"Eh, what is this…?"
After exploring further and slaying ten more Earth Spirits, Rhode found several spikes buried in the ash among the bodies that should have turned to dust.
He curiously picked them up.
Maliu, peeking her head over, her eyes lighting up, was about to explain, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed Ryu, who took a big leap to Rhode's side and glared at Maliu with her eyes, signaling "I'm his teacher."
Maliu covered her mouth and chuckled, shrugging helplessly at Rhode.
Ryu, meeting Rhode's questioning gaze, cleared her throat, her small face stern, and explained with feigned seriousness.
"Monsters from which the magic stone has been removed sometimes leave behind a part of their original body like this. That is an abnormally developed part of the monster's body, and it's our extra harvest apart from magic stones—a dropped item."
"What you're holding are [Earth Spirit Claws]. Although their value is average, they're still worth quite a bit more than magic stone fragments."
Silent Suzuka exclaimed repeatedly in Rhode's mind.
"Is this the legendary monster drops equipment? It's just like playing a game!"
Rhode also found it a bit novelty, played with them for a while, then casually tossed them into the backpack on his back.
Ryu, seeing this, frowned slightly and emphasized seriously.
"Don't overly pursue dropped items. Their drop rate is extremely low. Unless there's a special need, a more efficient way is to go to lower levels and kill monsters to obtain larger magic stones."
Rhode nodded in agreement.
"I see. Teacher Ryu is indeed experienced."
"T-teacher… you don't have to call me that, just call me Ryu!"
Ryu bit her lip inside her mask, always having a gut feeling that this boy was teasing her, but looking at his serious expression, she couldn't find any flaws, so she could only secretly vow in her heart that if she found anything suspicious, she would definitely give him a good beating.
"Hmm, let's not waste time, let's continue! Otherwise, our harvest today might not be much, and you mustn't hold us back!"
However.
Twenty minutes later.
Their group still hadn't left the first floor of the Dungeon…
The girls looked bewildered, as if their worldview had suffered a huge impact.
Ryu stood rooted to the spot, even more distraught, as if she had become a useless Elf.
"H-how could this be...?"
Laila stared blankly at the small black mountain behind Rhode, a frantic scream echoing in her heart.
"A cheat! There's a cheat! Is anyone going to do something about this?!"
Those were countless Earth Spirit Claws, Goblin Fangs...
The Elf Mage Selty was also dumbfounded, occasionally looking at Rhode with strange eyes, as if she were looking at some kind of monster.
"In all my years as an adventurer, I've never seen such an exaggerated quantity of low-level materials."
Nize swallowed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at Rhode, seemingly wanting to pull him into her embrace and thoroughly ravage him.
"Most importantly, the drop rate is really high...!"
Rather than high, it was downright abnormal!
Later on, almost every monster killed guaranteed a loot drop, which greatly hindered their progress.
"Although it's severely inconsistent with the original plan, how should I put it... it will probably bring back an unimaginable amount of funds."
Asta, for the fifth time, unleashed her aura, driving away the adventurers who had come to watch the commotion, her brow slightly furrowed.
"There are too many adventurers on the upper floors. Our situation could easily attract malicious intent. Should we go back now?"
Laila surveyed everyone's condition. They had almost no consumption, but she calculated the weight of the small mountain in front of her and could only regretfully say,
"As Rhode said earlier, the Dungeon process can be simply summarized as 'search, fight, retreat', but the most crucial part is the retreat."
"Let's call it a day. Everyone, distribute these heavy items, and we'll head back first."
Rhode, holding an egg, suddenly spoke.
"If you're worried about these materials, I actually have a way."
Laila turned her head in surprise, patiently trying to dissuade him.
"Rhode, I know you might want to help everyone, but you don't have to push yourself so hard."
"Even the most professional supporter can't carry these materials alone, let alone how much it would severely impede our movement."
Rhode smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more, simply looking at the pile of dropped items.
"Mangekyo Sharingan, Kamui!"