54
Chapter 54
Fox unpacked her bags.
Among the items that came out of her bundle,
the most striking was a white Mana Stone.
Ailee stared at it blankly, mentioning that it was a top-grade Natural Mana Stone.
A Natural Mana Stone....
That must mean it's a Mana Stone that naturally formed in the wild.
To think such a Mana Stone existed; I had acquired some new knowledge today.
"Hehehe."
Fox picked up the white Mana Stone to show it off.
She had no intention of hiding it.
Instead, she shoved it in our direction and flaunted it.
It was as if she was bragging about having such a great Mana Stone.
So what?
I looked away.
Since they said it was a top-grade Natural Mana Stone, I was tempted, but she definitely wouldn't just hand it over if I asked for it.
It's best not to stare at an unattainable pie in the sky.
Ailee seemed to share my sentiment, looking at it with envious eyes before turning back to her Mana Stone extraction work. Jjokkomi and Tosuni were also diligently working without getting distracted.
In other words.
Absolutely no one was paying any attention to Fox.
Everyone was too busy working.
"Eh?"
Pitter-patter.
Fox approached my side.
Strangely enough, she seemed especially interested in me.
She lingered around before subtly pulling out the pure white Mana Stone within my line of sight and muttering.
"Hehehe. This is a really good one, you know."
Swish.
I turned my head away again.
If you aren't going to give it to me, then leave.
"Ugh......."
When I didn't give her any attention to the end, she weakly dropped her head.
In the end, Fox turned around and trudged back to the spot where she had dug her burrow.
Glance.
I watched Fox out of the corner of my eye.
I could see her gloomy back as she began packing her things.
What? Is she trying to leave?
...Sigh.
She's making me feel bad.
I temporarily stopped what I was doing.
Then, I strode over to where Fox was.
I felt like I would feel uncomfortable if I just let her leave like that.
Somehow, it painted a picture of her leaving in a huff because of me.
"Huh?"
Fox stopped packing and looked at me.
Standing in front of her, I stared intently at the white Mana Stone with a look of interest.
"Hehe. You were actually jealous!"
Fox's expression, which had been gloomy just moments ago, suddenly changed completely.
Right now, she was making a very annoying face.
"Should I give you one? Hmm? Should I give you one or not!"
Stop teasing me when you aren't going to give it to me.
I might actually get mad.
"I might consider it if you really want it!"
Hmm... Really?
I figured I'd let myself be fooled and reached out my hand.
Then, Fox hid the Mana Stone she was holding behind her back.
"Hehehe!"
...In the end, I didn't get it.
I should have just let her leave.
She's a crazier Fox than I imagined.
For the record, I wasn't disappointed because I knew she wouldn't give it to me. Seriously.
"If you promise to be friends with me─"
I immediately turned my back.
It sounded like Fox had just said something, but I didn't catch the details.
"Whimper......."
After returning to my spot.
While sorting through the Spoils of War again, I thought to myself.
Once this work is finished, I should take care of that Fox a little bit.
Just looking at her, she clearly seemed starved for attention.
It also felt like she had a bit of an affection deficit.
She's an annoying, foolish, and lying Fox, but there was no harm in getting close to a Unique grade monster. And perhaps, that Fox suddenly visiting this place out of nowhere might also be a kind of Luck.
***
It's taking longer than expected.
A significant number of the monster corpses already had their Mana Stones extracted, but just pulling the Mana Stones out of the remaining corpses took quite a lot of time.
To assess our work progress,
It seemed we were exactly halfway done now.
"Guys, how about taking a short break?"
Ailee suggested.
It seemed she was being considerate of Jjokkomi, who only had one front paw.
Because Jjokkomi was slowly starting to show signs of fatigue.
She tried not to make it obvious, but Ailee and I both noticed.
"Woong!"
"Kku, kku-oh!"
Nod-bear.
With everyone's agreement, we decided to take a break.
That little Jjokkomi.
Look at how her face brightened up at the mention of resting.
As expected, she was having a hard time but holding it in.
If it's hard, you should say so and rest, you shouldn't overdo it like that, kiddo.
Patting the hardworking Jjokkomi on the back, I shifted my gaze to where Fox was.
"Hooo...."
Fox had tucked her body into the burrow.
She was only peeking her face out and staring intently at us.
She had been doing that constantly since earlier.
It seemed she realized I genuinely hated it when she interfered with my work.
Beckon, beckon.
I motioned for Fox to come over here.
Since it's break time now, it's fine for her to be nearby.
"Huh?"
Fox perked up her ears.
Then, as if she had been waiting, she hopped right out of the burrow.
"Hehe."
Pitter-patter.
Fox ran over in a ridiculous posture, with both arms stretched straight out to the sides.
Why is she running like that?
It makes her look even more foolish.
"This is my spot!"
Jjokkomi, me, Tosuni, Ailee.
Fox naturally joined the gap between us as we sat side by side.
She grabbed a spot right in the middle, between Tosuni and me, and flopped down.
"Hehehe."
While Fox was smiling brightly in the middle.
We each began to consume the Mana Stones we had gathered.
We had decided to absorb the Mana Stones we obtained today during our break.
Not all of them, just a portion.
Gulp.
I first popped the smallest Mana Stone into my mouth and swallowed it.
I swallowed the second smallest Mana Stone right after.
I continued, even swallowing the third smallest Mana Stone.
That wasn't the end.
There were still plenty of Mana Stones left that I had set aside to eat during the break.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
I swallowed Mana Stone after Mana Stone.
I kept shoving them into my mouth like I was eating a regular meal.
Not in a rush, but slowly and leisurely.
Ailee, Jjokkomi, and Tosuni also steadily ingested Mana Stones at a similar pace.
As time passed like that,
and we had consumed all the Mana Stones we brought.
[Lucky Dragon Teddy Bear lv.28]
┗Pw.84 (+11)
┗Rnk.Superior
[Devoted Rabbit Doll lv.26]
┗Pw.78
┗Rnk.Superior
[Servant Vampire lv.26]
┗Pw.78
┗Rnk.Superior
[Flame Bear lv.27]
┗Pw.81
┗Rnk.Superior
We all ended up Leveling Up explosively together.
Free Mana Stones, free experience points, sweet!
...But is it normal to Level Up this much?
It felt like we had grown an abnormally large amount.
A good thing is a good thing, but it was a situation where I couldn't help but feel suspicious.
The higher the level gets, the harder it should be to Level Up....
It's true that we consumed a lot of Mana Stones.
But I didn't think it was enough to Level Up this much. The quality of the Mana Stones we just ate didn't seem that great either. I wasn't entirely sure, but there were probably only one or two Mana Stones from high-level monsters mixed in.
"Hmm. I feel like my level went up a whole lot for some reason. Were there quite a few high-quality Mana Stones mixed in?"
"Woong."
"Kku-oh-oh."
"Anyway, it's convenient and nice that monsters can Level Up just by consuming Mana Stones. When I was a Human, harsh training was a given, and the system required an unimaginable amount of killing just to barely raise a level... Monsters are definitely a superior species compared to Humans."
"Woo-woong."
"Kku-oh."
I continued to harbor doubts.
Hmm. Was there a super high-level Mana Stone mixed in that we didn't notice?
The kind of Mana Stone that is impossible to gauge at our current level?
The moment I was making such guesses in my head.
[Star Fox's skill is currently being applied.]
[There are four applicable targets.]
[Lucky Dragon Teddy Bear, Devoted Rabbit Doll, Servant Vampire, Flame Bear.]
Helper's notification popped up.
Huh? Star Fox's skill is being applied?
Could you explain in detail what that means?
[Star Fox's skill is estimated to be [Star's Blessing lv.? - Mana Stone Assimilation Amplification].]
[This is an ability that amplifies the absorption effect when an ally consumes a Mana Stone.]
Amplifying the absorption effect...
Could it be something like an experience Buff?
I looked at Fox with a surprised face.
Wasn't she a completely overpowered monster?
As expected, Unique grades really were on a whole different level.
But I see this kid was recognizing us as allies.
Did she give us the Buff subconsciously?
Or on purpose?
Whatever it was.
I absolutely cannot lose this Fox...!
A massive bundle of fortune just rolled right in!
I figured this might also be the power of the Luck Domain.
Luck, Luck, Luck!
"Hehe. So soft."
Fox fiddled with my face.
Sure, sure, touch it all you want.
From today onwards, you are also our family and friend.
The mysterious Fox who suddenly showed up and became our neighbor.
I gladly decided to accept her as our companion.
***
After finishing our break.
We decided to quickly pop into the Dungeon and come back out.
We wanted to move the sacks filled with Mana Stones into the Dungeon and also check if Baby Doll was doing okay alone.
Because we had left him alone for so long, Ailee's face was full of worry.
So, carrying the sacks.
As we crossed the Portal and entered the Dungeon, a new, unfamiliar, and foreign world unfolded before us.
"Woong?"
"Kku-oh?"
"What is this? What happened...?"
For a moment, I mistakenly thought we had entered a different Dungeon.
And for good reason, since the Dungeon had completely changed.
The space, which used to be no different from a single room, was now vast enough that the end couldn't be seen. Even at a glance, it looked like it had expanded over a thousand times.
It wasn't just the space that had expanded.
The structure of the Dungeon had also changed.
The floor was made of ochre-colored blocks.
The significantly heightened ceiling was made of sky-blue blocks, and round bead-like lights were embedded here and there.
A warm and bright light poured down from the lighting that seemed to mimic the sun.
The darkness was nowhere to be found.
Thanks to the lights, the inside of the Dungeon was brightly illuminated.
What should I call this...
A toy-themed Dungeon?
It was a landscape that felt like a giant toy world.
Although there were no other structures yet, just looking at the land and sky made of blocks.
"W-where is our baby?"
Ailee looked around in a panic.
I tugged at her pants and pointed in one direction.
I think that's Baby Doll over there.
In the direction I pointed, a blue sphere was sitting right there.
The identity of the blue sphere was a Mana Orb.
In other words, Baby Doll was currently undergoing the Limit Breakthrough ritual.
Wait a minute.
But that Baby Doll... was it originally possible for him to undergo Limit Breakthrough?