Familia crisis!!!
Laurier went blank for a moment, and when her brain rebooted, all she could see was the word DANGER expanding to fill her entire field of vision.
Having grown up in a sheltered elven village, her financial instincts were about on par with Jeanne's, which was to say nonexistent. Aura wasn't much better. Of the three, only Rose, raised in the secular world, truly grasped what running out of money meant.
"We're broke?! That's a huge crisis! What do we do, Leon? I don't want to be a homeless person, waaahh..."
Watching Laurier wail, eyes already threatening to leak, Leon had to laugh.
"Calm down. Even if we did go bankrupt, you think I'd send you out to beg on the street? Besides, I didn't say we're bankrupt. We're just... not exactly flush with cash."
"Huh?" Laurier blinked, realized she'd massively overreacted, and turned beet red. Aura rolled her eyes beside her, long since accustomed to her fellow elf's antics.
Jeanne spoke up. "If funding is the issue, then let's resume daily Dungeon runs starting tomorrow. It's been a long rest since our last outing. Time to get back to it."
"And unlike before, counting Laurier and Aura, who've both passed their training exams, we now have five members. That gives us stronger fighting power and a wider margin for error, so we could push deeper. What do you think, Leon?"
"Push deeper..." Leon looked around the room. Everyone was watching him. He ran through the cards in his hand, the party composition, and after a moment's thought, made the call. "If nobody objects, then get ready tonight. We leave for the Dungeon tomorrow." He paused, then added: "Pack camping gear and supplies for an expedition. We're spending the night down there."
"Leon?" Jeanne frowned. She didn't understand why he'd make such a reckless plan.
With their Familia's strength, having Jeanne and Rose on the front line meant short-term exploration of the middle floors wasn't a problem. But staying overnight in the Dungeon sent the risk through the roof.
"The floor boss Goliath's been killed. It's still in its respawn window." That was all he said, but it was enough.
Jeanne's expression relaxed into a smile. "The floor boss has already been defeated? That makes the middle floors far safer. No issues then."
Rose looked down at her palm, clenched her fist experimentally, and searched through everything she'd studied these past weeks.
"Floor boss. The formal designation from Dungeon Environments and Monsters is 'Monster Rex.' Giant monsters that appear only on specific floors. Goliath is one of them. Each Monster Rex is unique to its floor, with respawn cycles ranging from several weeks to several months. They're typically two levels above the regular monsters on their floor, possess magic, equipment, or special attacks, and are far more dangerous than Adventurers of equivalent level."
"The Monster Rex Goliath. Floor seventeen boss. Giant-type monster. Respawn cycle approximately two weeks. Estimated potential: Level 4?"
Jeanne added: "If it were just a base Level 4 with nothing special, that'd be manageable. Unfortunately, as a Monster Rex, Goliath is an ultra-large class monster, a tier above even large class. Its sheer size alone gives it a massive health pool that's a nightmare to whittle down. On top of that, it's defense-specialized and has dangerous special abilities, though the specifics are classified intel. At our current rank, we don't have access."
Aura's face turned serious. "If the Monster Rex's potential is Level 4, then following the Dungeon's basic rules, monsters on nearby floors should have a potential around Level 2."
Leon shook his head. "Aura, you can't swallow textbook knowledge whole. Rote memorization will get you killed. Especially against monsters, you need to combine what you've read with real combat experience and form your own judgment. Never equate a monster's base potential with its actual combat strength."
He held up one finger, his expression grave. "Take Hellhounds, a common middle-floor monster. Don't underestimate them just because they start appearing on floor thirteen. There's a reason they've got another name: the Pyromaniac. These things are skilled with magic. The moment you encounter one, before you can close the distance, it'll already be casting from a safe range."
"That's the number one reason parties get wiped on their first trip to the middle floors."
He let that sink in, then swept his gaze across the room. "The Dungeon is full of unknowns. Nobody knows what the next second will bring. That's why I keep hammering our Familia's iron rule: always hold something in reserve. If you've got ten, use seven. Keep three. That's how you buy space for yourself and the team, how you build in room for error. When a crisis hits, that reserve is your chance to maneuver, or to retreat."
He paused, his voice dropping lower. "Remember this. Only the living have a future. If you have a choice, never go all in. Always leave yourself a way out. Understood?"
The words hit hard.
His approach ran counter to the mainstream Adventurer culture in Orario, but one thing everyone at that table agreed on without question: only the living have a future.
Because if you were dead, nothing else mattered.
"Alright, while we still have time, everyone get your gear, supplies, and items sorted." Leon put particular emphasis on the small things. "Especially the stuff that seems insignificant. Rope, Magic Stone lanterns, things like that. They might seem useless day to day, but in the right moment they could save your life."
"After you're packed, get to bed early. Rest up for tomorrow. Laurier, Aura, that goes double for you two. Got it?"
"Mm-hmm!" Laurier stuck out her tongue, called out "We know!" and dragged Aura off toward their room, buzzing with excitement as they went to pack.
Both of them were clearly looking forward to their first real adventure. Even Aura, whose emotions stayed buttoned up, had a gleam in her eyes that gave her away.
Leon's gaze shifted to Rose.
"Relax," she said, drawing out the last syllable with a soft lilt, her eyes curving into crescents. "It's my first time in the Dungeon too, but don't go treating me like a child, okay?"
That honeyed tone paired with that face and that effortless grace got under his skin every single time.
Jeanne, who'd been keeping a close eye on the two of them, caught the shift in Leon's expression with surgical precision.
Heartbreaker. She cursed him silently, rose to her feet in one smooth motion, and planted herself between them. She pulled a mildly startled Rose behind her, a half-smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "Leon, whatever you're scheming about Rose is written all over your face. Don't you think that's a little obvious? We have a Dungeon run tomorrow. Now's not the time for your nonsense, is it?"
"What? I'm just making sure Rose is ready for her first trip down." He didn't even try to sound convincing.
"Mm-hm. You'd better hope that's all it is." Jeanne shot him a dangerous look, took Rose by the hand, and the two of them walked back to their room like sisters.
Right before the door closed, Rose peeked back and gave him a wink.
Leon stared at the shut door in silence.