Level Up in Earth Evolution

Chapter 19: Preparation

[Ding, congratulations on taking the following quest as a party. The rewards will be divided equally.

Quest: Dungeon Clear Quest

Objective: Kill all the monsters inside the dungeon and defeat the boss.

Dungeon Level: 12 (F-) | Time Limit: 5 days

Rewards: 8000 coins, 20000 XP | Failure Penalty: 2000 coins]

Li Xin looked at her quest window with a puzzle, "Brother, aren't the coins too low?" she asked, noticing the low amount of coins.

Li Wei nodded, replying with a smile, "It's because we don't need to give the monsters we killed, like the goblin quest when we have to give it to the guild. But the monster from dungeon are different we can take it and sell it later, earning more money. Also, we will get the XP or even the skill crystals if we're lucky," he explained.

The skill crystals can only be found in dungeons within the bodies of monsters, which is why no one sells them directly unless they are high-level adventurers.

As they both continued their conversation, Alice and Elva behind them refrained from interfering, thinking they might become third wheels in their big lovers world.

"Hey, Alice, his class is jack of all trades, but his all attributes are off the charts," Elva remarked, examining Li Wei's status from the party's view.

"Hmm," Alice let out a puzzled sound and also inspected his attributes.

"You're right, and does he have special class skills? Why are they all question marks, and why can't I see some of his skills? Is it a god's blessings?" she asked.

Due to the high grade of 'Eternal Learning' skill, it didn't show on his panel, and it also caused the skills learned through it to remain hidden, only displaying question marks.

Elva nodded at her. "It might be a blessing of the gods, but we really got a good dungeon. Let's hope the information they told us is right," she murmured, thinking of the information they received about the monsters from guild.

Li Wei who was talking with Li Xin saw it was time to go and decided to set off when he noticed Alice and Elva talking behind them distracted.

"Let's go. We are going, or we will be late," he stated as he walked ahead with Li Xin.

"Ah, we are coming, we are coming," Alice replied hurriedly and followed behind him with Elva.

"Did you bring lunch with you?" he inquired, because they would probably need time to clear the dungeon, or it might even take whole day. He is already prepared and asked for packed lunch from the inn lady.

Alice and Elva both nodded. "Yes, we brought our lunch together," Alice replied with a nod. They, too, knew it would take time, so they were prepared ahead.

Li Wei nodded but looked a little puzzled when he thought of something.

"Why didn't any of you choose a side class like a cook?" he questioned, because he didn't see any of them with side classes.

"The side classes take skill points to level up, and it's not like you can't cook without it, but if you want to cook delicious food and earn money, then you have no choice but to learn it. Also, many people will only choose the side class when they retire or decided to stop adventuring, " Alice explained.

There are many people who choose to live a normal life after a period of time, because there are many people with high levels taking care of monsters.

"So, that's why. But how did you come to this city? Isn't your level too low?" he questioned again.

He saw their cheerful conversation from before, which meant there is no tragic backstory. Maybe he just read too many novels that led him not to ask earlier.

This time, it is Elva who explained. "We came with people from our village because they wanted to see the new world that merged with ours. As for our low levels, it's because of the rule where they will not allow someone to upgrade their class until they reach a certain age, and for every race, it differs."

In this world, there are many rules, especially for underage children. If they leave home too early without having enough knowledge, they might get tricked in the future and even die.

It is also the reason why Emily's family didn't tell her about class upgrades, and she will definitely not be able to level up too much until she grows up to a certain age.

"So that's the case. No wonder there are no adventurer kids," Li Wei murmured with a nod, imagining how the kids would look clearing some high-level dungeons.

"Anyway, let's move. It's not far away from here, so we can come back if we can't clear it in a day," Li Wei stated and headed towards the quest destination with his newfound party members. He felt happy with the XP he was going to receive.

After a half-hour of walking, they all arrived at the location where the dungeon is.

Li Wei looked at the giant hole in the ground that appeared in front of them and scanned it with Analyze Eye.

"It's really a dungeon," he muttered and looked inside to see a little dark hole, making his visibility low.

He didn't hesitate and directly took out the skill crystal that he got from the first dungeon boss.

"A skill crystal!" both Alice and Elva exclaimed at the same time when they saw him taking out a skill crystal.

The skill crystals weren't rare, but it is still hard to see as no one revealed too much about them.

Li Wei saw their surprised expressions and ignored it directly crushing the skill crystal.

[Ding, congratulations on learning the Glow Magic skill.]

Looking at the notification, he didn't hesitate and chanted, "Glow Magic."

*Shing!* With a shing sound, a glowing ball formed and floated in front of him.

He looked at it, observing a little, 'It will consume 50 MP per hour if I keep using it, but it's a useful skill,' he pondered, as he received the information from the skill after learning it.

With the instructions in his mind about how to use it, he directed the glowing ball inside the dungeon, lighting the dark area to see if there were any monsters.

"There is no danger, but it's a little deep," Li Wei informed, after confirming there were no monsters with his Analyze Eye and glow magic to be sure.

"Let's move. We will go down, but be careful when jumping," he warned, and jumped down.

The hole is deep but not too much, as they can jump with their high attributes.

With a soft thud sound, he landed safely on the ground and looked up.

"You can come down; it's safe here," he informed again and looked around to see the stairs heading downwards, just a little distance away from him, as the faint light came from there.

Behind him a few soft thuds sounded, as all the girls landed gracefully.

Alice looked at the stairs that led downwards. "I can scout ahead if you want to," she suggested, wanting to scout ahead for monsters.

But Li Wei shook his head. "No, I will scout ahead; you can stay here," he rejected her suggestion, because he is the best person here to scout with his high attributes.

But before he went inside, he directly increased his intelligence attribute with all the AP he has.

**

AP:0 ?200

MP: 2930/2935?1000+

Intelligence: 587?200+

**

He looked at his upgraded attributes with a nod.

'Now I don't have to worry about draining my mana, but I still won't be able to cast a powerful skill,' he contemplated.

The skills' damage depended on the intelligence attribute. The higher it is, the higher the damage will be, but with an attribute limit, it's impossible for him to deal high damage.

Moreover, he doesn't even know how much his attribute limit is because it can vary depending on their body and soul.

Alice looked at him with a little hesitation and sighed, not saying anything she knew he is the best among them for scouting.

Li Wei didn't care about her reaction and looked at Li Xin, "XinXin, just stay here. I will be back," he reminded her and used the Stealth skill, disappearing from his place.

He descended the stairs slowly to not alert the monsters below. After few seconds he finally arrived at the floor and saw the monsters, that left him stunned.

'No wonder the guild made it compulsory to have a party; it is because of this,' he murmured in his mind, looking at the monsters that were in large numbers.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he returned back.

Li Xin and the others were waiting for him to come and were prepared to take action in any case.

But they suddenly saw someone appearing without any warning.

"Be careful!" Alice shouted, alerting Li Xin and Elva.

Hearing her shout, all of them took a few steps back and readied themselves to attack.

Li Wei who arrived abruptly didn't expect this and hurriedly explained.

"Hey, hey, wait, it's me," he shouted, stopping them from attacking him with his hands up and ready to dodge.

Li Xin heaved a sigh of relief when she saw it was Li Wei.

"Brother, at least give us a hint that you are coming. What if we really attacked, thinking you are a monster?" she scolded pouting cutely at him.

"Okay, I know it is my mistake, I will make sure to inform next time," he replied with a wry smile, and thought he still doesn't have any experience in this.

Alice and Elva just looked at him and waited for him to speak about what he scouted ahead.

Li Wei also noticed their gaze and said with a serious expression.

"Just as the quest mentioned, there are more than 200 monsters down there, including elemental slimes and plant monsters. We are lucky that the plant monsters can't move from their place, but we still have to deal with slimes that make up around 60 percent of the numbers," he explained what he has seen and confirmed the information he received from the guild.

Alice and Elva both nodded thinking the information from the guild is true.

They didn't fully trust the information because the monsters could change abruptly, and it would be dangerous. It is necessary to take precautions when clearing the dungeons.

"I will be the main fighter, dealing with close combat, and if necessary, I will also use skills. Li Xin will also do the same but will stay behind me. What about you two?" Li Wei asked, explaining his plan.

"If it's just slimes, then I can use my Mage and Archer skills, slowing them down and staying behind both of you, while Alice will take care of any monsters when Li Xin and I cast our magic skills," Elva nodded and also explained their roles as it was necessary for the party.

"Okay, then what about the experience sharing? Do you want to share your XP or not?" Li Wei inquired because he is the party leader and can change it if they want to avoid any dissatisfaction.

But both Alice and Elva shook their heads simultaneously.

"Brother Li, you are really a newbie at being a party leader. Don't you know that if we do that, the pressure will increase, thinking that the monsters are getting fewer and fewer? But if we kept the XP sharing, what we have to do is just kill," Alice explained with a shrug using a familiar tone.

"Ahem!" Li Wei cleared his throat and felt a little disappointed because he is thinking it like a game, but he immediately used the Calm Emotions skill silently as it isn't the time to be bound by emotions.

"Okay, then let's go and be sure to ask for help if needed," he reminded and headed towards the lower floor with them following behind.