Persephone struck down the last Iguazu, catching her breath as she picked up the thread:
"This thing evolved to near-Level 5 potential. Think about how many Magic Stones it had to consume to get there. We're not talking about a small number."
Her voice turned cold as she laid out a conclusion nobody wanted to hear:
"There's no way it gathered all those Magic Stones just by hunting other monsters, right?"
The image of that pouch stuffed full of Magic Stones flashed through everyone's minds, and a heavy weight settled in their chests.
"A Moss Giant that cunning? Plenty of adventurers must've fallen into its traps. The Magic Stones in that pouch were probably just the ones it hadn't gotten around to digesting yet. The rest, the ones it took from hunting adventurers, it already used to boost its potential."
"Otherwise, it couldn't have reached near-Level 5 strength when it was scheming against us."
Laurier stared at the thick, bloody mist drifting above the embankment from the piled Iguazu corpses, her face going pale.
"So... a lot of adventurers got killed by that thing, and nobody even noticed..."
Aura tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear and wiped the fine sheen of sweat from her brow. Her elegant features remained cool, her voice calm but chilling:
"If I had to guess, given the Guild's intelligence network, there are probably investigation requests posted on the Guild board already. Missing adventurers in the Water City. We just overlooked them because of the Expedition. Who bothers with tedious, time-consuming requests like that?"
Every pair of eyes turned toward Leon and Kureha.
They were the ones who'd gone to the Guild to pick out requests.
Under everyone's stares, Kureha tipped her head back and chugged the rest of her Potion with a loud gulp, then thought back.
"A Water City request... now that you mention it, yeah, there was an investigation request like that. But Leon and I didn't even give it a second thought. You all know how he is. Anything that eats into grinding time doesn't even register."
Nods all around. That tracked perfectly.
Classic Leon. Why waste time investigating when you could be farming monsters? More Excelia, more loot, and hey, maybe luck would spike and you'd hit a Drop Treasure Chest.
Time spent investigating? Could've spent that time killing things.
It all came down to efficiency.
Jeanne watched Leon, head down, diligently harvesting Magic Stones from the dead Iguazu. She turned back to the group, shrugged, spread her hands, and grinned.
"Having a party leader like this... truly a blessing."
She cracked up before she even finished, a snort of laughter escaping her.
The laughter was contagious. Before long, everyone was chuckling along with her.
...
...
When you're fully absorbed in something, time slips away without you noticing.
Leon's seven-person Expedition squad was completely immersed in exploring and fighting through the Water City.
Before anyone realized it, five full days and nights had passed on the surface above.
Dungeon Lower Floors. Floor 27.
Campfire light danced across every face, bringing a rare touch of warmth and dryness to a group that had spent far too long soaking in humidity.
"I knew it. Even before we set out, I had a feeling. No matter how seriously we prepared, no matter how thorough we tried to be, once we actually started exploring the Lower Floors for the first time, we'd still miss things thanks to inexperience."
Skewers turned slowly over the fire, fat dripping into the flames with a quiet sizzle, the mingling scent of spices and grilled meat rushing into everyone's nostrils.
Throats bobbed. The sound of people swallowing saliva rippled quietly around the campfire.
Nobody reacted. They were all used to Leon's culinary assault by now.
Rose ladled vegetable soup from a cast-iron pot hanging over a second fire into bowls, handing them out one by one with a gentle smile and her usual warm tone.
"It's everyone's first time exploring the Lower Floors. Lack of experience is perfectly normal. Next time, we'll be better prepared."
Leon grabbed the cloak he'd had made from Undine Cloth and wrung it out hard. Water streamed from it in a rush.
"Tch. The closer you get to the waterfalls and pools, the worse the humidity gets. Floor 27 is way worse than 25."
Over the course of their time in the Water City, the group's attitude had undergone a rapid transformation: from initial curiosity and excitement about the new environment, to complete indifference, and finally to open, undisguised loathing. The whole process took less than a week.
Not that anyone could blame them. Spend enough time in a damp, soggy hellhole and anyone's mood would sour.
Especially that sight that had awed them on arrival, the great blue waterfall. By now, it was nothing but an endless source of noise.
Its thunderous roar permeated every corner of the city, an omnipresent drone that frayed the nerves. Worse, during exploration where constant vigilance was critical, the rumble of the falls seriously hampered Jeanne, Rose, and Kureha's ability to pick up sounds around them, making sentry duty a real headache.
At least as the days passed and experience built up, they'd gradually adapted to the damp terrain. Though an undercurrent of irritation still lingered at the back of everyone's minds.
Leon turned the skewers on the rack with unhurried precision, waiting until they hit that perfect golden-brown. He pulled a custom spice bottle case from his Item Pouch, lined up every single bottle with almost obsessive neatness, then selected one, popped the cork, and began seasoning the fragrant skewers.
"Laurier, Aura. Sweet and sour sauce, no chili, no cumin. Here you go."
"Persephone. Sweet chili sauce, no cumin. Your bell pepper veggie skewers."
"Jeanne. Sweet sauce with crushed parsley. Beef and veggie skewers, done."
"Rose, Kureha, and me. Everything on 'em."
He laid each oversized skewer onto flatbread arranged on serving plates, then pushed the whole spread into the middle of the group.
"Dungeon-special flatbread and skewer platter!"
"Sorry for the lousy hospitality!"
With that, he swept his cloak back and flashed a gleaming white grin at the group.
Everyone: "...dude."
...
...
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