Becoming The Strongest Using My Would-You-Rather System!-Chapter 45 - Heading Deeper

Theo glanced at the corpses for a moment longer, his mind churning.

’Were these creatures unaffected in some way?’ he thought. ’Or has the phenomenon simply not spread yet?’

He had absolutely no idea which was the case and which wasn’t.

Just then, Emma walked over with a special tube in her hands.

"Strange, isn’t it?" she asked, crouching down beside him to collect a blood sample. "Not all creatures have been affected yet, it seems."

As the blood flowed into the tube, her gaze was completely serious.

"I hope we can figure this out," she continued. "Before it spreads to all creatures inside the dungeon."

Theo’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment, nodding once.

’If every creature here gets affected... a dungeon break might happen.’

Thousands of creatures would rush out of the dungeon, and with them being mindlessly aggressive, who knows what could happen.

After the blood samples and mana cores were collected, Owen had finally recovered as well.

The group regrouped and began moving deeper into the cave, finally taking the turn toward the blue glow.

The moment they stepped around the corner—

Both Theo and Owen froze.

A massive blue forest stretched out endlessly in front of them.

Tall trees with dark bark stuck out of the ground, their branches covered with softly glowing blue leaves.

Far above them, countless blue mana crystals were embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the entire cavern in an almost surreal light.

"...Beautiful," Theo muttered, his eyes widening slightly.

"...Right," Owen said beside him, just as stunned.

Emma and Iris both let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of the two of them standing still.

"Come on now," Iris said after a moment, her tone light. "We still have a lot to do."

Theo and Owen snapped out of it. They smiled weakly, a faint tinge of red appearing on their faces from embarrassment.

As they made their way into the forest, Owen glanced around again, still clearly impressed.

"Why are they blue though?" he asked. "The goblins, the trees... everything."

Emma smiled, slowing down to walk beside Owen, subtly pushing Theo forward next to Iris.

"It’s because of the blue mana crystals in the ceiling," she said. "The plants and trees adapted and evolved to accept mana from the crystals instead of sunlight."

Owen glanced at her, clearly impressed.

Noticing how interested he was, Emma continued without a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"As the environment changes, the creatures have no choice but to do the same, otherwise they’d be unable to hunt."

Owen blinked once, then let out a small breath.

"Wow," he said, smiling. "It’s amazing you know so much."

He let out a short laugh.

"I wouldn’t be able to remember all that even if I studied for ten years."

Emma didn’t say anything, her gaze locked on the ground to hide her face.

Not noticing her reaction, Owen kept talking, quickly drifting into other topics.

At the same time, ahead of them, Theo and Iris walked side by side, having a conversation of their own.

"Have you been here before?" he asked, his gaze moving through the forest.

Iris nodded once, smiling faintly.

"Twice," she said.

Theo glanced at her briefly.

"No wonder you weren’t amazed at the sight."

Iris chuckled softly, shaking her head slightly.

"Of course I’m still amazed by this place," she said. "I just don’t show it as openly as you did."

Theo also chuckled, a wide smile plastered across his face.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

They continued walking side by side, the faint blue glow of the crystals shining down between the trees.

Then Iris spoke again.

"Remember just before the beast tide?"

Theo nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Yeah."

She hesitated for a brief second before continuing, her voice a little quieter this time.

"Then you also remember that you still owe me a dinner," she said. "For just the two of us."

Theo looked at her for a moment, the memories of that day flashing through his mind.

’Right,’ he thought. ’We would’ve gone on pretty much a date if it wasn’t for the tide.’

For a moment, he thought it through.

There was nothing he disliked about Iris. From her personality to her looks, everything was perfect.

’I wouldn’t mind seeing where this could go,’ he thought, smiling.

With that in mind, he answered.

"Yeah," he said. "I remember."

He glanced ahead briefly, then back at her.

"Once we’re out of here, I’ll take you somewhere nice." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Iris blinked once, clearly caught off guard.

A faint red tint appeared on her cheeks as she smiled.

"...I’ll hold you to that."

Just then—

A slow clap echoed from behind them.

Theo turned around.

Owen was walking a few steps behind, nodding his head with a grin on his face.

"If we weren’t in a life-threatening dungeon right now," he said, "I’d be cheering for you two."

Iris’s blush turned a deep shade of red, spreading across her whole face instantly.

Theo, on the other hand, stared at him in silence.

"Really?" he asked flatly. "...You’re asking for it at this point."

Owen didn’t even flinch, a grin so wide Theo had never seen it before on his face.

"If a beating is what it takes for true love, I’m willing to—"

"Just be quiet," Theo interrupted him, shaking his head.

Theo turned back around before he actually did something, letting out a quiet breath as he forced himself to stay focused.

Behind him, Owen just laughed, clearly enjoying himself a little too much.

After a few more minutes of walking, the density of the trees began to thin out.

A small clearing opened up ahead, the ground flatter and free of roots, with several large rocks scattered around the edges.

Iris slowed down, scanning the surroundings carefully before giving a small nod.

"We’ll take a short break here," she said. "Eat something and recover."

No one objected to it, having been walking for nearly three hours already.

As everyone sat down, Theo couldn’t help but check their faces.

’Even though I hate to admit it,’ he thought, ’that idiot made the heavy mood practically disappear.’

After settling down, bags were unzipped and simple rations were taken out.

Owen leaned back against one of the rocks, taking a large bite before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"...So," he said after a moment, glancing at Iris, "how much further are we planning to go after this?"

Iris didn’t answer immediately, finishing a small sip of water before looking up.

"Quite a bit deeper," she said calmly. "This area is still considered the outer zone."

Owen’s chewing slowed briefly, his eyes widening.

"You’re joking," he said.

Iris shook her head. "We still need to go further in to get to the areas described to find creatures with the disease."

Hearing that, Theo let out a quiet breath and leaned back slightly.

He raised a hand to his heart, feeling it pound as a familiar strange sensation came over him.

’It’s getting worse,’ he thought, eyes narrowing. ’Whatever’s in this dungeon... it won’t be normal.’