Dungeon, 12th Floor.
Ronan had expected the Dungeon to make another move, and Aura had prepared her wide-range Magic in advance. Because of that, the monsters that appeared afterward were defeated by Ronan and the others before they could cause any trouble.
To put it simply, Aura had prepared the area ahead of time. The monsters were controlled as soon as they appeared. Then they were met with fireballs and coordinated attacks from Jeanne, Rose, and Lorie. They couldn't put up any real resistance.
If they had failed to predict it and lost the advantage of Aura's suppression, these monsters might have caused the team some trouble.
But that did not happen. Ronan and the others were the ones who took the victory.
Ronan's boots left a scorched footprint on the ground. He looked at the ruined grassland with a smile.
"Looks like our experienced adventurer saw through the Dungeon's trick first," Jeanne joked with a smile after the battle ended and everyone gathered back together.
Ronan was doing two things at once. He stared at the corpse of the dragon species monster with obvious excitement while sharpening his blade, ready to dismantle the body and collect the materials.
"I had no choice. I've been through enough by now. At a time like that, I can guess what the Dungeon will do next even with my eyes closed."
As he spoke, he skillfully flipped his knife and prepared to start the work.
But before that, he needed to complete a necessary step. He suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud. He put his hands together and shouted toward the ceiling with great devotion:
"Beautiful goddesses above, please bless me with rare items and a Drop Chest!"
"Pfft."
Seeing Ronan pray so seriously while kneeling on the ground, the others couldn't help but laugh out loud. Jeanne and Rose were both annoyed and amused. They called him a heretic.
They already knew what kind of person Ronan was.
When the gods were useful, he called them goddesses. When they were not useful, he acted as if he did not know them.
That was Ronan's attitude toward the gods. He respected useful results more than faith. In the eyes of Jeanne and Rose, who were devoted believers, such behavior was clearly heresy.
But since he was part of their Familia, they could only look the other way and let him do what he wanted.
...
Cling, clang.
With everyone's help, the massive corpse of the Infant Dragon was finally dismantled.
Ronan held the magic stone in his hand. Its weight alone was enough to tell him they had made a huge profit.
What made him even happier was that it seemed his serious prayer had actually been heard by some goddess. This Infant Dragon had actually left behind a golden Drop Chest.
"Hahahaha!"
Ronan held the scales and claws while sitting on the golden treasure chest. He laughed wildly with one hand on his forehead.
Seeing him so excited, the others looked at each other.
"Is he...?" Lorie whispered into Jeanne's ear. Her eyes were full of confusion, and she looked suspicious.
Jeanne and Rose exchanged a helpless look. They looked slightly embarrassed.
"Hey, Ronan? Are you... okay?" Jeanne couldn't help but speak up.
Ronan's laughter stopped instantly.
When he saw the confused looks on Lorie and Aura's faces, his face stiffened.
Oh no. He had shown the greedy side of an adult in front of his juniors.
"Ahem!"
He immediately put on a serious face to try to save his image. He began to teach Aura and Lorie in a professional tone.
"Aura! Lorie! These are important resources that keep our Familia alive. You need to treat them seriously, understand?"
"..."
The only response he got was the even more confused and innocent looks from the two Elves. Ronan suddenly felt a bit powerless.
They did not share the feeling at all.
He didn't understand.
Did these Elves from famous elven families not care about gold? Why were they all so indifferent to money?
Was Royman, that greedy Guild Elf, a fake Elf?
This could only be described as a difference in values.
Elves lived in the forests and were self-sufficient. As a long-lived race loved by magic, they were envied by many people. A small product from their homeland could often become a priceless treasure outside. Even common old items from their tribes were often treated as expensive antiques that people fought to buy.
Since they were born into that kind of environment, it was easy to understand why they did not care much about money.
After figuring this out, Ronan sighed. Even his excitement over the materials was slightly reduced.
While checking the materials, Ronan began to estimate their value:
Hard Armored Shell: 100,000 Valis.
Imp Fangs: 50,000 Valis.
Bad Bat Wings: 70,000 Valis.
Infant Dragon Inverse Scale: This was the most precious rare item dropped by a rare species. The market price started at 1,000,000 Valis. Because it was so rare, it almost never appeared on the market. Even if someone had the money, they might not be able to buy one.
Infant Dragon Claws: The most common drop from an Infant Dragon. The market price stayed around 40,000 Valis. Although they were not as valuable as the Inverse Scale, they were still worth a lot.
"Including the previous loot and magic stones, our total earnings so far are about 1.92 million," Ronan said. He remembered the strange feeling he had during the fight with the Infant Dragon. "Of course, that's if there are no surprises."
This price shocked Jeanne and Rose. They never expected these materials to be worth so much.
"If that's the case, we earned a lot today. A Level 2 rare species really is valuable. Just a few dropped materials are enough to match months of hard work for a Level 1 party."
Ronan shook his head to correct Jeanne's statement.
"Not necessarily. If you only count the basic magic stones, that's true. But the actual income includes the value of Drop Items. For example, even a small item dropped by a monster from the first five Floors can be worth one or two thousand Valis. That could cover a rookie's expenses for days. Now imagine what it's like for a full party."
Jeanne thought for a moment and agreed with Ronan's analysis.
But then she thought, if they could have this income at Level 1, what about the earning power of Level 2 adventurers?
Level 2 was a completely different level from Level 1.
You could see the difference just from their titles.
Level 1 was just a Lower-class Adventurer. Level 2 was the start of Upper-class Adventurers.
A Level 2 adventurer could earn hundreds of thousands of Valis just by taking a trip to the Middle Floors of the Dungeon. If valuable Drop Items were included, breaking a million was not difficult at all.
Of course, high income also meant high investment.
Level 2 adventurers generally used third-class equipment. For weapons and armor of this level, a single weapon or a set of armor usually cost at least one million Valis. This was a price that Level 1 Lower-class Adventurers could only dream of.
Just from the equipment alone, you could see how huge the gap was between Upper-class and Lower-class Adventurers.
...
After giving his companions a brief explanation of adventurer income, Ronan packed up the loot and reorganized the gear. Then they began exploring again.
The 12th Floor was much larger than the Floors above.
Ronan's team walked around for the entire afternoon, but they only finished exploring three chambers.
Of course, if they were in a hurry to reach the Middle Floors, they could get there quickly by taking the standard route. However, after the battle with the Infant Dragon, everyone decided to stay on the 12th Floor for a while before deciding whether to go to the 13th Floor.
Since there were two complete newcomers in the team, Ronan, as the Captain, was very cautious with his decisions.
"Oh, right, Ronan. The Infant Dragon appeared so suddenly that I forgot to ask you."
During the exploration, Ronan hung his staff on the side of his backpack. He was using a notebook and a quill to write notes and sketch. At that moment, Rose leaned in with a smile and asked quietly.
"That Bacon Potato Roll dish... it isn't just delicious enough to cause hallucinations, right?"