“So, you drained that thing and then folded it up to put into that box?”
Wheel of Fortune asked Lan Qingyou in astonishment.
When Lan Qingyou returned to the World Tree Boat and told everyone what she had just done, they were left speechless, their eyes collectively darting toward the herb bag hanging from her belt.
“Although I don't know exactly how to use Ksuya's Tears yet, it's quite nice to have something that provides a steady supply of materials.”
Lan Qingyou nodded with her eyes closed as she spoke, her face practically radiating satisfaction.
“From the battle just now, it seems The Tower's counter against this giant eyeball is absolute. We shouldn't have to worry about being unable to suppress it.”
“True. Just think of it as keeping a dairy cow; it’s no big deal.”
The others didn't quite understand Wheel of Fortune's surprise.
One by one, they began to reassure her.
“No, that’s not what I meant. Based on everything that’s happened so far, I’ve come up with a hypothesis.”
Seeing that the others were misunderstanding her, Wheel of Fortune shook her head slightly.
“A hypothesis?”
“Yes.”
Wheel of Fortune's expression was unusually solemn.
“Tell me, what is the level of this SS-grade Ksuya's Eye?”
“Is that even a question? Didn't you say yourself that it's SS-grade?”
The High Priestess looked utterly bewildered.
Why did every word sound so familiar, yet when put together, they were so confusing?
“Good. Now here’s the question: is it possible that for Ksuya's Eye, 'SS-grade' doesn't refer to its level, but rather that in the eyes of the world consciousness, its potential threat has reached SS-grade?”
Wheel of Fortune asked, looking at the stunned High Priestess.
“Huh? Potential threat? Not its level?”
Now, it wasn't just the High Priestess who was stunned; the others weren't faring much better.
While everyone had good comprehension skills and understood the meaning behind Wheel of Fortune's words...
It was precisely because they understood that they were even more confused.
“Tell us the basis for your suspicion first,”
The Magician asked with a frown.
“Let’s put it this way: I think we might have all misunderstood.”
“Even though monsters, materials, tools, and magic items are all labeled with the same grades like A, B, S, and D...”
At this point, Wheel of Fortune raised a finger and looked around at everyone very seriously.
“Is it possible that the meaning represented by these letters—A, B, S, and D—isn't the same thing at all? That we just preconceived them to be identical?”
This...
Wheel of Fortune's suggestion was quite far-fetched.
But why did it also seem to possess a certain reasonable logic?
Regardless of what others thought, Li Huai, a stonemason who had dealt with monsters for a long time, felt this deeply.
“I think Wheel of Fortune has a point.”
“What!?”
Li Huai's sudden interjection made him the center of attention.
“For example, while the A, B, S, and D for equipment and tools might truly represent the item's grade, whether it truly represents a monster's level is indeed debatable.”
Seeing everyone looking at him, Li Huai organized his thoughts.
“I previously encountered a monster called a Mountain Eater. Like its name suggests, it survives by eating mountains and converting them into minerals inside its body. It’s huge, like a wall, and can easily gnaw out a tunnel.”
“But this monster has almost no means of attack other than making its fur sharp and shooting it out. Therefore, its grade is only D-grade.”
“In contrast, if it weren't for The Tower's grey mist magic completely countering it, this giant eyeball could have wiped us all out.”
“And then there were the Ancient Trees that The Tower encountered before.”
“Although we don't know what level those Ancient Trees were, their sap—the kind that can make someone randomly awaken a magic skill—is only S-grade. So it's reasonable to infer that the Ancient Trees are also around S-grade.”
“For Ancient Trees that are clearly powerful in terms of size and ability to only be S-grade, it can only be said that their danger level is S—perhaps not even S.”
“Because their duty was merely to 'guard' the Star Dragon King Essence Blood, they wouldn't take the initiative to attack. Compared to the threat of the giant eyeball, their danger level was naturally lower.”
“Support for this theory can be found in these tears. Because the danger level is SS-grade, the grade of the tears is also SS-grade.”
“The grade of such materials is essentially linked to the monster's own level.”
As he spoke, Li Huai tapped the syringes Lan Qingyou had set aside, using facts to support his idea.
“Oh, that Mountain Eater... Put that way, it does make sense.”
Lan Qingyou nodded after listening.
Even she, who had been there, wasn't sure what level the Ancient Trees actually were.
After all, she only had identification glasses at the time and couldn't identify them at all. Once they were dead, she couldn't identify much else.
So, based on her years of alchemy experience handling monster materials, Li Huai's theory that the material grade equals the monster's grade was likely correct.
“Indeed, theoretically, it might be correct. But as for this topic, I think we should set it aside for now. When we get back, tell Justice and have him mobilize the people from the Supreme Council to help investigate. We still have more important things to do.”
Seeing that Lan Qingyou, the one who had actually fought the Ancient Trees, had nodded, Li Huai's theory was likely correct.
But as the saying goes, they could only provide the theory; the actual investigation would mostly have to be left to those with the manpower.
After all, there were only a dozen people in the entire Tarot Villa right now, and everyone had their own business to attend to.
So, these miscellaneous tasks were basically handed over to people like Justice and Shang Chuan, who had subordinates to handle them.
Thus, the Magician simply had everyone drop the subject.
“More important things to do? Like what?”
The High Priestess looked bewildered.
“That, of course,”
The Magician said, pointing toward the shipwrecks on the distant seabed.
“The shipwrecks?”
“Exactly. There might be treasure inside those shipwrecks, right?”
The Magician nodded.
“According to the dungeon background we discussed and our route, since there are shipwrecks here, they're likely part of the same group as the one where the Undead General was.”
“Since the Undead General's place had so many magic items, these shipwrecks should have them too.”
“Moreover, since this boat is here, it’s highly likely these shipwrecks were used to stall the giant eyeball, buying time for the seal to be carved and connected to the external magic circle.”
“Since they were meant for interception, the personnel and ship configurations should, in theory, be higher than those ships outside. Look, the ship surfaces are all covered in iron plates. There might be even better things inside.”
Rate on N.U.
