Meanwhile, Charles, who had been responsible for covering Lefiya from the rear, bypassed the fallen Crab Pig while carrying a spare hand axe, still feeling lingering fear.
His gaze swept over the massive, thoroughly dead monster, then shifted to Zephyr. He finally breathed a sigh of relief now that he confirmed Zephyr was out of danger.
Having personally experienced the stun effect, he knew better than anyone just how dangerous those few seconds of paralysis had been.
Just a few seconds would have been enough for this massive creature to tear all of them apart.
He opened his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating. "That was... really dangerous just now. If you had been even slightly careless, it's very possible that..."
At this point, Charles stopped speaking. Zephyr, already a member of the Loki Familia, could explore the Dungeon with his Familia. There was no need to adventure here alone.
He gradually realized the real reason Zephyr was desperate to reach the 18th Floor. Even though the crisis of the Soma Familia had been resolved, he still did this..
Who exactly was he doing this for? It wasn't hard to guess.
Yet, Charles did not want his friend to take on this level of risk just to accompany him in achieving his so-called Travel Goal.
He scratched his head, his eyes filled with an unspoken complexity. "Actually I wanted to go to the 18th Floor just to set a goal for myself. To avoid slacking off and missing out on my time here in Orario. I'm already very satisfied to have had this unforgettable experience with you all."
Zephyr raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his temples. He looked at Charles and asked, "Charles, will you come back to Orario in the future?"
"I will." Charles nodded.
He knew his journey hadn't ended yet, Orario was just a part of his long itinerary. But the friendship he had gained during this time was enough for him to add returning to Orario to visit friends to his future schedule.
It's just...
He scratched his head, his smile somewhat embarrassed. "It's just that I don't know... when that 'future' will be."
Zephyr raised his hand and patted Charles on the shoulder, his smile full of ease. "Don't leave regrets in your journey. That's life. There is no party that doesn't end, but people have also said that parting is for a better meeting in the future."
"Besides, don't just think about yourself. Exploring the Dungeon was a plan I made after becoming an Adventurer in the first place."
Charles nodded.
Just as he was about to say something, he noticed that Zephyr had turned his gaze back to the massive creature.
The Crab Pig's corpse lay in the center of the cavern, and after being scorched, it even emitted a faint aroma.
He handed the axe in his hand back to Charles with the handle facing outward, a relaxed curve on his lips as he continued, "If you feel bad about it, the processing of this creature's ingredients will be left to you."
Zephyr looked at the massive corpse lying in the center of the cavern, his heart full of anticipation. The capture level was a bit higher than the Infant Dragon, which meant that the Gourmet Cells contained within this Gourmet Creature before him could reach an abundant level.
As for the specific increase in stats, after the level up, he couldn't accurately estimate it.
It's just, would he obtain some kind of special talent?
Zephyr couldn't imagine the specific effect for the time being, but since it was a good thing, he definitely had to take some of the monster meat with him.
"Charles."
He reached out, pointing to the location of the Crab Pig's abdomen. "Help me cut the meat from this area. Don't worry about the rest."
"Okay."
Charles used the axe in his hand to cut along the position Zephyr indicated.
Having followed Zephyr in the Dungeon, witnessing and tasting so many monster dishes, his skills in dissecting ingredients had been honed.
The stomach has its limits. Even if everyone in the team was counted, it would be impossible to fully digest this Crab Pig, which weighed several tons.
"Is this enough?"
"It's fine. We won't be able to finish it even if we take too much back."
Lefiya's complex gaze remained fixed on Zephyr.
The scenes from the battle just now left a deep impression on her. It hadn't been long since Zephyr leveled up to Level 2. The strength he displayed while facing the Crab Pig far exceeded her psychological expectations.
Lefiya understood her current feelings—it wasn't frustration, but rather an urgency born from being left behind.
Just, a few days ago, Zephyr was a Rookie Adventurer, yet now, she had been left far behind.
She recalled the conversation with Eina on the street that day.
She hoped to accompany Zephyr as a companion as he kept moving forward. But if she couldn't even keep up with his pace...
Her fingers tightened around her staff. 'This is absolutely not allowed!'
She could not let Zephyr pull away from her, whether as a member of the Loki Familia or as...
Thinking of this, a faint blush spread across her ears.
She shook her head, suppressing the thoughts that shouldn't have appeared in her mind.
She walked to Zephyr's side. "Zephyr."
"Hmm?"
"What's next? Do you need to rest here for a while longer?"
"No need." Zephyr shook his head with a smile.
It was just physical exhaustion, he wasn't injured. He would recover after resting for a couple of minutes. Besides, the side effects weren't particularly great.
Glancing at Lili, who had already stored away the Crab Pig meat, he said, "Let's continue moving forward."
"Okay."
After tidying up the Crab Pig ingredients, the party regrouped and set off.
The party continued to push deeper along the passage.
After the previous battle with the Crab Pig, the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed.
At least when Charles walked at the very front, pure desire for battle had already reappeared in his eyes. However, the small monsters encountered along the way simply couldn't pose a threat.
Minotaurs, Dungeon Worms...
Monsters that used to require the party to treat them seriously were now, when facing the Level 2 Zephyr, Charles, and Lefiya, basically at the level of being resolved with a wave of their hands.
Until—
A roar sounded from the corner of the passage ahead.
Charles looked in the direction the sound came from, a flash of alertness in his eyes. "Monster."
[Ligerfang]
[Capture Level: 5]
[The meat is very unpalatable and has no nutritional value.]
Zephyr glanced at the system prompt first, then his gaze pierced through the dim passage and landed on the monster's figure slowly walking out from afar.
Its shoulder height reached nearly two meters, and two curved fangs grew from its lower jaw with sharp tips. It was a native species of the Dungeon, not a Gourmet Creature.
"This seems to be a Ligerfang." Lili's voice came from the back of the party.
"A monster that frequently appears near the 17th Floor, its attacks mainly rely on that pair of sharp fangs. After killing it, it might drop fangs and fur. They can be used to forge equipment, and the price is quite good."
Charles raised an eyebrow at Zephyr, and asked for his thoughts, "Doesn't look too hard to deal with, you want to do it or should I?"
"You do it." Zephyr waved his hand.
As a native species of the Dungeon, the overall difficulty of defeating it was about the same as a Minotaur, and most importantly, the monster's meat had no nutritional value.
Most importantly, the Dungeon wasn't his stage show, he had to give his teammates some experience.
"No problem."
Charles sprinted towards the Ligerfang, battle intent burning in his eyes.
After sensing the threat, the Ligerfang immediately pounced, its claws swiping towards Charles's chest.
Charles lowered his stance and swept his axe from bottom to top, the blade striking the monster's throat.