Chapter 266: The Presence of Monsters
The issue of not being able to photograph Phonia was quickly resolved. All I needed was to cast a light spell. It was a simple solution.
“Since we have Night Vision skills, it didn’t feel that dark to us,” I remarked.
It seemed the camera had deemed the area completely dark. I wondered if I could somehow grant Night Vision to my smartphone. But then again, would that mean it couldn’t capture bright areas? Perhaps it was best not to meddle with it.
“Ah, it looks like we’re about to encounter some real monsters from here on out.”
As we descended to the new layer, the floor scan, which had become routine, began to register numerous monsters. The trickle of monsters that had started appearing from the Fourth and Fifth Layers had now turned into a steady stream.
“Monsters! I’m going to do my best to defeat them!” Phonia declared enthusiastically.
“Yeah, give it your all!” I encouraged her.
“Good luck, Phonia-chan!” Kaede-san added.
“Wow wow!” Phonia responded, her excitement palpable.
With her instincts guiding her, Phonia ventured deeper into the cave-like floor. The occasional goblin-like monsters and bat-like creatures posed no threat to her. With a swift motion, she dispatched them, all while I illuminated the scene to capture the moment.
“Did I look cool in the photo?” she asked, returning with a proud grin after sending a slime-like monster flying.
Her eagerness to charge at anything that piqued her interest was quite childlike.
“Hey now, you need to check if you actually defeated them. What if one of them is still alive and attacks you?” I cautioned.
Startled, she turned back to see the amorphous monster still holding its shape, remaining motionless. It should have spread out like a puddle upon defeat.
By the way, monsters in the dungeon don’t disappear upon defeat. They leave behind no drop items, just the monsters themselves remaining.
“I-I’m sorry…” Phonia mumbled, looking dejected.
I gently patted her head. “It’s alright. Just be more careful next time. You’re still learning, Phonia-chan, and you’ll remember more as you go.”
“I understand. I’ll be careful,” she replied earnestly.
With newfound determination, she approached the monster to deliver the finishing blow, chanting, “Burn away!” as she unleashed Fire Magic to incinerate the slime-like creature.
As I snapped photos, a thought crossed my mind—was it safe to use Fire Magic in such a confined space? I decided to look it up later and pushed the thought aside, checking the photos I had taken.
“Wow, Phonia, you look amazing in this shot!”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she turned to see the smartphone screen. The flames illuminated the darkness, casting a warm glow on Phonia and the defeated slime-like monster.
“Hehe. I wonder if everyone will praise me?”
“Ufufu. Ivan might be surprised when he sees how cool you are, Phonia-chan.”
“No, not just Ivan-nii, but everyone else too!”
“Huh?”
Phonia’s insistence made both Rio and me tilt our heads in confusion.
“Because everyone said Kaede-san’s photos were beautiful.”
“Ah…”
I somewhat understood what Phonia was trying to convey, but I found myself at a loss for words. It was when Kaede-san’s request for information gathering had been promptly issued by the Adventurer’s Guild. We had been collecting information at the guild, and the adventurers who saw Kaede-san’s photos were left in awe. They were impressed by the quality of the artwork, not necessarily praising Kaede-san herself.
“Do you want to be praised by lots of people, Phonia-chan?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s take plenty of photos!”
“Yay!”
While it would be easy to correct her misunderstanding, it was significant that Phonia wanted recognition from others. Considering her past as a slave, this was a remarkable growth for her. I had no objections to showcasing my daughter’s cuteness to the world.
However, for now, we needed to focus on our current objective—no, not just dungeon exploration, but capturing the culprit behind the Newcomer Hunt. I almost lost sight of our goal. That was close.
“Alright, let’s keep moving forward.”
I pondered whether it might be better to struggle a bit to appear more like a newcomer, but I decided against it since I hadn’t seen anyone else in this layer struggling either.
“Hmm?”
As we descended to the Seventh Layer and conducted our usual scan, I noticed something unusual.
“Did something happen again?”
“Yeah. There’s a room filled with a massive gathering of powerful monsters.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m not sure what it is.”
While keeping an eye on Phonia, who was brimming with excitement, I glanced down at the map of the Seventh Layer. Let’s see, the entrance is here, and the path to the Eighth Layer is over there… Wait, what?
I lifted my gaze from the map and directed it toward the room where the monsters were congregating.
“There’s a room on the map that isn’t listed?”
“What?”
“It’s a room with monsters. It’s not on the map.”
“A lot of monsters? Can I show off my skills?”
Even though it was described as a large gathering, the presence of the monsters felt faint, so they probably weren’t that strong. Phonia should be able to handle it with ease.
“Let’s go check it out.”
We were still in a beginner area with a plethora of monsters. It would be wise to report this to the Adventurer’s Guild as well.
“I think you’ll be fine, Phonia, but don’t just rush in without thinking.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Thus, we veered off from the main path in the Seventh Layer, taking a narrower side route toward the monster room. Along the way, we encountered several forks in the path, and after winding through the twisting corridors, we reached a dead end.
“Big brother, there’s no path ahead!”
“Hmm. The map we bought at the guild also ends here.”
“But what’s beyond this point?”
“Ah.”
From what I could scan with my spatial awareness, there seemed to be a passage continuing beyond this point. Observing the walls closely, I discovered a crack that appeared to be a gap, revealing a pitch-black space beyond.