The White Unicorn's horn felt slightly cool in Leon's hand, with the distinctive friction of keratin.
Abundant water-element energy flowed through it.
On close inspection, countless tiny ice-blue motes—fine as dust—swirled around the horn.
The White Unicorn's mana was probably on par with Iris's, yet its efficiency and effectiveness in casting water magic were enormous—comparable to what a fourth-tier mage could achieve with class amplification.
And the core of all that was this horn.
Because of this horn, the White Unicorn could even wield the ultra-rare "crown" magic: Ice Deceleration.
"I'll just name you… the Ice-Slow Horn."
Leon gave the extraordinary horn a simple, straightforward name.
He had a feeling that with this horn, he might be able to glimpse Ice Deceleration earlier than the Part Three heroine ever did.
Holding it, Leon originally wanted to inject a little mana and test it.
But considering he'd already spent a lot of mana, he decided it was safer to wait until he recovered.
At that moment, Iris jumped down from the rock and circled the unicorn's corpse.
"Leon, aren't you going to dismantle it?"
Leon wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Iris seemed to be drooling a little.
"I thought you'd say, 'Such a beautiful unicorn—what a waste to eat it.'"
"How could I?" Iris snorted, disdainful of his stereotype. "I'm not some sheltered young lady who's never seen the world. Compared to that, getting food is what matters. This is a powerful third-tier monster—I'm really curious what it tastes like and what effects it has!"
"So you're giving up and not even trying to hide the fact you're a foodie anymore?"
"What foodie? I'm not! I'm still growing—I need to eat!"
Iris stayed stubborn, even pushing her chest out a little as she argued.
After Leon made up those "sleep-talking" lines out of nowhere, Iris was becoming less and less inclined to hide her true nature around him.
It made Leon nostalgic for when he'd first met her—so restrained, so proud, so elegant, so proper.
Sighing inwardly, he took another piece of Minotaur jerky and chewed.
With low mana, he still felt insecure.
Better to eat more first, then do the dismantling.
After three or four pieces, he temporarily stowed the Ice-Slow Horn in his pack.
As Iris's creditor, he had priority rights to handle the loot first.
Of course, once they got out they would discuss what to do with everything—but Leon was absolutely determined to keep this horn.
As for Iris, as the third heroine of Part Two, she would have her own opportunities in the future. Leon didn't need to worry about that.
"Iris, since you want to eat, I'll prepare it for you," Leon said. "But first—same rule as always. You keep watch."
"No problem!"
Iris agreed instantly, smiling brightly.
Just as Leon took out his dismantling tools, he noticed an update on his panel.
[Facing a strong enemy, running while burdened, evasive sprinting: Strength +1, Agility +1]
[Primary Stats: Vitality 30 / Mana 27 / Stamina 31 / Strength 32 / Agility 41]
Huh?
This fight gave such a big boost?
And carrying Iris at his burden limit actually raised both strength and agility caps?
Leon thought it was probably the lingering effect of having awakened his third extraordinary class—making his attribute caps easier to raise.
Also, the accumulated combat over the past two days, plus the Minotaur jerky, probably helped too.
And perhaps the dense, flowing mana elements in the dungeon environment itself acted as a catalyst.
A point or two wasn't immediately obvious in combat feel—but stack it a few more times and it would be noticeable. Even now, he could feel that muscle fatigue after high-speed movement wasn't quite as intense.
He checked Iris's panel as well.
[Name: Iris C. Forlorn]
[Primary Stats: Vitality 55 / Mana 64 / Stamina 33 / Strength 38 / Agility 43]
Her mana had increased by 1, but nothing else changed.
If you only looked at numbers, Leon's gain was bigger than Iris's this time.
But mana's "value" was higher than other attributes—so in that sense, Iris's aptitude was still outrageous.
Just casting a few spells while being carried, and her mana cap broke through again.
And before entering the 25th floor, Iris had been casting frequently without her mana increasing—so Leon guessed that intermediate spell was the key.
Casting a long-chant intermediate spell under real combat pressure probably trained something deeper than ordinary casting.
That also made Leon consider learning true intermediate magic as soon as possible, to see if it could accelerate the growth of his mana cap.
Leon began dismantling the White Unicorn.
Rip—
He carefully cut away its hide and laid it on a sheet of white cloth.
The bloody skinning scene didn't faze either of them.
This hide was weaker overall in both physical and magic resistance, but its water resistance was decent, and it had a water-repellent property.
The fight—especially the twenty Armor-Piercing Light Spikes—had left many holes, so the damage ratio was high.
With repairs, it could likely still be made into second-tier water-combat leather armor worth one to two hundred gold.
But because the damage was extensive, sold as raw material it would probably only fetch forty to fifty gold.
Even with a higher tier, its hide still wasn't as valuable as the Minotaur's full-spectrum resistance hide.
Fortunately, the White Unicorn had other valuable parts.
Most notably: its four hooves.
They were superbly water-resistant, and when infused with mana they could enable "water-walking" and accelerated running.
Perfect as soles for water-combat boots. The materials were intact and the effect was special—together the four hooves could sell for seventy to eighty gold, rivaling the value of the Minotaur's damaged hide.
Second was the little blood it still had left, usable for alchemy.
Since Leon had siphoned away so much of its mana-rich blood, what remained wasn't very valuable. Leon planned to keep it for himself—useful for preparing to awaken a fourth class: Alchemist.
Of course, the most valuable item by far was the Ice-Slow Horn.
This was priceless.
Even a normal third-tier White Unicorn horn, as raw material, could sell for at least three hundred gold.
And this unicorn had a special talent—it had grasped the surface of a crown spell—so the value could at least double… no, even triple might be conservative.
If its mastery went beyond "surface level," the value would explode—ten times or more.
Teaming up with Iris this time—honestly, even if Leon didn't find the Elemental Magic Ring on the 25th floor, he'd still struck it rich.
Compared to his previous run with Bisce, it was like heaven and earth.
Of course, some materials he planned to keep for himself. His first spending priority would be upgrading his full set of equipment—turning a rusty spear into a cannon.
So his financial situation might not improve instantly.
To accelerate advancement later, he'd have to keep investing—because those S-rank and above characters wouldn't wait for him to catch up.
"Iris—same as always. It's your turn for Light Illumination."
"That was fast. You're done dismantling already?"
"The meat is looser than the Minotaur's, and it has a bit more fat. The barbecue flavor will probably be insane." Leon smiled. "And the best, most delicious hindquarter cut—I'm saving it for you, as a reward for that big spell earlier."
Hearing that, Iris swallowed hard. Her tongue twitched, cheeks flushing. This guy… he really knew how to bribe her.
[Iris Affection +2%. Current Affection: 70%]
I won't drop my guard just because of a little fragrant barbecue!
Absolutely not!
A little later, she happily took the grilled meat Leon handed her.