DMS Chapter 195

Flinx waited for everyone to finish checking their system panels. He noticed several of them sighing, and he knew exactly why.

All of them had reverted to level one in their respective classes. Flinx understood what everyone was thinking. Even if they gained levels by clearing the wild dungeon, it would not matter because they would lose their transmigration systems once they returned to Earth.

Mark suddenly exclaimed, "There's something new! If you scroll down in the second tab, there's an option to change your class to one of the thirteen core classes!"

Flinx opened his own system panel. As expected, the option did not appear for him. Not only had he retained his transmigration system, but he was already an advanced dual-class holder.

When Flinx asked which classes were available, Samuel impatiently listed them.

"For the Warrior classes, there are the Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Paladin. For the magic users, there are the Sorceress, Warlock, and Wizard. Finally, the support and expert classes are the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Rogue, and Artificer."

Flinx understood Samuel's impatience. Everyone was already busy deciding which class they wanted to try. After a few minutes, however, Mark laughed.

"Just pick whichever class interests you. We're going to lose them anyway once we return to Earth."

Flinx then asked whether anyone planned to remain in this world instead of returning home.

To his surprise, not a single person intended to stay.

Everyone explained that they still had unfinished business back on Earth. However, several admitted that after convincing their loved ones to come with them, they would eventually ask Flinx to bring them back so they could begin a new life in this world.

Everyone knew that, sooner or later, they would return. The advantages of possessing a class and the system were simply too great compared to living an ordinary life on Earth.

The greatly extended lifespan alone was something none of them wanted to give up. Furthermore, the existence of a spell that allowed travel back to Earth made the decision even easier. Although they would temporarily lose their systems and classes while on Earth, the existence of the Plane Shield suggested that there might eventually be a permanent solution that would allow them to keep their powers even after returning.

"Well, once Earth awakens, we won't have to defend ourselves from its consciousness anymore. From what I know, that should happen in a few hundred years," Flinx said with a shrug.

Afterward, the eleven of them formed a raid party. Everyone except Flinx touched the cave entrance without entering it, allowing them to examine the available dungeon rewards. Flinx had already confirmed the reward he intended to claim.

He wondered why some of the others were taking so long, which probably meant they had access to rewards different from his own.

Before anyone made a selection, they agreed to compare their options first.

"I think I found the best reward!" Paul exclaimed, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"I requested a magical item that would be protected from the influence of an unawakened plane, and the voice said it could grant it! That means we can bring one magical item back to Earth and still use it there!"

"Did it mention any conditions?" Mark asked.

"It said we have to be carrying the item when we conquer the dungeon," Paul replied.

Everyone immediately turned toward Flinx.

Fortunately, Flinx had never sold the more than seventy magical items he had accumulated during his months of dungeon delving.

He began listing every magical item he owned and carefully explained each item's abilities.

After nearly two hours of discussion, everyone had chosen which item they wanted to bring back to Earth. As a result, they all selected the same reward: protecting a single magical item from the effects of Earth's unawakened consciousness.

Most of the chosen items focused on healing, magical shields, Prestidigitation, Levitation, enhanced speed, and Mage Hand. The main reason was that Flinx possessed only three items capable of casting Heal: the Wand of Healing, the Ring of Aid, and the Amulet of the Moon, which not only cast Heal but also provided passive healing during the night.

The others had to settle for items with different utility spells. There was little point in bringing offensive magical items, such as the Wand of Fireball, back to Earth. After all, Earth already had firearms. In everyone's opinion, the most valuable magical items were those that could save lives, protect people, or provide useful everyday abilities.

Flinx distributed the selected items to his friends, and once everyone was ready, they prepared to enter the dungeon.

According to their plan, everyone would remain close to the entrance while Flinx assessed the strength of the monsters inside.

Unfortunately, experience had taught them that anyone hoping to receive experience points and dungeon rewards needed to remain within sight of the main combat force.

Before entering, Flinx summoned five additional elementals to protect the group. Thankfully, he could maintain up to thirteen summons at once. In addition to the Wind Elemental already accompanying him, he summoned three Earth Elementals and two more Wind Elementals.

Pip would serve as his scout, while the three Earth Elementals and three Wind Elementals ensured the safety of his companions.

The summoning process took some time, so they finally entered the dungeon at around four o'clock in the morning.

Meanwhile, several people outside the raid had been assigned to keep everyone else informed about the dungeon's progress.

The first floor had the appearance of a vast cavern. The entire area was illuminated by glowing moss covering the walls and ceiling.

After casting all of his defensive spells, Flinx ordered Pip, his owl familiar, to scout ahead.

Pip quickly returned with a report.

The first enemy group consisted of five hobgoblins and five goblins mounted on enormous spiders. The monsters had established a crude campsite with a lit campfire at its center.

Flinx advanced toward the camp, and after a short distance, the rest of the group followed behind. They needed to remain within sight of the battle if they wanted to receive experience.

His ten companions remained safely protected by the six elementals, giving Flinx complete confidence in their safety.

As soon as he entered spell range, Flinx unleashed three Fireballs in rapid succession before following them with several casts of Magic Missile to ensure that nothing survived.

None of the monsters remained alive.

He then cast Crown of Stars and instructed one of the Wind Elementals to gather the mana stones.

After storing the mana stones for later counting, Flinx waited for everyone else to catch up.

"These monsters are about as strong as the ones on the twentieth floor of the Dungeon of Mara," Flinx told his friends. "That means the final floor of this dungeon will probably be comparable to the fortieth floor of the Dungeon of Mara."

Several of them visibly tensed after hearing his assessment.

Before returning to Earth, most of them had only been capable of exploring the eighteenth and nineteenth floors of the Dungeon of Mara, and even then, they had been around levels four and five. Now they had all been reset to level one.

If one of the monsters on this floor managed to reach them, it could kill them with ease.