006 The Goal is the 23rd Floor

Both Luis and Zea decided to do another dungeon exploring again. This time they want to reach the 23rd floor. They decided to go there on Friday because there is a chance that one day is not enough time to reach the 23rd floor.

Luis is now at home, planning what he needs for the next dungeon exploring.

"I also need to try the [Enchantment] skill. To do that I need some material from the dungeon."

[Enchantment] is a skill that allows its user to make any item better. It makes the item better whether by upgrading an item or imbuing some spell to the item. Some examples of the upgrade are adding durability to an item, making a weapon deal more damage, making an item lighter or heavier, and many more.

Other than upgrading an item, [Enchantment] also can imbue a spell or give an attribute to an item. For example, an enchanted item can give a fire attribute. A weapon with a fire attribute gives the enemy burn damage.

To do [Enchantment] Luis needs mana stones. Another material is needed depending on what kind of enchantment he wants to perform. Those materials can be found in the dungeon.

A piece of information that Luis has gotten from the skill orb is many recipes for enchantment. But there is a piece of bad news, Luis has never heard most of the material. He tried to search the material name on the internet, but to no avail, he found nothing except some basic material that he already knows.

"Well… if I can't get the material, there is nothing I can do. Let's just focus on what I can get for now.

"Oh right, it is said that [Enchantment] can make weapon deal more damage. But how can I know how much damage can be dealt? Is there any way to see the possible output damage of a weapon?

"Wait… Maybe I need [Appraisal]?"

Luis decided to look for information about [Appraisal]. Based on some posters on the internet, there is indeed a way to see the status of an item using [Appraisal]. On that post, the poster said that his kitchen knife has a damage range from 1-3. Then he tried to use it on another weapon. He tried a sword from some shop, it says the damage is 4-8.

"Looks like I need [Appraisal] if I want to focus on [Enchantment]. I can imagine a situation when I tried to enchant my spear. Using many mana stones, not used material on the side, I finished all the [Enchantment] processes. Too bad I don't know if the enchantment is successful or a failure.

"Money…"

As of now, Luis is still working on a small bookstore. His payment is not bad, but it can't be said as a good salary. After getting [Enchantment] skill, he is considering stopping working on a traditional job. Many people changed their job after getting skills from the dungeon, he also wants to change his job.

'Is there a way to learn [Appraisal]?' Luis typed this sentence to a search engine website. On the search result, there appeared a forum post. Its title is 'I learn Appraisal without a skill orb.' Luis clicked on the link, and he gets directed to the post.

'I have said it on the title, I get [Appraisal] skill without using a skill orb. I do it by wrapping my mana around the item that I want to appraise. At first, I only do this because I am bored, but I am lucky to be able to do [Appraisal] now.'

The reply on the post all said that the poster is lying. Many people replied that they tried this but no one is able to replicate it. The poster said that he is not lying, there is no reason for him to lie but no one believes the poster. The post is then locked by the moderator because the replies are flooded with insults to the poster.

"There is something like this huh… Should I try it? There is no reason to not try it."

Luis picks his spear and tried to wrap mana around it.

'Wrapping? Contain?'

Luis is unable to wrap his mana around the entire spear. For some reason, his mana keeps shattering.

'Is the spear too big? But [Appraisal] should be able to appraise an item this big. Is there something wrong with my method? Or does the poster lie about the whole thing?

'Let's change my method first. Before, I imagine I wrap the spear using paper, like when I wrap a gift.

'What if I tried to wrap it using a liquid? Wrap? Smear mana?'

He imagines that he paint the spear using his mana. He needs about fifteen seconds before he finished 'painting' his spear.

'Too bad nothing comes out. Let's try it on another time.'

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Friday, 21st of August. Goldensand Dungeon.

Luis is once again waiting in the park that is located in front of the dungeon. These last four days, he do his job in the bookstore. While doing his job, Luis also thinks hard about his next plan for living. In the end, he decided to stop working in the bookstore. His plan next is to focus on dungeon exploring and try to earn money using the [Enchantment]. As he is only a normal staff, he can get replaced anytime, yesterday was his last day working at that bookstore.

"I wonder if my decision is the correct one…" Luis mumbled in a small voice. "At the very least I have some money to live for a few weeks. As long as I can get some good items or can sell an enchanted weapon… I can start earning money."

"What are you thinking with that kind of face?" Zea suddenly appeared in front of Luis.

'I feel like I heard this sentence before…' thought Luis. "Something tugs on my mind since yesterday and I can't stop thinking about it."

"Is that okay? Do we need to postpone the exploration today?" Zea asked, a little worried. "Remember that we bet our life on exploring the dungeon. A single distraction can make us killed. I can delay the exploration if it means we can live a little longer."

'That is right… I need to focus. It doesn't matter what kind of plan I have if I can't survive this.'

Luis takes a deep breath and tries to calm his mind.

"Sorry, looks like I still need more time to focus." Luis smiled apologetically. "Come sit here first, help me to forget my worries."

"Sure."

"So what did you do these last few days?" asked Luis. He is trying to start a small conversation. He hoped that by doing this he can ease his worries a little bit.

"I contacted a few blacksmithing communities in this city. Two days ago, I visit them and have a chance to make a small knife."

"You can make a knife in a day?" Luis is a little surprised to hear this. He thought that making a sword or knife needed more time.

"Of course, we can do it. Well… the blacksmithing community that I visited is a little modern. They use many modern technologies to do blacksmithing. Like using a steel alloy instead of making it from iron ore, or using propane gas as the fuel instead of coal. Only the forging process is traditional. We still use the hammer and anvil, use our bodies instead of a machine. Well, things like that."

"Hee~ But to make a knife on your first day. And on top of that finishing it. The skill is real huh…"

"Of course it is real. Oh right, I get praised when they see me making the knife. They said that I do all the process perfectly." Zea put a smug expression on her face, feeling proud of what she has done.

Seeing this Luis can't help but laugh a little.

"Hey, I think I am fine now. Want to go inside the dungeon now?"