Chapter 98: The First Chamber
Rayven couldn’t help but feel a little unease after hearing that. He initially thought that the dungeon was just some sort of cave with various floors that was still within the same world.
He didn’t expect it to be in a completely different space.
Still, it now made sense why it was so valuable to the kingdom and why the dungeon beasts differed from the beasts outside.
Drosk then motioned for silence as he crouched...
"Ssshhh... Check the surroundings carefully..." Drosk warned. "The first sector of the 17th has Skitterfangs... Don’t let the greenery fool you. It’s full of things waiting to bite. Stick to the path. If you step off, even those roots might take you."
"Roots?" Rayven asked before he could stop himself.
Hale gave a nod. "Yeah. Carnivorous ones. Just don’t wander."
As they continued walking, Rayven noticed glowing spores floating in the air. They were just drifting there like fireflies.
They looked harmless, even beautiful, but Emma waved them away with her staff before they came too close.
"Don’t breathe too much of it in..." she muttered. "They’ll put you to sleep if you breathe too much.
Rayven swallowed hard, realizing that everything here, every rock, every glowing area, every drifting speck, was a danger disguised as something marvelous...
Still, he couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement deep inside him. This wasn’t just exploration. This was stepping into another world.
***
Rayven and the group then continue walking through the chamber to enter the next passage.
As they were in the middle of walking, Rayven had a clearer view of the place.
The ground was soon filled with strange knee-high grass that swayed even without wind.
Its blades were pale green, and they gave off a subtle, mint-like aroma.
"Are they all unimportant?" Rayven asked as he could tell that there were several types of plants just in this first chamber.
"Not at all... Most of them are just harvested by now... Look." Emma replied.
She then bent down and plucked a handful of blades of grass that had some yellow color at their tips...
"It’s Repel Grass. Useful stuff. You can’t harvest the ones without yellow tips, though. They had many uses, but the most well-known use was that they kept smaller insects and critters away... That’s why this chamber isn’t swarming with pests... It’s like a natural barrier."
"Pesticides?" Rayven was shocked. He didn’t expect that the Repel Grass would only be used for that purpose. He felt that there should be something more.
"Can I appraise one of them?" He asked.
Emma handed him a stalk of the grass with its yellow tip. Rayven held it carefully, then used his spell.
"Appraisal."
[ 1 Gold Coin deducted. ]
[ Current Balance: 238 Gold Coins ]
The familiar text appeared.
[ Item: A stalk of Spirit Grass
Classification: Alchemical Herb, Environmental Herb
State: Fresh, Not Matured
Known Effects:
-Insect & Vermin Repellent: Emits a subtle mana resonance that naturally wards off lesser beasts, insects, and parasitic organisms.
-Sleep Inducement: When brewed as a tea or smoked, induces drowsiness and mild sleep in ordinary humans.
-Calming Effect on Mana Flow: When consumed in proper doses, regulates unstable mana circulation, reducing risks of "Mana Overflow" for novice spellcasters.
-Healing Ingredient: When crushed into a paste with water or monster sap, can accelerate recovery of minor surface wounds and insect bites.
-Weak Antidotal Properties: Neutralizes common low-grade toxins when boiled. Ineffective against high-grade venom, but delays its spread.
-Flammable Property: Highly combustible when dried. Produces a thick white smoke that amplifies its insect-repelling effect. ]
[ Warning: Excessive consumption leads to mana stagnation, dizziness, and weakened stamina. ]
[ Estimated Market Value: 50 silver. ]
"What?"
Rayven’s eyes widened slightly as he scanned through the long list.
It wasn’t just some simple insect repellent. It was practically a miniature alchemist’s toolkit, versatile enough for survival, medicine, and even mana training.
He couldn’t help but whisper. "This... this is actually valuable."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "What did it say?"
Rayven didn’t mind and shared what he had found out.
To them, it was just a low-grade herb, barely worth harvesting in bulk since the Adventurer’s Guild already bought it by the sack. However, if the effects of the grass were revealed, then it would be more useful for everyone... He might even earn something for this discovery.
"Just like you said, it had the effect of repelling insects... But it’s not just that. This isn’t just a Repel Grass, it’s called Spirit Grass."
"What?! Spirit Grass?!" Drosk and the others exchanged glances.
Rayven then continued to explain its possible effects, and they immediately realized how important it was.
"Weird... The Spirit Grass that we know should be blue and have no yellow tips." Drosk muttered.
Still, they believed Rayven’s words. There was no need to lie on them after all.
Now, Rayven was curious about the compendium that had listed all the types of plants or herbs that Emma and the others were aware of.
Nonetheless, they decided to collect the Repel or Spirit Grass that they passed through... Whether they could sell for more or not, that could be decided later once they were out.
As they stepped into the second chamber, Rayven’s eyes fell upon littered shells.
Apparently, the floor was littered with fragments of black shells. They were like shattered porcelain, and Rayven knew that they were Skitterfang shells. Some looked freshly cracked, others looked brittle with age.
"Shells?" Rayven muttered.
Then they all heard it... There was a faint crunching sound above.
Slowly, the group tilted their heads upward.
Three Skitterfangs clung upside down to the stone ceiling...
Their mandibles gnawed on the discarded shells of their own kind, chewing them into fragments and swallowing...
’Do they eat each other?’ Rayven thought as he looked at the strange scene.
"This is also their way to strengthen their own armor." Victor muttered as he held his sword. However, he didn’t unsheathe the sword, and it stayed in its scabbard.
"Even if they’re all the same Lesser Beasts, their hardness differs because of this..."