Chương 37: Cluster of Eggs

Adolin was still playing with the inventory skill. It was the perfect spell for convenience. Now he could carry everything he wanted inside it. The items were stored in a pocket of spatial magic, big enough to carry everything he owned. About the size of a normal bed, and it would expand with every increase in his level. He wasn't sure how it worked, but he would try to replicate it in the future. When he had enough mana to experiment to his heart's content.

He was quite advanced in spatial magic, but there was nothing like this in his old world. The Calamity Archmage class gave more attribute points, but it also reminded him of the past. If he wanted to leave it behind, there was no reason to choose something that would drag it back. He didn't need more calamity-based spells. He had more than enough of those. He needed convenience. Spells that would make his life easier. The Convenience Mage class would give him that. With the new class, his goals…

annoyances could be dealt with much sooner. The Count's issue, and Lira's addiction. The cravings must be back by now, and would only get worse the longer he spent inside the dungeon. He'd have to hurry. A day or two was the most he was willing to spend. He wasn't sure if she could hold out longer than that. Now, how was he supposed to increase his levels faster without getting himself killed by Clay? Maybe he shouldn't have trained him that much, or maybe he should've found a better way to do it.

It was already too late, so he shrugged it off. He should be happy that he was trying his hardest to train him. Yeah. That was it. What was the boy doing? He turned and released his hold on the illusion. Clay stood in the same place, his whole body shaking, not even breathing. A clicking sound came from above. Adolin followed his gaze upward and saw a swarm of spiders heading their way. He grimaced as he clicked his tongue, his skin prickling.

Their eyes were crimson, their bodies hairy, with sharp fangs that carried a green glint. He still wasn't familiar with the arachnids of this world, and didn't know how dangerous their venom was. They moved along the walls of the ravine toward them, some descending on their webs. They were as big as large dogs, if not bigger. Click. Click. Click. The chorus of mandibles echoed above them. They were about thirty seconds away. He glanced at Clay, then back at the spiders. The boy was hallucinating and had passed out.

What a shame he wouldn't witness his heroics, fighting the spiders alone and carrying him out of the room on his back.

"What a shame," he muttered. Sleep. Levitate. Clay fell asleep, and his body lifted off the ground, drifting behind Adolin. This was a good thing. The creatures were giving him a chance to let loose, and he needed that. After everything he had to relive, and with Clay asleep, he wasn't going to get a better chance than this. There was no need to hold back or limit himself to the Ice and Water elements. There was no better way to deal with spiders than fire.

Well, there were better ways, but Aylinth had always preferred fire, so it stuck with him. Scorch. Flame burst from his staff, roaring upward and swallowing everything above him. Thud. A spider dropped, its body ablaze, legs twitching, mandibles clicking. Thud. Thud. More followed. Burning bodies rained down, striking the ground around him. Barrier. A translucent barrier formed around him, a faint blue glint flashing as charred corpses slammed against it and slid off.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The smell hit him. Burnt hair, treated with cleansing potion. He pushed the memory away and stepped into the water, the barrier parting it and keeping his boots dry. He walked toward the entrance to the next room, stopping now and then to burn the webs covering his path. Using different spells each time to maximize his growth. The deeper he went into the ravine, the more spiders and webs he had to burn.

His mana kept expanding every two spells he cast. Near the end, it took three spells before he felt it grow again. The end of the ravine was in front of him. It ended in a stone wall. Something white was piled there, three to five meters high, with movement crawling all over it. His skin prickled again. The closer he got, the more he wanted to turn around. Spider eggs. Crawling with spiders. Was the mother close? He wouldn't mind fighting one big spider.

Even two would be more preferable than a swarm of smaller ones. The entrance was either behind the cluster of eggs or around it. In the next room, he would meet the mother. Maybe Clay didn't need to wake up for a while. He was having such a nice nap. He still had enough mana to burn the area with the spiders twice over, so he wasn't worried about being left without. He strode forward. He didn't want to spend the whole day hunting the spiders down, so he used Reflection.

It reflected the light around him, making him invisible. Well, close enough. While the Mana Barrier kept the sound and smell inside. He stopped a few meters away from the cluster. He didn't waste any time and cast Inferno. A surge of violet flames erupted from his staff, swallowing everything in front of him. The fire climbed the walls, racing through the webbing, devouring the cluster in seconds.

The eggs blackened and burst, and the spiders caught mid-crawl, their bodies igniting as the flames devoured the ravine. The area around him turned into a hell, like the hells inside the Demon Continent were. A few moments later, only black smoke and the fire remained, crackling as it burned. He cut the spell, and the flames died out as if they had never been there. Except for the damage they left behind and the black smoke. He cast High Wind.

The gust scattered the smoke behind him, while the barrier kept it from touching him or Clay. When the smoke faded, he noticed a large opening that stood where the eggs had been. It was enormous, and it led toward a large room. Was this the boss room Clay mentioned? That would be one big spider to fight. The opening was at least large enough for a five-meter creature to pass through. Treasure chest. He used Mana Pulse.

His mana burst from his staff, flowing through the area as he searched for an object that looked like a chest. Moments later, he found it. It was right in front of him, beside the opening to the next room, but it was blackened. He strode toward it and kicked it open. Inside the chest, a small bottle rested on the pillow. He picked it up and held it closer. Red liquid swirled inside. It was a health potion, a high-purity one at that. Analyze. [Analyze Complete.] [Dungeon Health Potion.] [Purity 100%.] He felt his pride as an alchemist shatter. This was the highest-purity potion he had ever seen, or even thought possible. He was a master of alchemy, yet he had never passed the ninety percent mark. And here was such a potion, lying in a dungeon in this world. Free for the taking of whoever made it this far. He stared at it for a few minutes and felt his alchemist's spirit reignite. Could he even dream of making such a masterpiece? He wasn't sure, but he wanted to try.

It would take time to do everything he had planned, but once he got a house of his own, he could try to replicate it. His mana should be high enough by then. He sent the potion to his storage. He didn't want to risk breaking the bottle or damaging it. If it were exposed to air, the purity would be affected, and he didn't want that. The new world just kept surprising him, in a good way. It was time to check the progress he had made.

"Status." [Status:] Name: Dareth Wood Race: Human Mana: 26/660 Level: 31 Class: Convenience Mage [Attributes:] Strength: 36 Agility: 37 Endurance: 38 Intelligence: 66 Constitution: 36 Attribute Points Available: 10 He had increased his level five times. It was fast when he didn't hold back, and everyone else was asleep. The number of spells he could use had increased, but he still wasn't comfortable using them. They cost too much mana. If he wanted to use them, he would need a safe place. That didn't matter.

He could spam lower-tier spells and increase his level without worrying about the cost. If he gained ten more levels inside the dungeon, he could heal both Lira and the Count, and it would only take a few more rooms. Getting to the Count would be much simpler if he pushed a bit further and had enough mana for teleportation magic. He could return to the inn whenever he needed a break. Well, as long as they stayed close to the capital, it would be fine. If they moved farther away, he would need more mana.

[New Skill Detected: Illusion.] [Skill Tier: 5] [Level Increased.] [Attribute Points Available: 2] [New Skill Detected: Sleep.] [Skill Tier: 6] [New Skill Detected: Scorch.] [Skill Tier: 5] [Level Increased.] [Attribute Points Available: 4] [New Skill Detected: Barrier.] [Skill Tier: 6]... [Level Increased.] [Level Increased.] [New Skill Detected: Inferno.] [Skill Tier: 7] [Level Increased.] [Attribute Points Available: 10] All of his additional attribute points went into Intelligence.

Intelligence: 76 Mana: 26/760 He moved toward the entrance, staying outside the barrier. It was a huge stone room with a tall ceiling, and countless eyes stared down at him from above.