On the wasteland beside Venom Lake, aside from the occasional splash from the lake, the place was as silent as the world of the dead.
Beneath their feet was dark-green earth, and the air was filled with an unpleasant, sour, acrid smell.
"This smell is way too awful," the mage said, covering his nose as he cast Purification on the group. "Back when the Green-Eyed Frogs were still here, it was all green poisonous fog, sure, but at least it didn't have this nose-stinging reek."
Wells rubbed his nose. He thought it was all right—at most, it smelled a little worse than the sour wine at the Rotten Willow Tavern.
What he cared about more was the sound of splashing in the lake.
They had not followed the mushroom path, and the area nearby was pitch-black. The range of the Illumination Art was limited, so they could not make out what was happening in the lake.
"What do you think lives in the lake now? Should we lure one up and see if it's worth anything?"
Wells's suggestion tempted all of them a little. Something they had never seen before always meant more opportunities.
However, the captain, Ralph, rejected it. "I'm afraid we don't have time."
"What do you mean, don't have time?" Wells did not understand what the captain meant.
"You probably haven't noticed, but in a few more minutes, we'll have to go barefoot."
Wells lifted his foot, his face full of confusion...
"What the hell!?"
That pair of standard adventurer's thick-soled shoes actually had only half the soles left!
The others soon discovered that the soles of their own shoes were in the same state.
"No wonder the bottoms of my feet felt slippery!"
The worst off was Jini. Her shoes were the thinnest.
Jini reached out