Chapter 17: Advancement
It seemed I didn't have to worry about returning to my house drunk. After the celebrations, I was in no state to do anything but fall asleep in the common room, surrounded by Sammy and his gang.
I also woke up the most refreshed I had been since I could remember in either life. I hadn't felt so carefree in quite some time. The night had only been about celebrating the legendary fight.
The minor gang had only put forth a fat drunkard for the fight. Having no capabilities in either fighting or magic, he had been the most straightforward bout I think I had ever experienced.
That didn't stop Sammy from celebrating as If I had vanquished a dragon.
The Half-Orc, a lovely man who only went by Nostrils nowadays, was pretty happy for a friendly new younger gang to take over his territory and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Apparently, the last gang had been terrible patrons all around. I had quickly earned his favor by spending near all the coin I had earned from the boss fights in the Dungeon. The silvers going a long way to cloud our minds and lower any inhibitions we may have had. It was only the fact we spent pretty much all our money on beer that left us sleeping in the common room. He had taken pity on us after stealing all our hard-earned coin.
My mana allowed me to recover far faster from the drink's effects. Sammy and his group were not so lucky. They hadn't become a large enough gang to merit buying a body enhancing art. That had been an oversight by me. I should have only bought only one of the neutral mages lineages and saved the rest for a premium body art. That would allow Sammy to become a force in the Outer Ring within a few months, even without my help.
Too late now to change anything. I would still be able to buy an inferior version for his loyal members while I saved up for a proper method for him, one that would be able to take advantage of his natural talents once I got him tested. That would come later. For now, I left them to stew in their own hangovers as I prepared to take on the Dungeon.
I was tempted to sell another recipe to the Cilkas, or maybe an enchantment to the Johans. The immense wealth either of those families would be able to pay me for any piece of knowledge I had was alluring.
I had to reign in my greed for the moment. It was truly not the best time to take advantage of much of the information.
When I was in a better position of power, any of those formulae or designs would be able to make me far more than only a few Mana crystals. I couldn't be greedy just yet.
The Dungeon would provide all I needed to reach the academy, appearing a normal if unconventionally talented young man who might be worth taking the risk. I would just have to widen my horizons and think outside the box.
There were a few neutral first and second circle spells that were cheaper than any with elemental attunement. Their power was only slightly higher than the cantrips I already knew and had practiced my entire life.
Thinking back on my past life was still strange to me. Looking at every book I had ever read, and every mage I had ever met with almost perfect clarity was still odd.
Thinking through all the mages brought me a wave of inspiration, mixed with watching the giant castle in the distance as I walked towards the Dungeon. Neutral magic had never been an avenue for construction magic. Earth was always the favorite for that manner of magic, followed by ice. The frailty of neutral magic and its impermanence had led to little research in all spells that relied on neutral magic for their basic foundation.
Yet, I had forgotten that it was still the main framework of all starter spells. Thanks to the foundation neutral magic gave, leaps of logic were made for all other spells of any element.
Surely I would be able to change many spells that were not reliant on their specific element, such as the grand storm magics, which could also be easily switched around depending on your particular elemental makeup. Why couldn't I remove any added factors and just have the base work, as well as the spell itself, require neutral magic.
Of course, it would take far more power to make up for the natural fragility of the mana in more advanced spells, especially with many moving parts. Yet without focusing on elemental mana and doubling down on my core's growth, I might be able to keep up with the growth such spells may require. It was definitely something to keep in mind for the future.
Now the Dungeon was still calling my name. I might have a bit of competition this early in the day. The weaker Dungeon was the livelihood of many delvers who didn't want to take any risks. I might even be able to join a party that would be facing the fifth-floor Satyr Chieftain today. That would give me a better grasp of the Dungeon's relative strength, even in its weaker state.
Like I expected, the outside of the Dungeon was far busier than it had been yesterday afternoon.
Quite a few groups were loitering around outside, looking for extra members. Another fighter could often be the difference between a successful run or being absorbed into the Dungeon yourself.
However, most of them were people capable of being an asset in the floors below the tenth, where the real money is made. At the moment, as only an initiate, I would have no chance to join anyone of those teams.
That might change as a journeyman. No matter their spells, the strength of a journeyman with some enchanted gear would be able to change the tides of many engagements.
It seemed I was out of luck, as any of the groups aiming for lower levels had already taken off. There was no shortage of people on the lower end of the power spectrum wanting any chance for gold and power they might be able to take.
It would mean I would be encountering many teams in the first few floors, which may very well be more dangerous than the beasts within. Definitely more cowardly anyway.
"That's about all I can help you with, don't die out there."
It had been a few copper well spent. Knowing the situation was vitally important if I didn't want to be killed the second, I walked into the Dungeon. The man looking for people who were capable of taking on monsters on the twentieth level was a great help in clearing any confusion I might have had.
There was no point risking anything, so after I had sold off a few more items from the satyrs, I had enough to book a few hours in a basic mana chamber.
Unsurprisingly it really was bare bones. I truly got what I paid for. There was still only slightly more mana being pumped into the room than its surroundings. It was a good enough place to wait for the few hours for the Dungeon to clear out.
I was going to take on the Dungeon one more time. Then I would stay the night here and try to get in with a team that would be taking on the fifth floor tomorrow morning.
I had thought to use my affinities for some support principles. That would require a lot of work while meditating to collect enough mana wisps to build a solid foundation for the elements in my core. Knowing what path I had to take in the future that could no longer be an option.
The meditation session was extremely fruitful. Not having to deal with cultivating elemental affinities within my mana allowed me to progress far faster. It would only be a few days before I would be breaking through the journeyman ranks. With that level of power and my knowledge of various crafting, disciplines should be more than enough to get me into the academy.
They could overlook a lot if they thought they were picking up a talented crafting disciple. Especially someone with the resolve to break away from any elemental casting.
An alarm let me know that my time in the chamber was up. Moving towards the Dungeon, I was met with a different set of guards than yesterday. I'd imagine I would get to know all the guards by the time I would be entering the academy.
There weren't any groups posing outside for the moment trying to get recruits, so it was once again with silence I went through the grand hall and into the Dungeon proper.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
stone