Twilight Manor, Leo's room.
Leo, returning from Finn's office, was packing his things.
He first changed into a set of clothes for going out, a simple outfit that was easy to move in and didn't look like something you'd wear into the Dungeon.
If it were any other adventurer entering the Dungeon, they would immediately change into a new set of equipment. They wouldn't necessarily wear full armor, but they would at least wear durable clothes to avoid damage from even the slightest bump or knock.
However, in Orario, a decent set of adventurer equipment is quite expensive, costing at least tens of thousands of Valis. If armor is used as equipment, it's not surprising that it would cost even more. Leo naturally doesn't have these conditions.
He spent a year as an apprentice member of the Loki Familia, doing mostly logistical work. He didn't even take on odd jobs outside, let alone work in the Dungeon. How could he possibly earn any money?
Therefore, Leo naturally didn't even have a single decent piece of equipment.
Fortunately, the floors he was going to weren't particularly dangerous. It was just the first few floors of the Dungeon, so it didn't matter if he didn't have any decent armor. He could equip it later when he became stronger and needed to go deeper into dangerous floors.
"The monsters on the first few levels of the Dungeon aren't much stronger than the wild beasts outside. As long as you're careful, you generally won't suffer any serious injuries."
As Leo thought this, he picked up the weapon hanging on the wall.
It was a small straight sword.
The blade of the straight sword is only about forty centimeters long, and its appearance is simple, clearly indicating that it is a very standard and ordinary weapon.
However, for a novice adventurer venturing into Dungeon for the first time, this weapon is already of pretty good quality.
It's important to know that novice adventurers entering Dungeon for the first time usually use cheap weapons provided by the guild. These weapons are worth at most one or two thousand Valis, and even in the first few floors, they need to be repaired every day, which shows how poor their quality is.
The small straight sword in Leo's hand was a discarded item once used by a male guild member he was on good terms with. Although it was something the other party had rejected, the other party was a Level 2 advanced adventurer. A weapon rejected by an advanced adventurer is bound to be much better than the cheap stuff the guild provides.
The other party claimed that he spent a full 80,000 Valis to buy this weapon.
This price is enough to buy some cheaper large weapons. The fact that a small straight sword is worth so much shows that its quality is already considered top-notch among ordinary weapons.
Of course, this only applies to weapons of ordinary quality. The truly high-quality weapons in the world are those extraordinary special weapons.
That is a special weapon that only advanced blacksmiths who have received Blessing of the Gods and learned a developmental ability called "forging" can create.
Some of them possess special effects that resemble magic, while others have magical characteristics or attributes. Even those without these characteristics are far sharper and stronger than ordinary iron, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they can cut through iron like mud.
The value of that kind of weapon is far beyond that of the ordinary weapon in Leo's hands. Even the worst one would be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of Valis, and it is normal for a better special weapon to sell for tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of Valis.
Those who can afford such special weapons are basically high-level adventurers. For example, the member of the party who eliminated the small straight sword in Leo's hand saved up for more than a year before finally buying a third-level weapon.
The third tier of weaponry is the lowest quality among special weaponry, while the highest tier is the first tier. The latter is generally only available to first-tier adventurers, such as Ais, whose " Desperate " is a first-tier weaponry.
Leo also longed for that kind of special weaponry, but he was just a novice who had just received the Blessing of the Gods. Let alone not being able to afford that level of weaponry, even if he could, using it on the first few floors of the Dungeon would be a waste.
"For me, using weapons of this caliber is already a bit of a luxury."
Leo hung the small straight sword, worth 80,000 Valis, at his waist, then left the room and headed down to the bottom of the tower.
As they walked, Leo encountered Raul.
"I've finally waited for you to come out."
Raul seemed to have been waiting for him there on purpose; as soon as he came out, he immediately came forward.
Here, this is for you.
Raul immediately handed something to Leo.
It was a shield that could be worn on the hand.
The shield is made of wood, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, shaped like a "V". It is not large or heavy, which shows that it was designed so as not to hinder the wearer's movement.
"This is a shield I used before. It's not some special weapon, but it's not cheap either," Raul said with a smile. "This shield should last you all the way to the 12th floor of the Dungeon. As long as you don't go into the middle level, it shouldn't break."
Upon hearing this, Leo immediately understood that the shield was definitely not cheap.
Armor that can withstand use up to the 12th Floor without easily breaking must be worth at least tens of thousands of Valis, no less valuable than the small straight sword in his hand.
"You really gave it to me? Don't you feel bad about it?"
Leo looked at the well-designed shield and said with a smile.
"What's there to be upset about? I used this when I was level 1. After I upgraded to level 2, I just tossed it in a corner and forgot about it. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have even remembered it." Raul said nonchalantly, "I originally wanted to give you something better, but you're a newbie after all. Giving you overly valuable equipment wouldn't help you much; it might even hold you back."
Leo nodded, affirming Raul's statement.
Using overly powerful weapons or armor at low levels does not benefit your character's progress.
After all, ability growth depends on proficiency; to increase proficiency, you need to use the ability as much as possible.
If Leo uses too many good weapons or armor now, his stat growth rate will be affected.
When facing a monster, under normal circumstances, Leo would definitely need to slash it several times to defeat it, thus making more use of his basic abilities. However, if he uses a high-level weapon and kills the monster in one hit, he would only have used his basic ability once, which would naturally slow down the rate at which his proficiency improves.
Moreover, relying on advanced weapons to easily defeat monsters is not necessarily a good thing for adventurers who want to hone their combat skills.
Furthermore, given the possibility that low-level adventurers using high-level weapons might attract unwanted attention, equipping Leo with too much gear now would be entirely detrimental.
Therefore, the Loki Familia did not provide Leo with much assistance; otherwise, given the Loki Familia's vast wealth, they would not have been unable to equip their members with even a single piece of special weaponry.
"Then I'll accept it."
Leo didn't stand on ceremony with Raul and hung the shield on his lower back.
For Raul at level 4, this shield is really nothing special, so there's no need to be polite.
"Okay, take it." Raul smiled, then took out a small bag and stuffed it into Leo's arms, saying, "And these too, these were prepared for you by your fellow members of the clan, take them with you."
Upon hearing this, Leo opened the small bag and saw neatly arranged bottles of potion inside.
Leo was immediately surprised.
"Is this a miracle drug?"
So-called elixirs are magical potions with special restorative effects, created by apothecaries who possess the ability to "blend."
"This will be useful to you, right?" Raul said, scratching his head. "Everyone thought you'd inevitably get injured on your first trip into the Dungeon, so they shared some of their unused elixirs as a gift for you."
"But this is too much!" Leo inspected it, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Leaving aside the common elixirs for restoring stamina, there are also two bottles of high-grade elixirs and one bottle of magic elixirs. Good heavens, these three bottles alone are worth close to 100,000 Valis!"
Elixirs come in several types. Common elixirs primarily restore physical strength. Elixirs that can heal injuries, such as filling in missing flesh, stopping bleeding, and repairing broken bones, are considered high-grade or Elixir. Magical elixirs, on the other hand, are used to restore mental energy.
In this world, magic consumes mental energy every time it is used, which is why elixirs that can restore mental energy are called magical elixirs.
Generally speaking, a bottle of stamina-restoring elixir costs around 1,000 Valis, while a bottle of magic elixir costs around 10,000 Valis. Higher-grade elixirs are much more expensive, usually costing tens of thousands of Valis.
The elixir, known as Elixir capable of instantly healing any injury, has a minimum price of 500,000 Valis per bottle.
Two bottles of high-grade elixirs and one bottle of magic elixirs—these three elixirs combined cost close to 100,000 Valis, not to mention the numerous stamina recovery potions in the bag.
Leo even spotted two bottles of strangely colored elixirs, which, if there were no surprises, should be antidotes specifically used to treat abnormal conditions such as poisoning.
The price of antidotes fluctuates wildly. An antidote that can neutralize common toxins might only be worth a few thousand Valis, but an antidote that can neutralize highly toxic or special toxins could be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of Valis.
The two bottles of antidote lying in the small bag probably weren't high-end products, but judging from their color, they should be worth around ten thousand Valis, definitely high-grade antidotes.
This small packet of elixirs might be more valuable than the two weapons Leo possesses.
"Everyone's worried about you, afraid you'll get hurt in the Dungeon." Raul grinned foolishly and said, "This is all out of goodwill from everyone, you wouldn't want to refuse, would you?"
Leo paused for a moment, then solemnly accepted the small package.
Please help me thank everyone.
Leo spoke to Raul quite seriously.
"Yes, we will." Raul patted Leo on the shoulder and said, "Be careful. If things really don't go well, just come back. We can be your sparring partners when we have time, that will also help you improve your skills."
Stat growth isn't solely achieved by defeating monsters; daily training and battles with others can also contribute to stat growth.
As long as you still have potential to realize and haven't reached the limit of your current level, any action that allows you to train and grow can provide enough experience points to increase your ability value.
Even more so, if one has experienced a fierce battle or adventure, even without defeating monsters, one can still obtain high-level experience points called "Great Achievements," which can increase one's level, also known as leveling up or sublimation.
"When I need someone to train me, I won't be polite."
Leo did not refuse and accepted all the kindness of his seniors.
They're already companions of the same clan, or as Loki would say, family members sharing the same divine blood of the same Chief God, so there's no need to be overly polite.
In the future, they will fight side by side, even entrusting each other with their backs and sharing life and death. Under such circumstances, no formalities are necessary.
"Okay, then go ahead."
After Raul finished explaining everything, he stepped aside to clear the way.
"Well then, I'm leaving."
Leo waved to Raul and left the tower as Raul watched him go.
However, as Leo entered the courtyard and prepared to leave the Twilight Manor, he encountered another person.
"Are we going to the Dungeon?"
The blonde, golden-eyed girl reappeared here at some point, watching Leo walk down the tower, and softly spoke.
"Hmm." Leo stopped and said with a smile, "Did you come to see me off?"
The girl didn't answer the question; she simply stepped forward and looked Leo in the eye.
The two of them looked at each other, speechless for a long time.
"----for you."
After a long while, the girl finally gave Leo a small bag.
Be careful.
After saying that, the blonde, golden-eyed girl swayed her long hair and drifted away.
Leo stared at the two bottles of elixirs in the small bag and fell into a long silence.
It was a magical elixir packaged in a stylishly designed bottle, its color far deeper and more mysterious than that of ordinary elixirs.
Leo recognized them; they were two bottles of Elixir.
The highest grade elixir retails for 500,000 Valis.
Two bottles, that's one million Valis.
"If I just sold the spiritual herbs I had, I'd be rich instantly, right?"
Leo chuckled, carefully put away the small bag containing the Elixir, and then stepped out of the courtyard and left the Twilight Manor.
Standing outside the gates of the clan's main camp, Leo glanced back at the Long Mansion, which seemed to be burning with flames.
We'll be right back.
After leaving behind these words, which he didn't know were for, Leo stepped onto the road and left.