The group hurriedly crossed the rain to reach their room on the opposite side. However, the ground was excessively muddy, clinging to their feet like glue. Even as espers, they struggled against the terrain.
Moreover, the rainwater felt sticky yet soaked through their clothes alarmingly fast. By the time they entered the room, nearly everyone was wet to some extent.
The dark esper frantically wiped himself down, his expression a mix of panic and frustration—he did not want to turn into a monster on the first night.
"Alright, stop squirming like a dying rat. You're not dead yet." At that moment, Drake's mocking voice suddenly rang out.
He was the strongest among them, yet he was also the last to enter the room. He had even walked almost leisurely as if deliberately allowing every raindrop to seep into his body.
Silas glanced at Drake before saying, "For now, let's all introduce ourselves first."
As soon as he finished speaking, Alice stepped forward and took the lead. "I'm Alice. This is Austin. We're both from Team 2, under the leadership of Captain Silas and Captain Drake."
Austin was one of Silas's top subordinates—an oversized man, likely over two meters tall, with a massive, muscle-bound frame. Yet, despite his intimidating build, he seemed somewhat timid, lowering his head and offering a shy smile in response to the others' gazes.
At that moment, a young man with brown hair and brown eyes smiled and spoke softly, "I'm Damian, a believer of the Archangel Michael. Nice to meet you all! Let's conquer this dungeon together!" As he spoke, he proudly displayed the embroidered insignia on his chest—a pair of folded wings surrounded by intricate magical patterns, the mark of an Archangel Michael believer.
"I'm July, a volunteer esper," said a petite girl with short hair. She smiled warmly, her gaze full of trust as she looked at Alice. With her long black hair, gentle features, and tall figure, Alice quickly inspired goodwill from others.
Then, it was the turn of the two dark espers. The tall man introduced himself as Robert, while the woman with a ponytail stated her name was Ely.
Silas waited until everyone had introduced themselves before nodding and saying, "Our top priority right now is investigating the village's sacrificial ritual. In the meantime, we also need to find the type of leaf the villagers use to make umbrellas. We can confirm so far that humans should not be exposed to the rain, nor should we eat anything here carelessly, especially anything derived from animals. Frogs, in particular, have a strong connection to this village. Pay attention to anything related to them."
"Did you notice anything strange when you shook hands with Gray?" Drake's voice suddenly interrupted.
Silas smiled slightly. "You're still as sharp as ever." He paused, his expression growing serious. "The strange thing was Gray's skin—it didn't feel human. It was slippery... If I had to describe it, I'd say it felt like frog skin."
Drake snorted. "No doubt about it. These villagers are all monsters. Maybe they're just a bunch of low-level frogs who can't even fully disguise themselves!"
Silas shook his head. "But Gon's skin felt normal. Maybe tomorrow, we should inspect the entire village."
The others agreed with Silas's suggestion. Then Silas turned to Drake and asked, "What about you? Did you discover anything?"
Drake casually licked the rainwater off his fingers, smacking his lips as if tasting it before nonchalantly replying, "A little rain won't kill you. Given this level of contamination, you'd probably need to stand in the rain for at least two hours before you start mutating. Of course, weaker individuals would transform faster. That said, the ones who mutated so quickly last time must have had some other reason behind it."
[So this is the so-called strongest team? They've already figured out almost everything!]
[Why are you panicking? It's only the first day. These humans will be running in circles soon enough.]
[Why hasn't the Prophet appeared yet? Drake is already here, isn't he?]
[Come on now, gods don't just follow their believers around. At the very least, they only appear when things are truly dire.]
[Honestly, if it's the Prophet, I feel he could show up whenever he wants. It's just a matter of whether he feels like it.]
[The funniest part was that Gon hoped more people would visit his village. Yeah, right—he just wants more victims to butcher.]
[Honestly, I think Gon is pitiful...]
[Wait a second, pitying a bunch of monsters now?]
[Gon isn't a monster!]
Silvanus silently took notes on everything as the argument in the comments section raged on.
By tomorrow, he would enter the dungeon himself.
After discussing everything, the group settled down to rest—because no one knew whether tonight would be their last peaceful night.
The following day, the sun's soft rays peeked over the horizon. The light was weak, and the air remained damp, adding to the lingering humidity.
Drake woke up with a scowl. The dampness in the air irritated him so much that he felt the urge to just set the whole place on fire.
One by one, the others also began to wake up. At the same time, there was a knock at the door.
Alice took the lead and opened it. Standing outside was an older man with a kind expression, though his slightly bulging, fish-like eyes gave his face an eerie, unsettling quality.
Seeing Alice, he smiled and said, "The village chief has instructed us to give our guests the warmest welcome possible. Please have breakfast first. Once the chief has finished his duties, he will take you on a tour."
Every word conveyed the villagers' deep respect for Gon. It gave off the impression that if Gon hadn't given the order, the villagers wouldn't have welcomed outsiders.
Alice smiled and nodded. "Understood. Please convey our thanks to the village chief."
Once the older man left, the others gradually stepped out as well.
Looking at the food on the table, they couldn't help but frown slightly. There were eight bowls of plain white porridge and a single plate of what appeared to be dried frogs—tiny, shriveled creatures prepared in some unknown way.
"I thought we'd at least be eating actual frogs, haha." Damian stepped forward to inspect the plate, only to recoil at an alarming speed.
Noticing the confused stares from the others, he awkwardly explained, "This stuff smells way too good. That means it's contaminated..."
"The porridge should be fine, right? I'm starving." Robert picked up a bowl of white porridge. There were no traces of frogs or suspicious ingredients—it seemed safe enough.
"To be cautious, we shouldn't eat anything at all," Alice said softly.
"What, starve to death instead?" Robert ignored Alice's warning and drank his porridge. He had been through a few dungeons before and had eaten food inside them without any issues. Even in this dungeon, he'd be fine if he avoided anything related to frogs.
Silas walked over and looked at the porridge. Even though his eyes were closed, it still felt like he was scrutinizing it.
Then he turned his gaze to Robert but said nothing.
Ely, standing nearby, tugged on Robert's sleeve and whispered, "We should listen to them. This place is perilous."
Robert finished his second bowl of porridge and glared at Ely with a vicious look. Ely could only press her lips together, unable to say anything more.
At that moment, Silas spoke slowly, "Alright. Now, we'll split into groups. One group will search for the leaves, another will investigate the village's religious beliefs, and the last group will look into the sacrificial rituals with Gon."
When Silas finished speaking, Robert and Ely immediately raised their voices, "We'll go search for the leaves!"
They wanted to ensure they wouldn't get caught in the rain again. More importantly, they had no interest in staying in the village with many monsters.