The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

"This atmosphere feels like a wet market," Felix remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with what you're saying, but that wasn't the original purpose of the Origin Land."

Anna pointed into the distance, where a striking stone monument stood.

This white stone monument is probably the most eye-catching landmark in the camp; it is hard to miss no matter where you are in the camp.

But despite being in such a prime location, there were no stalls around it.

There was only a rectangular stone platform with pale yellow flowers on it.

Even the most money-grubbing businessman must know what he can and cannot do.

"See that? That's the Monument to the Immortals, which records the names of all the heroes who made outstanding contributions to the exploration of the dungeon."

The initial land is essentially a cemetery located within the dungeon.

The dungeon is vast, beyond imagination, and the lower the level of the dungeon, the more expansive it becomes.

It's common to not see other teams for three to five days at a time; you're left only with monsters and crises.

Under such oppressive conditions, even the most lazy people will become hurried once they enter the dungeon.

However, the Origin Land was an exception, as people would come to pay their respects from time to time, and it gradually became one of the few resting places in the dungeon.

Taking advantage of the pauses in the day, people exchanged information and bartered goods. Many resourceful individuals seized the opportunity to start small businesses, which quickly grew to a considerable scale.

Some have suggested that this practice is disrespectful to ancestors and should be banned immediately.

But it was rejected by the brave men of that time.

"They were already lonely enough when they were alive, so it's not a big deal if they have a little more excitement after they die."

"Seeing the younger generation so active, those old folks must feel gratified."

"Why don't you go down and ask them if anyone objects?"

Since then, the Origin Land has become the most bustling place in the dungeon.

“Exploring dungeons inevitably results in casualties, but there are just too many names on this stone tablet!” Felix exclaimed incredulously.

The nearly 20-meter-high stone tablet was half-covered with names, which meant that a five-figure herald had left his life in the underground city forever.

The price paid was far too high.

"That's why the Escape Stone is hailed as one of the greatest alchemical creations of the last hundred years." Lisette clearly also knew something about this history.

"The escape stones do greatly increase the survival rate of the expedition team, but they cannot guarantee absolute safety. To this day, no one knows what lies in the deepest part of the dungeon," Anna continued.

“This topic is getting too heavy,” Felix cautioned.

"Haha, Felix actually reminded me. Well, you've just overcome the obstacles and passed through the first level of the dungeon, so I should congratulate you. Let's not say anything that would spoil the mood."

"Don't get scared later," Anna suddenly reminded her.

"What do you mean?" Wiener asked, puzzled.

Shouldn't this be a safe zone? Is there some kind of danger here?

Before Anna could answer, two upperclassmen immediately took pictures of the three of them with magical devices that looked like cameras.

"Three students, we are reporters from the St. Freya Academy newspaper. Would you mind taking a moment to be interviewed by us?"

"According to incomplete statistics, twenty-seven new students have already completed their first dungeon adventure by shattering the teleportation stones. You are the only team that successfully reached the second level of the dungeon. Could you tell us what you encountered while exploring the first level of the dungeon?"

"Also, do you have any advice or anything you'd like to say to other freshmen who have failed in their explorations?"

The questions were fired off one after another, giving the three of them no chance to catch their breath.

Before long, these interviews and photos will be published in the current issue of the school newspaper.

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Chapter 74 I’m Here

Compared to Wiener, the two students who claimed to be from the school newspaper focused more on Lisette and Felix.

Pretending not to notice Felix's stolen pleading look, Wiener quickly extricated himself from the interview.

"Tsk tsk, a rare opportunity to show off. Others would love to come up here but don't even have the chance. Why do you seem so disgusted?"

Anna didn't go far; instead, she waited for the interview to end.

"How dare you say that?" Viner retorted irritably.

This unscrupulous businessman was clearly the one who hid the fastest. One second he was walking with three people, and the next second he was surrounded by cameras, yet not even a glimpse of his back was captured.

“I’d rather they just see me as a porter. There’s no point in becoming famous this way.”

“Indeed. If you show up too often, many things become difficult to handle,” Anna said, sounding as if she understood the sentiment deeply.

"So what exactly are you here for?" Viner finally asked the question that concerned her.

"What else can we do? Buy more goods, buy more goods," Anna said.

The same materials can be more than 20% cheaper in the Origin Lands than outside the dungeons.

After all, the alchemy backpack has a limited carrying capacity, and not many people are willing to go in and out of the dungeon to move goods, which would affect the progress of exploring the dungeon.

Unless you're about to leave the dungeon, selling off unwanted loot in the Origin Lands is the best option.

But some people like to make things complicated; if there's no middleman, they'll create one.

Which businessman could refuse a 20% profit that's practically free?

“A swindler,” Viner pointed out bluntly.

Doing this kind of thing all the time, you really should reduce your public appearances, otherwise you'll get ambushed on the street.

"Thank you for the compliment." Anna didn't care about this mild criticism.

For someone like Wiener, who exudes the aura of a fellow professional, to say such a thing is practically a compliment.

“A lot of guys suffered from poor equipment in the dungeon this time, so they'll be more willing to invest next time. Do you have any plans?” Anna changed the subject.

At least as a business partner, she is quite reliable.

“Yes, there is, but I need to do an experiment first,” Wiener replied after a moment of thought.

Anna's eyes flashed with approval upon hearing this: "Oh? I knew I hadn't misjudged you. How long will it take?"

Given Wiener's cautious nature, if he says it exists, it's highly likely to be true. The so-called experiment was simply a way of avoiding making any definitive statements.

Timeliness is one of the most important things for businessmen, and Anna only took notice of Viner because of his action and efficiency.

"Let's do it in the next couple of days. After all, the dungeon refresh cycle is only half a month. If it drags on for too long, it loses its purpose."

"That's very targeted." Hearing Viner say that, Anna's confidence grew even stronger. "Is there anything I can provide?"

"I'll give you a list later. As for the cost of materials—"

Wiener was unsure if she had enough credits left and was about to discuss with Anna whether she could put them on the books, but Anna offered another solution.

"We'll deduct it from your previous orders, the deposit plus the payment for the goods. If that's not enough, we'll settle the rest next time. Don't go too far, okay?"

"A commission? Oh."

It was only then that Wiener remembered that there was such a thing.

By the way, Baal is pretty fast. Only half a day has passed since they parted ways, and he's already found them.

"We haven't even delivered the goods yet, and we don't know if the customer is satisfied. It's not appropriate to use the deposit to offset the payment for the goods, is it?"

"It's alright, they're not afraid of you denying it," Anna said nonchalantly.

Anyone who can deny things in front of Jessica, she really needs to see what kind of superhuman they are.

And so, a wonderful misunderstanding arose.

"Too."

Unless you don't answer in the first place.

Wiener diligently completed all the forging commissions that followed.

“Vina!” Felix’s resentful voice rang out.

He still seems to be holding a grudge about being used as a shield, so we need to appease him as soon as possible.

"I'll treat you to a big meal when we get back."

"That's pretty much it."

OK, crisis resolved.

The interviewing skills of the senior students were indeed superb; with just a few questions, they easily uncovered the whole story of how the three of them arrived at the second floor.

This situation suited Lisette perfectly, but it was tough on Felix.

Fortunately, it has finally come to an end.

"They were told both about the interior of the mine tunnels and the final giant colorless slime," Listy succinctly recounted the information revealed in the interview.

There's no need to hide this information. Even if it weren't from here, it could be verified from other newcomers who crushed the escape stones to leave the dungeon. It's just that it's more convincing to hear it from the three people who reached the second floor.

The information provided by Listy included, at most, the existence of a giant slime guarding the gate.

Most of the newly emerged slimes didn't even have a chance to see this special slime.

As for the details of the battle, both sides tacitly avoided the topic.

“That’s good. I was planning to leak this information anyway, and the school newspaper’s involvement has made things much easier,” Viner nodded.

The passage to the second level of the dungeon is blocked by a large number of slimes, so we must prepare countermeasures to get through smoothly.

This just happened to fall into a part of Wiener's plan.

“I’ve used up almost all my spell slots, let’s call it a day,” Lisette suggested.

Unlike warriors who can fight continuously as long as they have stamina and weapons, spellcasters may seem omnipotent, but they also have obvious weaknesses.

Their spell slots are their ammunition; running out of ammunition means losing their fighting ability.

Third-circle lightning bolts, second-circle blazing rays and magical weapons, first-circle cleanse, and feather fall.

If she had to say, Listy had one last first-level spell left, but that was clearly not enough to explore the second level.

“Okay.” Wiener agreed to the suggestion. “Then let’s disband today.”

The Origin Land teleportation array has the function of directly connecting to the academy's main teleportation array.

He had already met his expectations by activating the teleportation array on the second level of the dungeon on his first exploration.

But since she was already there, Viña decided to explore the area a bit more.

"Felix, could you take these things back for me later?"

Viner kept only the escape stone, and gave everything else, including the backpack, to Felix.

As long as she can bring the backpack back, Vina can afford to waste an escape stone.

"You're not planning to go back?" Felix understood the implication.

“I want to wander around by myself,” Viner said frankly.

“No, you can’t,” Anna interrupted, having seen through Vena’s plan.

“It’s fine if you’re just wandering around inside the Origin Land, but you’re definitely not planning to stay in the safe zone. That won’t do.”

Chapter 75 Felix: I'm not really stupid.

"Reason?" Wiener questioned.

"Guess why the Origin Land isn't located on the first floor of the dungeon, but here instead?" Anna countered.

"Let's not guess, just tell me the answer."

"Sigh, Wiener can be really boring sometimes."

Anna sighed and stopped keeping her in suspense.

"Because when the Origin Land was established, this was the true first level of the dungeon."

"The current first level of the dungeon is just a section that the academy's predecessors extracted from the dungeon after countless studies."