On paper, their party's average level wasn't anything special for the Lower Floors. They'd just barely met the exploration threshold set by the Guild, making them a standard squad that could scrape by adventuring on Floors 25 through 27.
As for crossing through the Water City and safely exploring Floor 28 and below, their current strength fell far short.
Unless the entire party averaged Level 3 or above... the moment any individual member couldn't pull their weight, the high-intensity combat would let the Dungeon zero in on that weakness, dragging the whole group into a death spiral that ended in a total wipe.
That kind of thing was depressingly common in the Dungeon.
Setting aside freak accidents, the usual cause of a party wipe was some small problem that nobody took seriously, which then snowballed until the entire team fell apart.
And without the bedrock of stats backed by level advantage, once the Dungeon cranked the pressure to maximum, the consequences were usually severe.
From Leon's perspective, the Guild's exploration regulations were pretty pragmatic. They didn't necessarily apply to certain "special cases," but for the vast majority of Adventurers, those rules genuinely maximized survival odds.
A final explosion echoed through the cavern as Leon nailed the last Light Quartz hiding in a corner with a merciless Fireball, putting the finishing stamp on the encounter.
"Leon, hurry up and clean the battlefield. Recover the loot."
Jeanne planted the Banner Lance at her side, brow furrowed as she stared in a particular direction, her expression shifting between light and dark.
"Something doesn't feel right."
"?"
Leon, Laurier, and Aura had just pulled out their Carving Knives and were about to crouch down to process the drops. All three froze for a beat, then immediately sped up.
Rose sheathed her weapon and walked over to Jeanne's side with Kureha. Together with Persephone, they followed Jeanne's line of sight. But without any sensory abilities of their own, none of them could detect anything unusual.
Persephone brushed a mud spatter off her Undine Cloth cloak, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and spoke gravely:
"Jeanne, what exactly is it? Did your skill... activate?"
After fighting side by side for this long, Persephone had developed nothing short of awe for Jeanne's skill, which bordered on outright prophecy. As long as Jeanne was with them, no matter what kind of ambush, accident, or sudden turn they encountered, she could sound the alarm in advance, giving the party time to brace and prepare. It massively increased their margin for error.
That kind of terrifying foresight was worth more than any individual's ability to punch above their level in the unknown depths of the Dungeon. It was precisely because they had Jeanne as their safety net that the party could push through the danger-laden Water City at this intensity without taking serious casualties or ever being caught off guard.
In Persephone's estimation, Jeanne deserved credit for the lion's share of the Expedition's success so far.
Even Leon, the highest-leveled member, contributed far less to the team than Jeanne did.
And right now, for her to look this grim...
They were clearly facing a major crisis the party couldn't easily handle.
With Jeanne's warning, the tension that had loosened after the battle snapped taut again.
Leon, Laurier, and Aura, the three rearguard members and Supporters, moved with practiced efficiency to recover the spoils. Meanwhile, the vanguard and midline fighters, Jeanne, Rose, Kureha, and Persephone, each took a position with expressions like stone, standing guard over the three at work.
After countless real engagements together, the squad had this routine down cold. Nobody needed Jeanne to give extra orders. Everyone fell into their role on instinct. The whole team moved with crisp coordination and clear division of labor, operating leagues beyond where they'd started.
A bone-rattling roar suddenly tore through the labyrinthine caverns, reverberating off every wall.
Even with Jeanne's warning beforehand, the sheer force of the sound jolted everyone to their core.
Leon's hand spasmed and his knife sent a fish head flying clean off.
His brain short-circuited. The words came out before he could think:
"What the hell was that!?"
He wasn't the only one stunned. Everyone wore the same look of shock.
Only Persephone, the most experienced among them, recognized the roar. The moment she heard it, a long-buried memory surged to the surface, sharpening into the massive, two-headed silhouette of a terrifying dragon.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry, and finally forced out the name of the roar's owner, her expression rigid:
"The Monster Rex. The Two-Headed Dragon Amphisbaena."
Everyone: "..."
Leon's eye twitched. Every instinct told him that massive trouble was heading their way.
Without a word, he stuffed the last of the recovered Magic Stones and loot into the large pack, stood up, pulled his hood low, and let out a dry laugh.
"Heh. The Monster Rex. The Two-Headed Dragon Amphisbaena... I distinctly remember checking its respawn timer at the Guild before the Expedition. If I'm not wrong... it was supposed to be another ten days or so!"
Everyone exchanged silent glances. Finally, Rose sighed.
"Another Irregular, huh? The Dungeon's messed with us so much I'm almost used to it."
Laurier nodded along, her voice tight:
"So that's what they mean by the thing Second-Class Adventurers and above always say... the deeper you go into the Lower Floors, the more Irregulars become the norm. It really is terrifying..."
Kureha, whose attention had landed somewhere else entirely, asked with genuine curiosity:
"If no Adventurer triggered it, a Monster Rex shouldn't just spawn out of nowhere, right? So... who's fighting it right now?"
Silence fell. Everyone looked at each other.
Leon, Jeanne, and Rose exchanged a rapid glance, reached a wordless consensus, and made the call without hesitation:
"Let's go check it out."
Persephone nodded gravely and added a warning:
"Unlike the Goliath on Floor 17, the Two-Headed Dragon Amphisbaena is the undisputed king of the Water City as the Lower Floors' Monster Rex. The moment it spawns, it affects the entire area. So..."
Jeanne picked up where she left off:
"So even if we're not at the main embankment, as long as we're anywhere on Floors 25 through 27 within the Water City, we'll still be affected?"
"Exactly."
Leon waved the group forward, taking point toward the main route to the embankment.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's see what's going on. If things look bad, we bail immediately!"
Everyone: "..."