Chapter 263

Their next destination decided, the group found themselves in darkness and eager for rest.

However, even if they descended the mountain to a nearby town, staying at an inn offered less comfort and security than their own home, which was better equipped and defended.

In this world, money was no longer a concern for them, so there was little reason to go out of their way to pay for lodging.

Thus, they set out to find a suitable space to place their home, heading toward the now much taller and sturdier outer wall surrounding the mountain. They couldn’t exactly pull their house from the [Infinite Item Field] in such a place, so they were eager to leave quickly.

As they marched forward, a gate came into view. By now, it seemed everyone in the area knew of them, as the guards stationed inside the gate immediately bowed.

“Well, well, are you already departing?” a guard asked.

“Yes. We don’t have anything left to do in this dungeon, so we’re heading to town soon,” Tatsuro replied.

“I see. Your presence here was reassuring, but we can’t force you to stay. We’ll open the gate at once,” the guard said.

“Thank you,” Tatsuro responded.

Tatsuro, who just months ago was an ordinary high schooler, felt uneasy under the respectful gazes of men who appeared over twenty years his senior.

Wanting to escape the discomfort, he hurried to leave. As four guards opened the heavy gate, they lined up alongside it to see Tatsuro’s group off.

“We sincerely wish you continued success!” a guard called out.

“Uh, thank you?” Tatsuro replied awkwardly.

{They don’t mean any harm, but their stares are so intense it’s almost painful…} Tatsuro thought.

{Why are these people we just met showering us with so much respect?} Ai wondered.

Communicating telepathically to avoid being overheard, Tatsuro and Ai stepped through the open gate, passing through the tunnel beyond. Once outside, they voiced their discomfort to Leah, asking what that was about.

“You challenged a level 10 dungeon with no prior information and came out unscathed. That alone is incredible, but word must have spread that you likely cleared it. To ordinary people, that makes you hero-class figures straight out of a story. There are surprisingly many in this world who admire such people,” Leah explained.

“Oh, that’s why. Hero-class, huh,” Tatsuro mused.

To Tatsuro, his strength was merely the result of fortunate skills. Without them, he doubted he could have beaten even one of those guards. While he understood he was far stronger than most, being seen as a grandiose “hero” left him with mixed feelings.

“Whatever. Let’s head down the mountain and find a safe spot to place the house. I want to read those documents in detail, eat, and sleep,” Tatsuro said.

Everyone agreed, and the group hurriedly descended the mountain to a secluded spot. Due to the dungeon’s level increase, it had encroached further into the real world, and Tatsuro noticed the mountain was lower than when they arrived.

Using his Spirit Eye alongside Cardina, he carefully checked for nearby people. Once confirmed clear, they abandoned walking. Jeanne carried the Palanquin, and they climbed aboard, except for Cardina, who perched on the front ceiling to scout.

Reaching the front room with a windshield, Tatsuro adjusted the speaking tube’s volume so Jeanne and Cardina outside could hear and began.

“Jeanne, activate Cloud Camouflage Fur and ascend,” Tatsuro instructed.

“Neigh,” Jeanne replied.

The response was loud, so Tatsuro quickly lowered the volume while everyone grabbed nearby handles to brace for movement.

Jeanne spread her arms gently to avoid shaking, infused magic into her Cloud Camouflage Fur, and soared into the sky with Dragon Flight.

Reaching sufficient altitude, she blended among the clouds and stopped, appearing as nothing more than a large cloud from below.

Tatsuro activated the system’s Map Function, searching for a spacious, inconspicuous spot en route to Holmes. “Turn left slowly… Stop,” he directed.

“Neigh,” Jeanne acknowledged.

“Then head straight in that direction. If Cardina spots anyone below, slow down and mimic a cloud as much as possible,” Tatsuro added.

“Peewee!” Cardina responded.

“Neigh!” Jeanne responded.

Jeanne cast a Wind Magic barrier to deflect air resistance and moved forward.

“There’s a spot ahead where several mountains converge, with a fairly wide, flat area in the back. It seems deserted, so let’s check it out,” Tatsuro suggested.

“Neigh,” Jeanne agreed.

With a single neigh, Jeanne glided smoothly through the sky. After a few dozen minutes, as they enjoyed the view from the front room’s windshield despite the night, a brightly lit area caught their eye.

“Is that… Flame Mountain?” Tatsuro asked.

“Flame Mountain? Like a volcano?” Ai wondered.

“No, it’s different. Flame Mountain is an area with plants that embody a fiery environment. It’s said to be caused by an extreme bias toward one attribute, often serving as a habitat for certain monsters. I read about it in a book,” Leah explained.

She added that other attribute-biased locations existed worldwide, like areas with ice or lightning plants.

“Oh, speaking of, wasn’t one of the materials for the staff Tatsuro bought a fire salamander?” Ai recalled.

“Yeah, you’re right. That glowing—or burning—area might have the creature that material came from,” Tatsuro said.

“Since it’s always surrounded by flames, it’s hard for people to live there, and it’s typically in tough-to-reach places. Fire salamanders are sub-dragons, but I don’t think they’re a threat to us,” Leah noted.

“So, if we clear out whatever’s there, it’s a perfect spot to place the house,” Ai concluded.

“With fire resistance and heat-insulating materials, the flames around won’t be an issue,” Athena added.

With the house’s air conditioning and amenities ensuring comfort, they chose this as their temporary base. Tatsuro asked Jeanne to fly to the flattest, fire-covered peak. As they approached, Cardina’s Detection Magic picked up not only fire salamanders but a massive creature.

Cardina activated [True Form], deploying two Spirit Division: Far Sight Near Slash projections before the windshield, displaying both the fire salamanders and the giant creature.

“Peewee!” Cardina chirped.

“That’s huge. Ten meters, maybe?” Tatsuro estimated.

“Wow. The fire salamanders are like two meters—big lizards—but they look like babies next to that,” Ai said.

“It might be a fire salamander variant,” Leah suggested.

The fire salamanders, as Ai described, were large lizards with vivid red skin. The other creature shared their basic structure but had flaming, hard scales that stood upright, likely capable of shredding flesh on contact.

It had small, fifty-centimeter bat-like wings disproportionate to its size, and its upper teeth, too long for its mouth, glowed red like molten magma.

While the fire salamanders’ eyes showed wild instinct, this creature’s gaze resembled the intelligent aura of Cardina and the others before their system installation.

“Not as strong as Cardina’s group, but it seems decently tough,” Tatsuro said.

“Looks like rare materials!” Nana exclaimed.

“Indeed. I can’t tell its quality without inspecting, but it seems high in rarity,” Leah agreed.

“Shall we hunt it?” Ai asked.

“Yeah. We can use Level Eater to farm SP too,” Tatsuro replied.

“Hunting time!” Athena cheered.

Athena, bored from sitting through the information exchange, was thrilled. “Athena’s super eager, so we’ll handle the small fry, and she can take the big one. Sound good?” Tatsuro proposed.

“Really?!” Athena beamed.

“I’m cool with that. Athena’s been itching to test Spirit Division in combat,” Ai said.

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

“I’m fine with it.”

“No problem,”

“Awesome! I’ll do my best!” Athena shouted.

Snorting excitedly, Athena activated [True Form], donning Dragon Armor. She then triggered Spirit Division: Magnetic Mirror Mimicry, deploying five octagonal, fifty-centimeter mirrors around her, each reflecting her image.

For context, during Palanquin construction, everyone except Cardina had leveled up their bodies and enhanced their attribute magic.

Jeanne, Nana, and Athena had each gained new classes and skills, including one Spirit Division skill.

Jeanne became a Holy Dragon of Heaven’s Ruin, gaining Spirit Division: Giant Arm Shockwave and Dragon Power Convergence Cannon.

Nana became an Evil Dragon of Ruinous Bounty, gaining Spirit Division: Curse Doll and Dragon Evil Spear.

Athena became a Phantom Battle Dragon, gaining Spirit Division: Magnetic Mirror Mimicry and Phantom Dragon Arts. These skills, untested in combat, were confirmed to be formidable.

As Athena eagerly prepared, Jeanne lowered altitude to a visible height and paused, allowing Tatsuro to assess the fire salamanders and the giant variant with his Spirit Eye.

“The fire salamanders aren’t a big deal for us now. In level terms, they’re about 30 to 40—high for wild monsters. They seem to absorb surrounding flames to strengthen themselves, so don’t let your guard down,” Tatsuro warned.

His Spirit Eye revealed an invisible fiery magical energy rising from the ground, absorbed by the salamanders and their variant, supporting his assessment.

“The big one’s around level 60. It feels weaker than level 60 dungeon monsters, so anyone here could take it solo if careful. Athena, since it’s valuable material, try to capture it as cleanly as possible,” Tatsuro advised.

“Got it! I’ll slice it cleanly and cauterize with Lightning to stop the bleeding!” Athena declared.

Her aggressive remark was par for the course, so Tatsuro issued the order without comment.

“Alright, we’ll disembark from Jeanne and start. We’ll handle the small fry; Athena takes the strong one. Let’s go.”

With everyone’s agreement, Tatsuro and Ai unlocked the room’s door and leaped out, followed by Athena and Leah, carried by Nana.

Once all were out, Cardina closed the door, stored the Palanquin in her Item Box, and dove after them with Jeanne.

Tatsuro and Ai enjoyed a brief bungee-like freefall, then used boards to ride the updraft and land. Athena, at the moment of landing, infused her Dragon Armor with Lightning Magic for electromagnetic force, pulling herself to the topmost of her five Spirit Division: Magnetic Mirror Mimicry mirrors to slow her descent and land silently.

Nana, holding Leah, used Dragon Flight just before landing, sliding to a stop with tracks in the ground.

Cardina and Jeanne, in True Form, landed heavily on the flat mountainside, drawing the monsters’ attention.

The area was filled with scorching rocks, flaming grass shimmering like heatwaves, and trees with flame-shaped trunks and leaves.

Among them were numerous two-meter fire salamanders with sharp purple poison claws, unnoticed weaker monsters like fire orbs, ten-centimeter flaming butterflies, five-centimeter burning centipedes, and red caterpillars likely fire-attuned.

The main target, the giant fire salamander, glared at them.

Even among sub-dragon fire salamanders, the giant’s gaze was intense, paralyzing all lesser monsters, causing fliers to crash.

“It might have a dragon-like intimidation skill,” Tatsuro noted.

“But it only works on super weaklings, right?” Ai said.

“Our kids have more presence. It’s almost cute, trying so hard,” Tatsuro chuckled.

“Yeah, I get that,” Ai agreed.

The giant’s glare, to them, was merely a stare, unnoticed. This seemed to wound its pride, as it began grinding its teeth, emitting a threatening sound.

Yet it hesitated to attack, likely intimidated by the overwhelming presence of Cardina and the others in True Form.

It turned its gaze to Tatsuro and Ai, who lacked the dragons’ oppressive aura. But Athena wouldn’t allow that.

“You’re mine! I want to test this in combat, so come here!” she shouted.

“Guoo!?” the giant roared.

As it stepped toward Tatsuro and Ai, something immensely powerful grabbed its tail, causing its right foreleg to claw the air. Athena, clad in Dragon Armor, dragged it like a child to a slightly distant spot.

“This should keep interruptions away!” she declared.

“Goo—!” the giant bellowed.

Ignoring the fire salamanders scattering to avoid her, Athena found a wide enough area where it wouldn’t interfere with Tatsuro’s group.

She yanked its tail, hurling the ten-meter giant onto its back on relatively flat ground with a judo-like throw. Stunned, the giant instinctively thrashed to right itself, desperate to avoid vulnerability.

“Wow, so lively! I’m thrilled you’re so spirited!” Athena exclaimed.

“Gugoo…” the giant groaned, its eyes mixed with fear as it stared at her.

Athena’s eyes, gleaming beneath her Dragon Armor, were already contemplating how to “cook” it, undeterred by its fear.