It had been about thirty minutes since they left the oasis where they’d gathered the fruit.
By now, they were far enough away to proceed safely, having encountered none of the monsters that were likely swarming the area in search of the carnage from their earlier battle.
"Well, given the environment, we’re bound to run into something eventually, whether we like it or not," Rei muttered, casting a glance back toward the massive body of water that was more like a lake than an oasis.
In a place this vast, it was only natural that many monsters would use it as a watering hole.
(Then again, if almost the entire floor is an oasis, maybe the encounter rate is actually lower because they aren't all crowded around one spot?)
As if to answer Rei’s silent musing, Seto, walking by his side, suddenly snapped his head to the right.
A tree near the water's edge shuddered, and a single rabbit emerged.
However, since they were on this floor of the dungeon, it was no ordinary bunny. A single horn, much like a unicorn's, extended from its forehead—though unlike a unicorn, its horn was carved with a distinct spiral pattern.
The only thing that kept it from being truly terrifying was its size; while larger than a normal rabbit, it was tiny compared to the Gamelions Rei had fought previously. In comparison to those beastly hares, this creature looked almost docile.
Of course, Rei personally refused to categorize Gamelions as rabbits at all.
"I can take this one easi—whoa! Right, it’s still a monster from this floor."
Rei had initially assumed it would be an easy kill, but the moment the rabbit kicked off the ground and lunged, it began to spin its entire body. Rei reflexively leapt back to evade.
The strike, propelled by the rotation of the spiral horn, was exactly like a drill. It possessed incredible piercing power—enough to bury itself deep into the trunk of a tree behind Rei and snap the wood in half with the sheer force of its torque.
Watching the tree splinter, Rei commented nonchalantly. He understood the monster was dangerous, but his confidence remained unshaken because Seto had already made his move.
"Guruuuu!"
With a sharp roar, Seto’s forepaw whipped out in a horizontal swipe. The blow snapped the rabbit’s neck instantly, sent it tumbling through the air.
The creature didn’t stand a chance. Its Flame of Life flickered out in a heartbeat.
"That rabbit just now... I think it was called a Spiral Rabbit?"
"Hold on a second. I believe it’s in the book."
At Elena’s suggestion, Rei retrieved the monster encyclopedia from his Misty Ring and began flipping through the pages. After about a minute, he found the entry and read the description aloud.
"Spiral Rabbit. E-Rank. A carnivorous rabbit monster with a spiral horn. It utilizes the high jump capacity characteristic of its species to gore enemies. When attacking, it rotates its body to increase its destructive power. Its horn can easily pierce through cheap leather armor. The Proof of Subjugation Part is the horn itself."
Rei continued reading, "The horn can be used as material for spears and other weapons, as well as armor. The fur is in demand for ornaments and clothing, and the meat is highly nutritious. For an E-Rank monster, it yields high rewards, making it a favorite among adventurers."
"...So it says."
"The horn again," Elena mused, tilting her head. "I understand its use in a weapon like a spear, but how is it used for armor?"
Rei glanced down at his own body, protected by the Dragon Robe, and offered a guess.
"They probably attach the tips of the horns to the outer surface of the armor. That way, if an enemy charges at you, they skewer themselves when you block."
"I suppose that would work, though only the tips would be useful... well, never mind that. We should keep moving. I assume you aren't going to perform material stripping here?"
She was likely remembering their recent chain of four consecutive battles against the Earth Crab, the school of Bloody Diles, and the pack of Kobolds.
While the Bloody Diles in the oasis had been battered nearly to death by the Earth Crab, and the second Earth Crab had already exhausted its magic power fighting underwater, the fact remained that combat drew more combat. Battles acted as a lure for more numerous or more powerful foes.
If their only goal was earning magic stones for Rei’s Beast Magic, staying to fight might have been fine. But their primary objective was to descend to the deeper floors where the communication magic item was believed to be hidden. In that regard, unnecessary delays were nothing but a hindrance.
Rei nodded in immediate agreement with Elena. "You're right. According to the map, what does the path to the next stairs look like?"
"If we proceed without any further trouble... it should take about 4 hours."
Rei shook his head at Elena's estimation.
"Since this is an oasis, there's no doubt the monster density is higher than on the desert floors above. Proceeding without 'any further trouble' is going to be a tall order."
"True. The encounter rate on the upper floors was quite low... putting aside the Cactus-modoki, at least."
A wry smile touched Elena's face, likely as she recalled how they had essentially trampled through the patch of Cactus-modoki.
"In that case, we were the ones who went looking for them. We don't really need to count them as monsters that ambushed us. Anyway, let's assume we'll be attacked and keep our guard up. Seto, keep a sharp lookout."
"Guru!" Seto trilled, as if to say, Leave it to me.
However, because the trees grew so thickly around the watering hole, Seto couldn't use his usual desert scouting method of circling high above. Instead, he had to rely entirely on his five senses on the ground.
Fortunately, a gryphon’s senses were incredibly sharp—far superior to even a veteran thief.
"Alright, let's head out."
Rei touched the Spiral Rabbit, storing it in his Misty Ring, and after receiving acknowledgments from Elena and Seto, the group set off once more.
They continued along the water's edge for another twenty minutes until a group of figures suddenly entered their field of vision.
"Is that...?"
"Members of House Silwa," Elena finished for him.
Indeed, ahead of them was a party of five men. The man leading the group was the very adventurer Rei had rescued during their battle with the Queen Bee of the Sword Bees.
The other party noticed the approaching shadows and tensed for a moment, but as soon as their leader realized who it was, he signaled for his men to stand down.
"It has been a while," the leader said, bowing his head.
Rei gave a short nod. "Yeah. Sounds like you guys have had a rough time lately."
"You could say that. It’s been a nightmare in more ways than one." The man sighed, clearly weary from the recent political and monster-related turmoil.
Rei hesitated for a second, unsure of how much to pry, but decided to be direct. "So, why is a busy group like yours down on this floor?"
"Ah... well, that’s..." The man faltered, looking hesitant.
Rei and Elena immediately realized it was likely sensitive information—something meant only for the ears of House Silwa.
"I’m not trying to pry," Rei said. "If you can't talk about it, don't worry."
"...No, you and your companions have saved us many times, Rei-san. I’m sure the Big Brother would say it’s fine to tell you. Besides, for some reason, you always seem to run into the people involved in this mess anyway."
That was all Rei needed to hear to understand their mission.
(I thought they were just out here acting as adventurers... but I see. It’s the Anomaly Species Incident.)
Rei kept the thought to himself, though a quick glance at Elena confirmed she had reached the same conclusion.
Rei had no desire to involve himself further in the business of the anomaly species or House Rebisole. He wanted the matter resolved quickly so he could go back to collecting magic stones for his Beast Magic, but he didn't feel the need to be the one to solve it.
And yet, despite his wishes, he kept stumbling across the rare anomaly species or the people responsible for creating them.
"The truth is, there have been several sightings of what appear to be anomaly species around 15F," the leader explained. "We’ve also had reports of a suspicious three-person group trying to stay out of sight."
Of course, Rei thought, his face reflecting his annoyance.
"Our luck with the people involved in this case is truly abysmal."
"No, no, I don't think they're specifically targeting you, Rei-san. It’s just that 15F is an easy place to navigate for a desert floor, and it’s centrally located in the dungeon. That means there are plenty of adventurers around, making it the perfect place for them to test the capabilities of an anomaly species."
"Wouldn't the upper floors have even more adventurers?"
"Those are mostly beginners. They probably figured there was no point testing their creations against weaklings. Well, that’s just my guess."
The man spoke with the air of someone who wanted to finish a tedious chore and go home. The adventurers behind him nodded in tired agreement.
"Regardless of this floor, how are things below?" Rei asked. His tone was casual, but his expression was twisted with disgust. "From B16F downward... strictly in terms of temperature, it should be much more comfortable than the desert, right?"
Rei had gathered information about the desert floors from Pleiades, but he’d also heard rumors about what lay beneath.
If the information Elena had bought with the map and the stories Rei had heard from people in the city were true, B16F was a floor of the undead—skeletons, ghosts, and zombies.
"We took a quick look around after teleporting to B16F and then came back up the stairs. For now, we didn't see anything suspicious down there."
"Good to hear. That floor is a pain as it is; it’d be a disaster if anomaly species started showing up there too."
"A pain?" the man asked, surprised.
Having seen Rei’s combat prowess, the man couldn't imagine a few tenacious undead posing any real threat to him.
In fact, Rei should have been the natural enemy of the undead, given his specialty in Flame Magic.
However, Rei had a specific, devastating weakness against a certain type of undead.
Skeletons and ghosts were fine, but zombies were the problem. Zombies were rotting corpses, and their stench was enough to make even a normal person gag. Rei, however, possessed a sense of smell that was far more acute than any human's.
He recalled his time guarding Elena in the dungeon with the Altar of Inheritance. The moment they had stepped onto the undead floor, the sheer intensity of the rot had overwhelmed his nose, leaving him half-paralyzed.
Remembering that trauma, Rei’s expression darkened. He began to seriously consider searching the city’s shops for some kind of mask before they went deeper.
Even though he hadn't seen a single mask in the year he’d spent in Elgin.
(Maybe I should explain the concept of a mask and commission someone to make one? People already cover their faces with wet rags in fires, so the basic idea of respiratory protection shouldn't be too alien.)
"Rei-san?" the leader asked, looking worried as Rei lapsed into a deep, brooding silence. It was a natural reaction given how abruptly Rei had stopped talking.
"No, it's nothing. Just lost in thought," Rei said, snapping back to attention. "More importantly, are you heading toward the small room on this floor now?"
"Yes. As I said, we’re hunting for anomaly species and anyone acting suspicious."
"I see. Be careful out there. I know you've already cleared this floor, but there are a lot of monsters roaming about."
"I understand," the man said, nodding. He knew exactly what Rei meant. Despite being a desert floor, the presence of the oasis meant the monster density was significantly higher than the floors above.
"We’ll be careful. Well then, we should be going. Good luck to you as well, Rei-san."
The leader bowed, and the adventurers behind him followed suit. The two parties passed one another, continuing their respective journeys through the oasis.