Harvest and Dark Crystal

"How did it feel?"

"It felt... kind of easy."

That was indeed Lu Cang's first impression.

Whenever he encountered monsters, he just aimed at them and cast magic, killing every one of them in a single hit.

They posed no threat whatsoever.

"Mm, with your current strength, this dungeon truly isn't very difficult for you."

"But what if you didn't have the Illumination Technique?"

Faced with Iz's question,

Lu Cang thought for a moment before answering, "It would probably be very difficult."

Without the Illumination Technique, he would not have been able to see those bats clearly.

Nor would he have spotted the Black Panthers hiding in the darkness the moment he entered this open space.

If he failed to react in time, he might really get hit.

If a vital spot was struck, he might actually die.

Especially since there was no healer in the party right now.

"Your mastery of Fireball, Wind Blade Technique, and Ice Spike now rivals the decades of hard training put in by other level-one mages."

"But even so, you could still be injured in a dungeon like this, or even die."

"That is all because you cannot accurately judge the dangers that may appear within a dungeon."

"That is why most parties have an observer to gather intelligence."

"That is usually my job."

After hearing that, Lu Cang gained a deeper understanding of dungeons.

At the center of this open cavern stood a huge treasure chest.

Lu Cang did not approach the chest immediately.

Instead, he bombarded the area around it with Ice Spikes and Fireballs.

He even fired several Ice Spikes directly at the chest itself.

Only then did he approach it.

This action made Iz nod slightly in approval.

Cautious enough.

Unlike certain reckless novice adventurers, he would not rush forward to open a treasure chest the moment he saw one.

Some treasure chests might also be Mimics. When one could not be certain, throwing a few spells at them was not a bad way to deal with the situation.

"Those Black Panthers just now were the chest's guardians. If you had failed to notice them and rashly approached the chest, they would likely have attacked you the instant you opened it."

Lu Cang's mouth twitched slightly. "That really is devious."

Iz said, "But it's safe now. You can open the chest and take a look."

He opened the chest.

Inside was a Silver Coin and a copper sword.

Such a huge chest, yet it held only those scattered spoils of war.

It felt like a far cry from what he had imagined.

Copper Sword

Quality: Fine

Decently sharp

Special Effect: Increases slashing power (activated by a level-one Warrior)

What ordinary equipment.

Lu Cang handed the Copper Sword to Iz, who put it away.

"Not a bad Copper Sword. It can probably sell for around one silver and fifty copper."

One silver and fifty copper.

Thinking back, Kumiloni seemed to have paid twenty-three copper for their meal yesterday.

For four people.

Now that he had come to another world, he needed to learn about the prices here too.

He could not keep spending their money all the time. At the very least, he had to cover his own expenses. Once he earned some money, he would repay his lodging fee immediately.

Lu Cang carefully inspected the surroundings and confirmed that there were no other dangers nearby.

Then he walked over to the dead monsters.

Iz began explaining, "Shadow Leopards are second-tier magical beasts."

"They excel at hiding in shadows to launch sneak attacks. They live in groups, usually no more than twenty at a time."

"Their attack methods are similar to leopard-type magical beasts in the wild. They only have physical attacks and cannot use magical attacks."

"However, they are extremely agile in combat. Combined with their tendency to move in groups and their natural advantage in this terrain, they can cause enormous trouble for novice adventurer parties."

"They have even been the cause of many adventurer parties being wiped out. According to Kingdom of Loren statistics, novice adventurers killed by them this year account for roughly 1.7%."

"That is already a very high proportion."

Dungeons contained countless strange monsters and all manner of dangers.

Adventurer parties killed by Shadow Leopards alone accounted for 1.7%. That was indeed a high proportion. After all, aside from Shadow Leopards, there were also powerful beings such as dungeon lords.

Lu Cang sighed inwardly. "They really are dangerous magical beasts."

Iz said, "However, their pelts can sell for a good price."

"Their meat is also delicious, while their teeth and bones can be used to make bone equipment."

"A complete Shadow Leopard can probably sell for around two silver."

"But after deducting the costs of skinning, butchering, and extracting the bones, you would only receive one silver and twenty copper. And the hides of the Shadow Leopards you killed are already damaged, so you would probably only get seventy-five copper in the end."

Eh...

It had dropped from two silver to seventy-five copper just like that. So much less.

"If there were a gatherer in the party, they could process them into complete materials themselves. There would be no need to hire someone else, and even damaged hides could be repaired somewhat. Even if you could not get the full two silver, you could still get at least one silver and ninety copper."

Their value had suddenly risen by a great deal—more than double.

It seemed gatherers really were necessary.

Trying to fight magical beasts while keeping their corpses intact was simply asking too much.

Iz was teaching him dungeon knowledge instead of blindly making him kill monsters.

He really was a good teacher.

Iz touched one of the Shadow Leopard corpses, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Oh! There's actually one of these."

Iz pressed his palm against the skull, and a faint magic circle lit up.

Whoosh!

A dark crystal appeared in his hand.

"Dark Crystal."

"A crystallization of Dark Element. It can allow magical beasts to evolve into higher tiers."

"It is a material for making Dark Element staves, and it can also be used to forge weapons with added Dark Element corrosion effects."

"Furthermore, using a Dark Crystal to sense Dark Element allows one to perceive Dark Element more clearly, which is also very beneficial for learning magic."

"Sense Dark Element?"

Lu Cang reached out with his senses toward the surroundings. There truly was a great deal of flowing darkness within this cavern. Those should all be Dark Element.

Iz said, "Give it a try."

Lu Cang accepted the Dark Crystal.

He held the Dark Crystal and sensed his surroundings, but found no difference at all.

Even after channeling magic power into the Dark Crystal, the result remained the same.

Lu Cang shook his head. "There's no difference."

Iz said, "That is because your innate perception of elements is already at its highest."

"I have shared senses with quite a few students."

"In truth, the vast majority of mages can only sense two or three elements when they first change classes. They can only faintly sense the existence of those elements and have no way of directly controlling them."

"That is why Kumiloni was so pleasantly surprised when you completed your class change and directly condensed flames in your palm."

"Most people need external objects such as Dark Crystals, Light Crystals, and Fire Crystals to strengthen their connection to the elements before they can gradually sense more of them."

It seemed... his talent really was incredible. So he truly was a genius mage.

Iz's words gave Lu Cang a new understanding of his own talent.

Iz took back the Dark Crystal.

"This Dark Crystal can sell for twenty silver."

"It can probably allow a mage unable to sense Dark Element to establish a faint connection with it."

"However, for a Dark Crystal to drop here..."

Iz glanced toward the top of the cavern.

"Perhaps this is a sign that the Harvest Moon will arrive early..."