Chapter 262

In return for the items received, Tatsuro and his group shared as much detailed information as possible, including Leah’s intricate sketches and fragments of monster remains where relevant, explaining strategies for dealing with them and navigating the dungeon layers they had seen.

The reptilian Ohanze and Beverly took notes, while Mirowsz mainly asked for clarification on combat-related details. Taking occasional breaks, they spent several hours in this manner, and the explanation was finally reaching its conclusion.

“So, you’re saying you didn’t pass through the maze layer that appears before the dungeon boss?” Beverly asked.

“Yes. The leveled-up dungeon replaced that layer with battles against previous bosses. So, we don’t have any information on it,” Tatsuro replied.

“Previous bosses, you say? Like the Fornacis, which our party’s name comes from?” Mirowsz interjected.

“Fornacis?” Tatsuro echoed.

“Huh?” Tatsuro thought, realizing no monster by that name existed in their encounters. Mirowsz then described the characteristics of the creature.

(Oh, probably the one Jeanne fought. But the title Jeanne has is Fornellius, isn’t it? Maybe they had a chance to learn its official name but misread or misheard it—or something changed it? The names sound somewhat similar, and it doesn’t seem like they just made it up.) Tatsuro pondered.

He considered whether he should correct the name but learned they had been using it for centuries. Changing it now seemed impossible, and they might never encounter it again, so Tatsuro chose to stay silent. After a brief pause, Ohanze spoke with a slightly somber expression.

“But if that’s the case, we can’t fight Fornacis in that dungeon anymore… That’s kind of lonely,” Ohanze said.

“But it’s the same dungeon, right? Similar monsters or bosses might show up someday,” Tatsuro suggested.

“That’s true. Hmm… Then asking about that layer probably won’t help much. Once it’s cleared, it won’t appear again, right?” Beverly asked.

“Yes. The dungeon itself said so, so it’s certain,” Tatsuro confirmed.

“I see. Then, lastly—can you tell us about the boss?” Beverly requested.

“Understood. First, its appearance—” Tatsuro began.

At that, Leah smoothly placed a sketch on the table, depicting the boss’s general size and appearance.

“It was a dragon like this,” Leah said.

“A long-bodied, multi-legged dragon, huh? Never seen anything like it,” Beverly remarked.

“A dragon for a boss? That’s exciting!” Mirowsz exclaimed.

“It looks big enough to land attacks easily, but it wasn’t a simple opponent, was it?” Ohanze asked.

“No. Its attacks were extremely powerful, but they were wide swings, so dodging wasn’t too hard if you observed carefully. However, its defenses were incredibly robust, and it excelled in all kinds of recovery abilities, with stamina that was almost abnormal,” Tatsuro explained.

Without revealing their own abilities, Tatsuro described the dragon’s attack and defense methods.

“Indeed, knowing what’s coming makes dodging feasible, but breaking through that defense seems near impossible,” Beverly noted.

“From what you’re saying, even my full strength wouldn’t cut it. What do we do?” Mirowsz wondered.

“But you guys broke through and made it back here. There must be a weakness, right?” Ohanze asked.

Tatsuro couldn’t exactly say they used Level Eater to disable all its defensive skills, so he mentioned that Life Magic for external healing was effective.

“Over-healing, huh? Good catch noticing that. If even weaker members can at least distract it… we’ll have to build a strategy around that,” Beverly said.

“For reference, here are its scales, foot, and claws,” Tatsuro added.

“They’re huge and tough. Definitely dragon material. Hey, if it’s okay, could we see the Magic Stone?” Ohanze asked.

“The Magic Stone?” Tatsuro repeated.

Ohanze’s request to see the Magic Stone seemed driven by curiosity rather than strategy, but since it wasn’t a loss, Tatsuro stored the foot and scales back in his [Infinite Item Field] and placed the dungeon boss’s Magic Stone on the table.

Despite the monster’s size, the Magic Stone was relatively small, about thirty centimeters. Other monsters’ Magic Stones were typically dull blue, unprocessed, and rock-like, varying in color depth and size with their level or physique.

In contrast, this boss’s Magic Stone was small and pale but shimmered with a translucent, water-like blue, shaped like a precisely cut drop gem. Even after the creature’s death, the stone emitted a faint glow, as if still alive.

“—This is… a Magic Stone? You didn’t process it or anything, did you?” Ohanze asked.

“No, it was like this when we extracted it. Probably because it was a higher-tier dragon, the Magic Stone is unique,” Tatsuro replied.

“This really fires me up,” Mirowsz said.

“You’re so predictable, Ohanze,” Beverly teased.

Tatsuro’s group had been surprised when they first saw it, and it seemed rare even to these seasoned dungeon explorers. Noticing their covetous looks, Tatsuro stored the Magic Stone back in his Infinite Item Field.

“But if you reach and defeat the boss in the future, there’s one thing to watch out for,” Tatsuro warned.

“We definitely want to hear it. What is it?” Beverly asked.

“When it dies, get away from the corpse as fast as you can. Its bones will emerge and form a dome of heated bone spikes,” Tatsuro explained.

“Can you escape it?” Mirowsz asked.

“Yes. The range is wide but has limits, and it stops after a few minutes. But the spikes and heat persist, so stay cautious,” Tatsuro advised.

With that, Tatsuro concluded, having shared everything necessary. He answered a few more of Beverly’s questions, and they seemed satisfied.

“That was really helpful. Thanks. This should let us turn the dungeon from a dangerous hunting ground into a quality one faster than others,” Beverly said.

“Glad to hear it. Then we’ll take our leave soon,” Tatsuro replied.

“It’s late. You’re welcome to stay the night,” Beverly offered.

It wasn’t just polite small talk—Beverly’s offer was genuine. But Tatsuro shook his head.

“No, we have things to discuss among ourselves, and since there’s an old man with long ears nearby, we’d rather leave quickly,” Tatsuro said.

“Ah… Fair point. I’ll warn other parties to protect themselves against that. It should limit information leaks and hit that old man where it hurts,” Beverly said.

“That’s good to hear. Then, we’re off,” Tatsuro said.

“Even without the information, it was great seeing you again,” Beverly added.

“Stay healthy!” Mirowsz called.

“Don’t get cocky just because you’re strong,” Ohanze advised.

“Yes. Goodbye,” Tatsuro said.

“Bye-bye!”

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

“Farewell, then.”

“See you!”

“Later!” the others chimed in.

With final farewells, Tatsuro’s group left Fornacis’s stronghold.

Beverly, Ohanze, and Mirowsz watched until they were out of sight, then spread out the gathered information, grappling with it.

“Now what? We could handle the early layers on our own, but thinking about going from the mid to deep layers without their info makes my blood run cold,” Beverly said.

“We’ve just been living off the legacy our predecessors left. Never thought we’d have to pioneer ourselves,” Mirowsz sighed.

“But it’s not like the old info is completely useless. Look, this part resembles a place from before, right?” Ohanze pointed out.

“You’re right. But—those kids cleared it all blind, without any info. What kind of monsters are they?” Beverly wondered.

“They said it felt like a few months, but their growth surpasses our thirty-plus years, no question,” Mirowsz said.

“Ugh, it makes our hard work feel pointless. I’m half-thinking I should’ve settled down like my brother and taken a safer, calmer job,” Ohanze groaned.

Ohanze’s words resonated with the others. The unfairness of the world felt maddening—most teams hadn’t even passed the twentieth layer, yet these kids, starting from the mid-layers, cleared it in months without any prior info. It made them want to scream at the gods about the futility of their efforts.

“Sigh…” the three exhaled in unison.

But lamenting wouldn’t change anything. So, they switched gears and began planning their dungeon strategy.

Unaware they were the subject of such complaints, Tatsuro’s group walked down the darkened mountain path, discussing why Jeanne, who wasn’t a Dispel Magic user, noticed the eavesdropping skill.

“Neigh. Neiigh. Neiiiigh. Neigh!” Jeanne neighed.

“Looks like they underestimated Jeanne, thinking she was just a beast,” Ai translated.

“Meaning?” Tatsuro asked.

Upon further explanation, it seemed that when Sanjiv angrily spat out the tooth fragment and turned toward the door, Jeanne caught a slight smile on his face. While everyone else focused on the fragment, Jeanne kept watching him. She thought, “He was so mad earlier, but now he’s smiling? That’s weird!” and suspected something about the fragment he left behind.

“You were keeping such a close watch? Thanks, Jeanne,” Tatsuro said.

“Neigh, Neigh. Neigh!” Jeanne replied.

“She says she kept watching because she doesn’t trust liars,” Leah translated.

“Good girl, Jeanne!” Ai cooed.

“Neigh♪” Jeanne neighed happily.

Tatsuro and Ai petted her face, and Jeanne whinnied in delight.

“But thirty-six years… I never would’ve imagined,” Tatsuro said.

“Yeah, it’s still hard to believe,” Ai agreed.

“…But if that’s true, it might explain why that skill was so easy to acquire in that space,” Leah mused.

“What do you mean?” Nana asked.

The “space” Leah referred to was the vast, white area they were forcibly transported to when the dungeon’s level-up changed its mechanics.

“If there was a time discrepancy between the real world and the dungeon, even a second inside could be tens of minutes outside. The system, unable to adjust to the time difference, might’ve been pulled by the real world’s timeline,” Leah explained.

“So, a few minutes of training inside could equate to hours outside, making the system think we gained massive experience, boosting skill levels. Like a system bug?” Tatsuro clarified.

“Exactly. It’s just a theory, but that’s how I’d explain it,” Leah said.

“Like a reverse ‘Spirit and Time’ thing, huh?” Ai quipped.

Tatsuro thought Ai’s blunt phrasing was crude but clear, so he let it slide. With some small questions answered, they began discussing their next destination.

“How about… um… going to Holmes?” Leah suggested hesitantly.

“Holmes, the town known for blacksmiths—your hometown, right?” Tatsuro asked.

“Yes. It’s been over thirty years, so we’d see the changes there. But the main reason is I want to observe a skilled master craftsman’s technique, even for just a week,” Leah explained.

“Not to visit your hometown?” Ai asked.

“It’s not… entirely that, but my self-taught skills are starting to feel lacking,” Leah admitted.

Her [All-Seeing Eye] was incredibly useful, letting her understand an object’s nature and creation process just by looking at it.

But knowing the result didn’t reveal the steps to get there—like knowing a math answer without the method. She’d compensated by deeply understanding materials, but she was reaching her limits.

“So, you want to watch a master craftsman to learn their techniques?” Nana asked.

“Exactly,” Leah confirmed.

“But will a craftsman show their trade secrets to a stranger?” Ai wondered.

“Yeah… that’s the problem,” Leah admitted.

Indeed, it was unlikely a renowned craftsman would easily share their techniques with an outsider. But Ai suddenly remembered something.

“Hey, Tatsuro, didn’t we get a letter of introduction from that old guy?”

“The old guy’s letter? Oh, yeah! I forgot about it since we had Leah. But… a letter from thirty-six years ago? His master would be older than him, so they might not even be…” Tatsuro trailed off.

He avoided saying it directly, but if the master was already old back then, they might have passed away. Even if they were alive, a decades-old letter from a disciple might not hold much weight.

“But he said he had wide connections, right? Maybe he knows a skilled craftsman who’d show off their techniques—if they’re still around,” Ai suggested.

“Yeah. We’ll gather info in town anyway, so let’s give it a shot,” Tatsuro decided.

Thus, Tatsuro’s group set their next destination.