After the rest ended, the party packed up and set off again.
Charles walked at the very front, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the surrounding side paths, his level of vigilance much higher than before.
The 15th Floor.
The 16th Floor.
The environment of the passageways was exactly the same as yesterday. Even the monsters were still primarily Minotaurs and there were no traces of Gourmet Creatures, which could be considered a piece of good news.
Zephyr walked in the middle of the party and scanned the surrounding environment, his footsteps gradually slowing down. It felt somewhat familiar, it was the location where they encountered the Crab Pig yesterday.
So, would this Gourmet Creature with a high capture level, one that surpassed an Infant Dragon, appear again?
Zephyr was actually quite looking forward to it. After all, the situation today was completely different from yesterday.
Lefiya's Arcs Ray couldn't even deal effective damage to the monster. Going head-to-head would only result in a total wipeout, so choosing to run was the most rational decision at the time.
But what about now?
Having successfully ranked up to Level 2 and acquired the burst method of [Overheat], facing a Gourmet Creature stronger than an Infant Dragon, could he work with his teammates to kill it?
In other words, Zephyr wanted to test where his current limits lay.
If he could encounter a monster of that caliber just by staying on the 16th Floor, what kind of existence would be waiting for him as he went deeper?
Before encountering them, all guesses were unknown.
Now, all he could do was use the Crab Pig as a whetstone to temper himself.
Just as his thoughts were surging, the environment of the passageway ahead gradually began to change—the cavern became visibly more spacious.
It was very quiet. Only the sound of water droplets hitting the ground remained. The intermittent roars and footsteps in the Dungeon had all vanished deep in the 16th Floor.
Zephyr frowned as he briefly scanned his surroundings. Even the highly aggressive Minotaurs had disappeared, falling into an inexplicably eerie silence.
A powerful creature that suppressed the surrounding monsters was lurking nearby. Any ordinary monster that stepped in here would, in all likelihood, just become prey.
After this period of Dungeon exploration, having encountered abnormal situations, the expressions of the party members gradually became grave.
"Zephyr..."
Lefiya had realized the problem. She pursed her lips, and her hands gripping her staff were turning a pale white from excessive force.
"I feel like the environment is a bit off."
Kate shrank her neck, her tone somewhat muffled. "We couldn't possibly encounter that unknown creature we ran into in the Dungeon yesterday, could we? Then our luck is a bit bad."
"Your guess is correct." Zephyr responded.
He gazed into the distance, where the excessively spacious and slightly dim cavern seemed to be home to some behemoth.
Immediately after, a familiar system prompt appeared before his eyes.
[Crab Pig]
[Capture Level: 13]
[A mammalian beast of the boar family, capable of moving at high speeds using its six short legs, and possesses a strong desire for revenge when attacked.]
[The meat is firm with less fat content than it appears, condensing a rich, savory flavor within a light texture.]
[When cooked into a dish and tasted, one can experience a flavor comparable to the highest grade of crab, hence it is named Crab Pig.]
The result did not exceed Zephyr's expectations.
Given his experiences over this period, he could basically conclude that encountering special creatures was purely a matter of luck. Otherwise, reaching the 16th Floor wouldn't have been that easy.
As for why the Crab Pig he encountered yesterday was waiting in the same spot, just as it had been before, it was likely because other areas lacked the environment for this behemoth to survive, though it was also possible that this damn Dungeon was messing with him.
Zephyr looked at Charles who hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation. At this moment, he was shouldering his axe and looking around, his brows tightly furrowed, completely unaware of the Gourmet Creature lurking deep ahead.
Zephyr decided to prepare his party members, saying in a relaxed tone, "Charles, do you know what I hate the most?"
"Huh?" Charles was stunned by the sudden question.
He thought about it seriously for a moment, recalled Zephyr's enormous appetite, and gave the first answer that popped into his head. "Not being full?"
Zephyr shook his head. "No. What I hate most is encountering monsters in the Dungeon that I can kill easily."
"And those monsters that I can't kill easily."
"Huh?"
Charles's lips twitched.
After listening to this gibberish, his eyes were full of confusion.
The former was easy to understand, there was no sense of achievement in killing a monster that was too weak. He was the same way.
But what the hell was the latter? Shouldn't you run away if you encounter a monster that's too strong?
But reality didn't give him much time to think, as the Crab Pig, which possessed an extremely strong sense of territory, caught the movement of other living things.
Thud!
Thud!
The sound of heavy footsteps came from the ground, approaching from afar.
Charles turned around, his gaze directed toward the depths of the passage.
In the deep darkness ahead, a massive figure slowly emerged from the shadows. Its thick torso was covered in red stripes, and its curved tusks gleamed with a cold light.bIts six short legs were evenly distributed under its abdomen, making a thud when it stepped on the ground.
It was definitely the same guy from yesterday!
Charles's hand gripping the axe tightened, and a chill ran up his spine.
He turned to look at Zephyr, and asked with a trembling voice, "Zephyr... why do I feel like this thing is specifically waiting here for us?"
"Who knows?" Zephyr shook his head.
He reached out to Charles, the meaning clear: lend me your weapon.
He sighed, "However, if we want to successfully reach the 18th Floor, we must kill it."
Thinking of the increase in stats brought by the Infant Dragon, he couldn't help but feel anticipation for this authentic Gourmet Creature.
Watching the massive figure slowly approaching from the front, Lefiya's thoughts were churning.
Yesterday's experience, especially the image of being carried back to the surface like cargo by Zephyr, was unforgettable.
Arcs Ray could be said to be her strongest single-target magic, yet it failed to pierce the Crab Pig's thick skin, and the effect was quite poor.
Facing it again, what would the result be?
To be honest, she had no idea.
When she went to Loki to update her status last night, the improvement in all areas was very slow.
But could this level of improvement change the situation? She didn't know.
But she knew very clearly—to successfully advance to the 18th Floor, she must kill the unknown creature in front of her.
She turned to look at Zephyr beside her and asked, "Zephyr, what should we do next?"
Zephyr felt the axe in his hand—this was Charles's main weapon, and it was quite solid in weight.
With his increased strength attribute, combined with a handy heavy weapon, perhaps he could break through the Crab Pig's defense.
Zephyr looked at the party members and made arrangements, "Charles, Kate, you are responsible for containment. Pay attention to its turning rhythm, don't think about going head-to-head, and be prepared to pull away at any time."
"The rest of you, don't participate in this battle. I'll go and clash with it."
Zephyr cast his gaze toward Lefiya and said, "Lefiya, you can rest assured and chant. Whether we can successfully kill it depends entirely on you."