"Shall we discuss what happened?" Loki asked while stuffing himself with a piece of bread.
Leo laughed loudly. "Hahaha, did you see how I defeated that beast?"
"Yes, we did, but you should take this seriously. You know that we almost died there, right?"
Leo froze and lowered his head.
"But don't get me wrong, you did well out there. And you too, Pandora, did well. I'm the one who lacks the most in that fight; that's why I want to apologize. But don't worry, that mistake will never repeat again." Loki bowed his head, showing his sincerity.
Pandora waved her hands in embarrassment. "T-that isn't true; all of us did our best.
Leo smiled. "That's right, without you there, I wouldn't have won that. Because knowing you have my back, I could fight without worry. Also, you aren't the only one who made a mistake."
"Thank you. Even though it was an unexpected battle, we still came out on top. I guess we do have the skill to survive here. But let's not get cocky and do impulsive things. Helping is good, but I will reject it if it means putting our lives at risk. We already had a hard time with just 1 kobold; what do you think would have happened if there were 2 or more? I'm not against helping others, but please, we should at least know our limits. I want us to grow together, but that will be difficult if we keep doing that kind of impulsive thing. So, please refrain yourselves if you can."
Leo and Pandora slowly nodded.
"I-I understand; I'm sorry," Pandora said.
"You don't have to apologize; the two of you did nothing wrong. I just want us to think about our decision more carefully next time."
After that conversation, the three kids finished their meal, rested for a bit, and finally departed to resume their Quest.
This time they went into the west, knowing the south had no Azure Flowers. They also like to avoid unnecessary fights, so it made a lot of sense to distance themselves from the place where the kobolds showed up.
The only thing Loki regretted was that he didn't get to see if a soul would appear on the kobold's corpse. After all, he had some influence on that battle. He was curious about what would happen if he assimilated the soul of a kobold. Would he become a kobold himself? Would something interesting happen? He wanted to know.
While searching the forest with their usual formation. Leo started a conversation with Pandora.
"Uhm… Pandora… I just wanted to tell you that you have very cool skills!"
Pandora jerked when she heard Leo. "N-no… Thank you… You too have wonderful skills."
What with this conversation? Wait… now that I think about it, this is the first time they have had a conversation without me starting it. Perhaps this is good for our teamwork.
However, after saying those few words, the two went back to being silent again. Loki face palm in his mind.
God, are they already done? Should I do something? No, that won't help them; they should do it themselves.
"Look, there's a flower!" Leo exclaimed.
Loki followed where Leo was pointing, and there was indeed a flower. The flower had 5 yellow petals and 4 pollen tubes sticking out in the middle.
Pandora ran beside the flower. "T-this is Sunshine Petals! It's a very rare flower that can only be found in the Kobold Forest. This Flower is one of the ingredients for Sun Light Potion! A Potion that is mostly used in a Dungeon that lacks light!"
Loki and Leo looked at Pandora with open mouths. This was their first time hearing Pandora so excited about something.
Pandora seemed to notice the gazes as she embarrassingly lowered her head and explained. "I-I'm sorry, I tend to lose myself when it comes to plants."
"You don't have to be sorry for that. I think it's amazing that you know so much about plants!" Leo encouraged.
"Leo is right, you shouldn't be shy about the things you like. In fact, you should pursue them. I think it will greatly benefit us if at least one of us knows about plants. After all, they can help us in so many ways." Loki joined.
"I-I will try my best."
"So, how much is this flower if we sell it?" Leo asked while scanning the yellow flower.
"B-because of its rarity, we can sell it for 10 silver."
Leo almost fell when he heard the number. "1-10 silver! Wow! Did we just hit a jackpot here?"
Even Loki widened his eyes. He knew Crawler earned a lot, but he never expected it to be this much. They were only on a 1-Star Dungeon; how about those higher in rank?
Leo approached the Sunshine Petals with the utmost care, fearful of damaging it in any way. "How can we harvest this? Should we just pull it from the ground?"
"Y-yes, but make sure you will not damage its roots. It will decrease its value."
Leo froze when he heard about decreasing the value of the flower. "I think I'm not the best person for this."
"Clearly," Loki agreed. "Can you do it, Pandora?"
"O-okay." Pandora withdrew her bag from her CC and took out a cloth. She began digging the flower carefully, making sure she didn't damage the roots. After a few seconds, Pandora lifted the Sunshine Petal, covered it with the cloth, and put it inside her bag.
"You are really good!" Leo exclaimed.
"T-thank you."
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"M-my teacher taught me."
"Wow, you have a teacher; I wish I had one. Well, I guess I can consider Instructor Gerald as one, but I don't think he sees me as a student.
Loki didn't join the conversation and let the two get to know each other. He quietly watched them from the rear and smiled.
The trio continued their search while Leo and Pandora conversed.
Even after searching for a few hours, they still weren't able to find a single Azure Flower. Still, they witness a few interesting things on their search, such as a pig with a big tusk, a flock of birds, a few edible herbs, and a pond.
Currently, the party had decided to make a camp beside the pond. The day was nearing its end, and the sky appeared to be painted orange. Although they failed to advance their Quest, the experience they gained was enough to satisfy them.
Loki and Pandora started building tents. Because this was Loki's first time, Pandora did most of the work. Leo, on the other hand, started a fire and began cooking. He was the only one who knew how to cook. Luckily, Leo loved to cook as much as he loved eating. In fact, he would rather be a cook for their Inn than be a Crawler. However, the lack of coins prevented him from doing that. Nevertheless, Leo had never complained. He accepted his reality and enjoyed it while doing so.
Loki and Pandora sat together near the fire, watching Leo do his magic with the pot they bought.
"So, Pandora, can I ask you a few questions?" Loki inquired.
Pandora hesitantly nodded.
Loki chuckled, seeing how nervous the girl was. "Don't worry, it isn't something personal… I just want to ask you more about Dungeon Anomalies. Do you have something to add together on what Ron said to us?"
Pandora lingered, perhaps thinking about what to say. But a moment later, she looked at Loki and spoke. "Anything originally from a Dungeon who has Level can't leave."
Loki contemplated for a while.
Have Level?
"But what about a Dungeon Breakout?"
"D-Dungeon Breakout is one of the Dungeon Anomalies. It's the only time Dungeon breaks its own rules."
Loki touched his chin. "I see. Is there more you can tell me?"
Pandora shook her head. "I-I don't really know much about that. There are a lot of Dungeon Anomalies, varied from Dungeon to Dungeon, so it's hard to remember all of them."
"Thank you." Loki smiled.
"Guys, the food is ready; let's eat!" Leo informed.
The three kids ate their meals and conversed about all sorts of things.
Upon finishing eating, Loki stood and spoke. "Okay, I take the first night duty. I will wake one of you up after a few hours, so go to bed."
The two agreed and went to their respective tents.
Loki watched the starry sky before the campfire. The night breeze was cold, and the cry of the surrounding insects sounded familiar. It was amazing that even inside a Dungeon there were stars, a moon, and the sound of annoying insects. As if the real world and the Kobold Forest were in the same reality. He smiled, thinking about Father Laryatt and wondering what he was doing.
"I'm sure Father is helping another kid like him," Loki muttered to himself. "I guess I better earn my first coins and donate them to Father's church; thus, he can help more kids like me…"