DMS Chapter 142

The thirty-fifth floor of the Dungeon of Mara had a forest setting. These types of environments irritated Flinx slightly since the monsters could use the terrain to hide and ambush adventurers.

Normally, it would not have been a problem for him. Ever since reaching a sufficiently high level, Flinx’s usual strategy during dungeon delves was to stay in the sky and rain spells down on the monsters.

At the very least, he could still determine the monsters’ locations through the wind elemental he had summoned. With the elemental scouting ahead, pinpointing enemies was not difficult.

One good thing about his fellow Earthlings was that he did not need to explain every action he took, aside from the instructions he had already given them at the dungeon entrance. Mark and the others could easily identify the spells he cast through their visual effects. Two members of their group were spellcasters, and they also had access to Earth’s internet, which contained detailed descriptions of nearly every spell and class from the famous fantasy tabletop role-playing game on which the system seemed to be based.

Unfortunately for Mark’s group, their spellcasters were only level three, so summoning elementals was still beyond them. At the very least, they could summon familiars to function as scouts. The highest level among them was Mark, a level four Druid.

After quickly checking the internet again, Flinx realized he had been mistaken. A level four Druid apparently possessed a diverse enough spell list to summon creatures and elementals for scouting purposes as well.

The first monsters they encountered were a tribe of forest goblins. They were larger and far more vicious than ordinary goblins. Flinx did not hesitate. He rained several spells down upon the group of twelve monsters, and within seconds, every one of them was dead.

Flinx then cast Crown of Stars, causing the mana stones scattered across the battlefield to glow brightly.

“I forgot to mention this earlier,” Flinx told Mark and the others. “Crown of Stars causes mana stones to light up for some reason. I think most light-based spells probably do the same, but you’ll have to experiment.”

While the elementals gathered the mana stones, Flinx discussed his strategy for clearing dungeon floors with the group.

“What strategy?” Merlo asked with a laugh. “You don’t have one. You just bombard the monsters with spells.”

“That’s exactly why I like the Dungeon of Mara,” Flinx replied. “The floors are smaller, and the paths are straightforward. This style works well here, and it lets me clear the final floor several times a day. That’s how I leveled up so quickly.”

When the elementals handed him the mana stones, Flinx passed them all to Mark, who stored them in his inventory. Technically, the mana stones should have belonged entirely to Flinx since his spells had killed the monsters, but he already had more than enough. Mark and the others needed funds far more than he did, so he intended to give them all the loot from the day’s delve.

“Can you let us handle the next group?” Mark asked. “We want to see if we can kill the monsters ourselves using our spells.”

“Sure,” Flinx replied. “Just let the Rockies tank for you.”

“Rockies?” Merlo asked.

“Sorry. Ever since I arrived in Ilioven, I’ve been summoning three earth elementals that look like rock golems. The four orphans I adopted started calling them Rockies, and eventually everyone else did too.”

The second group of monsters consisted of the ever-present giant spiders.

Mark ordered the golems forward. Once the spiders engaged the earth elementals, Oscar—the only melee fighter in the group and the holder of the Fighter class—charged in and attacked one of the spiders with his skills. Mark and the others unleashed their spells as well.

Flinx could immediately see the enormous gap between his own power and that of his fellow Earthlings. It was understandable. Technically, he was already level sixteen, even while suffering under a massive debuff, while Mark, the highest-level member of the group, was only level four.

Everyone knew that if Mark had allowed the Rockies to attack freely instead of merely tanking hits, the battle would have ended within minutes. However, Mark wanted to test the strength of his group’s skills and spells, so the Rockies remained mostly passive while the others fought.

Ever since arriving in this world, Flinx had never been as weak as Mark’s group. By the time he had been transported here, he had already reached level seven, three levels higher than Mark currently was. Still, watching the colorful spells being cast was entertaining. It almost felt as though he were watching a fantasy movie filled with expensive CGI effects.

At least Mark and his teammates seemed to be enjoying themselves. The three Rockies ensured their safety at all times. Whenever one of the spiders attempted to shift its attention away from the elementals and target Mark, Merlo, Oscar, or Emil, the Rockies would immediately pummel the creature until its attention returned to them.

While observing the battle, Flinx realized that Mark’s group did not actually have two Wizards. Emil possessed the Wizard class, but Merlo was apparently a Sorcerer.

Flinx was somewhat surprised when it took the group nearly twenty minutes to kill all the giant spiders. Initially, he had assumed Mark was being overly cautious when he requested that they delve the thirty-fifth floor instead of proceeding directly to the fortieth floor as originally planned. After witnessing the fight, however, Flinx realized Mark had been right. Without the Rockies protecting them, Mark and his teammates likely would have been defeated by the spiders.

After gathering the loot, Mark stored everything away. Flinx then explained that they could not afford to let Mark’s group handle every battle since it would slow their progress too much. Because of that, they agreed that Flinx would deal with most of the monsters while occasionally allowing Mark and his teammates to fight selected groups.

When noon arrived, they stopped for lunch. Excited by their recent victories and the large number of mana stones they had collected—at least compared to what they had earned on the twelfth floor the previous day—everyone became unusually extravagant with their spending and purchased expensive meals.

Flinx joined them without complaint and ordered high-priced restaurant food for himself as well. The meal was excellent. Mark even suggested that they take an hour-long nap afterward, which completely flabbergasted Flinx, though he ultimately allowed everyone to do as they pleased.

Mark had purchased an enormous tent, large enough to accommodate the entire group. He had also bought a generator and an air conditioner to ensure the inside remained comfortable.

Flinx did not need to buy any camping equipment since he still possessed his old gear, and everyone else had already purchased sleeping bags. The three Rockies and a wind elemental stood guard, making everyone feel secure. In the end, their nap lasted for more than two hours because the tent was so comfortable.

Because of the delay, Flinx no longer allowed Mark and his teammates to participate in combat and personally dealt with all the remaining monsters on the floor. Even so, they did not finish until around ten in the evening.

Despite the late hour, everyone was filled with excitement. The floor boss, a massive Ent, had dropped a wand. After identifying it, they discovered that it allowed its wielder to cast the Prestidigitation spell five times per day.Top of FormBottom of Form