Chapter 114 Intermission Alistar

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Alistar's anxiety grew with each passing minute as he reached yet another empty room. He was hungry, and his worries about the survival of the other members weighed heavily on him. Moreover, his weapons were broken, and he now relied on spare weapons from Niece's item box - a wooden buckler and his elven sword. The elven sword was usually used for decoration and sparring matches rather than actual combat, so he was a bit concerned. Nevertheless, it was still better than nothing, especially since his axe was no longer usable.

"HRAAGH!" Alistar screamed as he punched a titanite abyss worm on its head, sending the pitiful creature flying towards the wall, where Sig finished it off. Alistar's superhuman strength was on full display as he no longer cared about hiding it.

Another worm charged at him, and Alistar met it head-on. Alith and Sana tried to lure another worm to buy some time while Sig and Alistar took care of two others on their own. Forgetting to use his sword, Alistar slammed his fists into the worm like a berserker. The worm was helpless against Alistar's onslaught, and he soon grabbed it and threw it towards Sig for a finishing blow with his prized hammer.

"Hah. Hah..." Alistar heaved a sigh as he sat down with the group after they finished clearing the room.

"Lord Alistar, please don't force yourself. Your hands are injured from that fight, right?" Sana and Alith pleaded with him.

"We must move forward and find the others. It's been three days, and if we don't find them..."

"Relax... I'm sure Edelweiss is fine! She's an accomplished mage, right?" Sig tried to offer some comfort.

"You don't understand. It's not just Edelweiss. If nobody was there to protect her..." Alistar snapped at Sig's words but stopped himself. He was sure Sig felt the same way - His son was also missing.

"I'm sorry, but we still need to move on. Our supplies won't last forever, and we haven't completed our objective yet. Niece, how much do we have?" Alistar asked, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"I estimate about two hundred kilos," Niece replied.

"We still need another five hundred kilos," Alistar gritted his teeth. They had mined this pocket and the previous ones dry and only managed to gather two hundred kilos of titan ore. Based on his calculations, they would still need to find another five pockets with its crystals, which would take at least another week, surpassing the time limit he had set before.

"Once we go up, we won't be left alone, right?" Sana inquired, voicing the concern that was on everyone's mind.

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"Don't worry about it. Someone was always guarding that gate," Sig said. "Even if we stay here for a year, we only need to activate the feystone on the door, which will signal everyone in the mining area."

"Wow, that was thoughtful of you."

"Surfacing from the deepest dungeon is an honor for dwarves. It was not a simple leveling dungeon like yours. We will force you to attend a banquet after this dive is over, and you can't refuse," Sig said as he slapped Alistar on the back.

"I see. I wonder what the reception in my home would be like," Alistar muttered. Unlike dwarves who scream, dance, and drink ale, he might have to attend award ceremonies and countless dinners at Hoeth Academy while having several Lord's candidates fawning over him. Suddenly, he found the idea of attending a dwarves' party more enjoyable.

"Lord Alistar, there is a jungle five minutes away from here." Alith and Sana, who scouted ahead after clearing the room, came back. The news was baffling to Alistar.

"A jungle?"

"Yes! And we found some edible-looking plants too!"

The tailfolk were correct; a jungle as far as the eye could see sprawled out before them. The ceiling glittered like a night sky, and a stream flowed from the ground to form a small waterfall.

"Water! Food!" Alistar thought to himself as he watched coconut trees and apple trees in the distance. He was worried if their supplies would last. If these fruits could be eaten, then their supply problem would be over.

"If Edelweiss and the others managed to reach this floor..."

"Yeah, their chance of survival will skyrocket!" Sig nodded.

"Let's traverse this terrain. I know several methods to travel in the jungle. Nice, bring out the paper. I am not the best cartographer, but I will try to map out this place. Hopefully, we will be able to find your Lord too."

"Yes, Lord Alistar! Use us as scouts!" The childhood friends jumped for joy, embracing each other and cheering. Although Alistar knew their behavior would warrant a reprimand at the elven academy, he was too preoccupied with hope to care about such minor details. In fact, he was about to join in their jubilation when his eyes filled with hope.

"First, we need to make sure these fruits are safe to eat and won't have any side effects. I'm sorry, but one of us will have to be the guinea pig," Alistar said, examining the various fruits that Sana and Alith had picked from the outskirts of the forest. They hadn't encountered any monsters, which they found odd, but there was nothing they could do about it.

"Let me do it," Alith raised his hand.

"Alith!" Sana exclaimed.

"It's fine. I'm the one who found these fruits, so I'll be the one to take the risk. Besides, we have some medicine in the item box in case of poison," Alith reassured them.

"Well, if you say so..." Sana pouted, running out of arguments. Alistar smiled at the bravery of these younglings. Even veteran elven soldiers might hesitate when given such orders.

"If Alith doesn't show any symptoms after a day of eating these fruits, then it means the food is safe. Very few toxins take longer than that to manifest. Toxins that are naturally occurring in an ecosystem are usually not as potent," Alistar explained, showcasing his academic excellence. Alith took a bite of the banana and drank from the coconut.

Alistar tried to remain alert for any signs of danger, but he had forgotten that they were in a dungeon. The group was elated when they discovered that the fruits were safe to eat, and they hoped that if other members could reach this place, they would undoubtedly be saved.

Unbeknownst to them, enemies lurked in the shadows. Soon, they would face dangers akin to those encountered by Lily.