The group didn’t look that serious over my words. They had no reason to be, after all. They knew that I could just find a stronger group and work with them and offer my services as an Enchanter, too, but that was too troublesome. Even if I could and there were merits, the demerits were things that I didn’t want to deal with. They couldn’t understand that point of view and explaining was a lot of work, too.
In any case, we reached the seventh floor entrance at noon of the next day and we got down… soon enough; it became pretty clear that the party wasn’t equipped to handle six of those monsters at the same time. Rebecca also used her magic, Frostbolt, to stun a wolf for several seconds and I did my best to kill two of them at the start of the battle.
Still, in pretty much all the battles now, either Jalal or Gao would be attacked by one of the beasts. The flames on the bodies of the monsters made them flinch so they couldn’t attack… their only option was to wait for support. The lack of experience and attack power was becoming more obvious when the numbers were more even. There were some options that I could choose, though.
I considered changing for the melee, but I decided to hold back that card a bit longer… After one hour, we returned to the previous floor. Jalal and Gao were exhausted, and they had some burn wounds on their arms, too. The ointment that Rebecca used was almost over, even though it was super effective in healing those wounds in no time.
“That is it then. We will remain on the sixth floor and get as strong as we can before returning home.”
Rebecca didn’t show much of an expression after declaring that, but the other two looked pretty depressed when they nodded. The back line was completely well-rested, but that wouldn’t change much in the final floors of the first section. There was the fact that the back line never got in danger, but only that wasn’t enough to lift their spirits. It was their first big failure, after all, so it made sense that it would bother them a bit.
“You think that we can reach the boss chamber in the next run, Clive?”
I stopped to think for a moment before answering Rebecca’s question. We could if we used my hand crossbow, but was that the best option? In terms of experience gained, I could do better by myself, but it wasn’t the most efficient way to go about it. I also wanted money and to increase my rank in the guild. Money for new materials and enchanted gear.
“That will depend on how much you guys are willing to invest in your gear.”
Rebecca, Jalal, and Gao… their weapons were a bit decent, but their leather armor wasn’t that good. It made them sweat a lot. It burned easily when the monsters got close, too. Buying leather armor made of the materials of the monsters in the dungeon was a good start.
“Aside from that, you guys probably need to start training while envisioning fighting the fire wolves. You guys tend to flinch when they get close. I can’t blame you, but it is a problem that you need to solve.”
“What about me and my bow?”
“There isn’t much you can do for now since you are going for a hybrid building of magic and dexterity. Unless…”
“Unless?”
Unless I used my tattoos on her… I had enough Mana Regeneration for her to use her magic. I did the same with Nimir and his skills leveled up pretty fast. She should recover enough mana between battles to stun the enemies with ice magic, even if the damage wasn’t that great.
Mystic Link: Establish a temporary link between yourself and the tattoo wearer, allowing you to share magical energy. This skill enhances the effectiveness of both your tattoos and your own spells while the link is active. Cost: 25 Mana
That skill would solve the issue, but it also felt like cutting corners… it wasn’t like I would be there for them forever. I wondered why that was happening. Looking after kids and seeing them grow stronger properly certainly wasn’t within my plans. Still, I couldn’t deny that helping them would help me as well.
“It is nothing. You guys understand your abilities a lot more than me, so it is your job to think about them and consider the monsters you will face and how to improve your odds against them.”
Those three were young, so they probably assumed that dungeon diving was just heading to the dungeon and using their strength to conquer the place. Still, that wasn’t entirely true. Strength and skills were necessary, but preparation was also key. Thinking several steps ahead would help them do better… if that weren’t necessary, a party would have conquered the dungeon already.
As for my part, I could do some training too, to make sure that I would get as much experience as possible… and also reach the boss chamber in the next run. In any case, after we talked about that, the group went silent for the remainder of the day. I could tell that they were trying to use their heads instead of just their muscles to fight the monsters.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
When the next day arrived, we began to pack our things to head to the entrance of the dungeon. My two magic bags were almost full, so we probably will be able to complete a bunch of quests. I could also increase my rank without looking suspicious. Having a gold card in the guild certainly will be handy.
“So, are we really going to work together again for your scheduled run?”
I squinted my eyes while looking at Jalal. Was he calling me a liar? Do I have to write a contract or something for him to believe me? That was a bit annoying… I was a bit grumpy thanks to all the time working, so I couldn’t let that create trouble.
“You can just say no if you are willing to. Just warn me within a few days before the time comes, and then I will look for another party.”
“Alright then, we have a deal.”
Leaving the dungeon had been a lot easier since we knew the right path and had gotten stronger. I kept increasing my strength to give more power to my arrows and now my bow felt weightless. I wondered how I could make better use of that… I probably could show the full power of my bone bow already.
In any case, we headed to the guild after leaving the dungeon and soon traded all the mana cores for the proper rewards. We got eighty Terra coins for the mana cores and so my mana core points increased by eighty thousand points. I still needed twelve thousand more, but that could wait.
After that, we sold to the guild as well the materials of the fire wolves. They were reselling those directly to the people who wanted inside and outside the town to keep things organized in the beginning and to avoid fraud. For those, we got three Aqua coins. The eyes of those three shone with greed, since they never saw that much money before.
In any case, we split everything into four parts and then they paid me for the enchanted knives. All in all, I could make more profit by only working on making bows, but money wasn’t everything. Putting that aside, I noticed a lot of stares when I used the magic bag in the guild, so I had to be cautious. The others realized too, and they waited until we left the place.
“So, are you going to help us with the enchantments again?”
Jalal asked, and the others looked very interested in the topic as well. I probably could ask the usual price, Enchanters tend to rip off others, but it was better if I worked with the future in mind. There is no point in ripping off people and making them buy my services only once.
“Yeah, some enchantments consume more mana, though. So, even if I use the same type, it will take a while to enchant everything. Also, it only works with uncommon items or a higher rank. If you buy a set of gear, you can use a greater variety of enchantments.”
“But they will deteriorate with time and use, right? I suppose you don’t know that self-repair effect.”
I raised my eyebrow at Jalal… items with that kind of effect cost a fortune and it is only worth at least rare items, since those could have two effects.
“Of course not. Still, I can repair your gear and make it last for three or four times longer. Not for free, naturally.”
They nodded and began to imagine themselves easily clearing the dungeon as long as they had enchanted gear… it was nice to be young and naïve, so I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“We will meet again in five days in front of the guild early in the morning. My scheduled run is mid-morning.”
Those three nodded and soon we parted our ways. I had five days to rest and prepare for the next run… I couldn’t deny that I underestimated an Abyssal dungeon… perhaps its rank is even higher. Regardless, it was a new experience that I could count on in the future.
‘Albert explored a bunch of dungeons, but most of them were to obtain combat classes. That is why I didn’t notice that they are harder than the common ones. Still, I should have realized it given that the ordinary dungeons are usually only thirty floors at max.’
Just having the skills to fight wasn’t enough. Each step in the process was important, and I had to make good use of them to improve my chances of success and make my future steps more efficient as well.
A long time ago, while I was thinking about my plans, I came to an important realization about what it takes to succeed. Success doesn’t require perfection. Perfection is the pursuit of flawless execution, where every action, decision, and outcome is without error. However, perfection is often unattainable and unrealistic, especially in complex situations.
Instead, to succeed, one only needs to avoid making crucial mistakes. Avoiding mistakes is about minimizing risks and preventing errors that could derail progress. It’s not about doing everything perfectly, but rather about not letting the wrong decisions or actions cause failure. Success comes from understanding the key pitfalls and navigating around them, making steady progress, even if it’s not perfect.
In essence, the difference is that perfection focuses on getting everything right while avoiding mistakes and focuses on not getting the important things wrong. The latter allows for flexibility and adaptation, while the former can lead to paralysis or overthinking.
‘I am already working trying to avoid the worst mistakes, but while I can’t avoid making some mistakes along the way, I can avoid making the worst mistake of them all… wasting time.’
Before returning to the room I rented, I looked around the city for knives of rare rank. Even if they were enchanted or not. Even if they were a bit expensive. I also looked for the types that had enchantments that made them stay sharp even when they get drenched in blood. Those should be around thanks to the influx of money.
Although I could make bone knives, I needed the ones that were properly made of steel, because if I couldn’t find the ones with the blood coat enchantment, I would have to make some adjustments.
Before the sun could set, I actually found the knife that I needed for the job… but it was pretty damn expensive. It cost twenty Aqua coins. Still, I bought it without thinking twice.