Luilui comes back before Taliaâs group, and I see Hikari and the others behind. Itâs hard to tell from here, but Iâm relieved to see no one seems badly hurt.
âAre you all right, Sora? And Leila?â
Mia is about to cast Heal on Leila, but she stops her.
âIâm just tired. Mia, I want you to look after someone if you can.â
Says Leila as she gets up.
I also get up, but stagger, and only manage not to fall because Rurika catches me.
âAre you all right?â
âYes, I think I just used too much magic energy. Iâll be fine if I just recover a little.â
ââŠAre you sure?â
Rurika doesnât sound too convinced, but the stats screen shows itâs recovering without any issues, even if it does look a little slow.
I still feel languid, but I really am feeling better than before.
We follow Luilui, and see a group of exhausted looking people.
Some look surprised to see us, and some donât really react. But what catches my eye more than any of that are the petrified people laying on the ground.
âMia, can you cast Recovery? I asked Trisha too, butâŠâ
Leila tells us it wasnât enough to heal them completely, and just barely stopped their condition from becoming worse.
Mia hears about it from Trisha, and starts casting Recovery.
âHave you been eating, Leila?â
ââŠOnly a little. I donât have much of an appetite.â
Talia, who is standing behind her, shakes her head.
Totto told me they were worried about food, so theyâve probably been saving it, but the lack of appetite and the bags under her eyes are probably symptoms of her not resting well.
âIâll prepare some food⊠Letâs just take turns resting. Weâve been on kind of a forced match too, so weâre also tired.â
I prepare the food with the help of Chris and Rurika, with Hikari and Sera keeping watch.
The nice smell of the food fills the air, and I hear stomachs rumbling here and there. Some of them look embarrassed and their faces turn red, but I donât think they should.
âDonât rush. And thereâs more, so donât be shy.â
I say, before everyone starts eating slowly, and help the petrified ones eat too.
They really were at their limit. Some of them even thank me with tears in their eyes.
âYou really saved usâŠâ
âYou should thank Totto the next time you see him. I wouldnât have come here if I didnât meet him.â
ââŠIs Totto all right!?â
Asks someone Iâm pretty sure is called Hino.
âYes, we met on the twenty-sixth floor. He left the dungeon with Joshua and the others from Light of Hope.â
âSo the guild didnât send you?â
âWell, no. It was pretty much just luck that brought us here. As for what happened with the rescue party, I really donât have an answer.â
âThat makes sense. There are a good number of parties that have traveled deeper than the twenty-eighth floor, but a lot are exploring the dungeon, and probably canât go somewhere on short notice.â
Says Leila, and everyone just sort of nods.
âAnyway, letâs just rest for now, and decide what to do after that.â
Leila nods, and lays down near the others.
âThank you. Our big sister hasnât been resting at all.â
Says Talia, as she comes here to take over for her.
âWhat about you Talia? Donât you need to rest?â
âNo, Iâve been resting. And if you can⊠Look after the petrified people.â
âAll right, but if itâs too much for Mia, itâs much for me too.â
I donât have materials to make a cure with Alchemy.
âHow did it go, Mia?â
âSora⊠It might be difficult to heal them completely.â
âDonât feel bad. You managed to heal a little.â
Trisha is right. The petrification stopped, and seems to have healed just a little. But at this rate, Mia would have to keep casting Recovery over and over again for it to fully heal.
I cast Appraisal, and see that it changed from âpetrification â advancingâ to âpetrification â stoppedâ.
But itâs also displaying a countdown, so is it going to start advancing again once it reaches zero?
âWhatâs wrong?â
Mia asks, sounding concerned after seeing my serious expression.
âIâm just thinking that itâd be a big burden for you to keep casting Recovery.â
If Alchemy wonât help, how about Creation?
I can make a good petrification medicine with good quality materials, but the materials⊠As Iâm checking that, I notice that my Creation skill has gone up to level seven, giving me more things I can do.
âCreate something based on what Iâm imagining?â
But that doesnât mean it can make something out of thin air. And it helps to have appropriate items.
âŠCan I use cockatrice materials to make a cure for petrification?
âRurika⊠Can you take a cockatrice apart?â
âIâve never done it. Do you know how, Chris?â
âI know where everything is, at least.â
âThen can I ask you two to do it? I need the magic stone and⊠Petrification bag?â
Is there really something called that? Chris says yes.
I take the cockatrice corpse out of the Item Box, and ask them to take it apart. Rurika does it as Chris gives instructions.
Chris is being especially careful about the petrification bag, because apparently it canât be used if itâs damaged.
I walk towards Sera, and check my stock of disposable items. Iâm running out of mana potions and stamina potions, so I take five of each.
I guess it will work out.
My MP is fully recovered, because I spent some time cooking and stuff like that.
I didnât get to practice doing this, and I have very few materials, but it has to work. And if it doesnât⊠Weâll have to figure something out then.