I started feeling cold. I opened my eyes, knowing that my body had already absorbed as much as it could from the Revitalising Mud. My body felt warm and content; it was like having a full stomach after a satisfying meal.

‘How long has it been?’

Despite having spent hours in the tombs, I did not feel tired at all. My body was brimming with vitality and energy.

I glanced at Levi who was still soaking in his own mud bath. He was still diligently absorbing everything he could. As a magical creature, Levi’s body could absorb a much larger amount of nutrients.

“Drip Drip Drip!”

The constant dripping sound of the leak echoed through the room. For the first time, I took a closer look at the ceiling. There was a large crack above the pools as well as a few stalactites. This explained how the pools still contained water after all these years. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that a few pools were starting to overflow.

‘Is it normal? The flow rate of the water seems to have increased since I arrived.’

“Levi. It’s time to go.” I said as I stepped out of the mud bath. Only then did I realise that I had nothing with me to clean up. I could not put on my clothes like this.

“Is it already? Human. I can still absorb some nutrients from my mud bath. It would be a waste to leave it behind. Then, you also have another pool that you have not touched yet.”

“I know. But look at the pools of water. Their level is rising slowly. The water that is falling from the ceiling is showing no signs of stopping too.”

“You are worried for nothing.” Levi casually answered. “These pools will naturally be refilled from time to time.”

I frowned lightly, unhappy that Levi ignored my warning. I did my best to get rid of the hardened mud on my body and asked. “Then, can you at least check the state of the ground above us? You have the Earth Element. It should be easy for you to estimate the amount of water that is going to flow into this room.”

“Mmm.” Levi mumbled but nevertheless complied with request.

I saw his expression change into a more serious one. “It is raining outside. The volume of water flowing will depend on how long It is going to rain for.”

“Rain?” I paused for a moment, recalling the memories of my past life. It rarely rained on the zeroth floor; the canyon was dry and arid most of the time. However, every month, there would be one or two rainy days. The change in weather did not have much of an impact on the life at the village. The daily monster rush would still take place, forcing the hunters to fight under the rain. Generally, the hunters would take a day off hunting in the canyon as most people disliked walking under the rain, let alone hunting.

“We should get going.” I said. I could see the reluctance in Levi’s eyes. “We have been here for long enough. It is time to return. You can always come back here to soak in the mud bath.”

Levi grumbled but agreed to leave. I felt the pressure exerted by Levi’s aura slowly disappear and with a snap of his finger, all the mud on his body flew back into the mud bath. He displayed a smug expression while putting on his clothes.

I remained silent and headed toward the exit. I walked through the familiar corridors and heard the light hum of Levi’s wings following behind.

“Splash Splash Splash.”

I frowned lightly as I heard the splashes caused by my feet. I could see large firestone of the first chamber at the end of the corridor. However, I also could not miss the level of water rising in the chamber and the corridor.

‘There’s water coming into the tombs? And it is flooding the chamber already?’

‘As I feared…’ We walked into the chamber, only to find water pouring in from the small tunnel I used to come in. “This is bad. I feared something like this would happen. The tombs were built underground and considering the location of the entrance, it is to be expected that the rainwater will accumulate there and flow inside the tombs. Is this how animals living in burrows feel whenever it starts raining?”

I sighed and took a closer look at the entrance. The tunnel itself had a diameter of about 80cm which did not give me much space to crawl through. Furthermore, it got narrower near the other end. With the water current flowing from the other side, it was going to be a nightmare to crawl out of the tunnel.

“Levi. Since you have the Earth Element… Can you widen the tunnel a little bit to make it easier to go through?” I was usually reluctant to ask Levi for help. Asking him to scout ahead was fine since it was related to exploring the tombs but something like widening the tunnel was completely optional and knowing Levi, I knew he would ask for a payment of some sort. Nevertheless, in this situation where I had over 200 points’ worth of giant rats in my storage belt, I did not mind giving him a portion of my harvest.

“Widening the tunnel?” The fairy murmured with a thoughtful expression. “It is indeed possible but why would I do it?”

“What do you want in exchange?” As I asked the question, I noticed a faint grin appearing on Levi’s face.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You don’t want anything to widen the tunnel?”

“Yes. Nothing but time.” Levi replied excitedly.

“Time?”

“Yes. How about waiting here for a day or so? It will be enough time for me to absorb what I need from the mud bath. You can wait for a day, right? You can use that time to increase your mana pool and reach the first circle. I can see that you are on the verge of reaching the threshold. During that time, I will release my aura and keep the giant rats at bay. It will be a safe environment for you to expand your mana pool.”

“…”

“The mud bath… Why are you so intent on absorbing its benefits right now? We will come back tomorrow or the day after. Besides, can’t you simply come back here on your own?” I asked cautiously.

“Well… Do you really think that the giant rats have been oblivious to the existence of the Revitalising Mud? My guess is that they have been saving the mud for something but now that we came here and absorbed part of the nutrients, the rodents are not going to be happy. They know there is a high chance that we are going to come back and therefore, won’t wait to use the Revitalising Mud anymore. Your human body is not suitable for it, but I can greatly benefit from this. What do you think? I just don’t want to waste the Revitalising mud.”

“…”

‘Considering how he avoided my second question, I supposed that my assumptions were correct. Levi cannot come here on his own. Or else, considering how he has been taking whatever consumable treasure he founds for himself, he would have come back here on his own to clean up the tombs without me.’

I carefully considered Levi’s proposal. Right now, he was in a position of power; if he refused, I would have no other way to leave the tombs than to crawl through the narrow flooded tunnel. Doing so may be dangerous.

Eventually, I shook my head lightly. “It won’t work… First, there’s a leak in the ceiling of that room and it will soon be completely filled with water. It will take you over a day to fully absorb what you can from the three mud baths. By then, all the mud will have already been diluted. Second, while the giant rats did not dare to enter the room because of your aura, they won’t let a hostile existence stay in their territory for too long.”

“Mmm” Levi paused for a moment. “I can use my spells to completely seal off that room. The walls of the tombs themselves are protected by a formation but I can take the soil from here and carry it all the way there. It should stop the leak or at least, stop it from leaking inside that room. The giant rats won’t try too hard to get into this room. It is only used as their drinking point but considering the situation, there will be more than enough water in the other parts of the tombs.”

‘To seal off the room completely? Does that mean Levi had the ability to do that from the beginning? But if he did not do so to extort points from me, I suppose that he cannot do so without my permission. He should not be able to harm me in any way. I should be safe there but losing a whole day here is a bit too much… At the same time, I do not want to take a risk crawling through the tunnel in this state and waiting here is not good either as the giant rats may come and explore this section.’

Noticing my hesitant expression, Levi quickly added. “Remember that you will be able to expand your mana pool. Doing it here is safer than at the village. You never know when the people who has a grudge against you will want to make a move. We’ll both benefit from a short retreat in the tombs.”

‘But don’t you also have a grudge against me for not giving you more points?’

I remained unconvinced. I hated the idea of letting myself be at the mercy of Levi. Still he was not completely wrong. After expanding my mana pool to the first circle, I would experience a brief period where I would be unable to use any spells. I would be more vulnerable. Even though I only had the Heal spell, being able to heal my injuries could go a long way toward winning a battle. I did not know how the other hunters would react but at the very least, I knew that Levi was unable to harm me directly.

“Fine.” I eventually said. “We’ll do as you say but once you absorbed what you want from the mud and I stabilised myself in the first circle, you will bring us out safely and widen this tunnel.”