The next day, I was standing near the entrance of the Dungeon along with Alise as we both waited for Airmid.
The morning sun was still relatively low on the horizon, casting long shadows across Babel Plaza. Adventurers moved in and out of the tower entrance in steady streams—some looking fresh and eager, others limping back from overnight expeditions with exhaustion etched into every line of their bodies.
"She's late," Alise said, bouncing on her heels with barely contained energy. For someone about to descend into a death trap, she seemed awfully cheerful.
"It's been three minutes past the meeting time," I pointed out.
"Exactly! Three whole minutes!" She crossed her arms dramatically. "Airmid is never late. Something must have happened."
"Or she's just running behind schedule like a normal person."
"Airmid doesn't run behind schedule. She's like... clockwork? Precise? Methodical? All those healer words."
I was about to respond when I spotted a familiar figure approaching through the crowd. Airmid walked with her usual calm grace, a large bag slung over one shoulder.
"My apologies for the delay," she said as she reached us, slightly out of breath. "There was an emergency at the clinic."
"See? I told you something happened!" Alise proclaimed triumphantly.
"You also said she was never late, and yet here we are, four minutes past," I countered.
Airmid smiled softly at our banter. "Thank you both for agreeing to escort me. I know dungeon expeditions aren't exactly relaxing."
"Are you kidding? The magnificent and wonderful Captain Alise Lovell would never refuse a request from her precious friend!" She struck a heroic pose. "Besides, I needed an excuse to stretch my legs anyway."
"Right," I said dryly. "Had nothing to do with being bored."
"That too!"
Airmid chuckled. "I appreciate it regardless. The plants I'm looking for grow primarily between the 18th and 25th floors. Some of them have remarkable medicinal properties that I'd like to study."
"Understood, then what's the plan?" I asked Airmid. "Do you have specific locations in mind, or are we just wandering around until you find what you need?"
"I have a list," she said, pulling out a small notebook from her bag. "There are several specimens I'm looking for. Some grow near water sources on the 18th floor, others in the upper twenties. If we're efficient, we should be able to collect everything in one trip."
"I see. Then let's get moving." I gestured towards the dungeon entrance.
____________________________________________________________________________
The upper floors were a breeze. With two High Level 5s clearing the way, the monsters barely registered as threats. Goblins, kobolds, and the occasional orc all turned to ash, leaving nothing but magic stones and occasional drop items. Though we tried to avoid battle as much as possible but still ended up fighting quite a few monsters.
And before long, we made our way through the seventeenth floor, the massive wall looming ahead—the spot where the Goliath spawned.
Or would have spawned, if it hadn't already been killed.
"Such a shame," Alise sighed dramatically, staring at the empty space. "I heard Freya Familia took it down during their last expedition. I wanted to test my strength against it!"
"The Goliath?" Airmid commented, "With your current strength, the Goliath wouldn't pose much threat. At least, not to you or the other high-level fives."
"Maybe," Alise admitted. "But it's still a Monster Rex, better than nothing, as they say."
Airmid's lips curved almost imperceptibly as I talked, "I am glad you seem to be doing fine now. Though given your…new relationship, the reason is quite obvious."
"Yes, I really wanted to thank you for that night you really helped me at that time."
"As I had stated back then, there is nothing to thank me for. You are already helping here, so I would say, I owe you one again," she said.
Alise, not liking us talking cryptically, cried, "Hey, don't get all wholesome alone, and leave me out of the loop! This expedition is boring enough already."
"It helps when you're not trying to reach the deep floors," Airmid pointed out. "And when you have capable escorts."
"Capable? Please!" Alise flipped her hair. "I am magnificent! The whole world would weep at my loss!"
I snorted. "The whole world?"
"Absolutely! Can you imagine Orario without me? It would be a tragedy of epic proportions!"
"I think Orario would manage somehow."
"Lies and slander!"
We continued our descent, falling into easy conversation. Alise regaled us with stories of her latest training sessions—each one somehow more dramatic than the last—while Airmid occasionally interjected with dry observations that had both of us laughing.
Before long, we were walking around the lake on the eighteenth floor. Airmid picked up plants, some I had no idea could be used for medicinal purposes, while others looked familiar.
"By the way, Airmid," I said as she examined another specimen. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. "Is there a way to cure terminal diseases? Or... is it possible to make a potion that could cure any illness?"
Airmid's hands stilled on the plant she was holding. She looked up at me, her purple eyes sharp and assessing with a hint of concern. "That's... quite a specific question. May I ask what brought this on? Are you suffering from any such conditions?"
"I know people who are suffering from incurable conditions," I said quietly. "Four people, at least. Different illnesses, but all... terminal or close to it, I am not quite proficient on the subject to guess their condition with confidence."
Her expression softened with understanding. "I see."
She set down the plant and turned to face me fully, giving the question the weight it deserved. "To my knowledge, no such panacea currently exists. If it did, healers would have revolutionized medicine centuries ago."
Airmid put the plant down, holding her chin with her fingers, as she thought deeply. "...To my knowledge till now, I have never heard of any potion like that," I was expecting a similar answer, since if she knew of such a potion or magic, then Riveria would have already gotten Aina cured.
"I see…"
She paused, and I felt my hopes sink—until she continued.
"However." She held up a finger. "The fact that it doesn't exist doesn't mean it's impossible. I've been researching precisely this kind of potion for some time now."
My head snapped up. "You have?"
"Yes. I believe that if we could combine a sufficient variety of rare ingredients—plants, minerals, materials with specific properties—we might be able to create something approaching a universal cure." She looked thoughtful. "The difficulty lies in gathering those ingredients. Many are extraordinarily rare, found only in deep floors or specific regions outside, like the Alv mountains and the world tree sapling, branches, and much more."
"Is that why you're here?" I realized. "Looking for those ingredients."
"Exactly. The plants I'm collecting today are components for my research."
"I see. Then let's—"
"Then we'll find them ALL!" Alise interrupted, suddenly beside us with fire in her eyes. She'd been uncharacteristically quiet during our conversation, but now her usual energy came roaring back. "Every single ingredient! Even if we have to dive to the deepest floors!"
Airmid blinked at her intensity. "Alise—"
"No arguing! The Captain has decided!" She struck another heroic pose. "We will help create this miracle potion, and future generations will sing songs of our deeds!"
"There she is," I said with a smile. "I was wondering where the most 'Wonderful and beautiful Captain Alise' went."
"I was being respectful and listening!" She protested. "But now it's time for action! Let's go and get those rare ingredients!"
And so we plunge even deeper into the dungeon after collecting several specimens from the eighteenth floor, including some promising moss and a particularly interesting aquatic plant.
The nineteenth floor greeted us with its distinctive forest-like scenery. Here, the monster became stronger and more aggressive. Not that it mattered much to Alise. "Coming through!" she announced cheerfully, her sword separating a bugbear's head from its body with one clean swing.
The monster dissolved to ash before its body hit the ground.
That spared Airmid from spending her energy being vigilant, and left her ample amount of time and freedom to move around and find what she needed.
After Alise had cleaned up all the monsters in the area, I quickly collected all the magic stones and drop items from the ground.
"Found it."I turned to see Airmid kneeling beside a tree root, carefully cradling something in her hands. It was a flower unlike any I'd seen—pale petals that seemed to glow with a soft, inner light, like captured moonlight. Six delicate petals unfurled around a center that pulsed with faint blue luminescence. The stem was thin but resilient, and tiny crystalline droplets clung to the leaves, catching the dungeon's ambient light and refracting it into tiny rainbows.
She held it up to examine it against the dungeon's artificial sky, and the flower seemed to brighten in response to the light.
"Is that the ingredients you talked about that were needed for cure-all potions?" I asked, gazing at the flower.
"Yes, though it's only one of them."
"Then does that mean the expedition is over already?" Alise whined, her shoulder slumping, a frown settling on her face, "I didn't even warm up properly."
I could tell she was genuinely feeling dissatisfied after she wasn't able to test her strength properly. So I decide to cheer her up a little, "Well, we can spar together after we get back up if you want."
Alise chirped at my suggestion, "Really?! You can't back out later, okay!" she said, as she started skipping toward the stairways, humming happily.
Airmid carefully stored the flower in a specialized container, watching Alise bounce ahead. "She has more energy than the two of us combined."
"Tell me about it," I said, falling into step beside her. "Though I have to admit, it's nice having someone who can clear monsters that efficiently. Made your collection much easier."
"It did," Airmid agreed. "And I appreciate both of you taking the time for this. These ingredients..." She touched the container gently. "they could make a real difference for people who are suffering."
Ahead of us, Alise's voice echoed through the corridor: "Come on, slowpokes! I have a sparring match to win!"
We followed Alise's enthusiastic humming back toward the surface.