Chapter 285: Distributing Tasks
Both Alex and Frank turned toward her.
"The Merchants that have started appearing have quite a few useful things. Some of the edibles they sell can increase our Origin Energy directly, while they also have items that can directly increase the speed of Origin Energy absorption," she explained.
Alex immediately became interested. "How much do those things cost?"
Emma thought about it for a moment before answering, "It depends on the item, but the cheaper ones can cost around ten Origin Coins, while the better ones can cost considerably more."
Alex nodded slowly as he considered what she had said. "And we can also sell monster parts and other things to these Merchants in exchange for Origin Coins, right?"
Emma nodded, confirming that they could sell the materials they had collected from monsters.
Alex thought about it for a while. According to the news, Merchants would eventually begin appearing permanently on Earth, but for now, finding one was still difficult because they appeared and disappeared randomly, making it impossible to rely on them completely.
Even so, this solved one of their biggest problems. They had hunted a large number of Mid Rank species the previous day, and if those monster parts could be exchanged for Origin Coins, they could use the money to purchase items that would help them recover Origin Energy much faster.
"Frank, you should sell the monster parts you have. We hunted quite a few Mid Rank species yesterday, so we should be able to get a decent amount of Origin Coins from them," Alex said.
Frank nodded immediately. While the others discussed the Merchants, Alex continued to train his spells. He still had plenty of things he wanted to improve, and there was no reason to waste time while they were waiting for everyone else to return.
A few minutes later, several notifications appeared in front of him.
[Origin Energy: 9/20 → 11/20]
[Mana Shuriken Spell has leveled up. Level 6 → Level 7.]
[Disruption Mana Spell has leveled up. Level 5 → Level 6.]
Alex felt pleased when he saw the notifications. His spell levels were progressing nicely, and his Origin Energy was also recovering slowly since he was in area with high concentration of Origin Energy.
There was something else he noticed as well. After spending time with Mia and finally allowing himself to release the emotions he had been suppressing, he was once again able to enjoy the process of becoming stronger without feeling guilty about it.
His heart felt much lighter than before. He was still worried about his mother, and that concern wasn’t going to disappear simply because he had calmed down, but he wasn’t going to allow that worry to crush him anymore.
’I should also look after Dad and Ava when I return to Earth next time. Dad must have seen mom’s... condition, while Ava is still only a child. I should have supported them instead of leaving like that,’ he thought.
Alex had always been socially awkward and had never really known how he was supposed to behave in different situations. It wasn’t something he had blamed himself for too much in the past, but this time he couldn’t help thinking that he should have handled things better.
Still, there was no point regretting something he could no longer change. The past couldn’t be changed, but he could make sure that he acted differently in the future, so he decided that he would talk to his family the next time he returned to Earth.
Soon, the group that had gone to explore the nearby dungeon returned, and Sarah and Daniel also woke up. Alex spoke with them for a while and confirmed that they had indeed spent their time clearing the dungeon before turning his attention back toward the rest of the group.
𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Matthew looked toward him and asked, "So, what’s our plan now?"
Alex looked around at everyone before answering, "We have two places that we need to check. One is where I killed the Kraken yesterday, and the other is the portal, since one might be a High Rank Dungeon while the other could give us a way to connect Hell Difficulty to Earth."
Daniel frowned slightly after hearing that. "Wouldn’t it be dangerous to split up? We don’t know how the monsters’ territories were affected by the Lightless Night, and we could encounter something much stronger than we expect."
"That is possible. but we won’t be able to fight properly if everyone travels together. We’ll also hinder each other’s growth if we’re constantly moving as one big group and sharing every opportunity to fight monsters," Matthew said,
Alex nodded. "It’s just like Matthew said, but we should still work together as much as possible. Let’s make this place our temporary base, and everyone can return here every night so we can discuss what each group discovered and keep track of our progress."
Matthew nodded before asking, "Then who will go toward the possible High Rank Dungeon, and who will go toward the portal?"
"We’ll go to the portal, while your group checks the dungeon. From what I’ve seen, dungeons are usually enclosed spaces, so if something goes wrong, a smaller group should have an easier time escaping. Your group should also be able to move through the area faster," Alex answered.
Matthew let out a quiet chuckle before nodding. His reaction told Alex that he understood exactly what Alex was doing, but he had decided to play along instead of pointing it out.
If that place really was a High Rank Dungeon, Matthew’s group probably wouldn’t gain much from entering it. They had barely managed to kill two High Rank monsters the previous day, and those monsters had already been on the verge of death when they fought them.
Fighting fully rested High Rank monsters on their own territory, where they also had a numerical advantage, was simply beyond Matthew’s group’s current strength. Even if they entered the dungeon, Alex doubted they would be able to gain anything from it.
The portal was different because the area around it must contain an unusually high concentration of Origin Energy. Alex’s group would probably encounter increasingly powerful monsters as they approached it, but those monsters would also provide them with opportunities to grow stronger.
If they encountered something that was too powerful to fight directly, they could simply look for another way forward instead of forcing themselves into a battle they couldn’t win. Compared to Matthew’s group, Alex felt that his team had chosen the more useful route.
"Oh, right," Alex suddenly said. "Have you seen the post I made online? I heard you talking about people discussing me."
"Are you talking about the map you posted?" Matthew asked.
"Yes. The location I marked should be close to where the Kraken’s dungeon is supposed to be. If you find any people there, bring them with you. It would be best if we can team up, because we need as many people as possible if we’re going to scout this entire Hell Difficulty," Alex replied.
..
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