"Fuwahh! That was tough!"
Whether this was a sarcastic statment or not, it didn't matter to Justin, the blabbermouth. He stretched his body as he said this.
Those around him couldn't help but smile and laugh, though some agreed with him to some level.
"Well, we did go down five Floors at once today. It's understandable if you're exhausted." Eric snickered.
This seemed to quickly change Justin's disposition.
"N-no, that's not what I meant. Of course, I'm not exhausted."
More laughs echoed from the students around as they made small talk among themselves. Of course, they weren't idle either.
Rather than let Ralyks' Undead subordinates to harvest the Monster Cores, they took it upon themselves. Since they were a bit ahead of schedule, they had a lot of time to spare.
All of them had also gotten the hang of harvesting Monster Cores, so it was pretty easy.
"As I was saying…" Justin said as he poked his hand into the corpse of the Monster before him. The dense skin felt like a thick layer of butter as he slipped inside and got the prize.
"... I just thought they were a little tough. Mobility definitely played a big factor in the fight."
"Well, I suppose…" Eric rubbed his chin with one hand as he used the other to shave off the Mana Crystals from the bodies of the fallen creatures.
Clark and Trisha were beside them, so they too joined the conversation—all of them discussing alternative ways they could have dealt with the Monsters, even after the fact.
It was a heartwarming sight.
As for Adonis, he was busy with the colossal corpse of the Monster, harvesting all its useful parts by its lonesome.
"Its body was already on the verge of expiration, so the Monster Hide won't be useful for anything…" He muttered with a slight frown.
"It seems its rapid evolution ended up killing it. No wonder there aren't any S-Tier Monsters…"
Even wit the corpse itself being of no use, the Monster Core, Mana Crystals, and specific parts of the Monster's body—like the jaws and claws—could be useful as raw materials for certain Enchanted Items.
Adonis smiled as he turned to see the rest of his classmates, all of them working hard in their respective locations. He couldn't help but feel a warm sensation course through his heart.
'They're all here…' His smile deepened.
Everyone was in a group, socializing. Billy and Clark were speaking to each other, and Trisha was talking to the boys. Alicia and Rey were working together, with Snow closely by Alicia's side.
Belle was the only one who separated herself from the group, but that seemed to be intentnional.
'She's talking to Sir Ralyks again, huh? Those two seem to be getting close these days…'
Adonis could never hear their conversation, no matter how hard he tried. He figured it had something to do with interference from Sir Ralyks, so he stopped trying to find out.
He only hoped all was well.
'I still don't know who this man was in my past life. He's helped us out a great deal, but… if he was this powerful and kind, then where was he in the past?'
Adonis was sure a lot had changed in the world thanks to his interference, but… surely, there had to have been some trace of Ralyks in his past life. Yet, no matter how long Adonis thought of it, he couldn't get anything.
'Well, Belle seems happy talking to him… so I'm happy to see that.' Adonis smiled.
After they were done harvesting the Monster Cores, they would leave the mining of resources to the Undead that Ralyks commanded. The reason was due to just how many minerals they had to mine.
… Including Adamantite, the strongest metal in the world.
None of the students had tools necessary for mining Adadmantite, and the entire process wasn't only very time-consuming, but also incredibly tasking.
'We've all worked hard enough for the day, and we're even mining Monster Cores…' Adonis nodded in satisfaction.
Ralyks had taught everyone everything they needed to know about exploring a Dungeon, so Adonis was convinced he was a veteran Adventurer.
As a result of his teachings, all the Otherworlders knew how to mine, harvest cores, and a bunch of other Dungeon activities that Adventurers practiced.
It led to a very satisfying and wholesome result.
'I'm in Level 150 now, about 100 Levels higher than what I expected to have at this point.'
Everyone had also grown a lot more than expected.
'Now then…' Adonis smiled as he thought of something that had been on his mind for a while.
'We should be ready for it—The Great Calamity!'
**********
'Impressive! They've all grown spectacularly well!' Rey grinned as he conversed with Alicia.
They were talking about cats, specifically about petting them.
Fortunately, after his experience with Ater, he could relate to the conversation. He found himself silently appreciating his Familiar for choosing the reward that he did.
That way, he and Alicia were able to get engrossed in their discussion.
As she spoke, though, Rey couldn't help but go over what truly made him excited about the day.
'Everyone has grown so strong.'
Even though Rey couldn't see Adonis' Status Window, he estimated that the guy was around Level 140-150… somewhere within that range.
However, for his other classmates, seeing their growth was as simple as using [Absolute Appraisal].
'Alicia is currently in Level 99. That's a big step-up from when she first started.' Rey grinned as he looked at the girl next to him.
She was about two Levels higher than the average students who averaged at around Level 97. There were exceptions to the rule, however.
Billy, for one, was in Level 101. Belle was even higher, with a Level of 105.
'Ater must really be motivating her. She's been grinding like crazy…'
Her Class even changed from Great Mage to Heretic Mage—
having the same Class Tier as Lucielle, though hers focused mostly on offensive abilities rather than a balanced approach.
Eric, thankfully, also advanced his Class to a B-Tier Class called Arcane Mage, which involved manipulating energies and controlling stuff, rather than utilizing elements the way an Elemental Mage would.
'He's in Level 97, but I'd say he had a big win getting a Class advancement…'
'Clark, Justin, and Trisha are also in Level 97. They've all grown a lot too, and it seems they've added a couple Non-Exclusive Skills to their arsenal.'
All in all, it was undebiable progress.
'Even Snow has advanced.' Rey cast his gaze on the white rabbit that constantly stood beside Alicia.
'She's Level 15…'
Beasts found it difficult to Level Up, and most of the time, Rey had to give the students chances to grow so it wouldn't be too much in favor of Alicia and her Familiar. As a result, Snow's options were limited.
Despite that, she was able to reach Level 15.
'I find that impressive.' He beamed, opening his lips to respond to Alicia's question about—who could have guessed it—cats.
'With everyone growing so strong so fast, it makes me wonder…'
Even as Rey spoke, his mind was still working just fine. An image appeared in his mind, and it caused his eyes to darken a little.
'... How strong Adrien has become.'