CHAPTER 53: 053 CADMUS SPRING

The 50th floor was a safe floor where no monsters were generated.

There were many such safe floors in the underground city, and though they couldn’t guarantee that no monsters would appear at all, the number of monsters coming from other floors was minimal. Hence, staying on a safe floor was comparatively safer against sudden incidents and attacks, making these floors the adventurers’ preferred resting spots within the underground city.

The Loki Clan had occupied a cliff on the 50th floor that was easy to defend but hard to attack, using it as their campsite.

By now, the camp had basically been set up, and the crew had finished their busy work and gathered around the campfire to eat.

A large pot was being cooked over the fire at the center of the camp, and the crew members sat around it, resting and chatting while they ate.

Reiger sat in a corner with a bowl of soup in his hand. He had barely taken a few sips when a resigned expression appeared on his face.

"Hmph, now let’s see where you can run."

Theona sat to Reiger’s left, seemingly catching him, her face full of smugness.

"Really, I even got scolded by the leader because of you."

Theone, however, was somewhat annoyed, sitting beside Theona and hungrily biting into some wild fruits she had picked.

"..."

Ais sat on the right, holding neither soup nor wild fruits but directly eating the rations she carried, which looked rather unappetizing.

As for Rephia, she had already crashed.

"Ah! Sitting between Mr. Reiger and Miss Ais....!"

The elven girl sitting between Reiger and Ais, for some reason, had a blissful blush on her face.

In such a scenario, Reiger glanced around him.

As expected, many envious and jealous looks were directed his way, even Bert was grinning angrily, seemingly eager to give Reiger, who was surrounded by a land of tenderness (an allusion to being surrounded by women), a celestial punishment.

".....Oh well, ignore it."

Reiger had no choice but to bury his head and sip his soup, pretending he saw nothing.

When everyone had almost finished eating, Finn, as the clan leader, finally spoke up.

"Let me say a few words."

Finn’s voice drew everyone’s attention.

"First, thank you all for your hard work," Finn said with a smile that was rarely seen since they had entered the underground city, "making it safely to the 50th floor without any sacrifices or decrease in our numbers is alone worth celebrating."

"However, the real test is still ahead."

Finn slightly restrained his smile.

"Our goal was never to reach this safe floor of the 50th layer, but the uncharted territory—the 59th floor."

This was a floor the Loki Clan had not yet explored.

Since the highest floor Loki Clan reached was the 58th, moving forward to explore the 59th became the clan’s primary goal.

"Undoubtedly, the floor we are about to reach is a region that many clans in Orario have not reached yet, not even the Freyja Clan has entered the 59th floor,"

Finn’s voice filled the ears of the crew, causing them to hold their breath.

"If we, the Loki Clan, can successfully reach the 59th floor and explore the uncharted territory, regardless of the harvest, just the fame alone will ensure our renown throughout Orario and we will go down in history."

For a major faction like the Loki Clan, exploring the underground city was no longer just about gaining wealth and power; reputation was also a necessity for the clan.

With enough fame, the Loki Clan could continue to grow, attracting more adventurers to join, and also demand more conveniences and benefits from the guild and the city, solidifying the clan’s position in Orario.

So, at the level the Loki Clan had reached, what they needed was no longer the operational funds necessary for a small clan to survive but rather fame and honor.

For the sake of fame and honor, even certain benefits could be sacrificed.

With this in mind, reaching the 59th floor was now the most urgent goal for the Loki Clan.

"However, before we head to the 59th floor, we need to complete a commission first."

Finn’s tone changed as he said this.

"I need to send a few elites into the 51st floor to collect a specified amount of spring water from Cadmus Spring."

As soon as he finished speaking, the expression on many crew members’ faces changed.

"Are you kidding? We have to deal with that troublesome Cadmus Spring?"

Theona sitting next to Reiger even groaned out loud.

Ais also raised her head to look at Finn.

The information about Cadmus Spring also surfaced in Reiger’s mind.

This was a very rare spring located on the 51st floor.

The water collected from this spring could be used to make very precious Spiritual Medicine.

Many pharmaceutical clans in the commercial sector were in demand for this water.

Especially those well-known large pharmaceutical clans, they had a high demand for this water that could only be collected from deep layers, and they had more than once commissioned a clan capable of reaching the 51st floor like the Loki Clan to collect a specified amount of spring water.

Such commissions were usually known as Adventurer’s Commissions.

Many clans that lacked the power to reach the specified floor and collect their needed materials often issued such Adventurer’s Commissions to those capable clans, offering a certain reward in exchange for collecting materials on their behalf.

This time, the Loki Clan had received such a commission.

However, it was anything but easy to complete.

"Cadmus Spring has its guardian."

Finn spoke grimly.

"Cadmus Spring, known as the ’Strong Dragon,’ a dragon species monster, essentially owns the water of the spring; every time the water emerges, it consumes most of it."

In other words, to obtain water from the Cadmus Spring, one must confront this Strong Dragon.

And the classification level of this Strong Dragon is———Lv.6.

It is a strength-specialized rare species, and in terms of strength alone, even Udaeus, the floor boss of level 37, is no match for it.

This was why most members paled at the mention, and even Theona couldn’t help but groan, while Ais became serious.

Of course, if it were just so, this mission wouldn’t be too troublesome.

Udaeus had been subdued, so with the strength of the Loki Clan, why would they need to fear a Strong Dragon?

The problem was, this time, Finn was only planning to send a handful of elites.

"The amount of water that can be collected from a Cadmus Spring is limited, to achieve the specified amount, we must go to two springs."

"We have already been in the underground city for two weeks, and the food and supplies we carried are almost depleted. Considering that after handling the adventurers’ missions we still need to head to the 59th level, and the return journey will take at least five or six days, we can’t afford to spend too much time on adventurers’ missions to avoid excessive consumption of supplies."

"Therefore, we need to split into two groups and head to the two springs simultaneously to increase efficiency and shorten the time, plus the springs’ locations don’t allow too many people to pass through, so it’s better to have fewer people go to collect the water, this way it will also be more convenient to act."

Finn pointed out each consideration and said so.

"This time for the adventurers’ mission, we will primarily use first-level adventurers and send a few elites, leaving the rest to stay at the camp."

As he said that, Finn began to select members.

The group naturally started with the heads and officers.

Since it was primarily first-level adventurers, they obviously couldn’t escape it.

"Reiger, Grace, and Bert in one group, plus find a Lv.4 to come as a Supporter."

"Ais, Theona, Theone, you three together, also find a reliable Supporter."

"Revilia will stay at the camp and be in charge of defense at the base."

As Finn made arrangements, the group of first-level adventurers nodded in succession.

Only Bert, frowning, spoke up.

"Hey, hey, isn’t it problematic that the second group lacks a Lv.6?"

The opponent was a dragon species monster stronger than Udaeus, the floor boss of level 37, and also classified as Lv.6.

For the second group to face such a creature without even one Lv.6 was indeed worrisome.

But Finn had clearly considered this.

"Is it okay, Ais?"

Finn turned to look at Ais, not responding to Bert, but calmly asking the girl.

"It’s okay."

Ais replied expressionlessly, causing Bert to be at a loss for words.

Everyone knew why Finn had specifically asked Ais.

Because Ais’s strength was not far behind that of Lv.6.

Her ability value at the top of Lv.5, combined with her exceptional wind-based magic, meant Ais could definitely perform at a level comparable to Lv.6.

With Ais present, even if the second group faced the Strong Dragon, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Reiger, however, noticed something more.

"The way the leader has divided the groups is probably also for training the abilities of the Clan officers, right?"

The Lv.5 Clan officers were inevitably the backbone of the future.

Whether it’s Ais, or the sisters Theona and Theone, they were still quite young, not yet even 18.

At this age, in the former world, they would still be in high school.

To give these young future pillars as much training as possible, to enhance their autonomous action capabilities, Finn had deliberately arranged it so that three young girls formed one team.

As for Bert, who was also Lv.5, this werewolf was already 22 years old and had experienced significantly more than the others, so there wasn’t much to worry about him.

The only issue was that allowing these three young girls to act alone, even if there was no problem in strength, their tactical approach was still a little concerning.

After all, none of them were the type to calmly handle emergency situations and make proper arrangements; letting these three act alone might inevitably lead to some mishaps.

"Here’s what we’ll do."

Finn turned to Reiger.

"Reiger, you go with them."

With this being said, everyone’s gaze once again focused on Reiger.

"Me?"

Reiger suddenly looked surprised.

"Yes," Finn said with a smirk, "In a situation where a first-level adventurer needs to step in, do you think you can escape with your strength?"

Everyone understood what that meant.

Finn’s implication was simple.

Just like Ais, he believed that Reiger had already attained the strength not inferior to Lv.5.

Not only did Finn think so, but Revilia, Grace, and other Clan leaders also agreed that Reiger’s current strength was comparable to Lv.5.

Therefore, this time, Finn intended not only to train Ais and the others but also to train Reiger.