Chapter 181 — Into Basement Level Five

Chapter 181: Chapter 181 — Into Basement Level Five

Chapter 181 — Into Basement Level Five

The next day, Victor made his way toward the Library.

It was getting close to one o’clock, so he picked up his pace slightly.

He didn’t want to be late.

As he walked, his thoughts returned to this morning.

Victor had asked Lyra if she wanted to come with them into Basement Level Five.

She had refused.

Not because she didn’t want to help.

For once, she had a good reason.

Her soul control had finally started making significant progress.

The previous night, Lyra had shown Victor something she had been working on for quite some time.

Her Shadow Flame had finally reached Tier One.

That meant she could officially begin practicing The Soul Control technique.

Victor had watched as a small black and purple flame appeared in the palm of her hand.

It flickered quietly for ten seconds.

Then it disappeared.

For Lyra, that was an enormous accomplishment.

The smile on her face afterward had almost looked childish.

She had been genuinely happy.

Victor couldn’t help laughing when he remembered it.

She had been so proud of herself.

More importantly, she had told Victor that she wanted to focus on her understanding for now.

Apparently, she was getting close to figuring something out.

Victor didn’t know what.

Lyra had been strangely secretive about it.

She hadn’t explained what she was learning inside the Library.

That made Victor curious.

What could she possibly be learning that I don’t already know?

He shook his head.

Whatever it was, he would let her tell him when she was ready.

Nala had stayed behind at the apartment. Victor didn’t want to drag her through the deeper regions of Basement Level Five.

For now, he had his own assignment.

The Library finally came into view.

Victor slowed down.

Grace was already standing outside.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"Good afternoon, Victor."

"Good afternoon, Grace."

Victor stopped beside her.

"Ready to have a little fun in Basement Level Five?"

Grace smiled slightly.

"Hopefully the ingredients aren’t too difficult to reach."

Victor nodded.

They waited quietly.

A couple of minutes passed.

Then a loud voice roared.

"Victor!"

Victor turned.

Zack came around the corner, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry I’m a few minutes late!"

He slowed down.

"I got held up with something this morning. Took longer than I thought."

He looked toward Grace.

"And hello, Grace."

Grace gave him a polite smile and a small nod.

"Hello, Zack."

Victor shook his head.

"No worries. You’re not really late."

He glanced at the time.

"You’re probably right on time."

Zack sighed in relief.

"Good."

He straightened his clothes.

"So, we’re all here?"

Victor nodded.

"Let’s get started."

The three of them entered the Library.

They quickly divided the work between them.

Zack would research the Turtle Manticore, including where they could find one strong enough to provide the required Core and hide.

Grace would research the Bulwark Flower and Fire Grass.

Victor took the final ingredient.

Black Heart Fungus.

The moment they had their assignments, they split up.

Victor headed toward the relevant section of the Library.

The research took longer than expected.

Black Heart Fungus wasn’t exactly a common ingredient.

Victor went through several books.

He compared different records and descriptions, searching for information about its natural habitat and the conditions required for it to grow.

The more he researched, the more obvious it became why Benton had placed a star beside it.

It was the most troublesome ingredient on the list.

By the time Victor finished, nearly two hours had passed.

He closed the book.

"Finally."

He gathered the information he needed and went looking for Zack and Grace.

Eventually, he found them together.

They were standing near one of the tables, apparently waiting for him.

Victor walked over.

"Looks like I’m the last one."

Zack laughed.

"Yeah."

He held up his notes.

"The Turtle Manticore was pretty easy. There was a lot of information about it."

Grace nodded.

"I already knew where to find one of the ingredients, so I only had to research the other."

Zack looked toward Victor.

Victor held up his notes.

"It really was more difficult to find."

Grace glanced at the information.

"So we have everything?"

Victor nodded.

He looked between them.

"Ready to head to Basement Level Five?"

Zack nodded.

"Absolutely."

Grace gave a small smile.

"Yes."

The three of them left the Library.

They made their way toward the elevator.

They walked inside.

The doors closed.

The elevator began descending.

Victor’s expression slowly became more serious.

He remembered when he had ridden this elevator six months ago.

Back then, he had been a slave.

He had been descending into Basement Level Five with Team Fifteen.

He hadn’t known what awaited him.

That version of Victor was gone.

Victor looked at his reflection in the elevator door.

He was stronger now.

Much stronger.

And more importantly, he knew how to survive.

Basement Level Five wasn’t the terrifying place it had once been.

At this point, it would take something far beyond an ordinary threat to truly endanger him.

Victor smiled slightly.

Beside him, Zack and Grace remained quiet.

Neither seemed particularly concerned.

The elevator continued downward.

Then—

Ding.

The doors opened.

A wave of bitter cold immediately rushed inside.

Victor’s expression sharpened.

Basement Level Five.

He stepped forward.

Zack and Grace followed.

The three of them stood at the entrance for a moment, looking into the cold, dangerous caverns ahead.

He was here for an assignment.

And he had a week to complete it.

Victor adjusted his robe.

"Let’s get started."

The three of them stepped into Basement Level Five.

A guard station stood just beyond the elevator.

One of the guards looked up as they approached.

The moment he saw Grace and Zack, his expression changed.

He recognized them immediately.

Victor, however, was unfamiliar.

Still, the fact that he was walking alongside the two of them was enough to place him in a completely different category in the guard’s mind.

He straightened in his seat.

"Good afternoon, Grace and Zack."

"Good afternoon," Zack replied.

He gestured toward Victor.

"This is Victor."

The guard smiled.

"What do we owe the pleasure?"

Zack handed over their assignment paperwork.

"We’re here for our Tier One alchemy assignment."

The guard took the documents and glanced over them.

"Ah, Elder Benton is doing this again."

He shook his head with a small smile.

"Looks like the Tier One class is going ingredient hunting."

He handed the papers back.

"Alright. Just a warning, guys."

His expression became more serious.

"There have been quite a few disappearances in the caves recently."

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The guard looked at all three of them.

"Make sure you stay safe down there. Stay together, and don’t wander off alone."

The three listened intently.

"Granted, all three of you are Spirit Gathering cultivators, so I don’t think you’ll have too many problems."

He tapped the side of his citizen ID.

"But if you run into anything or get into trouble, send an alert through your citizen ID. We’ll arrive as quickly as we can."

Zack nodded.

"Thank you. We’ll make sure to do that."

The guard smiled.

"Good luck."

The three of them continued forward.

The cold air grew stronger as they left the guard station behind.

Before long, the lights of the entrance disappeared behind them.

Darkness swallowed the path ahead.