DMS Chapter 139
DMS Chapter 139
The next day, Flinx guided his fellow Earthlings to the Dungeon of Mara. They chose to walk since there were twenty-one of them, and finding enough carriages to accommodate everyone would have been awkward. Besides, the dungeon was only thirty minutes away on foot.
The night before, Flinx had already explained the rules they needed to follow while delving into the dungeon. Naturally, many of them complained about the high taxes.
Flinx admitted that he could probably avoid paying taxes by directly teleporting to the last floor of the Dungeon of Mara using the seventh-level wizard spell, Teleport. However, he avoided doing so because there was a chance he would be discovered, and he believed something like that would damage his relationship with the Adventurer Guild.
“Why do you think your use of the Teleport spell might be discovered?” Mark asked.
“When I took the Diamond Rank test, I fought one of the guild’s Diamond Rank adventurers,” Flinx replied. “Like I said before, the man was a shield warrior. Even though the audience was amazed by my spellcasting abilities, I never doubted for a second that if he had gotten serious, I would have lost. That was only a warrior. Which means their magic casters are probably extremely capable as well, so I’m not going to underestimate them. Hell, they can even determine whether an adventurer is lying about taxes through some kind of magic item. Besides, even after paying taxes, the number of mana stones I earned was still absurd.”
When they arrived at the Dungeon of Mara, Flinx’s fellow Earthlings paid the entrance fee and entered without hesitation, while he remained outside.
Flinx did not plan to enter the dungeon that day. He intended to resume delving only after the side effects of using the Wish spell to escape the Torbal Slavers had completely worn off.
Instead, he planned to visit Olivia’s shop and check on its status. It had only been half a month since he last filled the second-floor warehouse with inventory. Flinx wanted to see whether Olivia needed him to restock the shop, though according to their plans, he still had around two weeks before another refill became necessary.
Still, aside from checking on the shop, he also wanted to see how the education of David, Arcios, Keero, and Violet was progressing. He also needed to warn Olivia that some of his fellow Earthlings might soon establish businesses of their own.
Soon, he arrived at Olivia’s Scented Soaps and Scented Candles shop. From the outside alone, Flinx could already tell that an insecure man would have difficulty entering such a place. The shop was filled almost entirely with women of all ages. They chatted endlessly about whatever topics interested them while smelling different candle scents. Others tested the soaps as fragrant aromas drifted through the air like a cloud.
Flinx knew that people sensitive to such things would probably find the shop unbearable. Olivia had hired three girls in total. Two assisted customers, while the third remained near the register, accepting payments from wealthy women who looked delighted with their purchases.
For a moment, Flinx wondered whether he should introduce additional products to the shop. Perfumes, lotions, creams, body wash, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, and even incense came to mind.
Although he had previously told Olivia that he did not want to expand the product line, the fact that his fellow Earthlings intended to establish businesses of their own stirred a faint sense of concern within him regarding his adopted family’s future income.
If Olivia had been given more time to run the business without significant competition, Flinx would have been perfectly comfortable leaving things as they were. Eventually, Olivia would have earned enough gold to open additional businesses and secure the family’s financial stability.
Still, Flinx did not want to spend the rest of his life supplying inventory to Olivia’s shop. At most, he intended to add only a few more products to their catalog. The best option was to speak with Olivia directly and hear her thoughts on which products would benefit the business the most.
The moment he entered the shop, Flinx drew the attention of every woman inside. Even the two salesgirls Olivia had hired looked startled. Fortunately, the girl managing the register recognized him and informed him that Olivia was upstairs on the second floor.
Flinx nodded and headed upstairs. As he climbed the stairs, he overheard several customers asking the girl at the register who he was. She simply explained that he was the owner of the shop and the magic caster who supplied Olivia with all the products being sold.
Flinx merely smiled at what he heard before turning his attention toward Olivia, who was currently teaching David, Arcios, Keero, and Violet. Even after noticing his arrival, Olivia continued her lesson without interruption. Only after reaching a suitable stopping point did she greet him, causing the children to finally notice his presence.
“Flinx! You’re here!” David shouted as he immediately ran toward him.
“Yes. I can’t delve into dungeons for now, so I decided to check on all of you instead. How are your studies going?” Flinx asked.
The children excitedly began telling him about everything they had learned.
Unlike ordinary children from normal households, the four had grown up in an orphanage. Because of that, they understood that the education they were receiving was a privilege granted to only a fortunate few within Ilioven. As a result, both Flinx and Olivia were pleased to see how seriously the children valued their lessons.
After speaking with Flinx for nearly an hour, Olivia allowed the children to go outside and play. One of the Rockies followed them for protection while the other two remained behind to guard the shop. The children abandoned Flinx and Olivia without hesitation and ran outside with excitement.
Flinx learned from Olivia that the four children had effectively become the leaders of the other children in the nearby park. It was not because they bullied anyone, but because of one of the Rockies. The earth elemental remained indifferent to almost anything the children did to it, so the kids treated it like a gigantic toy. They climbed all over its body and begged it to run around like some kind of moving fortress. Fortunately, the earth elemental always ensured the children remained safe while playing.
At first, many of the adults supervising the children in the park had been wary of the massive earth elemental, which resembled a stone golem. However, after observing it for some time, they realized it behaved like a gentle giant under the command of the four fortunate children who had become wards of a powerful magic caster. Because of that, they eventually allowed their children to play alongside the four kids and their enormous earth elemental, which everyone had begun calling Rocky.
The name spread quickly throughout the park until both children and adults alike referred to the earth elemental as Rocky.
Rocky, however, ignored nearly everyone who called its name and obeyed only David, Arcios, Keero, and Olivia.
The amusing part was that David had once abused his authority over the elemental to take revenge on another child over something petty, causing Rocky to nearly injure the boy before David stopped it in time.
The injured child's mother later reported the incident to Olivia, and David received a severe thrashing from her while Arcios, Keero, and Violet laughed as they watched him being punished.
What frightened David the most was the possibility that Olivia might tell Flinx, which would inevitably earn him the wizard’s anger.