Rumble!
With a rumbling sound, a crack split open in the stone wall at the end of the chamber.
Beneath the crack was a pitch-black passage.
Without a doubt, this was the passage connecting to the sixth floor of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Picking up the monster material dropped by the Wellmouth Sentry, which contained a massive amount of mana, the group maintained their formation as they ventured deep into the passage.
As they went deeper, the air became increasingly dry, and the surroundings grew arid and scorching.
It was not until they passed through the end of the passage and reached the sixth floor that the group first saw the endless yellow sand.
Sand swirled in a sky-filling sandstorm, enough to be described as blotting out the sun.
This environment made everyone feel as if they were no longer in a dungeon, but had been transported to a desert.
"A desert, of all things."
Manfred knelt down and grabbed a handful of yellow sand, marveling at the sight.
The environmental changes in this dungeon were simply too rapid.
The previous floor was a forest wetland, yet this one had become an endless expanse of yellow sand.
"The environment has changed too much; our previous preparations can no longer keep up with these changes."
"We must withdraw to the floors above, readjust our supplies, and pass back the intelligence."
Manfred quickly made a judgment.
Although he served the Grey family and had to complete the family's orders and missions, he could not charge ahead without preparation and place his companions in danger.
"I have no objections."
"Mm."
Neither Rhine nor Weiss opposed the decision.
The remaining three attendants looked at each other and did not voice any opposition either.
They retreated to the fifth floor.
It took a full day for a floor guardian to respawn; returning to the floors above and coming back down would mean they had to challenge it again.
But for those who had already challenged the floor guardian once and obtained its information, re-preparing and challenging it again would not be much of a struggle.
They retreated to the fifth floor stronghold.
Then they returned to the fourth floor.
The intelligence that the sixth floor was a desert was passed back, followed by a wait for new supplies to be brought down from the supply chain on the upper floors.
This included equipment to resist sandstorms and high temperatures.
At the same time, the two monster materials from the leader and the boss, along with the Power Leaf found in the treasure chest, were handed over.
But even so, Manfred still received a reprimand from the Grey family.
Making a decision privately to withdraw from the front lines of exploration was something the Grey family did not allow.
This dungeon was already considered the property of the Grey family; they absolutely could not allow other factions to conquer or occupy it first.
"How detestable. The family doesn't treat us as their own at all!"
Rhine complained angrily.
Manfred did not react. Rhine curled her lip, complained for a while, and then stopped.
However, after a short while, an attendant returned.
"Lord Manfred, please accept these two materials, and please do not forget the family's kindness."
In the attendant's hands were the two precious materials Manfred had just handed over.
Rhine could not help but roll her eyes inwardly.
Bestowing upon them the very things they had earned.
In the family's eyes, what belonged to the team belonged to the family.
No matter how these materials were used, they would not be truly consumed and would eventually return to the family.
The Power Leaf was not "bestowed" upon them, because such a consumable would be a waste if used on tools like them.
The family held the right of inheritance over everything they owned, including their property.
It truly was a case of never being able to repay the family's kindness.
"Mm."
Manfred responded and took the two materials.
Watching the attendant leave, Rhine looked at the materials in Manfred's hands.
"Who knows who will benefit if we just keep holding onto these materials? I heard there is an alchemical craftsman stationed on the fourth floor. Why don't we go and try our luck?"
Until now, this extraordinary team did not possess a single magical artifact or piece of magic equipment.
As the family's adventurer team, all their harvests in the dungeon belonged to the family.
"Very well."
The alchemical craftsman stationed on the fourth floor was, naturally, Fete, who had entered the dungeon to find materials and hone his skills.
At this moment, Fete was practicing using the branches and wood chips dropped by the wood soldiers on the fourth floor.
Having consumed a batch of materials, he had already produced two semi-finished magic items.
They were a small wooden knife and a ring.
The knife was made from monster materials dropped by wood soldiers; once used, it could allow the holder to break free from restraints. It could only be used once and was named the Pinky Knife.
The ring was made from monster materials dropped by wood armor monsters; it allowed the holder to gain a brief period of super self-healing for five seconds. It could only be used once and was named the Kiss of Greenery.
Among them, the effect of the Kiss of Greenery was quite unexpected, nearly a divine tool for life-saving and healing, but the success rate was very low.
Still, it was worth it.
Someone would be willing to pay gold coins for such a life-saving tool, no matter how high the price.
However, the number of uses left Fete dissatisfied, and he felt there was still room for improvement.
"Excuse me, are you Master Fete?"
There was a knock on the open door.
Fete put down the materials in his hand, looked toward the door, and then his eyes lit up as he hurriedly stood up.
"Is it Master Manfred?"
Manfred Grey, a member of the Grey family and the vanguard of the entire dungeon exploration team.
This man surely possessed first-hand materials from the dungeon.
Fete's heart beat rapidly at this moment.
Living up to his expectations, Manfred took out the two materials dropped by the Exiled Sentry and the Wellmouth Sentry.
The massive amount of mana caused Fete's breath to hitch.
His chance to become a true alchemist had arrived!
To refine a true magical artifact!
And there were actually two portions; one of them should be a material dropped by a floor guardian.
The other was a material dropped by a hidden boss, a monster leader?
To have such good luck.
As expected, the treasures hidden in such a newly appeared dungeon were incomparable to those dungeons that had been explored countless times.
Only the first time a floor guardian was conquered would it stably drop a precious material.
Anyone exploring afterward who wanted to obtain the same material would have to conquer it over and over again, gambling on that pathetic drop rate.
A floor guardian required a full day to respawn, meaning it could only be farmed thirty times a month, not to mention the crowds of teams competing to farm it.
"For these two materials, Master Manfred, please name your price. I will take them all!"
No matter what, Fete was unwilling to let the precious materials before him slip away.
"Master Fete, I wish to ask you to perform alchemy on these two materials, not to sell them."
Manfred waved his hand, indicating he had no intention of selling the materials.
"Ask me?"
Fete was stunned.
"Alchemy has a fairly high failure rate, and these two materials are quite valuable."
"I suggest it would be better for you to sell them to me."
Manfred shook his head firmly.
"Very well then."
"But I also have a condition."
Fete felt that he might be able to take a gamble on the man before him.
"Please, speak."
"In addition to an alchemy fee, please give me priority to purchase any monster materials you harvest in this dungeon."
"No problem."
Manfred did not hesitate much before nodding in agreement.
He still had the right to decide how the ordinary monster materials harvested during exploration were distributed.
"Then, here is to a pleasant cooperation."
Fete took the two materials and a bag of coins.
Fete did not intend to perform alchemy on the two materials separately; instead, he planned to use both monster materials to create a single item.
This would greatly guarantee the success rate.
After explaining the alchemy plan to Manfred and seeing that Manfred did not object, Fete formally prepared the auxiliary materials and began the alchemy.
Rate on N.U.
