Single Spell Sorcerer-Chapter 136: A Powerful Spell

The Crimson Prairie stretched endlessly before them, its landscape dominated by rolling hills covered in rust-colored grass that swayed in the morning breeze. Crimson, the place explained its name itself.

Scattered throughout the terrain were sparse trees with leaves that matched that stood out thanks to their green leaves, and a trunk that was taller. It was as though the roots themselves were pushing their way out, moving the tree higher.

The entire area had an otherworldly quality, one that was so far removed from the simple forest Jax and his party had spent raiding the past few months.

They entered the prairie and immediately spotted various monsters in the distance. A pack of Yellow-furred Wolves gathered near a cluster of rocks, their color standing out in the stark redness of the region. Further out, a massive Crimson Bear strolled between two trees, its hulking form the only thing separating it from the rest of the landscape. High above, a lizard glided with tiny wings, circling around for a few moments before landing down below. It needed to jump again to start gliding.

While Jax was busy looking at the scene before him, the rest turned to Carlton.

Carlton closed his eyes for a moment, opened them, and then pointed toward the northeast. "This way," he said simply.

They continued on, following his lead without question.

The first monster they encountered was a lone Yellow-furred Wolf that had wandered away from its pack. The party engaged it immediately, their experience and skill revealed through their actions. It took no time for them to kill the wolf and reap its rewards.

Carlton didn’t help at all. He stood at the sideline and let the others deal with it, watching with mild interest as if he were observing a training exercise rather than actual combat.

The others were surprisingly not affected, as if they had expected him not to fight.

Jax wondered if the situation was somewhat like with Lucille, where one couldn’t use their spells without an opportune moment.

Once they were done, they continued on.

Jax wanted to butcher the dead monster for its useful parts, but he didn’t have a say in what this party did. The leader simply gestured for everyone to move forward, leaving the carcass behind.

Carlton continued taking them in a certain direction as they walked for almost an hour. During that time, they fought a lot of different monsters. Each encounter followed the same pattern, the party would engage while Carlton watched from a safe distance, offering no assistance whatsoever.

They even came across a beast in the first Emerald stage, a massive Crimson Bear that they had seen early on. The sight surprised Jax given how rare it was for a beast here to be in the Emerald stage and not be a Boss Monster.

The battle was intense, requiring the full attention of all four active party members, but they managed to bring it down. Still, Carlton didn’t help in any way.

It only gave one Emerald stone though, which would have to be spread throughout the group.

After traveling for an hour and a half, they finally arrived at a tall tree with an opening at its base, like a rabbit hole. The entrance was perfectly circular and seemed to descend into darkness. Jax looked at it with a confused expression.

"What is that?" he questioned.

"The Crimson Prairie Dungeon," the leader explained. "The prairie doesn’t have a boss monster like the other field areas. It has a dungeon instead, which we have to find every day and enter."

Jax was surprised. "It’s my first time seeing a dungeon. I didn’t think there would be one in the 9th carriage."

The leader explained that this was one of the few ones out there. Most fields in the 9th Carriage had straightforward boss monsters, but certain areas contained these hidden dungeons instead.

"Wow, you are lucky to find it so quickly then," Jax said, but something felt off. They’d walked in a straight line with purpose, never once searching or exploring. He turned toward Carlton. "Was it luck?"

Carlton smiled. "Do you think I’m getting paid for nothing?"

The leader turned toward Jax. "Were you not aware of his spell?"

"What spell?" Jax asked.

"The spell that lets him locate dungeons and boss monsters easily."

Jax was shocked. No wonder people bid so aggressively for Carlton’s services every morning. The ability to find dungeons and elite monsters without spending days searching was incredibly valuable.

"Is that why you bid on him every morning?" Jax asked.

The leader nodded. "Time is money. We can gain so much more from the dungeon that it is worth to pay whatever Carlton is worth."

Carlton turned toward Jax and smiled.

The leader then explained that they couldn’t take Jax with them. "Only five can enter the dungeon, so one of us will have to stay outside."

"That’s fine," Carlton said. "He’s just observing anyway, right?"

Jax reluctantly agreed to staying outside. The rest went inside, leaving him alone with the strange circular entrance. He spent his time thinking about how absurdly powerful a spell it was to locate dungeons and bosses in such a short time. While ten Emerald stones seemed like a lot for a single hunt, he was beginning to realize the true value of Carlton’s ability.

Just a successful dungeon run would net the party back four Emerald stones on average. Then, there were the elemental stones too, which could go anywhere from being four times as valuable as regular Emerald stones to being nearly two thousand times as valuable, depending on their rarity.

The group emerged after what felt like an eternity, their equipment showing signs of combat but their expressions satisfied. They’d successfully defeated the dungeon.

"Congratulations," Jax said as they gathered their rewards.

Carlton looked around the prairie, his eyes scanning the horizon with that same focused intensity he’d shown when leading them here. "We still have time and it appears no one has found the Elite monster yet. Do you guys want to go hunt it too?"

No one disagreed.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only