Following the directions from the diary, the group walked to a secluded corner of the Laboratory and stopped.
Himmel stepped forward and, with a single slash of his sword, swept away the experimental equipment blocking the path, revealing a hidden passage underneath.
Looking at the spiral stone staircase leading further underground, Frieren sighed with a trace of resignation. "Why is it always underground...?"
"If this keeps up, I feel like I'm going to end up like Eiseberg."
"You shouldn't say that," Himmel shook his head at Frieren. "Not all dwarves like living underground or in caves. From what I know, Eiseberg doesn't enjoy enclosed and dark environments."
Frieren: ...
"Himmel, don't argue with me over something like this."
"Alright..."
Before descending the stone steps, Serie habitually tossed down a ball of flame to test the safety of the environment below.
However, the results of this inspection differed from last time.
When the flame returned from the underground path, its appearance had noticeably changed.
The flickering flame no longer glowed its usual orange-red but instead had a faint layer of emerald green swirling around it.
Even though Gut did not fully understand the spell's mechanics, he could easily guess that this green color probably didn't mean anything good.
Sure enough, Serie's analysis confirmed Gut's assumption.
"A greenish tint... there's a trace of toxins in the air down there."
"Is it a chemical leak from the potions stored underground? Or something else entirely...?"
"But..."
Looking at the flame in her palm, which soon reverted back to its original color, Serie continued, "The air is indeed tainted, but the concentration is unusually low."
"With this minimal dosage, even an ordinary person would be fine as long as they don't stay too long. There shouldn't be any immediate symptoms of poisoning."
"So, what do you think? Are you still up for exploring? We still have plenty of antidotes in reserve."
"Of course," Himmel answered enthusiastically, and Gut along with Mut nodded in agreement.
"Alright," Serie nodded and turned to Frieren, raising an eyebrow.
"And you, the Peaceful Era's Mage?"
Hearing Serie's familiar teasing, Frieren said nothing, merely jumped straight down, answering with her actions.
"Tsk-tsk."
Watching Frieren jump down decisively, followed by Himmel, Serie sighed and shook her head, her voice full of confusion and exasperation.
"Honestly, I still can't imagine it..."
"A team like this... how did they manage to defeat the Demon King?"
Standing nearby, Gut saw the opportunity and chimed in smoothly. "Teacher, that's something you don't understand."
"Among humans, there's something called a bond."
"When two people connect deeply enough to truly understand each other, they can achieve results where 1 + 1 ≥ 3."
"So, how about experiencing this boooond firsthand, Teacher?"
"I'm confident that after some... deeper communication, we could reach new levels—like two become three, three become..."
"Shut up."
Seeing his teacher's gaze growing colder and the massive surge of magic building up at her fingertips, Gut wisely backed off and leapt down the stairwell without further comment.
...
Tap-tap-tap...
The narrow stone passage echoed with the group's footsteps.
Compared to the staircase that led from the surface to the Human Potion Laboratory, this one to the Storage Chamber wasn't very long.
But even so, they had yet to reach the end.
Or rather, the group was forced to stop in front of a shimmering pool of spring water.
Seeing the latter half of the stone stairs completely submerged, Gut's thoughts went off-track, and he blurted out, "Should we... come back another time?"
Up front, Himmel glanced back at Gut, then chuckled softly.
"No, we can't."
"For me, there's not that much 'another time' left to wait for."
Staring at the glowingly clear spring water, Himmel grew visibly cautious.
If it were just regular underground water, he wouldn't hesitate—he'd dive straight in and explore what lay beneath.
After all, with Himmel's current physique, even long periods underwater without breathing wouldn't be much of an issue.
But the water before him shimmered with a strange bluish glow. Himmel enjoyed adventure, but he wasn't reckless.
The situation wasn't dire, and Frieren was there. He knew he could trust his partner to solve this problem.
At that moment, Frieren, who had been entrusted with this expectation, was already holding a flask of the spring water.
She carefully cupped the vessel in her hands, closed her eyes, and began channeling her magic to analyze the components of the glowing spring water.
But the next moment...
As Frieren meticulously controlled her magic to examine the water, the once-still magic around them suddenly grew turbulent.
Forced to open her eyes, Frieren knew there was no way to continue the delicate analysis in such an unstable magical environment.
Setting down the flask with a hint of frustration, Frieren glared at Serie as she walked up behind her. Pouting, she turned her face away in protest.
"Tsk-tsk."
Serie kept her teasing expression as she passed by Frieren, clearly enjoying herself.
Then she looked at the shimmering spring, lifted her foot, and took a step forward.
Bare feet wrapped in vine-woven sandals stepped directly onto the surface of the spring water.
In the next moment, the previously calm water began to boil. Streams of water defied gravity, shooting upwards from the pool. With a wave of Serie's hand, the spiraling water followed her command, shooting back up the spiral staircase and flooding back into the Human Potion Laboratory above.
As the spring water was pulled away, the once-submerged stone steps gradually reappeared, and the path continued downward, allowing the group to keep moving forward.
And so, with Serie continuously siphoning away the water, they finally reached the end of the stone steps—the Secret Storage Chamber.
"So that's where all the water was coming from."
Gazing at a spring that continued to bubble up from a hole in the ground, Serie waved her hand, casting a Freezing Spell to seal it off, preventing more water from gushing out and hindering their investigation.
"Teacher, look over here!"
Unlike the others, who were preoccupied with inspecting the overturned shelves and broken glass vials, Gut had keenly spotted something strange on the Secret Storage Chamber's wall.
"That direction?"
Serie followed Gut's gesture and nodded knowingly.
"A seal left behind by Milliarde... I see now."
Would you like me to continue with the translation for the next chapter? It seems like they are about to uncover the truth behind the Secret Storage Chamber.
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Powerstones?
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