Lefiya's sobs weren't particularly loud.
But then again, not many could make it down to the 50th floor. And since this level didn't spawn monsters, her crying stood out starkly in the silence—so much so that everyone present heard her pitiful wails. They thought something had gone terribly wrong, that she was in danger.
So, the senior members of the expedition all rushed toward Alice's location.
Ais got there first. She'd originally been with Alice and Lefiya, having only stepped away for a moment.
When she returned and saw Lefiya clinging to Alice, weeping into her shoulder, Ais felt a wave of relief. As long as it wasn't monsters, things were fine.
Once she relaxed, Ais turned a questioning gaze to Alice, hoping to learn what had upset Lefiya.
But Alice only shook her head gently.
She didn't know what was going through Lefiya's mind either. All she could sense through her magic was the girl's deep distress.
Ais was the first to arrive.
Riveria came next.
Unlike Ais and Alice, Riveria seemed to grasp a little of what Lefiya was feeling as soon as she saw her.
When someone your own age—especially one so similar to you—excelled too brightly, it could feel like a blow. From Riveria's perspective, Lefiya had indeed been carrying too much pressure lately. Letting it out like this might actually do her some good.
After Riveria arrived, the Amazon sisters Tione and Tiona showed up together, followed closely by Bete and Gareth. Finn and Tsubaki were the last to appear.
--+--
"I'm sorry for worrying everyone," Lefiya said, bowing deeply in apology.
"It's alright. As long as nothing's wrong, it's fine," Finn replied with a light smile. Then he added in a teasing tone, "I thought maybe our Lefiya had reverted to her old tongue-tied chanting days and gotten startled by a monster again. But then I remembered—that can't be right. Our 'Thousand Elf' is now an excellent mage who's mastered chantless casting!"
"During this expedition, with the wide array of spells at her command, she's been nothing short of brilliant. There's no way she'd be scared by a mere monster."
His teasing made Lefiya blush with embarrassment.
Alice, too, couldn't hold back a small smile.
"Sorry…" Lefiya mumbled, lowering her head shyly.
Just then, a sharp scream cut through the air.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
"That voice… It's Raul?" Finn's brow furrowed as he identified the source.
Another agonized cry followed.
"Don't tell me he got scared by a monster popping up too," Finn muttered, his expression turning serious. Despite the casual remark, his mind was already racing. So much so that one of his fingers twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Everyone, ready your weapons and gear immediately. We may be facing an irregular situation," Finn commanded swiftly.
"Miss Alice, please come with me. Your healing magic could be crucial," he said, turning to her with a firm look.
"Understood," Alice nodded. She moved to follow Finn toward the source of the scream, but after glancing up at the ceiling, she realized she didn't know which direction to go.
Finn, however, sprinted decisively toward the passage leading down to the 51st floor.
As a Level 6 adventurer, Finn was incredibly fast—under normal circumstances, Alice wouldn't have been able to keep up. But these weren't normal circumstances.
Alice didn't need to chase after him directly.
Besides, this floor wasn't particularly large. No matter how fast Finn ran, he'd eventually have to stop at his destination.
So it was that Finn and Alice arrived one after the other at the scene of the scream.
The moment she got there, the hairs on the back of Alice's neck stood on end.
"What… is that?" From the 1st to the 50th floor, she had never seen a creature like this.
It was plump and grossly green—its body so vividly toxic-looking that even monsters from deeper floors were fleeing upward, clearly terrified of the thing.
Raul was sprawled on the ground, his arm showing clear signs of corrosive burns.
"Miss Alice, if you would," Finn said, gesturing toward Raul's injury.
"Right." Alice's grimoire floated open beside her, pages flipping on their own before settling.
"Water Sign: Jellyfish Princess."
"Wood Sign: Natural Growth."
"Sun-Wood Sign: Photosynthesis."
As she chanted, the floating book's pages turned again, and three beams of light shot out, enveloping Raul's arm.
Jellyfish Princess formed a watery, jellyfish-like sphere that washed over the wound, cleansing and disinfecting it.
Then it transformed, weaving into fine, thread-like branches that began to grow across the injured area, interlacing until the burns were completely covered.
Under normal circumstances, watching plant matter sprout and spread across an open wound would be horrifying.
But after days on this expedition, nearly everyone had experienced this particular form of healing.
Once the branches finished weaving, Raul's arm was restored—the corroded flesh replaced by living wood.
Finally, "Alchemy: Philosopher's Stone—Human Transmutation."
A crimson stone, no larger than a peanut, appeared in Alice's palm, glowing faintly. As the light pulsed, the wooden fibers on Raul's arm transformed seamlessly back into skin.
His heavily damaged arm now looked perfectly normal, as though it had never been injured.
The red stone in Alice's hand had shrunk by a barely noticeable amount.
She paid it no mind. Over the past few days, the stone had grown and shrunk so often she'd grown used to it.
Putting the Philosopher's Stone away, Alice looked at Raul and asked, "Raul, what happened here?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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