BXBX NOVEL Chapter 114 - 114
The second floor of the dungeon was quite… different. Unlike the first floor where there were different caverns with cleverly demarcated allies based on their strength, there was only one long cavern here that seemed to go on forever.
It was also well-lit thanks to the glass roofing, allowing Darius and Gunner to see as far as possible. They could tell that this 'floor' was basically one big forest.
Darius and Gunner stood a slight distance away from its edges, taking in the sight of the old trees that would almost be criminal to harm on earth by preservation laws.
Here though, there was nothing of the sort. Darius did not rush into the foliage, nor did he set it alight. His Intellect, as Caesar had put it, also served to increase/control his perception.
And his perception was telling him not to do anything rash, but he was surrounded by fatal danger. Gunner might not have as high Intellect as he, but he too sensed the same thing, and so remained still.
Darius first Analyzed the entire forest, because he had a strange feeling about it.
[Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Forest of Death
Race: Vegetation
Class: Mobile Predator
Sub-class: Master of Life
HP: 2,300/2,300
MP: 840/840
Level: 40
Strength: 47
Agility: 36
Endurance: 49
Intellect: 21
Charisma: 4
Luck: 10
Abilities: Illusion, Life Drain, Swarm, Summon Vegetation, Leaf Blades, Bark Warriors, Root Whip.
Weapons: Entire body.]
Darius sucked in a deep breath, and so too did Gunner when the lad was furnished with the details of what Darius had discovered. They finally realized that their heightened perception had saved them from death.
Most Journeymen who entered here must have been either pre-informed or also sensed some foul play. Entering that forest unprepared was the fastest way to die, even for Journeymen.
Amateurs like Darius and Gunner, despite having higher stats than they should for their stage, could not access the raw firepower of Journeymen. As such, they would really struggle to come out alive.
For example, instead of a mere Ember, Darius could have used an actual Fireball spell, among other flame Journeyman spells available, to set the forest alight while moving around with Blink.
With a mere Ember that suffered to kill that Treeant back then, it was impossible to use it here. If Darius and Gunner wanted to clear this floor, they would need to invest time in buying items, and Darius would have to waste CP on them.
As such, the duo shared a look and resolutely climbed upstairs. Once on the first floor that had already been cleared, they took the second set of stairs back to the surface.
Just like last time, Darius sold his plentiful drops for money, making the nearby Novices greatly envious while the Intermediates were puzzled. Darius came out with almost 5 times their usual haul, even on the best of days.
Where was he getting all these resources? Even the representative of the guild who was handling the purchase was dumbfounded, because this was the same haul from about 6 or so different Intermediate Adventurers who cleared the entire first floor.
Since he saw no items typical of the second and below floors, it meant Darius had only cleared the top. So where did he get the rest? Once he looked up to Darius with a questioning glance, the lad smiled.
"I'm just lucky."
All listeners felt rage boil in them, Luck... LUCK?!
Does this lad even know how long they've struggled and fought for resources in this dungeon on a daily?! They could only bring out a small percentage of their haul paid with their lifeblood and he dares to mention LUCK?!
Even the one tallying the details and handing over the payment felt his lips twitch, but didn't dare to say anything. As for Darius, he noticed that the crowd was displeased by his explanation, and so had an idea.
"In fact, why don't we do this. Use the payment you plan to give me to allow each person here to buy one health potion. That way, my fellow adventurers could have something on them that might save their lives in a pinch."
This surprised all onlookers, as they couldn't believe the generosity of this young noble. This also shocked the person tallying, because he was in the know. He knew Darius was no Amateur, but an Adept playing house.
That was why he took the reply of it being a matter of luck calmly, because this Adept fellow might have his own means that he didn't want to share. However, giving this much out to the Novices here…
"Are you sure, Master Darius?" he asked uncertainly.
Darius nodded. "I am. Please make sure it's distributed as fairly as possible. As for your cut, we'll sort it out when next I arrive."
The fellow nodded as he watched Darius and Gunner leave with a complicated glance. As for the various Adventurers here, their ears were sharp. Once they heard the clerk call out Darius' name, they engraved it in their minds before rushing over for their 'benefits'.
The clerk was soon swamped with work as he had to take out health potions he quickly had his aide purchase, steadily distributing them amongst those who had been around first. If any extras were left, he gave it to incoming adventurers.
Darius naturally did this to leave a good impression of himself. Nobles and the like may disdain the common man or those struggling in difficulty, but Darius had the history of the earth as a lesson.
Push the common man too far and off with your head… literally. Just like he had done on Earth - gaining favor with the masses - so too would he do in Faust.
However, he had underestimated his action's effects. He had only spent about 3 or so weeks in Faust overall, not nearly enough time to fully understand how things worked in practicality.
The money he could have earned from his haul was quite substantial, and it went to help a lot of Novices, further spreading his name among them as a benevolent noble.
Of course, this was not something impressive now, but was there ever any planted seed that grew in a day?