"How do you feel?"
"It feels... a little easy."
That was indeed Lu Cang's first impression.
Whenever he encountered a monster, he would aim and cast his Magic, killing it in a single hit every time.
They posed no threat at all.
"Mm, with your current strength, this Dungeon isn't too difficult for you."
"But what if you didn't have the Lighting Technique?"
Lu Cang considered Iz's question for a moment before answering, "It would probably be very difficult."
'Without the Lighting Technique, I wouldn't have been able to see those bats clearly.'
'Nor could I have immediately spotted the panthers hiding in the shadows upon entering this open space.'
'If I couldn't react in time, I really might have been hit.'
'If I'd been hit in a vital spot, I might have actually died.'
'Especially since there's no Healer in our party right now.'
"Your mastery of the three spells—Fireball, Wind Blade, and Ice Cone—is now comparable to what other Level 1 Mages achieve after decades of arduous training."
"But even so, you could still get injured, or even die, in a Dungeon like this."
"This is all because of the inability to accurately assess the potential dangers within a Dungeon."
"That's why most parties have an Observer to gather intelligence."
"That's usually my job."
After hearing this, Lu Cang understood Dungeons a little better.
In the very center of this wide-open cavern stood a massive treasure chest.
Lu Cang didn't approach the chest right away.
Instead, he bombarded the area around the chest with Ice Cones and Fireballs.
He also launched a few Ice Cones at the chest itself.
Only then did he move closer.
This action earned a slight, approving nod from Iz.
'Sufficiently cautious.'
'He's not like some rash rookie Adventurers who rush to open a chest the moment they see one.'
'Some chests might also be Treasure Chest Monsters. When you can't be sure, tossing a few spells at them is a valid tactic.'
"Those panthers from before were the chest's Guardians. If you hadn't spotted them and had recklessly approached the chest, they would have attacked you the moment you tried to open it."
Lu Cang's mouth twitched slightly. "That's really devious."
Iz said, "But it's safe now. You can open the chest and take a look."
He opened the treasure chest.
Inside was a single silver coin and a Copper Sword.
The massive chest contained only a few meager spoils.
It was a far cry from what he had imagined.
[Copper Sword]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Decently sharp]
[Special Effect: Increases Slashing Strength (Activated by Level 1 Warrior)]
'What an ordinary piece of equipment.'
Lu Cang handed the Copper Sword to Iz, who put it away.
"A decent Copper Sword. It could probably sell for about 1 silver and 50 copper."
'1 silver and 50 copper.'
'Come to think of it, when we ate yesterday, I think Kumironi paid 23 copper.'
'For the four of us.'
'Now that I'm in this Otherworld, I should probably get a handle on the prices of things.'
'I can't just keep spending their money. I should at least be able to cover my own expenses. As soon as I make some money, the first thing I'll do is pay them back for my room.'
Lu Cang carefully scanned his surroundings, confirming there were no other dangers nearby.
He then walked over to the dead monsters.
At that moment, Iz also began to explain, "Shadow Cheetahs. Tier Two Demons."
"They're adept at hiding in shadows to ambush their prey. They live in packs, usually no more than twenty strong."
"Their attack methods are similar to wild cheetah-type Demons. They only have physical attacks and can't use Magic."
"However, they are extremely agile in combat. Combined with their pack behavior and natural terrain advantage, they can cause immense trouble for rookie Adventurer parties."
"They are even the reason many Adventurer parties get wiped out. According to statistics from the Lorren Kingdom, they are responsible for the deaths of about 1.7% of all new Adventurers this year."
"That's already a very high percentage."
Dungeons contain all sorts of bizarre monsters and a wide variety of different dangers.
'For adventuring parties to be wiped out by Shadow Cheetahs alone at a rate of 1.7% was indeed a high figure, especially since there were other powerful beings like Dungeon Lords.'
Lu Cang sighed to himself and said, "It seems they really are dangerous Demons."
Iz said, "However, their pelts can be sold for a good price."
"Their meat is also delicious, and their teeth and bones can be used to make Bone Equipment."
"A complete Shadow Cheetah carcass can probably be sold for around 2 silver coins."
"But after deducting the fees for skinning, butchering, and deboning, you'd only be left with 1 silver and 20 copper coins. Besides, the pelts of these Shadow Cheetahs you killed are damaged, so the actual price you'd get is probably only about 75 copper coins."
Huh...
'From 2 silver coins all the way down to 75 copper coins... that's a huge drop.'
"If we had a Gatherer in the party, they could process these into complete materials themselves, so we wouldn't need to pay someone else to do it. Even though the pelts are damaged, a Gatherer could salvage them. You might not get the full 2 silver coins, but you could get at least 1 silver and 90 copper coins."
'The value suddenly shot up by more than double.'
'It seems a Gatherer really is necessary.'
'Trying to fight a Demon while also keeping its corpse perfectly intact is just asking too much.'
'Iz is teaching me the basics of Dungeons, not just blindly having me kill monsters.'
'She really is a good teacher.'
Iz's hand touched the corpse of one of the Shadow Cheetahs, her tone carrying a hint of surprise. "Oh! To think it has this."
Her palm pressed against its skull, and a faint Array lit up.
SHWIIIING!
A dark-colored crystal materialized in her hand.
"A Dark Crystal."
"A crystallization of the Dark Element. It can cause Demons to evolve to a High Tier."
"It's a material for making a Dark Element Staff, and it can also be used to forge a Weapon with a corrosive Dark Element effect."
"Furthermore, by using a Dark Crystal to sense the Dark Element, you can perceive it more clearly, which is very beneficial for learning Magic."
"Sense the Dark Element?"
Lu Cang tried to sense his surroundings. There was indeed a great deal of flowing darkness in the cavern, which he assumed must be the Dark Element.
Iz said, "Give it a try."
Lu Cang took the Dark Crystal.
He held the Dark Crystal and tried to sense his surroundings, but he didn't notice any difference.
Even after infusing the Dark Crystal with Magic Power, the result was the same.
Lu Cang shook his head. "No difference."
Iz said, "That's because your innate sensitivity to the Elements is already at its peak."
"I've used Empathy with many students."
"The truth is, most Mages can only sense two or three Elements right after changing their class. And even then, they only faintly perceive the Elements' presence; they can't control them directly."
"That's why Kumironi was so pleasantly surprised when you condensed Flame in your palm right after you completed your class change."
"Most people need to use external objects like Dark Crystals, Light Crystals, or Fire Crystals to strengthen their connection to the Elements before they can gradually begin to sense more of them."
'So... my Talent really is amazing. Turns out I really am 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 be sold for 20 silver coins."
"It's enough to let a Mage who can't sense the Dark Element establish a weak connection to it."
"Still, for a Dark Crystal to drop here..."
Iz glanced at the cavern ceiling.
"Perhaps this is a sign that the Harvest Moon will be arriving early..."