At the top floor of the tower, a piece of white paper, its corners slightly curled, was spread out. Printed on it was a simple, unadorned table, with the header reading "Ranking of Dangerous Creatures."
After removing the "Threats" that were temporarily irrelevant, the "Ranking of Dangerous Creatures" kept only "Immortality Disease" and "Botanical Weapons" for a horizontal comparison.
The former was the target of the current mission, while the latter was something they had actually encountered before, serving as a practical reference. Both had an overall rating of B+, meaning they were on the same level.
To be precise, the "Ranking of Dangerous Creatures" did not reflect the overall or individual combat strength of this type of creature.
It reflected various aspects, including "ferocity," "numbers," "reproductive capacity," and "destructive power." In simple terms, it showed the average for the species.
This means that even if a dangerous creature's "ferocity" is rated B, it's not surprising if an individual with a "ferocity" rating between B+ and A- suddenly appears. In fact, it's quite normal.
The "Ranking of Dangerous Creatures" has reference value, allowing humans to understand the habits of a species before actually coming into contact with or studying these dangerous creatures.
However, blindly sticking to the data on paper without considering the actual situation is very dangerous.
The "V5 Exploration Team" might have fallen due to this mistake; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent a large and cumbersome team of over 1,000 people to the territory of the "Human Taming Beasts."
Managing a team of over 1,000 people was a huge problem in itself, not to mention surviving in a place like the Dark Continent, where they ultimately had to face the threat of the "Human Taming Beasts."
If even 7 of them returned, it might already be considered a miracle and a blessing.
Anyway, the "Ranking of Dangerous Creatures" did have some practical value.
"-Ranking of Dangerous Creatures-"
"-Aggression-"
"Immortality Disease Zobae: C- (Individual can reach A-)"
"Botanical Weapons Brion: B (Individual can reach A-)"
"-Quantity-"
"Immortality Disease: E"
"Botanical Weapons: C"
"-Reproductive Ability-"
"Immortality Disease: B-"
"Botanical Weapons: B-"
"-Destructive Power-"
"Immortality Disease: B-"
"Botanical Weapons: A-"
"-Overall-"
"Immortality Disease: B+"
"Botanical Weapons: B+"
"You can clearly see it," Germain said, circling "Immortality Disease" and "Botanical Weapons" with his pencil. "The ratings for 'Immortality Disease' are lower than those for 'Botanical Weapons' in every category."
"The only category where 'Immortality Disease' is comparable to 'Botanical Weapons' is its 'B- reproductive ability.'"
Ging, Bisky, Shizuku, and Menchi quietly formed a circle, each with their own little movements. In their minds, some were quickly memorizing, while others were deep in thought.
Germain then circled "Quantity": "The biggest flaw of 'Immortality Disease' seems to be its E rating in 'Quantity,' meaning there's only one of them."
"But this evaluation doesn't really hold much weight. It refers to the original 'Immortality Disease' itself, with no significant variants or branches."
"This is a disease that refuses to evolve or mutate. Perhaps that's why it called 'Immortality Disease.'"
"Either way, this is good news for us. It means that the way Don Freecss solved it two or three hundred years ago with the 'Herb for All-illnesses' is something we can use too."
Next, Germain circled the "destructive power": "The 'destructive power' of the 'Immortality Disease' is only B-, because it can be avoided."
"The known situation is that after the Beyond team obtained the 'Alchemy Plant Metallion,' they strayed from their original route on their return journey and were then attacked by the immortality disease."
"Even in this situation, only one person among the six survivors actually contracted the disease. Its contagiousness is low, which is why its 'ferocity' is only C-."
"This is a disease that is limited to certain areas. Only when we step into its territory, and the environment is right, will its 'ferocity' spike to A-."
"Of course, we have the 'Herb for All-illnesses.'"
"The four doctors brought by Sanbica and Granny Linne made some modifications to the medicine, making it effective enough to fight the 'Immortality Disease.'"
"However, it's better to be safe than sorry. If possible, we should try to avoid entering areas where the 'Immortality Disease' exists."
At this point, Ging took over the conversation and said, "The distribution map of the 'Immortality Disease' is very scattered. It's not connected; they are like landmines buried in that area."
He took out a map from his pocket and spread it out in front of everyone, saying, "This map is from the 'New World Chronicles – East Volume' by Don Freecss. I believe you've all seen it."
The map displayed a simplified terrain, with noticeable red areas scattered across, marking the regions affected by the 'Immortality Disease.'
These large regions are relatively easy to avoid, but the most troublesome parts are the small red dots, which mark areas where the 'Immortality Disease' is present.
"They are distributed this way because these places have environments suitable for reproduction."
"But after two to three hundred years, the environment might have changed. We shouldn't fully trust this map. It's not the same as the 'Ancient Labyrinth map.'"
"The 'Ancient Labyrinth' is a dead, closed environment, while the 'Immortality Disease' is alive."
"So, no matter what situation we're in, we must ensure we have the 'Herb for All-illnesses' on us. This is the most important thing."
"At that time, each of us will carry a portion of the 'Herb for All-illnesses,' and most of it will be stored in Shizuku's 'Blinky' for safekeeping."
After Ging finished his addition about the "Immortality Disease," he shifted the topic back to Germain.
Germain asked if anyone had anything else to add. When he received no response, he moved on to the next topic.
"Now, we need to talk about my 'Teleportation Lantern.' You all know that my 'Teleportation Lantern' doubles its cooldown time after each use."
"According to these Vows and Limitations, the 'Teleportation Lantern' I have will need 10 days to cool down before it can be used again. But... this Vows and Limitations has now been broken."
No one was surprised. Germain had already mentioned this when he first arrived at the "Ancient Labyrinth Tower" and discovered those "special teleportation lanterns."
"To return to Greed Island, we still need to wait for the 10-day cooldown. The same goes for going to the 'Dried-up River Valley,' 'Swamp of Mud,' 'Spider Valley Bottom,' or the 'Ancient Labyrinth Entrance.'"
"But right now, out of all the 'Teleportation Lanterns' I have, eleven of them are connected to each other, including the one on the tower. There's no cooldown for teleporting between them."
"This means I can quickly travel back and forth between these eleven lanterns."
"However..." Germain paused, waiting for everyone to catch up, "I'm not sure what the cost will be. We need to actually test it before we can know for sure."
"What do you think the cost will be?" Bisky asked, concerned.
"There is actually a reference," Germain said, looking at Bisky and Shizuku. "Do you remember what happened when we reached the 'World Tree' in April?"
Bisky and Shizuku exchanged a glance.
Of course, they wouldn't forget. Back then, the team had been with Wing. The four of them had encountered the invisible "Wallfacer" before the massive wall.
After the attack, they were forcibly teleported to the vicinity of the "Ancient Labyrinth."
Ging and Menchi had read Bisky's "Dark Continent Chronicles" and were still clear on that memory. They even asked Germain and the others about it. After the reminder, they all recalled it.
"The 'Teleportation Lantern' instantly takes us to the destination, while the 'Wallfacer' took several hours. These are the differences between the two kinds of teleportation, but the cost should be similar."
"Every time I teleport between those eleven 'Teleportation Lanterns,' I risk being affected by 'pressure,' 'traits,' 'diseases,' and so on. Of course, these are all just speculations for now."
"Besides that, since one of the 'Teleportation Lanterns' is located on the 'Ancient Labyrinth Tower,' the other ten must also be inside the 'Pandora's Box'..."
"This is a more reasonable assumption."
What Germain referred to as 'Pandora's Box' is the area where both 'disasters (threats) and hope' coexist. For example, the 'Ancient Labyrinth' they are in right now is one of those places.
"Since we are inside 'Pandora's Box,' we must be mentally prepared... After we reach our destination, we will immediately face 'disasters' or some other dangerous creatures."
Germain's final words were serious and solemn.
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