Some of Levi's accumulated tension eased as he counted out and stored away the treasure pile's restorative elixirs. He theoretically might survive without them, but having them dramatically increased his chances of coming back from this alive.

They were far from the only thing: Crafting materials in surprising quantities, more like what he'd expect from a level 50s dungeon than level 20s, though the quality was still low tier,

A Beast power stone glinted from under a bastard sword reminiscent of those he'd owned in the first timeline, something that would be more to his preferences than his current mismatched pair. The thought of something with Beast Bite and a bit more reach than the shortsword he currently possessed was incredibly alluring.

The Beast essence was equally tempting. He'd fully charged the Dungeon Seed after adding its second element by now, and this was the first time he'd found any other essences since. Well, apart from the duplicate Destruction essence, but his Dungeon Seed already had Destruction so that was carefully stored away in his pouch where it couldn't be detected.

Levi very nearly took out the Dungeon Seed right then to test adding the new element, but in the middle of a hostile dungeon which could spawn more monsters in at any moment was not the time to be experimenting.

For now, the essence went in his belt pocket with the other rare upgrade items. He was on a timer. He could play with his long-term crafting projects later.

Right now, it was more important to turn that bundle of Sabercat Fur and pile of Tyrannoleather into a lobsteroc saddle or two. But not here, where any roaming sabercat could come wipe them all out.

Lash had already started picking up items with all his tendrils, stuffing them into the largest of the three storage bags piled on the table.

Skarm helped, shoving tokens and smaller items in by the handful, but the gremlin paused when he reached the sword. With a determined grunt, he picked it up awkwardly and proffered the hilt to Levi.

Levi shook away his concerns for the moment to take it, then the Beast power stone Skarm handed up as well.

"I was thinking I might give it to someone else, but if you insist."

Skarm bared his teeth in a pointy grin.

Bastard Sword (Manablade, Standard)

Abilities: (Insert power stone)

Power stone: 0/1

Upgrade Slots: 0

Levi combined the two, clicking the power stone into the sword's pommel and fusing it in place with a quick burst of mana. By the size and brightness of the tracing that lit up across the sword's hilt and upper blade, he could tell it was a different ability. More complicated, not the same familiar shapes of his Beastly Shortsword.

"If Beast Bite is basic, I wonder what something better would look like." Assuming it wasn't a defensive ability. Which it might be.

Beastly Bastard Sword (Manablade, Standard)

Abilities: (Uncommon) Bristle

Power stone: 1/1 (Beast)

Upgrade Slots: 0

Not an ability he was familiar with. He ran mana into it to see what it did, and immediately the bottom half of the sword exploded outward in dozens of three-inch-long spines stabbing out in every direction. Compared to the spectral jaws of Beast Bite it was less impressive visually, but it looked like it would be equally capable of acting as an anchor. Perhaps better, since it would be internal instead of external, less chance of skidding off armor.

"Well, now."

It didn't have the same utility as Beast Bite, but he suspected it could work just as well to anchor him to anything from an angry monster to a wall. And it would do considerably more damage when stabbed into a creature. All those barbs could affect a much greater area than the row of teeth on a standard Beast Bite.

He was still trying to decide if he should swap out the shortsword for the one with longer reach, or keep both Beast blades and hand off the Destruction one to someone else. For now, he strapped the new sword beside the shortsword, keeping all three ready to hand.

Skarm handed him a large storage bag and two storage belts, squeaking urgently. Levi glanced up to find that the minions had efficiently cleared the table entirely. A quick glance inside showed the small items sorted by type in the belts' pockets, the larger items in the large bag.

"Good work. You're right, time to go."

Lash started collecting minions and herding them toward his new and improved lobsteroc, Levi close behind them.

The trip back took longer than the incoming trip, since Levi took advantage of the opportunity to test his new flight capabilities. The verdict was a distinct upgrade in almost every way over the standard variety.

Ordinary flight was a tiny bit slower for the plus variant, especially at takeoff, due to the size and weight, but that could be offset by stamina easily enough. Once abilities were factored in, between Lift and the max-level Pulse, speed and mobility were significantly improved. Pulse especially was incredible for making abrupt changes in direction, and combining it with Lift only increased its effectiveness.

Levi foresaw those abilities getting a lot of use in the next few hours.

Once they arrived back at the prison under the mountain, he turned over the distribution of items to Irene, keeping back five of each type of restorative for himself while giving her the rest to hold or give out as she saw fit. For himself, apart from the Beast essence and Bristleblade, he only kept the crafting materials and the large storage bag. He'd been wanting one for a long time, it would be good to finally replace that clunky and rather heavily damaged backpack.

They split the equipment between Irene, Peter, and the other volunteers. There were just enough weapons and armor that everyone could have at least one or the other, with two left over which Irene insisted on giving to Peter.

Levi gave the Beast Bite shortsword to Peter for now and spent a few minutes explaining its use, while everyone else sorted out who got what items or admired his new giant lobster bird. (Who had to wait outside, being too large to fit inside the tunnel.)

Then he took his materials and sat down to repair his armor

As much as one part of his mind screamed that he needed to get moving right now, the stronger part recognized that too much recklessness was going to get him killed. It was one thing to take extreme risks when necessary for victory, and another to be stupid about it.

Thanks to their windfall, he had access to a wider variety of crafting materials than he'd seen in one place for a long time, enough that he could fully repair his now quite battered armor again, upgrade the chestplate, and still have more material left than he had when he'd entered this floor. Though he'd initially hesitated to spend the time on it, this was going to be dangerous enough even if everything went perfectly to plan.

As he immersed himself in the work his thoughts gradually settled, the rhythm of repeated action helping his disparate plans and variables fall into place.

He'd need Tink for the exit, and probably keep a few Crackle and Bladefin copies to use for communication, but anyone else would only slow him down and risk everything unnecessarily. This wasn't going to be a fighting run, nor a taming run, so he shouldn't need anyone more. He'd feel much better knowing Bolt and Packrunner, Lash and Skarm were all here to watch over everyone in case something went wrong.

He did need a proper saddle for his flight, just like he needed to upgrade his armor. He needed to give himself the best possible chance of surviving this. But that was the last thing. He couldn't afford to put it off. For all he knew, it might already be too late.