restlessly, inching away from me bit by bit.
"Do you have some urgent schedule, by any chance?"
"Ah, y-yeah! See, I'm in the middle of forming a party right now, so sorry, but let's chat next time."
With that, he bolted into the dungeon depths like he was escaping.
His claim about the party wasn't a lie—others followed after him.
They seemed to ask the mage what was wrong.
"F-First, let's head deeper in!"
But all that came back was the mage's frantic voice.
Looks like he still needs more time.
Alright, fun's over…
"Time to hunt."
-Tssk!
Not long after entering the dungeon interior, I encountered an orc.
Orcs were avoidance monsters, so running into them was easy.
Most people chose to evade before combat even started.
Craaack—
I drew out a Frozen Spear from the tip of my staff.
Aiming it straight at the orc's torso.
Craaackle—!
Intense cold exploded outward, instantly freezing the orc's upper body solid.
It couldn't even scream properly before turning into a massive ice statue right there.
[Orc defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
I lightly swung my staff to activate Mana Stone Resonance.
Shraaak—
A large mana stone detached from the orc's corpse and flew straight into my hand.
This convenience never gets old, no matter how many times I use it.
I opened the map in my status window.
The dungeon was so vast that most of the 3rd floor remained dark on the map.
I wandered toward areas that seemed less trafficked by others.
[Orc defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
[Orc defeated.]
[Experience gained.]
…
Hunting orcs posed no real challenge.
Frozen Spear took about 10 seconds to cast and consumed a lot of mana.
But with my recovery rune upgraded a level, mana shortages weren't an issue.
Orcs usually roamed solo too, so as long as the firepower was there, no real dangers.
I smoothly farmed experience while roaming the dungeon.
One minor downside, though…
"It's gonna take a while."
Even orcs gave meager experience as regular monsters, so progress felt slow.
Well… nothing to be done about that.
I summoned another Frozen Spear into the air and pressed deeper into the dungeon.
Thud—
My magic pierced the orc's skull, sending it tumbling to the ground.
[Level up!]
[Current Level: 36 → 37]
It had been four days since I started orc hunting.
Consistent grinding had bumped me from 35 to 37.
Leveling wasn't as sluggish as I'd feared.
At this rate, I'd hit 40 within a week.
"Think I'll call it here for today."
Leveled up, so time to empty my inventory.
I tore a return scroll and headed back to the city.
"Hoo."
Deep into the night, yet the city's taverns were unusually empty these past few days.
Taverns were usually packed with decent earners—mostly 2nd and 3rd floor folks.
No wonder the innkeepers looked so glum.
Eh… these things happen.
Not like I had the luxury to worry about others.
I hurried to the city hall before it closed.
"Welcome, Rain!"
The clerk greeted me as usual when I opened the door.
Her name was… Mei, right?
"Hello, Mei."
"Ah! You remembered my name?"
"Yeah."
I pulled mana stones from my inventory and handed them over.
Clink—
The heavy pouch thudded onto the counter.
The piles just kept growing day by day.
"Whoa… h-hold on a sec!"
Mei grunted as she hauled the mana stone sack inside.
Felt awkward just standing there, so I stepped over to help.
"Ah, thank you!"
As always, she weighed each pouch one by one and meticulously logged them.
"Alright then… 550 platinum coins! Right away!"
"Thanks."
Pocketing the platinum pouch, I returned to my lodging.
That brought my total to 1,650 platinum.
Decent sum on paper, but… with item purchases looming, it felt tight.
Top priority was a mental strength booster.
Fastest and surest was a Mandrake Elixir, but I was nowhere near the price.
I checked the status window menu first.
Still two weeks until the auction house opened.
And the first auction featured a unique-grade item: Eldea's Final Leaf.
Unique-grade meant one-of-a-kind in the game.
Other auction items would likely be similar rarities.
Buying a mere mental strength trinket there made no sense.
"Time's short too."
I'd hit 40 within a week, unlocking the 3rd Circle.
That's why I needed mental strength prep, but timing was off.
So… black market it is?
Problem there too.
"Trust with Beth is still too new."
I'd just wrapped my first deal with the black market dealer Beth.
No clue why she was so friendly, but building proper trust took three trades.
Conveniently, today was respawn day for the 1st and 2nd floor treasure chests…
Even if I could access the black market, buying items was another story.
Not enough platinum piled up yet.
After some thought, I decided.
"Grab the item first."
Head to the dungeon early tomorrow, open the chests, then plan.
A good drop could solve the budget issue.
The next day.
Rrrk—
Opening the hidden space on the 1st floor, the treasure chest greeted me as expected.
I ducked inside quick to avoid prying eyes.
Tricky spot to find, but not impossible forever.
Someone would discover it eventually.
When that happened, I'd sell the location to a major guild and bounce.
Until then, time to farm it.
I opened the chest without hesitation.
Creeeak—
『Artifact: Light-Devouring Ring』
―On use, absorbs surrounding light for 10 seconds. Reuse to emit the absorbed light.
"Oh."
Pretty solid artifact for a 1st floor chest.
The Light-Devouring Ring sucked in light within a certain range.
Could temporarily blind nearby foes in the process.
Useless in bright open areas.
But in enclosed spaces like dungeons? Pretty useful.
Emitting the light had its own trick.
It shattered dark status effects.
Darkness inflicted blindness until cured.
This ring could dispel it without holy power.
And best of all.
"Perfect for selling to Beth."
Similar to the Bell of Silence I'd sold her before.
Artifacts with special powers.
Weird knick-knacks that rich eccentrics outside Labyrinth City would love.
The Bell of Silence would've fetched 1,000 platinum in the city.
But on the black market? Easily over 2,000.
Even that was a steal for collectors.
After taxes, she'd still pocket hundreds.
"Alright then."
Item secured—now for the 2nd floor.
I stashed the ring and used a return scroll.
Better to step out and avoid bumping into anyone.
Then headed naturally to the 2nd floor.
Wooong—
Past the gate, the damp 2nd floor scenery came into view.
I snuck past prying eyes.
After quite the detour.
"Here."
Reached the 2nd floor hidden space.
The gimmick here: passing through an illusory wall.
High mental strength let you breeze through pain-free.
Thud—
"Ow!"
I still smashed my head into the wall, suffering phantom pain.
Thanks to the soulstone boosting my mental strength, though, it wasn't as bad as day one.
Inside, the three rooms remained.
Lizard Shamans had respawned in the two side rooms, excluding the locked center one.
"Die."
-Kirrik!
Frozen Spear one-shot both.
As the Lizard Shamans fell, the central door unlocked, revealing a golden-glowing treasure chest.
I opened it immediately.
『Mana Stone Ring』
―Equipped: +300 Mana.
"Hmm."
No artifact, disappointingly.
Mana Stone Ring was better than nothing, sure.
But not the quirky type black market weirdos craved.
They wanted oddities, not stat sticks—these sold better in Labyrinth City.
Beth probably wouldn't take it.
"Might as well equip it."
Slipping it on, I felt something well up near my heart.
Couldn't sell it, but wearable was profit enough.
Then a return scroll to the 3rd floor.
Gonna hunt today's quota before heading back.