Entering Babel, the party continued to advance deep into the Dungeon along the spiral staircase, where fluorescent fruits emitted a faint light.
Passing through the starting floor, they arrived at the first-floor.
Zephyr walked at the very front of the party, his eyes scanning his surroundings with vigilance, but the further they pushed into the depths, the tighter his brows furrowed.
I have a feeling something is wrong?
In all the corridors from the 1st to the 3rd floor, there was absolutely no trace of any monsters—no Goblins, Dungeon Lizards, or Kobolds.
Small monsters that were usually visible everywhere and could be easily dealt with. They had all vanished completely from the Dungeon's native ecology, as if something had cleared the floors in advance.
Walking in the middle of the party while carrying his axe, Charles looked confused and also sensed a problem. "It feels so strange today. Where are the monsters?"
"According to the exploration records from the past few days, by the time we reached the 3rd floor, we should have encountered groups of Goblins. Why haven't we seen even a single Goblin today?"
The true reason for this abnormal situation in the Dungeon was, in all likelihood, a chain reaction brought about by the Outsider skill. The original ecology was distorted due to his existence, and those monster distribution rules were broken, so it was normal for the small monsters on the shallow floors to disappear.
Lili, walking at the back of the party, raised her head and helped Zephyr answer Charles's question. "Logically speaking, this shouldn't be happening. The Dungeon's ecology is usually very stable. Even if a large number of Adventurers explored this morning, these kinds of monsters are endless."
After finishing, her gaze inadvertently glanced toward Zephyr.
Lefiya was also deep in thought, but she didn't voice her inner suspicions, merely gripping the staff in her hand silently.
The party continued to push into the depths.
The 4th floor.
The 5th floor.
Still no encounters with any monsters.
"I prefer that kind of combat environment, at least you don't have to think so much,"
Charles reached out to rub the goosebumps rising on his neck, gripping the axe on his shoulder ever tighter to maintain a combat-ready state.
Soon, the party arrived at the 6th floor.
A faint aroma mixed with the charred fragrance produced by roasting fat at high temperatures, kept seeping into everyone's nostrils.
Very familiar!
It was roughly the same scent that had wafted out yesterday when Zephyr set up a pot in the Dungeon to cook Minotaur meat.
Charles asked, "Do you guys smell that in the air? It feels like someone is roasting meat, the aroma is really rich."
Kate nodded, frowning. She drew the dagger from her waist, alert. "There really is a scent of roasted meat, but the point is, Zephyr isn't cooking. We don't even have ingredients, so how could he be cooking?"
Zephyr shook his head. The environment had clearly changed, which was definitely an effect brought about by the Outsider talent, and an unknown Gourmet Creature was about to appear.
But the problem was that the number of ingredients in Toriko was simply too vast, and he couldn't recall exactly which kind it was in such a short time.
Even the Strongest Gourmet Hunter System hadn't given him any prompts for capture missions.
He said, "Everyone, stay alert. At the very least, there are definitely monsters on this floor."
Hearing Zephyr's warning, the expressions of the party members grew solemn. They pushed forward along the corridor, the rich aroma of roasted meat stimulating their taste buds as they drew closer.
Passing through a turn, the corridor ahead suddenly opened up.
Charles stopped in his tracks. He stared blankly toward the center of the cave, his eyes wide, raising a finger to point at the massive figure ahead, his voice trembling. "What the heck is that?"
The massive creature before them was definitely over two meters tall, curled up on the ground resting, its skin a golden yellow.
Barbecue Pig!
The muscle texture was clearly visible. Occasionally, a slight sheen of oil would seep from the cracks in its skin, and the rich aroma permeating the current floor originated from right here.
Crucially, the head of this monster still retained the ferocious appearance of a wild boar, with sharp tusks, and its vertical pupils burned with the malice belonging to the Dungeon.
The roasted wild boar seemed to have caught the movement within its territory. The massive creature, which had been resting in the spacious cave and constantly emitting the aroma of roasted meat, slowly stood up and looked in the direction of the sound.
"Is this thing... actually a living roasted Pig?!"
Charles's terrified voice echoed repeatedly in the corridor.
He stared fixedly at the center of the cave ahead, at the massive creature with crispy skin, feeling an indescribable sense of absurdity in his heart.
Most importantly, he really couldn't summon any desire to fight this thing. He only felt his brain buzzing.
Having traveled around the world with the School District for these years, he considered himself to have experienced more things than the average Adventurer. But the problem was, he had never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would encounter a monster shaped like a Roasted Pig in the Dungeon of Orario.
That would be one thing. The key was that every time he took a deep breath, the extremely rich aroma of roasted meat filling his nostrils kept stimulating his taste buds.
It was clearly a monster from the Dungeon, so why did the scent it emitted smell even more tempting than the roasted meat sold in restaurants?
Meanwhile, standing beside Zephyr, Lefiya had an equally indescribable look of confusion on her face.
In fact, she had already prepared herself mentally. The special skill Zephyr possessed was related to Dungeon monsters. As long as he could ensure his own safety, she felt that eating some monster meat was acceptable.
But when faced with an unprecedented Dungeon creature, and a Roasted Pig monster with skin glowing with an alluring charred layer at that, she felt her head spinning.
From the creature he called a Crab Pig, which they had never seen before while exploring the Dungeon yesterday, to this living... Roasted Pig today.
It seemed that something was wrong with her exploration routine.
But when she turned her head and saw the calm, scrutinizing look on Zephyr's face, she, as if by some strange impulse, suppressed all her curiosity.
Since they had come here, they certainly had to deal with the trouble in front of them.
She hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Um... Zephyr, what should we do next?"
But at this moment, Zephyr clearly didn't have the time to answer. His attention was entirely focused on the system prompt appearing before him.
[Barbecue Pig]
[Capture Level: 3]
[A giant pig that has been completely roasted. You must act quickly when capturing it to prevent the Barbecue Pig's boiling blood from burning the perfectly roasted meat. It feeds on herbs and truffles, and its complex aroma is irresistible.]
No wonder it smells so good.
Zephyr did have some memory of the Barbecue Pig. It could be said to be a creature that lived in forests and was relatively low in overall capture difficulty for a Gourmet Hunter.
Just considering it from the perspective of capture level, the difficulty wasn't high. It was just quite large in size and looked a bit intimidating.
Most importantly, the system even provided key hints regarding its capture. Since he intended to eat this thing, he certainly had to follow the system's advice. After all, if the roasted meat got burnt, the texture would definitely be compromised.
Zephyr swept his gaze toward Charles, who was standing beside him and still hadn't quite processed the situation.
Looking at the axe slung over his shoulder, he spoke, "Charles, lend me your axe."
"Huh?"
Charles subconsciously reached out to hand over the weapon, but after the axe left his hand, he realized something was wrong.
"Wait. If I lend you the axe, how am I supposed to fight next?"
He couldn't let a friend face an unknown monster alone. Zephyr had just leveled up, so he certainly needed an adjustment period. According to common sense, an Adventurer who had just leveled up needed time for their body's various stats to adapt, and their strength might even drop temporarily.
However, Zephyr waved his hand. He weighed the axe in his hand, and facing the concerned gazes of Lili and Lefiya, he smiled and explained, "I want to test the changes brought about by leveling up. And also, I feel this battle must be resolved quickly. Roasted meat is more fragrant when eaten hot, overcooking it will affect the texture."
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