Dungeon, Evolution and Success (4)

"Ooh-ahhhhhhh!"

"You are doing well, Silpennon. You should roll a little bit to the left. There's a lot of dusts over there."

"You evil bastaaaaaaaard!"

Silpennon let out a weird groan as he rolled around on the ground. This was a phenomena that occurred when one leveled up all at once.

"His highness barely helped in killing that Slime, so why did he get a share of the EXP?"

Unlike Silpennon, Leseti hadn't received a single iota of experience. She grinded her teeth as she asked the question. She was jealous of the crown prince, who was rolling around on the ground. He actually looked favorably on the female knight for her sentiment, so he gave a friendly reply.

"Your understanding of this matter is fundamentally wrong. That Slime started eating its brethren, because it feared Silpennon. At that point, Silpennon had pulled the aggro of that Slime, and he probably inflicted some damage too. This is the reason why it counted as Silpennon contributing to the battle."

"It isn't much of a contribution!"

Leseti was acting as if she was dissatisfied about Silpennon's growth. Sipennon bellowed from the ground as he sacrificed his clothes by wiping the dust of the floor.

"Ggoo-ahhhhh! Your master is leveling up, so why are you complaining!"

"However, your highness, you are useless even if you level up a lot!"

"Did you just say I'm useless…. Ooh-gyahhhhhhh!"

Artpe wondered how the relation between the master and servant would change in the future. However, it was no concern of his…. Artpe let out a sigh as he gave a supplemental explanation.

"It is as you've said. The percentage of EXP given to Silpennon wasn't high. At most, it was around three percent. But….."

"Are you saying he was able to achieve such an explosive growth with only 3 percent…."

"You've hit the nail on the head."

The only traces of the Huge Slime left behind was the wreckage. It had been a level 200 Dungeon monster, and it was the Dungeon's boss. It had been a Elite Ultra Rank monster.

Normally, the monster's record and EXP increased substantially based on Rank and its position. Even if Silpennon had barely contributed, it wasn't strange to see him increase in level by over 20.

"Moreover, you don't have to worry too much about his Skills either. We'll get the [Cud] Bonus too."

Cud was a humorous term that was coined for the skill where one's Skill grew once more after the monster was killed. The skill grew under the influence of the monster's Record, and the achievements in battle. However, Leseti's expression still indicated that she was having a hard time accepting the situation.

"Still, he didn't even strike that particular Slime with his sword….."

"Well, it seems he was able to do so."

Silpennon was finished with his continuous level up. He shakily got up from the ground. Artpe spoke lightly as he looked over Silpennon with his Read All Creation ability. Above his head, there were words that were more spectacular than what was seen on Maetel once before.

[Silpennon Le Diaz]

[Level : 49]

[Crown Prince]

[Dual Wield Lv7]

[Battle Step Lv6]

When facing the Slime, it would have been enough to just stab it once. He would have needed to tweak the Slime's body. When the level 200 high rank Class monster was killed, the result of the battle was used on his skills. This was why Silpennon possessed ridiculously high level Skills compared to his actual level.

On top of that, he was so exceptionally talented that there was a bonus added to his skill growth. If one only considered the basic Skill level, Silpennon wasn't that far off from Leseti!

Of course, Artpe wasn't going to breakdown all the information, but it was enough information for Leseti to become shocked and anguished.

"If I knew this would happen, I would have hit it with my sword once!"

"If the monster doesn't become truly threatened by your action, it will have no effect. Silpennon went through his growth, because he attacked the Slime before it evolved."

"Why does the prince always have good luck!"

"Why are you dissatisfied with my luck being good, Leseeeeeeeti!"

Leseti kept complaining, and Silpennon gnashed his teeth. At that point, he decided to just drop the subject. However, it seemed Leseti still had questions she wanted to ask of Artpe.

"Does this mean you guys are too high in level to experience level ups from the Slime's EXP?"

"No, we aren't there yet…. We are just used to this kind of incidents."

"You became accustomed to it!?"

"Mmmm. Could you stand still for a moment.?"

"Kyahhh!?"

Artpe could see his reflection in her large innocent blue eyes, so he activated his Read All Creation ability to check his own info.

[Artpe]

[Hero]

[Level : 163]

[Mana String Lv7]

[Hyper Rubbing Lv24]

[Mana Control Lv35]

[Throw Lv28]

[······]

"You...you! Do you think I'll fall for you if you do this! You brat! You braaaaat!"

"....why did I promote such a doofus to the role as my knight protector..."

She had suddenly become Artpe's mirror. Leseti's face turned red as she got angry. However, Artpe was deep within his thoughts, so her words didn't really register with. He let go of the angry Leseti, and he wallowed deep in his woes.

'This is way too fast.'

He had graduated from the beginner's Dungeon at level 145. He had fought the knights dressed in black not too long ago, but they were lower in level by dozen levels or more.

However, he had increased by 18 levels in one fell swoop when the Huge Slime was killed. It goes without saying that the Skills used in killing the Slime had grown too.

Even if their opponent was special, this was too much.

As he was thinking this, he turned his thoughts towards the Mana Link and the Record Divide.

'Did Maetel's ability perhaps influence me….!?'

If so, that would be the worst! Artpe quickly turned to look at Maetel!

[Maetel]

[Level : 174]

"Good. I worried for nothing."

She was still growing at a stable yet crazy speed!

"You didn't worry for nothing. It is rude to stare at another woman like that! Hurry up and apologize to her!"

"What?"

For some reason, Maetel had raised her voice, and she berated Artpe! Both of her cheeks were puffed out, and she stamped towards him. She pulled Artpe towards her side, and she bowed towards Leseti.

"I'm sorry. From now on, I won't let him get close to you, Ms Leseti. You can be at ease now."

"Uh. Mmm. Ooh-mmmm….. No, you don't really have to go that far…."

"Never! I'll make sure he never gets close to you! I'll do it even if Ms. Leseti might get hurt a little bit in the process!"

"Why me!?"

Was her Berserk skill still activated!

It seemed Maetel's gaze was so frightening that Leseti hide behind Silpennon. She made him her shield. She was a true specimen of a knight protector.

"Stop going off topic. Anyways, Artpe, some change is occurring over there."

Silpennon was slowly getting a sense of who he should trust, and who he should ignore. He pointed towards the middle of the destroyed plaza of the Dungeon where a light was emanating. He called after Artpe when he saw it. Artpe had a good idea what Silpennon was feeling, so he smirked as he gave a reply.

"Dungeons are a place where one could plunder a lot of goods. This happens when one clears a floor of a Dungeon or when one does a perfect clear. The Dungeon Merchants, who has a contract with the Dungeons, will show up. Their goal is to obtain the goods."

"Is it a form of summoning magic? It really is an advanced form of magic."

While they were conversing, the pillar of light faded away. A woman, who was pretty familiar to Artpe and Maetel, made her appearance.

"Hello, customers! It has only been couple days, yet we meet again!"

"Kek. It's this ajumma again."

"I don't like that ajumma…...."

She had smooth brown skin, and the humble clothes of a merchant couldn't hide her bodacious body. Her silver hair shone as if it was emitting light on its own. Then there was her silver eyes. She had slightly elongated, yet sharp eyes. It was none other than the middleman of the Anywhere company, Mycenae.

"I thought you would be bit more happy to see me. What kind of reaction is this? Even I would be hurt a little bit….. Huh? Your party has grown?"

"You really appeared….. Even the royal family would have a hard time believing such a ridiculous beauty exists, and you have long ears. Are you one of the fabled Elves?"

"Hello, new customer. It is forbidden to inquire about the identity of a Dungeon merchant."

Mycenae put on her business smile as she replied with a firm voice. Silpennon was a bit frightened by her, so he took couple steps back. At the same time, Artpe supplemented his words with an apathetic voice.

"If you can find out the information without your opponent finding out, it isn't forbidden. Of course, if you are find out, you will be in big trouble like this ajumma."

"Koohk. I failed again…..!"

Artpe effortlessly created a Mana String. He swung it, and it shattered the observation magic that was about to used secretly on Silpennon and Leseti. She mumbled to herself as she grinded her teeth.

"I never expected you to be able to sense and interfere with observation magic that wasn't directed at you….. Still, I was able to learn more about your peerless ability, so I didn't take a loss!"

"However, you'll be taking a loss from now on. I want 30% discount."

"Ooh-goong. Ooh-oong--oohk."

Mycenae let out a moan that was difficult to decipher. At this point, it was fair to wonder if she enjoyed being taken advantage of by Artpe.

It was as if Silpennon had passed a baton off to Mycenae. She looked as if she wanted to roll around on the floor. Artpe ignored Mycenae. He started looting the Huge Slime with Maetel.

The first thing he picked up was the precious Demite's Gemstone. The Huge Slime's ability was beyond expectation. One could see that some parts of the hard gem were melted.

"Let's see….. Oh."

Artpe poured water over it to wash away the slime. He had a satisfied expression as he looked at the Delmite's Gemstone, which was letting out more light than before. He mumbled to himself.

"If 50 more Huge Slimes shows up, I think I'll be able to refine it."

"You want to create 50 more of this monster!?"

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to do so, so don't be frightened. It is rare to find an opportunity that allows one to easily level up like this."

"Easily…...."

It had also regurgitated all the treasures it ate coming down to this floor. It also produced Artifacts and gold coins when the Records and Mana of the Slime was consolidated. When Maetel saw one of the items, she let out a happy shout.

"It's a Skill Book!"

"Unfortunately, the two of us already learned that one."

The Skill Book was called Mana Control. It was a Skill that could be learned after Mana Detection. It was a Skill everyone, who aspired to be a level 100 high rank Class, must learn.

However, it was very difficult to learn it by oneself. It was hard even for those that were born with the potential for becoming a magician. Since the skill can't be self-taught, one had to buy it with money. There were a lot of cases where people gave up on becoming a level 100 high rank Class, because they couldn't acquire the book.

Maetel had learned such a skill at level 2. It really highlighted how bad of a cheat her talent was. Nothing more had to be said about that subject.

"Since we already learned this Skill, we'll merely increase our Mana by a little bit if we use it…."

That wasn't a bad option, but in many ways, it would be best to just sell the Skill Book. The demand for the Mana Control Skill was high, yet there was an absolute shortage in supply. It was the number one in demand amongst the high rank Skills.

Basically, it was expensive. It was very expensive.

"That is why at this point…."

Artpe looked at Silpennon, who was looking at him with an absent minded face. Artpe knew Silpennon had no knowledge of it, yet he asked in a sly manner.

"Do you know what Mana Control is?"

"What is it?"

"I knew it. You should listen carefully."

Artpe grinned as he made a rough outline of the skill Silpennon had to learn. Artpe even ranked the order in which Silpennon had to learn it!

Of course, the first one on the list was Mana Control.

"You…...."

"I'll tell you this beforehand, but I'm not lying."

"You are lying!"

"He said he's not lying."

"He isn't lying, your highness. It is true that even I had to buy and learn Mana Control with money. Most people are weeded out at this point. Of course, I was only able to buy it easily, because I had the backing of the throne."

Mycenae and Leseti intruded at the right time to back up Artpe's words!

Despite their words, Silpennon graoned. He mulled over it before he shook his head from side to side.

"I'll learned Mana Control through my talent alone! I can do it! I'm someone that'll go through with what I said!"

"All right. I'll just sell this then. How much are you will to give me for this, ajumma?"

"I told you I'm not an ajumma! I'll buy it for 300 gold. Of course, when I resell it, I'll sell it for over 350 gold!"

"All right. I'm being generous. Three hundred gold will…."

"Wait a moment!"

The retail price jumped 50 gold from the trade price. At that moment, Silpennon yelled out to halt the deal. Artpe and Mycenae grinned at the same time, and they turned to look at him.

"Why? Did you change your mind?"

"I'm in the middle of a negotiation. Could you not interfere, customer?"

It was as if the the times when they growled at each other never existed. When they were trying to screw over someone else, the two of them worked in absolute harmony! Silpennon grinded his teeth as he yelled out his words.

"I'll kill you all someday! However, I'll buy that! Since I am one of your party members, I expect a discount!?"

"Of course. I'll take your contributions into consideration, and I'll give you a discount. I'll sell it to you for cheap at the price of 260 gold."

Artpe smiled as he handed over the Skill Book to Silpennon.

Silpennon took out gold coins from his Dimensional Pouch, and he let out a sigh.

Mycenae felt sympathy for him, but she knew Silpennon had sealed his defeat when he tried to go against Artpe's design.

"Ah. You do realize you have to switch your Class first right? If you are dumb enough to go into any great temple to do it, your identity will be revealed. You should do it by buying a consumable artifact."

"So how much is that!"

Artpe gave a sign to Mycenae. She had already been anticipating this move. She didn't want to lose out on a sales opportunity, so she quickly yelled out the price.

"It is 300 gold, customer!"

"Ggoo-roo-ooh-ahhhhhhhk!"

This was the moment when the current Crown Prince took a step forward to become the future thief.