Thoughts on Weapons

This happened not long after Leo's upgrade.

By this time, Leo and Lefiya had been exploring the middle levels together for several days.

It was after these few days of fighting that the small straight sword Leo had been insisting on using broke.

"Mr. Leo wants to forge a new sword?"

Leo told Lefiya about it, which surprised Lefiya.

"That's right." Leo nodded, taking out his broken small straight sword and saying with a wry smile, "We can't keep using magic to fight monsters all the time, can we? My mental strength can't last a whole day."

Upon hearing this, Lefiya looked at the small straight sword in Leo's hand.

The blade of this sword is broken, with less than half of it still attached to the hilt. This remaining half is also pitted and uneven, probably duller than a roadside stone now.

Just now, when Leo was entangled with a Hard-Armored Rat on the 13th floor, this small straight sword only blocked the opponent's charge before shattering cleanly.

Therefore, Leo and Lefiya left the 13th floor because they were unable to continue fighting.

They are currently in the misty 12th Floor, having just left the cave that led to the 13th floor.

The two did not continue upwards, but instead stayed in the mist and talked.

"Although Mr. Leo takes this sword to be repaired after each raid, it's remarkable that it's lasted this long in the mid-level battles," Lefiya said. "I thought Mr. Leo would replace it much sooner."

After their last conversation, Lefiya assumed that Leo would replace his weapon, but to her surprise, he persisted in using it for several more days until it completely broke today, at which point he had no choice but to give up.

"I was thinking of earning a few more days so I could buy a better quality sword all at once."

Leo looked somewhat helpless, which made Lefiya reveal a knowing expression.

"In that case, wouldn't it be better for Mr. Leo to go directly to those boutique weapon stores to buy new swords? Why do they have to make them specially?" Line said doubtfully, "If Mr. Leo is not familiar with a shop, then I can introduce a few to you."

Generally speaking, adventurers only consider crafting their own custom weapons when they reach level 3 or 4, based on their own needs and circumstances.

Because at this stage, those standard weapons could no longer meet their needs.

Like Ais, her fighting style is actually very brutal, and she is not very friendly to her weapons. As a result, her weapons are severely worn after each battle, and she often breaks them. This leads to high costs for repairing or buying new weapons, which seriously affects her combat performance.

Therefore, she needs weapons with high durability that can withstand her combat, even if the weapon's sharpness decreases slightly.

Therefore, she specially commissioned someone to create a first-class weapon tailored to her needs, which is now her beloved sword—"Desperate".

This sword is slightly less powerful than a typical first-tier weapon, but it possesses a special attribute called "indestructible," meaning it will not be damaged no matter how it is used. It can be said to be the most suitable weapon for her and the one that best meets her requirements.

High-level adventurers usually need specialized items that suit their combat style and needs. The standard items sold on shelves simply cannot meet their requirements, which is why they need to commission others to create them.

Leo is only at Lv.2, so there's really no need for him to build his own dedicated weapon, right?

When you're at a low level, standard weapons are usually sufficient. Only when you reach a high level and your combat style and other aspects have matured do you need to craft specialized weapons.

That's why Lefiya said that.

Leo was certainly aware of this as well.

Only----

"Buying new weapons directly is not out of the question, but I want to save some money and see if I can buy a magic wand instead."

Leo shrugged and told Lefiya his thoughts.

After a month of hard work, Leo has saved up some money.

When he first went on his adventure alone, Leo earned a total of 300,000 Valis. Later, he teamed up with Lefiya to go on an adventure for half a month. During that half month, after deducting personal expenses and the cost of repairing weapons, Leo was able to save about 150,000 Valis a day. In half a month, he earned about 1.8 million Valis. Adding the 300,000 Valis he had saved before, that's 2.1 million Valis.

Then came the day after the upgrade, when Leo ventured into the middle level. In addition to earning 400,000 Valis on the first day, his earning efficiency increased every day. Yesterday, he even earned 500,000 Valis. Over the next few days, he earned nearly 2 million Valis, a considerable profit.

As a result, Leo saved a total of about four million Valis.

Four million Valis —this amount of money is neither a lot nor a little.

While it may seem like a lot, it can only buy you about one good Tier 3 weapon, or at most one slightly inferior Tier 2 weapon, and it can't be a heavy weapon like a greatsword, battle axe, or giant hammer made with more materials.

It's not a small amount; even a level 2 adventurer might not be able to save up that much money, especially earning it in just one month, which seems incredible.

This amount of money could certainly buy a weapon that Leo would be satisfied with at this stage, but in other words, that's about it.

If Leo wanted to buy another wand, that definitely wouldn't be enough.

A wand equivalent to a third-tier weapon would cost at least several million Valis. If Leo wanted to buy a wand, he wouldn't have enough money left to buy weapons.

To buy both the weapon and wand he wanted, Leo had to find a way to save money.

"I don't want to forge a weapon specifically for myself. I just want to provide the raw materials myself and find a blacksmith's family to forge a sword for me," Leo revealed his thoughts, saying, "If I provide the raw materials myself, the price definitely won't be so high, and then I might be able to afford a wand."

"I see." Lefiya said in realization, then quickly asked, "What kind of raw materials does Mr. Leo need?"

Although they didn't complete the entire day's exploration, they still managed to acquire quite a few dropped items.

Lefiya already has some of the dropped items like Unicorn Rabbit horns, Hard-Armored Rat claws, and Hellhound fangs in her inventory, which she can readily provide as raw materials for crafting weapons.

But Leo shook his head.

"I want to use the items dropped by the Young Dragon to forge weapons."

Young Dragon are rare monsters that only appear on 11th Floor and 12th Floor, and there are fewer than five of them.

It is one of the most powerful Dragon Race monsters among the many monster races. Although it has no wings, its tough body covered with hard scales contains potential abilities far surpassing any monster in the upper levels. It is not only the first Dragon Species monster to appear in the Dungeon, but it is also considered to be the de facto floor master in the upper levels where there is no "Solitary King of the Labyrinth". It is a powerful enemy that novice adventurers absolutely cannot deal with.

The so-called floor boss is equivalent to the boss that appears at the end of each level in the game. It is a super-large monster that is different from ordinary monsters in the Dungeon. It usually takes a long time for one to be born, and it can only appear on a specific floor.

Generally speaking, such super-large monsters will not spawn in beginner areas like the upper levels. The first floor boss to appear in the Dungeon is in the middle level, specifically at the end of the 17th Floor's Cave Labyrinth, and is an extremely powerful guardian standing in front of the entrance to the 18th Floor.

Currently, before the deepest floors that adventurers from the Lower World can reach, only four floor masters have been identified, located on the 17th Floor, 27th Floor, 37th Floor, and 49th Floor respectively.

The gods jokingly call them the Four Heavenly Kings, and it is said that their level is the same as the monster level on their floor plus two levels.

For example, on the 17th Floor, most of the monsters are classified as Lv.2, while the floor master at the end of the floor is classified as Lv.4, and can even reach Lv.5 in terms of special abilities. Adventurers who try to conquer the 17th Floor generally cannot defeat it. It should be something that requires many adventurers to form groups and cooperate to dare to conquer.

The cooperation mentioned here doesn't refer to forming a three-person team like the adventurers in the 13th floor.

If the adventurers in the party are only Lv.2, then at least a large group of dozens of people would be needed to conquer it, or even a large group of more than a hundred people. Moreover, they cannot be scattered individuals; they must be adventurers with clear division of labor, including front-line, mid-line, rear-line Mage, and healers, with extremely high levels of skill and excellent teamwork.

This is the terrifying nature of the floor masters; they are not only super-large monsters far exceeding large-scale monsters, but their abilities also far surpass those of the current floor. Therefore, they are called "Solitary King of the Labyrinth" by people with great awe.

The weakest of these, the "Solitary King of the Labyrinth," appears on the 17th Floor. It is classified as a level 4 monster. Adventurers only need to consider whether they will encounter it when they reach the middle floors. New adventurers who are exploring the upper floors do not need to worry about it.

However, the Young Dragon that appear on the 11th Floor and 12th Floor are called the actual floor masters of the upper floors, which shows how powerful these Dragon Species monsters are.

The Young Dragon isn't quite like a true floor master, with a level two higher than the monsters on the current floor, but being one level higher is more than enough.

In other words, the Young Dragon is stronger than the Unicorn Rabbit, Hard-Armored Rat, and Hellhound in the 13th floor. It is Dragon Species and a rare monster. Its dropped items are also much more valuable than the Unicorn Rabbit's horn, the Hard-Armored Rat's claw, and the Hellhound's fang.

This time, Leo set his sights on the items dropped by this Dragon Species monster, intending to use the materials it dropped to forge weapons.

"Isn't this... a bit too risky?"

Upon learning of Leo's plan, Lefiya hesitated.

It wasn't that she thought Leo couldn't defeat the Young Dragon. Even without a weapon, Leo's Lv.3 level magic, with its firepower, would still make it easy for him to deal with a Young Dragon.

The problem is that not every monster drops items; monsters that do are ultimately a minority.

Young Dragon are rare, and there are fewer than five Young Dragons that will appear in the entire Dungeon at the same time. Even if you find them all and defeat them all, there is no guarantee that any items will drop.

Moreover, finding rare Young Dragon on the 11th Floor and 12th Floor isn't even guaranteed.

"Items usually drop from the more developed parts of a monster's body. In other words, the stronger and rarer the monster, the more likely it is to drop items, since they have a higher chance of having developed parts."

Leo said this to Lefiya.

"Based on the current intelligence, it has been basically confirmed that the stronger and rarer the monster, the more likely it is to drop items. Therefore, the chance of getting items from Young Dragon is quite high."

Since the weapons are already broken and today's strategy is no longer viable, we might as well try our luck.

If it really doesn't work out, Leo won't force it. At most, he'll give up the wand and prioritize buying melee weapons.

His magical power has already exceeded his current level, and it's sufficient even without the amplification of a wand.

"If I can get the items dropped by the Young Dragon today, I'll buy a magic wand and commission a blacksmith to forge a Young Dragon for me using those items as the main materials."

"If I don't get any loot from the Young Dragon today, I'll just go to a shop and buy a high-quality weapon."

"It's a backup plan, we'll see how lucky we are today."

Leo said this, and Lefiya nodded.

"In that case, I'll help Mr. Leo find areas where Young Dragon might appear."

Lefiya pulled out the upper-level map she had drawn countless times, carefully checking the terrain of the 11th Floor and 12th Floor, and calculating the areas where the Young Dragon might appear.

Led by Lefiya, Leo deviated from the main route and began wandering around in more remote areas.

Along the way, they encountered many monsters, but these higher-level monsters were no longer a threat to Leo and were easily dealt with by Leo using magic.

Soon after, under Lefiya's guidance, Leo finally encountered the Young Dragon.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Accompanied by a ferocious roar that erupted from the thick fog, a colossal creature emerged from the depths of the grassland.

It was over three meters tall and over four meters long, its entire body covered in amber scales, with a long tail on its back. Its muscles bulged, and its physique was visibly strong. A pair of blood-red eyes kept turning, and after a loud roar, it stared at Leo, its eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Is this Young Dragon?"

Looking at this Dragon Species monster, which was larger than both large-sized orcs and Silverback Ape, Leo felt no fear, only curiosity and a desire for the items it dropped.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The Young Dragon seemed to sense the adventurer's mindset, and immediately let out an angry roar before charging forward.

Leo suddenly smiled, his hands empty, yet a magic circle appeared beneath his feet.

Starlight floated, and dazzling shooting stars began to dance, offering a beautiful view to the fog-shrouded grassland.