Valerian, The Legendary

Chapter 374: Lacking Strength.

Valerian was surprised by the terms dished out by the old man. He had no idea if such a thing could be real and asked, "Sir, you are Taurus’s grandfather, right?"

The old man nodded and said, "So what do you think, Master Valerian? Would you like to join the Craftsmen Guild?"

Valerian took a deep breath and said, "Can I take some time to consider your offer?"

Adler nodded and asked, "Indeed, this old man is restless. Please take time to consider this proposal. I hope that you can consider the proposal. I assure you that you will not regret accepting the offer."

Valerian nodded, and after a little discussion, he saw the old man at the gates. The young man thought for a bit and sat down on the couch. Shiba asked him about the situation, and Valerian told her the matter. He asked, "Can you tell me about this Craftsmen guild?"

Shiba replied, "Well, the people who forge weapons are called craftsmen, so the community of the craftsmen created a guild. This guild is where they all sell their weapons for a good price. They also gain a lot of reputation and support too. You might not know, but if a Craft Master were to call for aid, none of the Dungeoneer would say no."

Valerian raised his eyebrow and said, "Do you think if we were to get into trouble with the Avion Party, this guild could serve as our backing?"

Shiba replied with certainty, "Yes."

Valerian leaned back on the couch and began to think. Shiba asked, "Not to disturb you or anything, can you please tell me what you have learned about the wild boss?"

The young man nodded and narrated all the information he had gained from his conversation. Shiba was surprised and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"We need to temper ourselves first. We have no idea what lies on those floors beyond. That is the matter to focus on. Do not cloud your thoughts with the Wild Boss.", Valerian replied.

Shiba thought that his words were reasonable. The young man did not say anything more and spent the day thinking about the matters with the Craftsmen Guild and how to proceed on the floors below.

The next day, the team arrived at the guild building, and Valerian accepted a task from the eleventh floor. Prim completed the formalities, and the people left the place. They entered the dungeon and slowly moved through the dark caverns again. Prim had told them to bring some food and water with them as the only source of fresh water on the lower floors lay past the wild boss.

The four people faced the creatures on the way, but soon they came to the boss room on the tenth floor. However, this time the Flame Serpent only glared at them and did not attack them. Valerian smirked and shook his head as they ran past the door to the eleventh floor.

Viney asked, "Why are you smirking?"

Valerian replied, "I sensed some fear hidden behind the indifference shown by the Flame Serpent."

Viney rolled her eyes and said, "You think too much. That is the flame serpent. How can it be scared of us when it almost killed us? The creatures are bound to the rules of the codex."

Valerian shook his head and replied, "It is correct to say that the beast almost killed us, but what about the fact that we defeated it cleanly and clearly?"

Viney did not know how to retort because what Valerian said was correct, they might have died, but they defeated the beast. When they were confused, Valerian, who was leading the team, stopped and said, "There, we have the first obstacle."

The people noticed a bear. It had black fur and a trail of bones outside its skin. It was not from a wound or anything but an exoskeleton. The claws of the beast were as big as knives. What scared the people were glowing red eyes. They looked like some gemstones.

Viney whistled slightly and said, "This is a Ruby-Eyed Skeletal Bear?"

Captain approached the front and asked, "Val, shall I attract the attention? You guys can take action."

Valerian nodded and said, "You can do it, but be sure to pull back if the situation is difficult to handle."

Captain nodded, and Viney shot an arrow at the bear. The beast was cunning and turned its head to avoid the arrow, but this attack successfully attracted the bear’s attention. The creature looked in their direction and roared.

Captain charged ahead while Valerian and Shiba followed him on the sides. They were quick to flank the beast by circling it. The bear was focused on Captain and his big shield. The bear lashed out with his claws, and the impact pushed back Captain by ten feet.

The young man exclaimed, "Guys, it is strong."

Viney followed up and shot arrows at the beast’s snout. Valerian and Shiba used this time to reach closer to the beast quickly. Shiba jumped high and attacked the forehead of the beast with her sword, while Valerian stabbed the belly of the bear and dragged the knife across the beast’s torso.

The creature roared and wailed in pain. The skull was attacked to make the beast dizzy, while the stab at the belly directly made the organs fall out of the body. The painful wail was cut short when an arrow was lodged in its mouth.

The situation was handled quickly, and when Valerian stood up, he looked at the shield held by Captain and said, "We need to pull back. This task will fail."

Shiba followed his gaze and found the shield had three claw marks. It was as if the claws had pierced through a paper. She sighed and nodded, "We should pull back."

Captain sighed and said, "I am sorry, guys. I should have been more careful."

Valerian shook his head and replied, "You do not have to apologize for something like this. You couldn’t have possibly known that the shield would not hold. We underestimated this place. A common beast could penetrate the high-level shield like this? Shame on me."

The people nodded when Viney said, "Is it just me, or have you guys forgotten about that scale from the Flame Serpent?"

Valerian nodded and said, "This scale can help us, but it cannot be used n every situation."

The three nodded, and they sighed. Suddenly, Shiba said, "Hey, what is that?"

They turned to look back at where the bear’s corpse should have been. Instead, there lay a small round object. Valerian picked it up and said, "Hmmm, there is still hope. Captain, you are using a short mace or ax from here on out."

Captain sighed and said, "Fine, but you are making me a new shield when we leave. This time make it stronger."

Valerian nodded and replied, "As long as you can pay me enough."

That said, he tossed the shield to Captain and moved ahead. Viney handed him the short mace, and the team moved ahead. They were calm and dealt with all the creatures they met on the way. After three hours of navigating the dark caverns, they found what they were looking for, the solar fern.

This simple fern was a key material for a medicine that could prolong lives. Shiba said, "Hey, Valerian, do you still have that flame snake flower?"

The young man recalled that she was talking about that dried flower he found in the forest and nodded. He had yet to use it. Shiba said, "You are a monster. Now, you can keep a stalk of this fern and put them both in the water barrel. Your physical strength will increase to that of two elephants."

Valerian nodded and picked up one stalk. He carefully placed it back in his bag, and the team packed their stuff and left the dungeon. The journey back to the human world was not easy either. This trip lasted three days. Viney whined a lot on the way back, and they thought they needed to find the recall bugle.

They came out, and after the task submission, Valerian realized something when he was thinking of creating a shield for Captain. After finding the ideal material for his project, he realized his strength was still lacking. At this moment, he sighed and mumbled, "If only I were back on Vita, the battle aura would have allowed me to work well."

At this time, he recalled that flower and the fern. Although he did not believe in things like strength enhancement, Shiba was adamant about it. He decided to go ahead with it. Taking out the two herbs, he placed them in a barrel full of water.

The water began to boil after a few minutes, and Valerian was surprised. He took off his clothes and carefully entered the barrel. The temperature was mildly warm at first but gradually it increased and Valerian felt his skin scalding.