Just like last time, Master took another week preparing for the next scouting attempt.
The Second Advanced Scouts managed to hold out until three parties were deployed to the twentieth floor.
More progress had been made with the fourth Quintal Trial. More information on the mission was discovered.
Sigyn wasted no time relaying what they witnessed.
Based on our mock battles for the past week, there was some development to the mission's strategies.
I discovered that the second rearguard party would also act separately from the vanguard and the first rearguard party.
So in the twentieth floor there would be at least three operating groups, each with an objective of their own.
Apparently the first rearguard would also be tasked to guard something once they reached their goal.
Previously in our mock battles, Master would make their group keep on moving throughout the map.
But now Master made them settle in one place and ordered the group to hold their ground.
That would explain why Party 17 started suffering casualties near the end of the previous scouting attempt.
They probably had to withstand intense onslaught from the enemies just like the vanguard party.
In our mock battles, Master still made the third group moving about the field. But I expected they would also be dealt with the same pattern as the first rearguard.
On the other hand, the vanguard party would remain stationary in one spot throughout the Quintal Trial.
But the enemy formations used against the heroes had developed.
At the initial stages of the mission, the vanguard would fight against multiple numbers of disorganized enemies. All of the hostiles were equal in strength.
As time went on, stronger types of enemies would emerge and began to establish some sort of attacking patterns against the vanguard.
Sigyn had proposed multiple stratagems to counter this situation. I had made sure to relay the information to the other raiders during our meetings in the War Hall.
However, I still could not figure out something significant from the mission.
In the 20-minute and the 30-minute mark, the vanguard party would always suffer serious casualties.
Something drastic definitely happened in those two timestamps.
Unfortunately, I could not determine exactly what it was.
I had not discovered any obvious signs during my mock battles with Sigyn.
The Tactical Post had been an extremely useful medium for Master to communicate with us.
But the facility still had limitations.
In the Tactical Post's current state, it was impossible for Sigyn to relay everything that they saw in the trial.
There was a huge piece of information still missing.
And I believed this puzzle piece would determine our victory in the fourth Quintal Trial.
Sigyn understood the situation as well.
They knew there was something they could not relay through the Tactical Post.
So they tried other method.
[Gifting 'Book of Phirdaus, Creatures Within' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
[Gifting 'Titans Tome: Southeast Dunia' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
[Gifting 'Scroll of Nightmares (Journey to the Far East)' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
[Gifting 'Dark Beings, Vol. IV' to 'Serafina (★★★★)'!]
After the scouting attempt by the Second Advanced Scouts, Sigyn gave me four books.
They were all texts which recorded all of the dangerous monsters in Dunia. The worst kinds.
I actually had been intending on getting these books through the Exploration Dungeon.
So it was great that Sigyn went ahead and provided these treasures for us.
Alam said Master had to exhaust a lot of resources to purchase these gifts.
Apparently each book worth the cost to summon five advanced heroes.
We could have twenty new 3-star heroes in the lobby.
But Master chose to spend the resources to get us these books instead.
The gifts put some thoughts into my mind.
Monsters.
We had been fighting mostly humans on the sixteenth to the nineteenth floor.
Tamed war hounds were the only creatures we fought other than those pirates.
But the Quintal Trials always harbored challenges far greater than the regular floors.
It was very likely for us to encounter new type of enemies in that grand stage.
Moreover, we had suspected that the pirates we had been facing so far were connected to the Circle of Kali.
That cult was known to experiment with dangerous creatures.
Not only monsters, there were even rumors that the cult once attempted to kidnap the fabled Tsamudran people for their experiment.
Nobody knew the true goal of the cult.
But every single thing that they touched always turned into an abomination. The madness disease was one example.
Facing monsters in the twentieth floor no longer seemed impossible.
With the Circle of Kali involved, it was a certainty.
The books Sigyn gifted me mainly recorded large monsters. Creatures whose size at least rivalled a house.
The fourth Quintal Trial might be difficult. But I doubted we would fight every monster mentioned in those records.
Sigyn likely aimed to simply hint me regarding our opponent, or opponents. Providing a theme of some sort.
Large monsters.
Creatures with distinct trait.
Ones with special strengths and weaknesses.
We would have to adjust our equipment according to our enemies' characteristics.
More arrows and projectiles against airborne monsters.
Sharper and sturdier edge against monsters with thick hide.
Firm blunt instrument against shelled creatures.
Sigyn had issued orders regarding this subject.
The crafters had been ordered to craft more enchanted arrows. Mainly explosives.
The armors had to be made firmer and lighter, which improved resilience and reduced fatigue for the wearer.
All weapons had been instructed to be laced with lethal poisons. The solution to be prepared in the alchemy lab.
Sigyn had also ordered the alchemy lab to create stamina and strength-enhancing potions.
Considering the duration that the vanguard party had to endure throughout the mission, they would need those types of potions just to survive.
Jansen and the other brewers had been working hard to create all of the necessary solutions.
Vallerynne and I had also been aiding them through the process. Devisha also helped us with the poisons.
"These are the finished product, Your Excellency."
The Chief Brewer said as he presented three vials of orange liquid.
I nodded and turned to the three raiders I invited to the alchemy lab.
"Have a vial, each of you."
The three of them nodded.
"Right away, Your Excellency!"
They were members of the Third Advanced Scouts.
I brought them here as test subjects for the new potion since they would be its immediate consumers.
['Sagran (★★)' has consumed 'Power Potion (B-)'.]
['Sagran (★★)'s strength and stamina have increased by 3 for the next 10 minutes.]
['Izzurel (★★)' has consumed 'Power Potion (B-)'.]
['Izzurel (★★)'s strength and stamina have increased by 5 for the next 10 minutes.]
['Pammo (★★)' has consumed 'Power Potion (B-)'.]
['Pammo (★★)'s strength and stamina have increased by 2 for the next 10 minutes.]
Despite drinking the same potion, the effect varied between each subject.
The stronger the subject the less effective the potion.
"We need to make the solution more potent. If we use the enhanced formula, do we still have enough ingredients to mass-produce the potion?"
I asked the Chief Brewer.
The huge herbalist nodded to me with concerned face.
"Just barely, Your Excellency. We've already used a number of key ingredients during our initial experiment as well as producing this first batch."
He turned to the tall Tsahanam woman next to him.
"Balma, how many Sunrage root and Blackbell ginger are left in the depository?"
"Enough to make 25 vials with the enhanced formula. 30 if we're careful with the brewing process."
The veiled woman replied.
Thirty vials would be just enough to supply the entire raid squad.
Added with the first batch we already made, each raider would only get two vials.
I planned to supply each scout with at least three or five vials of the Power Potion. The fourth Quintal Trial was quite long, after all.
"How soon can we receive more ingredients?"
I asked the brewers.
Jansen maintained his concerned face.
"Definitely not soon, Your Excellency. The Chief Gatherer told me the ingredients for the Power Potion were obtained in the Kendert Forest and the Sinmiel Plateau. The Weekday Dungeons had shifted to Isralta Mine today. So we would need to wait several days till they could gather the ingredients again."
That was not ideal.
Master would likely scout the Quintal Trial any day now.
We were just waiting for Master's order for the supply distribution.
[Serafina!]
Trudy's voice echoed in my mind.
We had improved the communication blessing to the point that all the supporter chiefs could use it with their staffs and with the Vice-Master.
I did not like how Trudy was using the feature this time, however. She sounded concerned.
"What's the matter, Trudy?"
[The Exploration Team! They've returned!]
That was right.
About two weeks had passed since they were deployed.
They should be back by now.
But why would Trudy…
"Is something wrong with the explorers?"
I asked the Chief Instructor.
She replied immediately.
[You better come down to the first floor square, Serafina. Hurry!]
Hearing the urgency in her voice, I could not help but teleport myself to the first floor of the lobby.
A crowd of trainees and administrators welcomed me in the square. They were centered around a group of five.
Party 6.
And only Party 6.
I did not see any sign of the other explorers.
They likely did not return from the Exploration Dungeon.
There was a good reason for that assumption of mine.
Fangli, Haoban, and Quinda were laid on the ground.
They were all grunting and squirming in pain as Halim and Ashni were tending them.
Wounds oozing with strange tendrils of black haze were all over their bodies.
The disturbing problem was…the wounds were not healing.