The Cause of the Sudden Increase in Monsters

At this point, according to the map, Leo and his group were still halfway to the grain depot.

In other words, this green fleshy wall is blocking the way to the grain warehouse, or rather, it completely blocks the entire massive passageway on the 24th Floor.

It must be at least ten meters long and wide. In the center of the fleshy wall, there is a door that looks like overlapping flower petals, or rather, an organ that resembles a mouth. Its diameter is so large that even a large monster can easily pass through it. It should be the entrance and exit of the wall.

However, the entrance was now tightly closed, not moving an inch, and emanating a pungent, foul odor, much like the smell of decay. Even the dog-woman Lulune, with her keen sense of smell, couldn't help but let out a "woof" and pinch her nose as she backed away.

What exactly is this?

"Can things like this really grow in Dungeon?"

"I've never seen this kind of terrain before!"

"It seems to still be alive!"

The members of the Hermes Familia couldn't help but speak up, and some even examined the fleshy wall and made a chilling judgment.

"----Alive?"

Ais glanced at the nauseating wall of flesh, then gently reached out a hand and touched its surface.

She felt a warmth, like the temperature of human skin, and a slight rhythm similar to a heartbeat; no wonder some people said it was alive.

"How about we try taking a different route?"

Lulune offered this suggestion.

There wasn't just one way to the grain depot; they took the shortest route. There were other routes that led to the grain depot.

But before Lulune could finish speaking, Leo, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

"No need to waste our time," Leo said calmly. "If I'm not mistaken, the other routes are definitely blocked as well."

"Otherwise, this floor wouldn't have experienced the unusual surge in monster numbers."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look at Leo.

"You mean the reason for the abnormal surge in monster numbers is this fleshy wall?"

Asfi asked, somewhat surprised.

"That's right." Leo nodded and said, "The food depot is the monster's canteen, its supply station for sustaining its life."

"Whenever the monsters feel hungry, they will spontaneously head to the food depot to satisfy their hunger."

"In such a situation, what would they do if they got stuck on their way to the grain depot and couldn't get in at all?"

Upon hearing this, the others were stunned, while Asfi's eyes flashed with a sharp light as she immediately realized what was going on.

"I understand!" Asfi said excitedly, "The unusual situation on the 24th Floor wasn't a sudden increase in monster numbers at all, but a mass migration of monsters!"

"Because the granary to the north is blocked, the monsters that come here can't get in at all, and can't alleviate their hunger or replenish their nutrition. That's why they're migrating south en masse, causing this abnormal surge in monster numbers!"

"In reality, the number of monsters hasn't increased dramatically; they've all just headed south, which gives people the illusion of a surge in monster numbers!"

Of the three grain warehouses on the 24th Floor, one is on the north side and the other two are on the south side.

With the northern granary blocked, all the monsters have to migrate south.

This mass migration naturally led to them coming together, forming a monster tide.

The adventurers who ventured onto the 24th Floor were trapped or killed because they were unlucky enough to encounter the hungry monsters during the Great Migration.

To those monsters, these adventurers were practically free food.

They were starving, and the meat just came to them; how could they not pounce on it?

Therefore, what has been causing adventurers so much suffering these past few days is not the abnormal surge in the number of monsters, but rather the fact that the monsters, wandering around in search of food, have crossed all the roads along their way from the north end of the building to the south end. As a result, even the regular routes that adventurers usually take have been completely congested, leading to a series of phenomena related to the surge in the number of monsters.

"So that's how it is----"

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

Only Ais, staring at the wall of flesh, uttered a single sentence.

"Then how did this wall appear?"

The group, suddenly realizing what had happened, fell silent again.

That's a very good question.

"Who knows?" Leo chuckled casually. "Anyway, there's definitely nothing good coming from behind this, that's for sure."

One sentence was enough to create a tense atmosphere at the scene.

"Asfi," Lulune said timidly in a low voice, "What should we do?"

"What else can we do?" Asfi sighed. "We can only move forward."

The reason for the abnormal increase in the number of monsters is known, but the reason for the appearance of this wall of flesh and what lies behind it are still unclear.

Their purpose in this trip is not only to find out the truth, but also to address the root cause.

"Let's get started," Asfi said bluntly, without any hesitation. "Destroy this wall of flesh."

Only in this way can we continue to move forward.

Ais immediately gripped the hilt of the Desperate, took a few steps forward, and looked as if she was about to draw the sword and chop at the wall.

"I'll do it."

Leo quickly grabbed the girl's shoulder, stopping her with a wry smile, and stretched out a hand towards the wall of flesh.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Abandoning the incantation, the spell was activated directly using its name as the trigger.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar and explosion, the massive meteor blasted through the flesh wall, completely destroying the "door" section that served as the entrance and exit, creating a large hole.

"Walk!"

Leo took the lead and went in, followed by Ais without hesitation, and then Asfi and the others, all of them entering the flesh wall and successfully infiltrating the other side of the flesh wall.

As the last person stepped into the wall of flesh, the green wall of flesh suddenly emitted a disgusting writhing sound and began to heal.

Before long, the wall completely healed, blocking the entrance again.

However, Leo and the others were no longer interested in this wall of flesh.

Their attention was already drawn to the strange sights and sounds around them.

"Ugh, they've all turned into this disgusting mess?!"

Lulune pinched her nose and wailed, while the others all frowned.

The reason was that the passageways inside the walls had all turned green, whether it was the walls, the ceiling, or even the floor, all of which had been replaced by green flesh and blood.

This gave everyone the illusion that they had entered the body of some enormous creature and reached its stomach, causing the air to be filled with that putrid stench, which was a hellish torment for adventurers with a keen sense of smell.

Leo glanced around, then suddenly fixed his gaze on the walls and ceiling.

There, some withered flowers with a faint phosphorescent glow and vibrant colors grew.

Ais walked forward a bit and came to a pile of dust that looked unnaturally scattered on the ground.

"Is this the remains of a monster?"

Lulune followed, and upon seeing this scene, immediately exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's obvious."

Asfi also came forward, used her short sword to rummage through the scattered dust, and then found dropped items such as claws and teeth.

"How could there be monster corpses in a place like this?"

Lulune seemed somewhat uneasy, and everyone else began to feel tense as well.

If monsters have been killed, it proves that there is a life-threatening danger here.

"----No Magic Stone."

Ais noticed things differently from others.

She discovered that the dust contained only fallen items, not Magic Stone.

She knew perfectly well what this meant.

Such obsession with magic Magic Stone imbued with Demonic Power, yet such disdain for dropped items, is definitely not the style of an adventurer. It can only be a monster that is greedy for Demonic Power.

In Ais's mind, the images of those colorful worms and Man-Eating Flower flashed by.

Just then, Leo suddenly spoke up.

"They're here!"

His voice came so suddenly that it instantly ignited the tense atmosphere.

Ais also suddenly raised her head, as if she had finally sensed something familiar, and abruptly drew her sword.

"W-What's coming?!"

Lulune was in a panic, but Asfi grabbed her and held her down.

"Everyone! Be on alert!"

At Asfi's shout, an unusual commotion finally appeared at the end of the passage ahead.

That was the sound of some enormous creature stirring.

They seemed to be jostling each other, as if drawn by something, emerging from the darkness.

Its long, narrow body has a brightly colored surface, and its front end is open like a mouth, constantly dripping mucus. Its petals are covered with sharp teeth.

"It's those Man-Eating Flower monsters!"

Lulune let out a scream.

--

Almost simultaneously, the Man-Eating Flower monsters that emerged from the darkness emitted a shrill, gong-like cry.

They surged forward like long worms jostling in a tunnel, bumping against the green fleshy wall as they charged forward with overwhelming force.

"Attack! Attack!"

Asfi gave loud instructions, and everyone drew their weapons, raised their shields, and formed a battle formation to meet the attack of the Man-Eating Flower monster.

Leo didn't draw his sword immediately, but instead went to Ais's side, who had already drawn her sword.

"Looks like we came to the right place."

Leo looked at the Man-Eating Flower monsters ahead and said those words.

"----Um.

Ais stared intently at the Man-Eating Flower, her grip on her sword tightening little by little.

Since there are Man-Eating Flower here, it proves that the person who controls Man-Eating Flower is also here.

The mysterious woman who appeared on the 18th Floor and called her "Aria" is right here.

A fire seemed to ignite within Ais.

This time—we won't let her get away again.

The blonde swordswoman swore this oath.