The toad's dying croak echoed in the small cavern, but I refused to let my guard down. Only once the notification appeared would the monster be confirmed dead.
[
You have received:
8 Soul Essence.
]
I let out a silent sigh.
'Wait…' I looked over the notification. '8 points?'
The last two gave me 3 and 4, just like the toads from the previous level.
'Does this mean… It's stronger?'
"That was close." Liliana turned to us, smiling wryly. "Thank you, Rosalia. It almost soiled my clothes."
From the looks of it, that translucent shield was Rosalia's Skill. Or was it magic?
'I need to ask her later.'
I dismissed the notification with a thought and turned my attention to Liliana.
"You aren't hurt, are you?"
"Hurt?" She blinked at me, then tilted her head slightly. "Why would I?"
"The monsters in this dungeon are far too weak," Daphne said, her voice even. "Their attacks cannot harm us."
"Oooh! I see!" Liliana nodded. "Please don't worry, Great Spirit! Even if that attack had landed, I would have been perfectly fine. My clothes and armor would have gotten dirty, though."
"Is that so?" I let out another sigh. This one was a fake. "I'm glad."
This act was starting to feel natural to me. Somehow, I'm having an easy time figuring out what needs to be said in a given situation, so long as it's to earn some affection points. My delivery is almost perfect each time, too.
'That's an incubus for you…'
Liliana's cheeks flushed a little, and she stammered a quick response.
"I-I will be sure to be more careful from now on! No toad will catch me off guard from here on!"
I nodded at her, then moved aside to let her pass. My eyes fell on the dead toads. Specifically, the last one Liliana had killed. Its appearance was close to the others, but its skin was a different shade of green. A more noticeable difference was the mushrooms growing among the moss on its back.
'Hm? Is one of its legs missing?'
"It's a Shroomback Toad," Rosalia said, having followed my line of sight. "It is a variant of the Mossback Toad usually found on the fourth level of this dungeon."
"So it climbed all the way here?" I asked.
"Monsters sometimes migrate between floors when food is in short supply. The population in low-ranked dungeons tends to increase around the end of the academic year, since few students go there to hunt after they reach a certain level."
"That… makes sense…"
We returned to the main path and continued our search for toads. After that last one, we didn't meet any Shroombacks for the rest of the level. Liliana killed another ten toads, and I received a total of 34 SE points. That brought my total to 82.
'Only 8 more and I level up!'
The entrance to the third level was right ahead. That meant it was Rosalia's turn to take the vanguard.
"Great Spirit, let me thank you once more."
Once she switched places with the purple-haired Rosalia and we started walking again, Liliana moved closer to my right. Just earlier, she was positively beaming as she slew one giant toad after the other, but now, her excitement waned, and she seemed to be a bit wistful, even though she still made sure to smile.
"I have not done much," I said.
"No," Liliana shook her head. "We… we haven't made any progress before, no matter what we tried." Her smile seemed to fade momentarily, her lips trembling. Looking up, she did her best to smile again, but it lacked the light from before. "However, once we received your blessing, Great Spirit, I can say with confidence that our growth has resumed!"
She clenched her fists, a bit of the earlier excitement returning to her eyes. Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
"Don't get too excited," I said.
"... huh?"
Liliana's gaze turned a bit dubious, so I looked over my shoulder.
"I promised to help you restore your house and faction, remember?" I said, smiling at her. "We are only getting started."
I thought my charm would be in full effect in that moment, but Liliana didn't react the way I imagined. Instead of turning into a blushing mess, her eyes widened, her blue irises gleaming as her smile spread.
"Yes!"
'Well, this is great, too.'
~[ ]~
Unlike her friends, Rosalia used a mace instead of a bladed weapon. Because of that, her reach wasn't that long, which is why she made up for it by equipping a heater shield.
She approached the next toad we encountered much more slowly, her shield held up in front of her. When the monster shot its long tongue at her, she parried it easily, then lunged forward, her mace raised high.
SPLAT!
The toad was flattened with a single swing, its innards exploding from its mouth and rear.
'Damn...'
I think I heard the sound of bones breaking.
[
You have received:
4 Soul Essence.
]
Rosalia whipped her head in our direction, her eyes wide and cheeks flushed. Liliana nodded at her, as if to say she understood the feeling. We moved on to the next toad, which gave me only 3 Soul Essence. It was a little frustrating, being a single point away from leveling up. Thankfully, the next toad spared us the search as it came running in our direction. Rosalia squashed it in a single blow, and I got another 3 SE.
[LEVEL UP!]
'Finally!'
I was about to open my status screen when I noticed Daphne reach for her sword, her body tensing up. Liliana stepped forward, and the two of them drew their blades.
"Great Spirit." Said the blonde. "Please, step back."
Rosalia quickly retreated, standing in front of me with her shield raised. Though I figured that something was happening, I failed to figure out what it was until my ears caught a certain sound.
Croak… croak… croak… croak croak… croak croak… croak croak croak… croak croak croak croak…
It was the loud croaking of a giant toad, and from the looks of it, there was more than three or four. They soon appeared at the end of the tunnel. It was a stampede—a whole horde of giant toads, all croaking as they jumped in our direction.