Chapter 107 – Mermaid Marie

After resting for a night, Aston and his companions began their return journey, fighting their way up from the 50th floor. Along the way, Aston's level didn't increase. As his level rose, the experience gained from monsters on floors 40 to 49 diminished significantly, while the experience required for his next level up kept increasing.

The experience needed to go from level 36 to 37 was already 700,000, and the monsters they defeated on their way up through ten floors couldn't satisfy this requirement.

Upon reaching the 38th floor, Aston parted ways with Tione and the others. He asked them to go ahead, and they did so without much question, only reminding him to be careful before continuing their journey.

Aston had a specific reason for separating from the group – he had sensed the presence of an Xenos near the Water City when they passed it. Since all other Xenos had been taken to the surface, the only one remaining underground was the mermaid Marie. Ray had requested Aston to bring Marie to the surface if he encountered her, so he decided to look for her now.

After spending half an hour traveling from the 38th floor to the Water City, Aston began searching for any trace of Marie. He couldn't detect her presence, even after traversing from the 26th to the 24th floor. While collecting unique materials in the City, he wondered aloud where she could have gone.

Suddenly, a voice startled him, causing him to drop the coral he was holding. Marie, the mermaid, was sitting by the river, smiling at him. Surprisingly, Aston hadn't sensed her approach – her stealth abilities had improved significantly compared to the day before.

Marie, unfazed by Aston's presence, said, "I wouldn't have drawn you here if I thought you were a bad person. Your aura feels comfortable to me."

Aston, curious, asked, "You drew me here?"

Marie nodded, explaining, "Last time you sensed me, so I worked on my stealth abilities and enhanced them. Yesterday, I deliberately revealed my location to you because I wanted you to find me."

Aston was taken aback by her revelation and her improvement in concealment skills.

Although Aston had already guessed Marie's increased stealth abilities upon seeing her, hearing it directly from her still had a significant impact.

When Aston humorously suggested that he could have brought Tione and others with him, Marie confidently responded, "I'm not afraid. I know you're a good person and wouldn't harm me. If you wanted to harm me, you would have done so when you first discovered me. So, I was sure that if you came alone, you wouldn't bring others."

Aston shook his head at her confidence, warning her, "Confidence is good, but don't be too arrogant. Just because my aura feels comfortable to you doesn't mean I won't harm you."

"Will you hurt me then?" Aston's voice had just fallen, and Marie's voice rang out again, asking, her emerald green eyes filled with eager anticipation.

Looking at Marie's expression, Aston felt embarrassed because he had to make this guy cautious and deliberately lied. He could only sigh and shake her head lightly to indicate that she wouldn't.

"Hehe, I knew it."

"I still believe in my intuition, and it has never been wrong." Getting the answer, Marie's face instantly lit up with a brilliant smile.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Marie."

"You, the young man who makes me feel very comfortable, what's your name?"

"Don't give others nicknames casually. My name is Aston." This cool nickname left Aston speechless, and he corrected it.

"Oh, so your name is Aston. Then I'll call you Aston-kun."

"Hey, Aston-kun, can I ask you something?" After learning Aston's name, Marie nodded and then asked in a familiar manner.

"What is it? Tell me about it." Aston was curious.

"Some of my friends have disappeared, and I want to find them, but I can't move on land. Can you help me find them?"

"Creatures with intelligence like me." Seeing that Aston was willing to help herself, Marie quickly stated her request.

"Um, are you talking about Lyd and Ray?" With Marie's words, Aston instantly understood what she meant.

"Huh? Aston-kun, do you know Ray and the others?" Marie was obviously very surprised at Aston mentioning her friends' names.

"Oh, Ray and the others are already..." Aston opened her mouth, ready to tell Marie about the reason for coming to find her this time, but as he spoke halfway, Aston stopped and frowned.

"What's wrong, Aston-kun?" Marie was somewhat puzzled.

"Someone's coming!"

***

500 power stones = 1 extra chapter

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon!

PATREON.COM/METARLN