Chapter 333 – New Arrival
“Have you encountered Alfar before?” S Rank mage Julia Levine repeated her question to Damion.
“Oh, no. First time seeing an Alfar. I’ve come across goblins before though,” Damion answered.
“Who hasn’t,” Mage Forlani said. “Goblins breed light rabbits. Half the wild Breaches I go into I find goblins nosing about.”
“Thank you Mage Forlani. Why don’t you and the others recover a bit before you head into the next Breach. Will be good to be fully recovered, just in case you encounter more Alfar.”
“More?” Damion questioned.
“Oh yes, this group of Realm Breaches is every rare and it will not surprise me in the least if each one has Alfar lurking inside.”
“Don’t you think we should get a move on then?”
“Why?”
“Because the Alfar in the last one collapsed the dungeon. What if they do that to all the others?”
“Oh, I don’t think we have to worry about that. And even if the Alfar did start collapsing all these Breaches, don’t you think that would help us?”
“Help us? But these are A Rank Breaches. They are worth a fortune in material. Any Yellow Zone could boost itself up to a Green Zone with the resources found in one of these.”
“Perhaps. But there is a key point you are missing,” Julia Levine told Damion calmly.
“Which is?”
“Manpower.”
“Manpower?”
“Exactly. It takes at least one A Rank with the support of several B Ranks to have a chance to clear an A Rank Breach. In reality, it usually takes a half dozen A Rankers for each clear or at the very least A Rankers suited to clearing the dungeon. These eight, well now seven, dungeons would require between thirty and thirty-five A and B Rank mages to maintain. And that is just single clears. To keep the dungeon in check, you need similar sized teams daily.”
“But look at what we found inside,” Damion said as he began emptying the rare flora they had acquired inside the dungeon.
“All very rare, but it is not likely that you will find many of these plants on subsequent runs, especially not so many Heavenly Wood Enhancement Fruits.”
“It’s because the other races use Breaches to farm, until the first clear isn’t it.”
"Very good Mage Picard. It usually takes A Rankers a dozen first clears before they come running to the Assembly with a groundbreaking discovery. Now put those spoils away. Once all the Breaches are cleared, it will be time to split the spoils, but not yet.”
“So, the S Rank Assembly knows?” Damion questioned as he pulled the dungeon spoils back into his personal spatial storage. “Then why don’t you all do something?”
“Do something? What would you have us do? We can’t enter Breaches below our Rank. And spreading the word around would only serve to invite people to go off hunting first clears and likely get themselves killed when they encounter the Alfar or any Iblis.”
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“Not if they are prepared properly.”
“And why do you think this group of mages was assembled?” Mage Levine asked with a smile. “It is because they were properly prepared. Well, everyone except for you, but you did alright.”
“So, we are just going to collapse these dungeons?” Damion asked.
“That will depend on what we find inside. After the first clear is done, other teams will go in and evaluate the strength of each dungeon to determine if they are worth keeping.”
“What would make one not worthwhile?”
“Well, if the guardian is a peak A Rank, that would make it not worth keeping. It would be too dangerous to try and clear one of those regularly. Or if one is just filled with dangerous Demonic Beasts and there is little or nothing worth running the dungeon for.”
“Aren’t all dungeons filled with dangerous Demonic Beasts?”
“I was referring to their affinity. Poison affinity for example. Though, there are a few affinities that are more difficult to deal with.”
Damion was pondering the S Rank mage’s points while he tried to work up the courage to ask how his 8 Aether reward would be affected by there only being 7 dungeons now and possibly less once all the dungeons were cleared and more closely examined. In the midst of his thoughts a new arrival reached the area and to Damion’s shock, it was an A Rank mage he knew.
“Mage Veers, I did not think the Mage Association would dispatch you,” the S Rank Lightning mage greeted Axton Veers.
“Well, the Association was sending out eight A Rank containment units. You could hardly trust such valuable materials to just anyone. Too easy to ambush a courier and let who knows what guild start trying to farm their own A Rank dungeons.”
“Well, now that you are here, you can see we have only seven dungeons left to worry about.”
“Yes. I can see that. Am I going to be needed to help clear these Breaches?”
“Your presence can’t hurt. The Alfar the first group encountered was possibly peak A Rank. The team that went in are resting for now, before they head into the next Breach.”
“Did they lose anyone?”
“Amazingly enough, no. They did not even end up with any significant injuries.”
“Really now? That is unusual for an Alfar. Usually, they sink their teeth into someone before running off.”
“Credit Mage Picard here. Apparently, he used Exile, and the Alfar chose to destroy the true core and escape than prolong the fight.”
Damion, who had been sitting quietly, trying to act as small as possible while listening to the A Rank and the S Rank mage speak, was suddenly pushed into the limelight. When Mage Veers looked at him, he could not help but feel the Void mage was seeing through his Metamorphic Bracelet and sizing him up as Damion Wells, Spatial mage pretender.
“Mage Picard? I am familiar with most Spatial mages, how have I not come across your name before?”
“I like keeping to myself. Besides, I only have a D Rank Spatial affinity.”
“D Rank affinity and you can cast Exile?” Mage Veers remarked as he looked Damion over again. “You must have exceptional magic talent. Well, there are a still a few Breaches here left to explore. Perhaps one of them will be an elusive Spatial affinity Breach and you can boost your affinity to the next level.”
Damion’s eyes flashed at that possibility. The first dungeon had contained Wood affinity Heavenly Enhancement Fruits, perhaps the other dungeons would have fruits for other affinities.
“I see that interests you,” Mage Veers smiled. “Good. You need to grow stronger if you want to surpass those who held you down before. If you ever need anything, contact me in the Mage Association. I am always willing to assist talented mages.”
“Mage Picard. Perhaps you can excuse us for a bit. I have a few things I wish to discuss with Mage Veers,” Mage Levine told Damion.
Doing as the S Rank Lightning mage asked, Damion excused himself and went to check on his companions who were all meditating to regain their lost mana. Feeling it was probably best for him to at least pretend to do the same, he took a seat on the ground nearby and focused on compressing his mana to increase his magic power.
This was not the first time he had been in an A Rank dungeon, so he was already familiar with the mana density of such Breaches. Gathering mana inside had been much easier, like swimming in an ocean of mana and each breath was a refreshing sip of cool water. Being outside was like he had been plucked out of the ocean and left in the desert. He longed for that mana rich environment again to swim through it.
Now he was beginning to understand why high rankers had such a hard time reaching the next level. If they needed such mana density to be able to easily advance their magic power it was no mystery why so few people reached A Rank, let alone S Rank.
After about an hour, Mage Adair got up and stretched. As soon as he moved the rest of their team began moving as well. It seemed it was now time to head into the next dungeon.