Six hours later.
Inside the sleeping bag, that pale, faintly glowing face suddenly moved. Long lashes trembled.
Iris slowly opened her eyes. Those gemstone-yellow pupils held a dazed fog as she stared for a while at Leon's profile by the fire—either captivated by his looks, or simply confused about why there was a man beside her.
"Oh, right… I'm in a dungeon, not at home."
She murmured softly as understanding returned. The moment she realized it, her blank expression flushed faintly red.
After sleeping a whole night, it was like her "reset memory" came back online—damn it, why did she still remember that line even after sleeping?!
"You're awake, Iris?"
"I slept great. Had a really nice dream. I feel like I could tear a Minotaur apart with my bare hands right now."
Pretending she'd forgotten what Leon said last night, Iris briskly wriggled out of the sleeping bag. Then she flexed her arm at Leon with an arrogant look, showing off her "muscles."
Her pretty figure—and the curve of her chest—looked just as proudly "flexed" too.
"Then the night watch is on you later," Leon said.
He glanced once, nodded inwardly, and then—completely unbothered—slipped into the sleeping bag.
That calm indifference made Iris feel oddly frustrated.
Damn it—weren't you the one who called me cute? Why aren't you praising me now?!
Iris snapped back to herself. What the hell was wrong with her—why did she care about this so much?
She turned to scan the surroundings to change the subject.
"While I was asleep, did any monsters come?"
"A group of second-tier slimes passed by," Leon replied. "But the beast-repellent incense worked. They didn't come in. After they passed, nothing else happened."
"Slimes, huh… There really are a lot of slimes here."
"This is the dampest dungeon on the continent," Leon said. "Of course there are."
"And—just to ask… I didn't say anything in my sleep, did I?" Iris asked.
Maybe because of Leon's line, she'd started dreaming up a lot of strange scenes last night—exciting and tense even within the dream.
"Sleep-talking?"
Leon blinked, then his eyes turned deeply meaningful as his gaze drifted up and down Iris's body. Every so often he even clicked his tongue: tch tch.
"What is that look supposed to mean? I'm the type who never sleep-talks! Don't you dare make up nonsense to trick me!"
Iris had just put her leather armor back on. Feeling the "bad intentions" in Leon's eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back.
"Iris, stop deceiving yourself," Leon said. "You absolutely do sleep-talk."
"Then say it—what did I say?"
"'So fragrant… so sweet… I want more!'"
Leon mimicked Iris's tone, voice full of craving for food.
Fragrant? Sweet?
When did I eat anything like that?
Iris felt it was impossible—but dreams were uncertain, weren't they? Maybe she'd forgotten?
Heat crawled up from her neck to her cheeks and ear tips, rushed to her head, and her brain felt like it was steaming.
She whipped her head aside, turning her face away, forcing her voice to stay steady—yet it still sounded sticky.
"Small talk ends here! Go to sleep already! I'm in a hurry!"
Leon laughed and didn't tease her further.
In truth, Iris hadn't sleep-talked at all.
But judging from her sleeping expression, she probably had a wonderful dream about eating a ton of delicious food—so Leon's "sleep-talk" imitation wasn't exactly off-base.
He just hadn't expected her embarrassment about this to be so intense.
As a side note, Leon hadn't been idle during those six hours of watch. He'd been meditating on the spell imagery for an intermediate fire spell.
Even though it was extremely hard for a first-tier mage to master intermediate magic, that didn't stop Leon from training early—aiming to reach chantless casting the moment he learned it.
…
Floor 25.
After six hours of rest, Leon was fully energized. Iris had also calmed down, as if nothing awkward had happened.
They had now descended into the 25th floor.
And the scenery here was dramatically different from the floors above.
This level was filled with ancient mysterious structures—clusters upon clusters—forming sprawling ruins of broken castle complexes.
At the center of those ruins, a massive dark river poured down from the upper levels, becoming a super-waterfall that cut through ten underground floors from 25 to 35.
Day after day, the roar of water never ceased, and countless water-type monsters gathered here.
At the top of the waterfall, the space was vast and open. The bioluminescent moss high on the cavern ceiling was ancient, and its glow was bright—almost like dusk light from the surface world.
Under that dusky yellow wash, the waterfall carried an even stranger, more distinctive atmosphere.
Because of this, it was praised as one of the continent's nine great scenic wonders.
Grand. Awe-inspiring.
This was the 25th floor—the starting point of the so-called Ruined Water City.
After walking a short distance and passing through a corridor, Leon and Iris emerged into this breathtaking view—one that made everything else fade away.
"Wow… just seeing the legendary Water Ruins makes this trip worth it."
Leon couldn't help sighing at a vista he could never see in his previous life.
"Our Elven Holy Land has an even more impressive waterfall," Iris said. "Way better than this."
"Yeah?" Leon glanced at her. "Then why do you look like you like this place too?"
"You're talking nonsense."
"Not necessarily," Leon said, smiling. "But if we ever get the chance, Iris, you have to take me to your homeland."
"Hmph. I'm just your teammate, not your tour guide." Iris was still sulking.
"Didn't you say you wanted to see my hometown?" Leon teased. "So why won't you let me see yours?"
"I…" Iris hesitated, suddenly not sure how to respond.
Leon chuckled.
But then their expressions shifted—they immediately switched into alert mode.
In the distance, a three-and-a-half-meter-tall unicorn leapt out from the waterfall ahead, wrapped in dense mist, and landed with heavy strides—yet it didn't sink at all. It ran straight across the surface of the water, charging toward them.
The unicorn was pure white, its coat gleaming, water unable to cling to it. Beneath its hooves, magical light formed patterns like watery cloud-runes. As it ran, a roar of surging water echoed around it.
The sight was truly divine—majestic beyond words.
But the overwhelming mana aura, and the terrifying expression like it wanted to devour them alive, told both Leon and Iris the same thing:
This was not something to mess with.
"A powerful third-tier monster—White Unicorn, Uniknis!"
Leon murmured its name.
Iris recognized it too, and her face tightened at once. Her earlier sulking was instantly tossed aside.
It wasn't that they couldn't handle a monster at this level.
But they had only just entered the 25th floor—they hadn't even entered the side-path region yet.
And by timing, they shouldn't have reached the point where Caron's group's "cleared" window expired, right?
Was it because the Water Ruins area itself was special?
If they ran into monsters like this too frequently, they'd need to consider retreating.
After all, the water-monster aura here was overwhelmingly dense. There were definitely far more monsters in this area than on other floors.
The risk of enemies being drawn in by a fight was high.
The core now was to end this quickly—and then move into the side-path region immediately.
"Iris—White Unicorns can easily cast water-element magic. Its mana might rival yours, and its physical strength can crush most third-tier warriors. Beginner defensive spells probably won't be enough! We fight at range. I'll use movement techniques to carry you out of danger—you just keep firing Spear of Judgment."
"Carry me out of danger?"
Iris blinked—and in that instant Leon was already moving, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other under her thighs.
Then—
Third-tier technique: Flashshadow Step!
Stamina -2, Mana -2.
Whoosh!!
Just as the White Unicorn was about to slam into them, Leon—carrying Iris—vanished from the impact line and appeared more than ten meters away.
Normally, using the core skill Shadow Leap would have been the best choice here.
But Shadow Leap turned his body into a shadow skimming along the ground—it couldn't carry someone else.
Flashshadow Step, upgraded to a third-tier movement technique, had longer range and was suitable for carrying a person.
It cost more mana, but against a speed-type opponent like a White Unicorn, it created better distance.
"Iris—chant. Use your Spear of Judgment and finish it fast!"
"Got it!"
Being carried like that felt… strange. It even tugged at leftover impressions from her dream.
But they couldn't waste the opening.
Iris snapped into battle focus and began chanting rapidly.