Chapter 1967: Mindful Advantage

Rui snorted at Kane's words. "That man figured this out a long time ago."

"What?" Kane stared at him. "Why didn't he say anything?"

"He would have if I was a Martial Master," Rui quietly replied, detached. "His interest in me drastically reduced after I informed him that I was neither a Martial Master nor willing to let him poke around my brain. He did well to hide it and mask it with real fascination about my mind, but he was definitely a little disappointed that I wasn't a Martial Master."

"That's why he didn't tell us what you just figured out?"

"Yes," Rui replied. "Because it is highly likely that to clear this dungeon..."

Rui's dark eyes sharpened chillingly. "...one needs to be a Martial Master to have a real chance of success."

"How can you possibly know that when you've been here for like fifteen minutes?" Kane stared at him.

"It's based on the fact that the sensory resistance that I am experiencing when I try detecting what is at the center of the dungeon is extremely high. On par with what we experienced in the Master-level belt of the Beast Domain," Rui replied. "Thus, considering that this dungeon is a completely normal part of the Beast Domain warped inside a four-dimensional manifold, I can strongly infer that the relationship between the sensory resistance and level of danger of this dungeon is identical or very similar to that of the rest of the Beast Domain."

"...Makes sense, but doesn't that mean we're screwed?" Kane asked, growing anxious. "Neither of us is a Martial Master!"

"..." Rui remained silent.

"Rui?"

He closed his eyes, heaving a sigh. "Just because we aren't on par with the creatures of the Master-level portion of the dungeon combatively doesn't mean we don't have a chance. This isn't a duel, and we don't have to face them head-on. This is an asymmetric battle, and our goal is not to win. Our goal is to escape this place. Thus, even if we fail to kill them, we will have won if we escape this place, and that's good enough. Remember, what is the fundamental key advantage that has allowed our species to rise astronomically above all others?"

"...Our minds." Kane nodded, growing more optimistic.

"Correct," Rui replied calmly. "As long as we apply our minds, it is possible for us to escape this place with all three of our lives intact."

"Especially when we have two of the brightest minds on our side!" Kane grinned.

A soft smile cracked at the edge of Rui's mouth fleetingly. "Yes, I suppose that is also a plus in our favor."

His gaze returned to the Divine Doctor, who had returned to a small makeshift hut.

"So what now?" Kane grew more enthusiastic. "How do we come up with a plan that would allow us to clear that dungeon and get out of here safely?"

"In order to create a strategy that has a realistic chance of successfully breaking this manifold, we'll need a lot of intelligence in the obstacles that we face," Rui remarked. "The more precise and accurate our information is, the greater the likelihood that we will be able to come up with the most perfect plan possible. After that, we can only hope for good luck and hope that it will be enough."

"Makes sense; as for gathering intelligence, I'm assuming that..." Kane glanced at the dungeon in the distance. "...that the only way to do so is to get in and start clearing it?"

A hint of a smile flicked at the edge of Rui's mouth. "You caught on quickly."

"Hah! I've already been through this, remember? The Shionel Dungeon?"

"Indeed, but this dungeon is far more powerful than the Shionel Dungeon was..." Rui quietly remarked. "The good news is that so are we."

"Ok, so let's say that we clear the dungeon and break out," Kane began. "We would also be freeing everything in this place from the clutches of the Mellow Dungeon, right?"

"Correct."

"Then, how are you planning to convince the Divine Doctor? He already showed that he doesn't care for your princely status or even what your father can offer him. I don't know what else you could offer him, maybe knowledge from your previous life?"

"...Unfortunately, I don't think that will be enough," Rui heaved a sigh. "This man's medical prowess exceeds anything back on Earth. And I'm not even anywhere remotely close to the pinnacle of medicine or biology in my previous life, so it's a laughable endeavor. If I try schooling him on biology, he'll probably just humiliate me with his greater understanding of material life."

Despite having gained immense enlightenment on the Tree of Life, Rui didn't think he had anything to teach the Divine Doctor based on the medical prowess that the man demonstrated in the memories of the animals and the memories of the Elder Tree. In fact, he knew for a fact that a large proportion of the inheritance that he got from the Elder Tree had directly or indirectly emerged as a result of the Divine Doctor's teachings.

It was a shame, but he was hardly surprised. This was a prodigious genius that had cured death and had roamed all of Gaia for centuries. It would be the height of arrogance for Rui to believe he could compete with such a person in their field of specialty.

"I probably know more about Physics than he does, but..." Rui shook his head. "He probably realized that in our earlier conversation. Clearly, he doesn't care that much. If he truly did, he could talk to some other immortal sage with a specialty in that regard, like the Astromind, for example. So, unfortunately, it's a dead-end."

Rui was not accustomed to being so utterly outclassed in knowledge, but he had to admit that he had been humbled to a certain extent by incredibly knowledgeable monsters like the Elder Tree and the Divine Doctor.

"However, there are still ways I can persuade the stubborn madman." He narrowed his eyes.