Splash!
A faint sound suddenly came from the lakeside. Aik, who was setting up the tents, instinctively looked toward the sound and saw that Ross, who had gone to fetch water, had vanished beneath the lake's surface.
"Something's wrong!"
Aik immediately shouted a warning to his teammates. At the same time, he became a blur and rushed toward the lake. Yet when he reached the water's edge, he saw only the crystal-clear surface. Ross had vanished without a trace.
In fact, Ross was directly beneath the surface in front of Aik. However, the Water Element Slime that had swallowed him whole had entered its Optical Simulation state, leaving no visible sign of anything unusual.
"Mmgh... mmgh..."
Beneath the water, Ross struggled desperately when he saw Aik appear, trying to draw his attention. But with nowhere to brace himself, combined with the suffocation and drowning, he could not make a sound at all.
He wanted to mobilize the magic within his body, but the suffocating sensation left him completely unable to focus his mental strength.
"There's an elemental fluctuation. It's underwater!"
Mary, who had just arrived, swept her eyes across the lake. Through her magical perception, she sensed a concentrated mass of water elements beneath the surface, along with Ross's magical aura.
As an elemental mage, Mary could not only learn and use all manner of elemental magic, but also possessed keen sensitivity toward elements. She easily noticed the abnormality beneath the water and, without the slightest hesitation, waved her wand.
"Ice Seal."
In an instant, the lake before them froze over completely. The water element that had been using Optical Mimicry was fully exposed, and Aik swung his greatsword, easily splitting the ice and rescuing Ross from beneath it.
"Cough, cough, cough! I almost died."
Ross, freshly rescued, lay on the ground coughing violently. He spat out the slime mucus that had entered his throat and greedily breathed in fresh air. He had nearly died at the hands of that Mutant Slime.
The instant he had been swallowed, the careless Ross had been flooded with a large amount of slime mucus through his mouth and nose. The sticky, corrosive liquid continuously burned his throat and nasal cavity.
"Ross, you can't let your guard down for even a second in a Dungeon. Otherwise, that Slime could never have successfully ambushed you."
Aik stared at Ross with a stern expression. Such a basic mistake should never have happened to Ross, yet it had happened all the same.
"Sorry."
Ross's throat had been burned, and his voice was hoarse as he lowered his head and sincerely apologized. The seemingly peaceful environment of the Fifth Layer, along with his anticipation for the future, had distracted him and caused his momentary carelessness.
"From now on, during rest periods, everyone except Ghost must go out in teams of at least two."
Seeing that Ross truly regretted his mistake, Aik did not say anything further and simply announced a new rule. After all, as the captain, he also bore responsibility for Ross's accident. Because of his status as an Advanced Professional and his past achievements in successfully conquering three small Dungeons,
he had also harbored a trace of pride and complacency, believing that the upper levels of a mere Dungeon could not possibly contain monsters capable of truly threatening them. That was why he had allowed Ross to fetch water alone.
If they had been in a deeper part of a Dungeon, he would never have allowed such a thing to happen.
After fetching water again, Aik's group returned to their temporary camp. Ross, who had drunk a healing potion on the way, already felt much better and resumed preparing the monster meat before them, while Mary set up various magical traps around the camp.
An hour later.
After eating and drinking their fill, the members of the Ironblood Thorns Squad, aside from the one assigned to keep watch, all crawled into their tents. Within seconds, the sound of even breathing rose. For adventurers, falling asleep quickly was an essential skill.
After all, when they had fought deep within other Dungeons in the past, they did not always have such a safe camp in which to rest. When monsters could appear at any moment, falling asleep quickly and using fragmented time to restore their energy was the best choice for adventurers.
Rustle.
A breeze swept across the grass, making the leaves whisper softly. Ulag, who was keeping watch, glanced back. Finding nothing unusual, he continued sitting beside the campfire, wiping down and maintaining his equipment.
What Ulag did not know was that the instant he turned his head, a tiny head popped out from the surface of a blade of grass. Small hands gently patted its chest, wearing an adorable expression of fright.
Nature Flower Fairies.
They were the final type of monster Lucifer had added to the Fifth Layer when he opened up the Sixth Layer and created its monsters. As Nature Fairies born from magical plants, they were naturally beloved by nature and could freely travel through all kinds of vegetation.
Five Nature Flower Fairies emerged from the surfaces of grass blades and flowers. The little ones mischievously stuck out their tongues at Ulag, who was maintaining his equipment. Able to travel freely through plants, they had no concern whatsoever about the magical traps around them.
With a flicker, the little ones burrowed back into the plants. Following the roots beneath the ground, they easily entered the tents. Their level 3 Aura Concealment and the protection granted by being Nature's Darlings meant that sleeping Aik and the others did not notice these uninvited guests entering their tents.
The leading Nature Flower Fairy pointed at Aik, who was sleeping beneath a fur blanket, then made a slicing gesture across her neck with her small hand.
The other Flower Fairies all shook their heads. Their target was an Advanced Professional. If he sensed danger, he would definitely wake up instantly, and then they would have no choice but to flee.
Seeing her companions reject her suggestion, the leading Flower Fairy puffed out her little cheeks in anger. Then she quietly flew over to Aik's side and began feeling around his body. The instant she found a gold coin, a smile appeared on her face.
The trace of unhappiness from being rejected by her companions was instantly thrown to the back of her mind, and she began searching even faster.
Before long, the little ones had taken all the Alchemy Expansion Bags and coins from Aik and the other four. During this time, several Flower Fairies also looked over the equipment Aik and the others had placed nearby. Although the little ones had enough strength to lift it,
carrying that equipment would make it impossible for them to slip away unnoticed.
Thus, in the end, they could only steal all the rings and necklaces Mary wore on her hands and around her neck.
Born with level 2 Stealing and having diligently trained it to level 3 during this period, they were among the most hardworking members of the Flower Fairy race.
Their professional methods and skill meant that sleeping Aik and the others never noticed that everything they owned had been stolen in their sleep.
After putting away everything they could take, the five Flower Fairies burrowed into the plants again and vanished. Once they returned to the Flower Fairies' dwelling deep within the forest, the five little ones called the other Flower Fairies into a huge tree hollow.
Soon, through the Flower Fairies' efforts, a simple altar made of flowers appeared. Amid the envious looks of their kin, the five little ones held their heads high and placed the items in their hands onto the altar.
A flash of light passed, and everything on the altar vanished. In its place appeared crystals brimming with rich natural magic and life force.
The five little ones hurried over, evenly dividing half of them into five portions and happily eating them, while distributing the rest among the other Flower Fairies.
Before you continue