DMS Chapter 255

Some of the delvers argued that they should venture deeper into the Dungeon of Mara, perhaps to the fifteenth floor. After all, the two elementals Flinx had assigned to each group were protecting them.

Paul argued that they should prioritize safety since they weren’t in a hurry. After several more minutes of discussion, everyone finally agreed to continue delving the tenth floor. They would only move on to the fifteenth—or even the twentieth—once they reached level three.

One advantage was that each group had collected enough mana stones to make their earnings extremely lucrative, even after paying the dungeon entry fee.

The boss monster had also dropped a medium-level mana stone and a magic item for every delving group.

Flinx warned them that the rate at which they acquired magic items would gradually decrease as they continued repeating the tenth floor.

In truth, none of them needed more magic items. Flinx had accumulated a huge collection while repeatedly delving dungeons to reach his own level goal.

They had been generous with themselves, too. Each of them carried more than three magic items to ensure they had enough firepower to safely conquer their chosen floor.

They even told Ambrose, who had become extremely helpful by sharing his basic knowledge of dungeons and being an adventurer, that Olivia’s brother could take any magic items Flinx had stored in the meeting hall.

Ambrose, however, was already carrying three magic items and declined the offer. He explained that his teacher would scold him severely if he took any more. Even the items he was currently using had already been a source of concern.

Basically, Ambrose’s teacher had advised him not to become too reliant on magic items. The only true way to progress as an adventurer was to rely on one’s own skills. Magic items were meant to assist adventurers, not become crutches.

After they finished discussing that day’s delving experience, Flinx told everyone about his decision to undergo the Platinum-rank advancement test.

He explained that being a Diamond-rank wizard adventurer had already provided a certain degree of protection for everyone. Achieving the rank above that would make their protection even stronger.

Those who might otherwise target them because of their wealth would hesitate even more if they learned that, instead of being protected by a Diamond-rank adventurer, they were under the protection of a Platinum-rank adventurer.

Those who had accompanied Flinx into the wild dungeon did not doubt that he possessed the power to advance. They had witnessed his spellcasting firsthand, and the experience had opened their eyes. That was the main reason almost all of them had chosen the Wizard class when their transmigration systems allowed them to select a class after they gained access to the system for the second time.

The other factor behind their choice was the versatility of the Wish spell.

Flinx explained what he would receive if he passed the rank-up test, sharing all the details he had learned. As a result, their meeting lasted longer than usual.

They were surprised to learn that Flinx would receive a noble title, and everyone was amused by the prospect of him becoming Baron Flinx.

In addition to the title, a Platinum-rank adventurer would be granted land outside the city, including a castle and farmland. The castle was supposed to be huge, and the income from the land would belong to Flinx, apart from the taxes owed to the kingdom.

Many of Flinx’s friends had been concerned about the noble title because they disliked the idea of being tied to the kingdom. Flinx shared those concerns. However, after he explained the responsibilities of a non-hereditary Baron—and clarified that he wouldn’t be required to remain in the kingdom or live on his land, and could hire an experienced manager to oversee it—most of the potential drawbacks seemed less significant.

Once Flinx had explained the benefits and responsibilities of earning the rank and title, everyone agreed that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Many of them grew envious and announced that they would work hard to level up so they could advance their own ranks.

Currently, all of Flinx’s friends were Gold-rank adventurers. They had reached level five or six before returning to Earth and losing all their progress, so in terms of power, they were now only slightly stronger than Copper-rank adventurers.

Thankfully, adventurers didn’t lose their ranks when their powers regressed. The only way to lose a rank was to commit a serious crime. Even if their abilities diminished, their ranks remained unchanged.

No locals had learned that Flinx’s friends had regressed in power. And given how quickly they were regaining their levels, there was little reason to inform anyone.

Most of his friends said that once Flinx ranked up, they would visit his castle and land. If the property was large enough to accommodate everyone, the prospect of relocating somewhere private would be tempting.

The only concern was travel time. If Flinx’s land was far from the city, the delving groups’ journeys would become much longer.

Mark pointed out that there was little use in speculating before Flinx had even ranked up. They could discuss relocating after he had passed the test and they had seen the land he would receive.

Flinx then told them about the three tests he needed to complete to advance, as well as the fact that he had already taken the written exam.

His friends were startled to learn that there was a written test. They were all essentially foreigners, so they knew nothing about the kingdom’s history, geography, or politics—just as Flinx had initially assumed.

He assured them that the exam was only meant to determine whether he was literate. He was, since a priest had taught him to speak and write the common language.

His friends realized that they would need to learn to write in the common tongue as well. They already knew how to speak it, having learned during their time in the city, but they had all neglected to study its written form.

This led them to discuss how much time they should spend delving. Initially, they had planned to complete two runs per day, with each run taking about four hours. That would mean spending eight hours a day in the dungeon.

However, they had many other things to accomplish, including spending time with their families and studying the local language, both spoken and written. They began to think it might be better to delve only once a day. That would leave them with four hours of dungeon work and the rest of the day for other activities.

The drawback was that leveling up would take considerably longer. Instead of reaching level three in about a month, as they had originally expected, delving only once a day would likely take a couple of months.

Not everyone wanted that. Some of them, basically the ones who didn’t have family members, wanted to focus on dungeon delving. They were the ones who argued that they could delve the chosen floor three times instead of twice.

The only solution they could think of was to group those who wanted to focus on dungeon delving twice or more in a single delving group.

The issue was that there were only three people who wanted such a thing.

The three people who wanted to focus on dungeon delving told everyone that it was fine if it was just the three of them.

After much discussion, the delving-focused group would consist of three members, not including Rocky and Windy. The other group would have five or six members plus the elementals.