Chapter 16

I pointed to a creeping vine that had wrapped around the rough bark of a hardwood tree. It had deep, burgundy leaves that looked like they were covered in blood when the light hit them just right.

“These are called Bleeding Hearts. They are very rare – one of the rarest herbs I’ve seen so far in the dungeon,” I told my teammates. “They are marked in the Delver Association guide as one of the more sought-after herbs for two-star Alchemists and are worth between ten and fifteen iron bits per leaf, depending on their condition. Truly perfect leaves can go for as much as seventeen iron bits.”

Having gained their full attention, I continued, “There was no mention of these plants being present below the twelfth floor, but obviously, that information is incorrect. Since I didn’t see any updates about them in the forums yet, I can only assume that none of the younger delvers have any idea what this is.”

“How do you even know about them if they aren’t supposed to appear below the twelfth floor?” Cora asked.

“I researched all the herbs and valuable flora that could be harvested on the first twenty floors of the dungeon, since those are the floors that are considered ‘beginner’ floors.”

“That’s a lot of information to memorize.”

“It is,” I agreed before showing the duo how to harvest the leaves without damaging the vine.

Even in the dungeon, it was important to harvest just the leaves since cutting the vine itself would cause the entire thing to shrivel and die, making everything left worthless.

We stopped several times to harvest different herbs that I’d either overlooked or skipped during our initial journey through the rooms. Each time, I had my new party members take the lead in gathering the plants while I supervised and provided guidance.

Before leaving the dungeon, I isolated my garden by creating a separate dimensional space within my demesne. I then placed the garden into stasis and the area outside the garden into stasis.

My hope was that whatever artifact was used to appraise the value of what was inside my demesne wouldn’t be able to see through the second layer.

After a moment of hesitation, I cannibalized my sanctuary and used the space to create a third and fourth layer around the perimeter of the garden, creating something akin to a Russian nesting doll.

It might have been excessive, but with an entire Golden Oak stored inside, I didn’t want to take any chances.

“You ready?” Cora asked when I opened my eyes. I’d completed my remodel after absorbing my share of the cores from the last fight, and though I’d been fairly quick, it had still taken some time.

Before I could answer, I felt a thrum from deep within. My demesne hadn’t upgraded from my efforts, but it felt like it had grown by about ten percent.

Rubbing my chest absently, I smiled. “I’m ready. Sorry, it took so long.”

Stepping out of the dungeon, we automatically passed through another sensor arch. I tensed slightly as we were motioned toward the tax collector’s counter.

I wasn’t sure my gambit would work. If it did, it would save us a ton of money. If not… well, I’d need to come up with an excuse to explain how I managed to get an entire mature Golden Oak into my inventory.

“Names?”

Mike gave the woman manning the counter our names while I stayed silent.

“I’m assuming one of you has a storage skill since I don’t see any bags, and you owe a significant amount of taxes for your level and duration within the dungeon.”

“That would be me,” I said.

“Emie of Neohim. Yes. I see you have an inventory skill listed. Very good,” the woman said before marking something down. “As an Ascender party, your group owes one iron dime and fifty-six copper bits.”

I barely stopped myself from sighing in relief. From the relatively low amount quoted, it was clear my efforts to hide my garden had paid off.

I wouldn’t have to keep it that way since the tax was based on the difference between our starting value and our end value. From here on out, I wouldn’t have to worry about hiding the garden.

I just hoped Priest Zeth was being honest about the artifacts not recording the specific contents of one’s storage. Finding the Golden Oak had been a boon, but not one worth drawing attention over.

Honestly, had I given it more thought first, I might not have even bothered to transplant the thing. Still, I was curious about whether another tree would appear. It wasn’t unheard of for a dungeon to only provide certain resources until the first time they were harvested.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It was rare, but not unheard of.

“I don’t think we have enough to cover that without selling some of our loot first. Do we do that here, or somewhere else?” Mike asked.

“You can head over to the man at the next counter. He’ll take care of you. Once you cash out, be sure to come back, or you’ll get stopped by the guards at the gate for attempting to leave without paying your taxes.”

We nodded and headed to the next counter.

We sold the team loot first, which came surprisingly close to what the artifact had estimated we should have earned in total. Mike took care of paying the team taxes out of it, but I promised to pay him the difference once I sold the rest of the loot.

He tried to wave the offer off but begrudgingly accepted in the end.

It turned out that the artifact’s estimate had been quite low. When I commented on it, the appraiser working with us said that it wasn’t uncommon for the artifact to undervalue loot stored inside a skill-based storage space.