Yellow sand, still boundless yellow sand.
A desert even more vast than the sixth floor.
But while the sixth floor was characterized by endless daylight, scorching sun, and unceasing tornadoes, the seventh floor was quieter and colder.
The sky held only faint starlight, and the boundless desert was shrouded in darkness, making it almost impossible to see very far.
[Earth Vein Power required to create next floor] 600
The pedestal descended into this desert. Feeling the low temperature and chill of the sands, as well as the cold, dry power surging into his body, Dalun Li felt relatively satisfied.
Next was to see if he had pulled anything good from this mystery box.
Like the sixth floor, the seventh floor still contained only skeletons buried beneath the ground.
Other than that...
Hm?
Dalun Li's gaze froze on a perfectly round stone. It looked like the egg of some creature, but it possessed no vitality, only a peculiar magic power.
No, it wasn't an egg.
It was... a fossil.
A seed fossil?
After a careful examination, Dalun Li made his judgment.
Even [Insight] could only identify it as a seed fossil; much of the information remained hidden.
If it were a fossilized egg, he might have been able to use it for Monster Creation.
But a seed fossil, and such a large seed at that.
"To craft a magic tool?"
"It feels like a waste. I'll set it aside for now."
Dalun Li tossed the seed fossil into the pile of miscellaneous items next to the treasure, then continued his inspection of this floor.
Perhaps good things really did come in pairs, for near the edge of the desert, Dalun Li found a hidden cave underground.
Beneath this cold, dry Eternal Night Desert, this cave buried under the yellow sand actually contained a pool of crystal-clear spring water.
The spring water contained a faint magic power. It might have some value, but it was unlikely to possess extraordinary abilities, nor could it be considered a great surprise.
What truly surprised Dalun Li was a small tree growing in the center of the spring, partially submerged in the water.
The magic power contained within the small tree left no room for doubt; this was a true magic plant.
The small tree was only about the height of an adult, and its leaves grew sparsely.
However, the magic power it contained was no less than that of the magic tree on the fourth floor.
Furthermore, the magic tree on the fourth floor merely contained magic power without possessing any extraordinary effects.
This tree was clearly different.
Dalun Li began using [Insight] to confirm the abilities of this small tree.
[substitution tree] A magic tree with powerful vitality. Its branches and leaves both possess immense life force, capable of filling wounds to allow for rapid healing and even regrowing missing body parts.
"It really is a magic tree with extraordinary abilities!"
Plants containing magic power existed and were as precious as equipment imbued with magic.
But plants possessing extraordinary abilities were like magic tools and magic equipment; they were beyond comparison with ordinary magic-infused plants.
This substitution tree appeared to be a sapling, but its value was immeasurable.
Dalun Li could leave the copper minerals of the third floor and the magic tree of the fourth floor to the invaders to attract more adventurers.
After all, those things didn't matter. They were abundant, and if he wanted to use them, he could go harvest them at any time.
But this substitution tree, only as tall as a person, was something Dalun Li could absolutely never leave out like the copper minerals or the magic tree!
"I must hide it and keep it with me, along with the treasure pile!"
"However, this is a magic tree after all. It's difficult to carry around..."
Dalun Li thought for only a moment before making a decision.
He would create a separate hidden space on the seventh floor and transfer this substitution tree into it for cultivation.
That way, he wouldn't have to worry about invading adventurers finding the substitution tree.
If he needed to use the substitution tree as a material, he could access it at any time.
Currently, this substitution tree was simply too small. The only parts that could be harvested were likely the leaves.
He needed to nurture it properly.
Dalun Li collected the entire underground cave, along with the magic spring and the substitution tree, and created a special hidden space within this floor.
He placed the hidden space deep beneath the desert to minimize any chance of it being discovered.
Having handled everything, Dalun Li continued to inspect the floor.
This unprecedented double-win had caused Dalun Li's expectations for this floor to skyrocket.
But being lucky enough to find two things was already like being possessed by the god of luck; it was impossible for there to be anything else.
The rest of the seventh floor contained only a large number of animal skeletons hidden under the yellow sand.
"I've been a bit too lucky. If I exhaust my luck like this, what will I do for the next few floors?"
Dalun Li shook his head.
Things would work themselves out. Compared to the beginning, the situation had become quite favorable.
After all, he had already expanded the Well of Eternal Imprisonment to the seventh floor, while the invaders had only explored to the fourth.
With two floors acting as a buffer, his safety had significantly increased.
However, it was impossible to think he could rest easy just yet.
The Wellmouth Sentry for the fifth floor had to be created strong enough.
Dalun Li had already seen a glimpse of an extraordinary being's power through Croton.
And Remel, who was at the peak of the first rank, along with Manfred's group behind him, would only be far stronger than Croton.
Only by blocking their advance could he be considered temporarily out of danger.
To be honest, Dalun Li no longer held much hope for the Wellmouth Sentry.
If he truly wanted to stop these people from going deeper, only the floor overlord of the tenth floor might be able to do it.
...
Sam, who had killed Croton, had now fled to the outpost on the fourth floor.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the tunnel leading to the third floor, desperate to escape this level.
However, not long after returning to the third floor, Sam ran into...
Remel.
With golden hair and the bone greatsword on his back, Remel had been wandering the third floor for some time.
"Stop. You are one of Lord Grey's men."
Remel quickly called out to Sam, his extraordinary aura thick with pressure.
"Silver Bone, Lord Remel!"
Sam recognized Remel and cried out in terror.
Remel frowned slightly.
"What are you afraid of?"
Sam's back was drenched in cold sweat as his mind raced.
"Lord Silver Bone, Lord Croton has met with disaster on the fourth floor!"
"There is a hidden floor overlord on the fourth floor. Lord Croton insisted on challenging it. Our entire team was wiped out; I am the only one who escaped."
Remel stepped forward urgently, staring at Sam.
"A hidden floor overlord?"
He didn't care about the total destruction of Croton's group; he only heard the key point in those words.
A hidden floor overlord!
"Wait!"
At the end of the stone grotto on the third floor, a shout stopped Remel's further questioning.
Then came a series of footsteps.
"The Grey family claims priority exploration rights for this dungeon."
"Silver Bone Remel, do you still intend to interrogate the Grey family's attendants regarding information about this dungeon?"
Manfred and his group of dozens appeared from one end of the cave, walking in unison toward Remel.
Faced with such powerful pressure, even Remel, who was at the peak of the first rank, had to yield.
At this moment, Remel felt a bit of regret.
His movements had been too slow. If he had known, he would have purchased a map earlier to speed through the first two floors.
This dungeon had delayed him for too much time.
Although Manfred had only recently entered the dungeon, as a member of the Grey family, he could obtain the latest information on the dungeon at any time.
This included maps of the labyrinth.
From the outposts on the first and third floors, all the personnel belonged to the Lord, providing real-time updates to the topographical maps of the first three floors.
"Heh, I am also an adventurer hired by Lord Grey."
Remel released Sam, indicating he was not an enemy.
Sam, who had killed Croton, felt his heart pounding rapidly.
But he knew that a small figure like himself could only survive by being sufficiently cooperative.
"My Lord, I will tell you all the information I know about the fourth floor."
"I only hope that you can avenge Lord Croton."
Manfred looked at Sam without much suspicion.
Total party wipes in a dungeon were all too common.
Dungeons were places where danger and treasure went hand in hand; if one coveted the treasure, one had to be prepared to stake their life.
Under Sam's guidance, Manfred's group—which was practically capable of sweeping through the dungeon at its current state—set off toward the fourth floor.
This strongest first-rank team had finally moved to the forefront of the exploration.
And the other adventurers following closely behind also began to step from the second floor into the third.
Outside the dungeon, under Lord Grey's orders.
Throughout the border, surrounding residents were being summoned and mobilized toward the dungeon along with their families.
These people were all being prepared for the mining of the copper mineral vein on the third floor.
Lord Grey was ecstatic over the copper minerals of the third floor.
The Adventurer Association, however, did not feel much surprise over the copper minerals.
But they had confirmed the value of this dungeon and were dispatching more adventurers, wanting to explore the very front lines of this dungeon.
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