Chapter 56: That Expedition

For the rest of the journey, Li Ge and his party adhered to the principle of avoiding battles as much as possible.

Their goal was only the spring water of Cadmus Spring, and they still had to fight the powerful dragon classified as 6. At this time, it was best to conserve as much energy as possible to focus all their strength on the battle against the dragon.

Even Raphia was instructed by Li Ge not to use magic unless absolutely necessary to avoid wasting mental energy.

Although Raphia had many mental energy recovery potions, considering that they still had to reach the 59th floor and would encounter multiple battles along the way, it was best to conserve resources as much as possible.

This was also the policy advocated by Finn. After two weeks of the expedition, the resources of the Familia were almost depleted. To ensure they had enough resources for the return trip, avoiding the consumption of items and potions became a top priority.

In this situation, even Aiz obediently stopped rushing out at the sight of monsters, and Thione put away her large dual blades and followed behind. Thione, without a doubt, was ready to confront anyone who caused unnecessary waste to fulfill Finn's instructions.

Among everyone, only Li Ge acted more freely. Although he didn't act recklessly, rushing out at the sight of monsters, he maintained the effect of [Ramure], casting protective magic for everyone.

"You're wasting too much mental energy this way."

Thione had complained about Li Ge's extravagant behavior.

However, Li Ge's light-hearted response silenced Thione's dissatisfaction.

"It's fine, I have the ability to 'Regenerate.'"

His calm words made Thione instantly speechless.

"Freak."

Thione muttered in frustration.

Aiz and Raphia felt a mix of emotions.

The highest-level 'Regeneration' ability, an unprecedented development ability, probably restored a massive amount of mental energy every second.

With such a high-level development ability, even if Li Ge continuously used magic, it was unlikely that he would ever run out of mental energy.

How could a female swordsman who frequently used highly draining magic and a rear magic user who primarily fought with magic not feel a mix of emotions?

The two had only one thought.

"I want it so much."

Unfortunately, it was just a wish.

Thus, the party only experienced a few unavoidable battles, and the rest of the journey went smoothly.

With the help of the map, even though the terrain and road conditions were poor, and the path was complex like a maze, they continued to move toward their destination.

As they walked, they suddenly felt that the number of monsters had decreased.

"Why do the monsters seem to have decreased?"

Thione was the first to express her confusion.

"Is it because we deviated from the main route?"

Raphia, comparing the map, voiced her doubt.

The location of Cadmus Spring was deep in the 51st floor, deviating from the main route to the 52nd floor.

Raphia's point was whether the monsters were fewer because they had deviated from the main route.

"But the last time we went to Cadmus Spring, there were plenty of monsters around here."

Thione's repeated doubt made Thione frown, and Aiz lowered her eyes.

Li Ge, with a thoughtful expression, felt a sudden surge of excitement in his heart.

"I feel like this situation was mentioned in the original story."

With this thought, Li Ge's exceptional memory played a crucial role.

He carefully recalled the plot of the original story, and a flash of insight suddenly struck him.

"Could it be that?"

Li Ge couldn't help but murmur.

"What?"

All the women, including Aiz, heard Li Ge's murmur and were stunned.

At this moment, Li Ge suddenly turned to Raphia.

"Raphia, how far is it to the spring?"

Li Ge's sudden question made Raphia flustered.

"It's just at the end of this path, it shouldn't be far."

Although flustered, Raphia answered Li Ge's question.

Almost as soon as Raphia finished speaking, Li Ge rushed out.

"Mr. Li Ge!?"

Raphia exclaimed in surprise.

"Li Ge!"

Thione and Thione's sisters were also taken aback.

Only Aiz, seeing Li Ge rush out, narrowed her eyes and immediately transformed into a gust of wind, following him.

"Wait!"

"What are you doing!?"

"Miss Aiz!"

Thione, Thione, and Raphia finally couldn't stand it and hurriedly ran forward.

At this time, Li Ge had already rushed into the chamber at the end of the path.

As soon as he entered the chamber, Li Ge immediately stopped.

"Li Ge."

Aiz followed closely behind, standing next to Li Ge, and then widened her eyes.

"What's going on?"

"Why are you running like that!"

"Breath, breath..."

Thione, Thione, and Raphia all arrived, some complaining, some panting.

But the next second, the scene that met their eyes made everyone, like Aiz, widen their eyes.

The chamber before them had been brutally ravaged.

The walls, the floor, and even the ceiling were all damaged, either filled with cracks or completely shattered, in a state of utter chaos.

Many trees growing here were either broken or crushed.

This was not the most shocking part.

What truly surprised everyone was the traces of dissolution everywhere, turning some parts of the trees into a deep purple, emitting black smoke and an indescribable stench.

"What's going on?"

"Why did it become like this?"

Thione and Thione looked at each other in confusion.

Aiz's frown deepened.

"Oh, the spring."

Raphia, though she took an involuntary step back, caught a glimpse of a corner of the chamber.

There, a pool of spring water sat, emitting a mysterious deep blue glow, dazzling.

That was Cadmus Spring, and the water inside seemed abundant, apparently not consumed by the powerful dragon guarding it.

"Wait, where's the powerful dragon?"

Thione immediately noticed something unnatural.

Indeed, the powerful dragon that should have been guarding here was nowhere to be found.

Or rather, it was no longer there.

Everyone involuntarily shifted their gaze to the front of Cadmus Spring.

There, a large pile of dust lay.

"Could that be the remains of the powerful dragon?"

Thione's unintentional murmur made everyone fall silent.

Everyone stared at the large pile of dust, clearly the remains of a monster that had lost its magic stone (core) and disintegrated into dust, speechless.

There was no doubt that the monster guarding here was dead.

The question was, who had killed the dragon classified as 6?

"It can't be the work of adventurers, right?" Thione said softly. "At this time, it seems only our Familia is on an expedition."

There were not many Familias in Orario capable of an expedition to this floor, only a few.

And according to Thione's knowledge, none of those Familias had recently entered the dungeon for an expedition.

So, it was unlikely to be the work of another Familia on an expedition.

In other words—

"Monster infighting?"

Thione murmured.

A chill ran through everyone's hearts.

Because they knew that if this was monster infighting, things could get complicated.

Monsters generally do not attack other monsters.

If monsters do attack other monsters, there are usually only two possibilities.

The first is a sudden, accidental event.

A monster may become irrational due to some accident, leading to indiscriminate fighting until one side is completely defeated.

The second is an abnormal situation.

In the dungeon, some monsters can enhance their power by consuming the magic stones of other monsters, leading to a frenzy of devouring their kin's cores, making themselves stronger.

These monsters are typically called Enhanced Species. Due to consuming the magic stones of other monsters, their power is greatly enhanced, far exceeding their original classification level.

Such monsters are rarer than rare species and can continuously grow stronger by consuming magic stones, potentially becoming a greater threat than the floor boss.

Because of the significant danger posed by these monsters, they may attack adventurers for magic stones, cross floors, and continuously cause disasters. Once discovered, the guild will immediately offer a bounty or dispatch adventurers to eliminate them.

Now, the question was:

Which of these scenarios applied to the current situation?

"Did you see any magic stones, Aiz?"

Thione asked, controlling her emotions.

"No."

Aiz responded succinctly.

"There are dropped items!"

Raphia, with her keen eyesight, spotted a pair of wings in the dust and picked them up.

"No magic stones but dropped items?" Thione pressed her forehead. "I have a bad feeling."

"An Enhanced Species capable of devouring a powerful dragon?" Thione's face twisted. "This joke is not funny at all."

Before anyone could react, Li Ge, who had been observing the entire chamber, turned and walked away.

"Li Ge!"

"What's going on!?"

Everyone turned like startled birds.

"Back to camp."

Li Ge said only one sentence.

If his memory was correct, and this expedition was the one where Loki's Familia first encountered those things, then the camp was likely in trouble.

"Really."

Li Ge sighed.

"My first expedition, and it's the one where they encountered those things?"

This luck, he didn't know whether to call it good or bad.

"Let's go!"

Li Ge took a step, immediately increasing his speed, and rushed toward the 50th floor.

The women looked at each other, and then all followed Li Ge.

The party directly rushed out of the side path, into the main route of the 51st floor, entering a wide terrain.

At this moment—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!"

A piercing scream echoed.

New book, seeking support! Seeking recommendations! Seeking collections! (*^▽^*)

(End of Chapter)