"Hehe, we finally reached the 12th Floor!"
As they stepped out of the floor passage, Lorie cheered happily.
Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. Her face turned red with excitement. She hopped a few steps toward Ronan and grabbed his sleeve.
"Ronan, Ronan! I heard this floor has dragon species. Real dragons!"
Facing Lorie's excitement, Ronan gave a dry smile.
Dragon.
Just that single word was enough to make people feel respect and fear.
In many worlds, dragons were symbols of power and danger. They appeared in old stories, heroic tales, and nightmares. Even people who had never seen one understood what the word meant.
In Orario, that feeling was even stronger.
One of the Three Great Quests was to slay the One Eyed Black Dragon.
The request still hung at the very top of the Guild headquarters' bulletin board. Years of dust had gathered on it, but even today, no hero had been able to take it down.
That alone was enough to show what dragons meant to adventurers in Orario.
And right now, they were at the end of the Dungeon's Upper Floors, the 12th Floor.
In this place, a dragon species could appear for the first time in the Upper Floors.
Curiosity was not enough to describe it. Everyone felt nervous, excited, and a little unable to believe it.
Even Ronan, who had lived another life, felt his heart beat faster. A dragon. A living dragon. Even if the handbook called it an Infant Dragon, so what?
Was an Infant Dragon not still a dragon?
"A dragon..."
Ronan clicked his tongue, his eyes showing mixed feelings.
"Tch, they do exist. But I should make something clear. To be exact, there is a very small chance for a dragon species to appear on the 11th and 12th Floors. They are called Infant Dragons."
"Of course, the chance is higher on the 12th Floor."
After saying this, he looked at the others. His voice became serious, but there was also a hint of eagerness in it.
"Infant Dragons are rare species that are almost never seen in the Upper Floors. They can be as dangerous as Level 2 monsters. Because of that, adventurers treat them like the unofficial boss of the Upper Floors!"
However, the others did not notice that while he spoke with fear and respect, and his face looked serious, Ronan was thinking about something else.
Besides power, what else did a dragon represent?
Treasure, of course.
An Infant Dragon couldn't have something like a dragon's hoard, but if they were lucky enough to encounter one and kill it, even just a few dragon scales or bones would be enough to fill his savings and let him live well for a long time.
Especially right now. He had a feeling that after this Dungeon trip ended, he would need to keep spending Valis to ensure his progress.
There was no helping it. His ability was too strong, and that brought its own troubles. The existence of the Scholar's Staff made his Ability values rise quickly. If he didn't get enough money to raise his potential limits, he would go back to the hard days from a few months ago.
Thinking of this, Ronan made up his mind.
If they really ran into that Infant Dragon... even if he had to take a risk, he had to take it down. He couldn't let another team take such a valuable target.
This 12th Floor was not especially large, but it was not small either. Their party was not the only one here. Watching others get rich would feel even worse than losing money himself. Ronan couldn't stand that kind of frustration.
If the others knew that while he spoke of fearing dragons, his head was full of how much an Infant Dragon's materials could sell for, they would probably glare at him.
Once the group recovered a bit from the shock brought by the dragon, Jeanne looked at the man.
"Ronan, what's the plan?"
As she asked, everyone's eyes focused on him.
Everyone looked eager to give it a try. Ronan pursed his lips and thought for a moment. Finally, he spread his hands, his tone carrying a bit of helpless humor.
"Since we're already here, right?"
"If we don't try, I don't think anyone would be satisfied."
Before he finished speaking, he immediately raised his hand, stopping Lorie before she could burst into a cheer.
"But let me be clear first. If, and I mean if!"
"If we are lucky enough to run into an Infant Dragon..."
Ronan's gaze sharpened as he looked at everyone.
"Once we start fighting and find that it's impossible, or even if you just feel like we can't win, retreat immediately. Do not stay and force the fight. Understood?"
"As long as you're alive, there's a future. Remember that."
"After all, if we can't kill the Infant Dragon today, it doesn't mean we can't do it tomorrow or the day after. There will be other chances, but we only have one life."
Finally, his gaze stopped on Aura and Lorie.
"Especially you two, Aura and Lorie. You must judge the situation calmly. Don't get carried away and say something stupid like 'I'll take you with me!' before throwing your life away. That kind of courage only gets people killed in the Dungeon."
Being teased by Ronan, both Aura and Lorie looked unhappy.
Aura, in particular, glared at Ronan. Her eyes clearly said: I'm not that childish. The one who would say something stupid like that is the hot-headed idiot Lorie next to me.
"I-I wouldn't do that! I value my life very much, okay?!"
Unlike the reserved Aura, Lorie immediately reacted. Her face turned red as she shouted back.
"Fine, fine. Yes, yes. Our Lorie is very steady and cautious."
Ronan smiled and brushed off Lorie's anger. He clapped his hands to pull their attention back.
"Don't think I'm being annoying or talking too much. When lives are involved, I should say it a hundred more times. Safety first. That is our main rule. So no matter how annoying it is, I will keep repeating it."
After saying that, he pulled out his brass pocket watch and took a look. He naturally turned to the professional.
"Jeanne, what do you think of this spot? Is it good enough to set up camp and have lunch?"
Jeanne stood on the platform between the floor passage exit and the stairs, looking around. With her eyes, she could easily see other adventuring parties scattered nearby.
Since this location connected the 11th and 12th Floors, adventurers came and went very frequently.
Furthermore, this area, which Ronan and the others called the transition zone, did not have fog. There were many other parties who had the same idea of using this place as a temporary base.
With so many adventuring parties, hunting became difficult, but it was much safer. This was the main reason there were so many teams in this room.
After all, very few people who could reach the 12th Floor were fools. If they could think of it, others could as well.
After confirming the situation, Jeanne nodded to everyone.
"Let's do it here. This place is safe enough for a short rest."