Flames flare up around Isabella, the girl most likely acting on her own or under the influence of Sophie's skill, assuming she's in danger. Without any hesitation, the flames intensify to the point where we can feel the heat, and then she attacks the three newcomers.

My [Disruption] skill, boosted by a surge, activates, and her flames die off before reaching the trio. Then, before she has a chance to try it again, I smack the back of her head without saying anything.

The little girl looks at me with a hurt look on her tiny face, “I have to burn them, they tried to attack me!” she complains.

God damn it, Izzy. I don't know if it's funny or scary, it's kind of hard to judge it properly while having my [Focus] continuously run in the background ever since the end of the second floor.

“They did not try to attack you, so calm down, okay?”

She pouts, looking somewhat cute while doing so, and without a word, she stops charging her mana. My [Disruption] activates again and it cancels out the tiny flames that flicker around, slowly burning the dusty furniture.

“Soo…” I stop after seeing their cautious faces and turn towards the girl who's completely ignoring me. It's all your fault!

“You want me to use my skill to get you water, that's why you saved us.”

Oh! Finally someone at least slightly smart.

The man who named himself Cipher continues, “There were more monsters back then, did you…”

Ouch, maybe too smart. Poker face time!

“Looks like you did,” he says.

God damn it.

“How do you want me to trust you now?” he continues.

“We don't have to trust each other. I just need you to create water for us, maybe your icy friend can make some ice we can melt too. In exchange, I'll protect you.” I say.

“I know people like you, if we don't agree you will beat us into submission.”

Is something wrong with my face? How did he get it so quickly? Some skill?

“Yes.” I just agree, and that gets a reaction from the icy man and the woman who named herself Goldie. Cipher, on the other hand, seems calm, much calmer than when he was dealing with monsters. Is he someone comfortable in such situations?

“My “icy” friend´s ice isn't able to melt into water. It will only disappear into mana after a while. I'm the only one able to create water,” the look in his eyes is firm and he turns towards me, more confident than at the start.

“Continue,” I tell him.

“Just protection won't be enough, I know how valuable my skill is, especially after some time passes. We saw the side quests too.”

Aren't you a cheeky one?

“I want you to help us to level up and protect us, in exchange, I'll create water for you.” he continues.

Hmm, that much is reasonable. I don't like the way he talks as if he holds all the cards but there is no need to like him or be friends, I just need him to create water for me.

“Deal. Now water.” I throw a small bottle I got from the system at him and he catches it. For a moment, annoyance flashes across his face, and I quickly identify him as the proud type. Damn, from the way he looks I bet he would be stepping all over me if I seemed weaker. But he's smart too, so he opens the bottle, and I feel mana move towards the tip of his finger. An amount of mana feels like half of his reserves, and in difficult patterns, the mana slowly turns into water that drips into the bottle. Of course, the skill is difficult for me to grasp, similar to how Lily's skill was difficult. Dang it.

Cipher´s efficiency seems terrible, and I can see how difficult it is for him, but after half a minute, the small bottle is half full and he stops.

I realize that he didn't spend his entire mana, probably to hide some of his skill, but I do not complain and grab the bottle from him.

Now then, how am I sure that it isn't poisonous? That would be a dumb move from him now after they saw how dangerous it is here, also considering his skills, it might not be something he is able to do.

I can give the water to someone from their party to drink but I can't do it all the time.

“Isabella?” I say while taking a small sip and then putting the bottle away.

“What?” the girl complains.

“If something happens to me, you can burn them, okay?”

She nods, a happier look on her face. It's something I feel bad about asking from a child, but if they poison me or something, she would be safer alone than with them.

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - Noname, are you here?

Noname (Hell, group 4) - yes, so you finally woke up, is everything fine?

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - yes, StrongestOne is protecting me, it's scary here.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - just stay close to him and get to me. After we meet again, I'll take care of everything and keep you safe, okay?

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - okay! <3

Please, don't use such emoticons, people will misunderstand.

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Noname, so cool, please protect me too!

Oi, listen here, you little shit.

Bard (Hell, IDK) - me too! Protect me, Noname, keep me safe!

Soph (Hell, group 4) - how is Izzy?

Lootenant (Hell, WhiteWing) - omg I would blush so hard if he wrote it to me! Protect me too!

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - take care of everything, take care of me!

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - food!

I close the community, what a bunch of jerks, I'll deal with them when given the chance. I turn to the trio and they avert their glances, Goldie even giggling under her nose.

Oh? You're laughing at me?

For the next ten minutes, I let more vermin get to her and she has to work hard to deal with them all, sweat covering her forehead and her hands shaking as she continues to shoot at them from her bow with her weak mana projectiles.

Laugh now, you jerk.

After dealing with the Alghoul, I move to the group that is under the protection of the tiny girl who burns the stronger monsters before they get to them. Somehow, it's kind of funny seeing how she complains to them that they are taking too long to deal with the monsters.

“We should move, it's getting darker and there will be stronger monsters soon.”

I notice Cipher's calculating look. The man is quieter than before, but his eyes continue to observe everything as if taking in all the information. I also notice that he is pretty often collecting mana in his eyes, and that makes me curious about his skill.

Yet, I decide not to push him about it and ask. We currently have a deal that helps both of us, so with my logic, there is no need to be exceedingly greedy and ruin it.

The building I find seems to be the most luxurious around, and I open the door, which creaks and thuds loudly as I close them after us. The wind has already started ramping up outside, and inside the house it's dark, lit only by Isabella's orbs that float around, generating a little bit of heat and some light.

As few times before, I get to sniffing around, looking for anything useful. Thanks to my curiosity, it's something I really enjoy, opening drawers, and checking out the rooms. Inspecting all the stuff in hopes of finding something nice. It almost feels like a treasure hunt.

Rusty Sword (Common) - A weathered, dulled blade bearing the signs of time and neglect. Notably aged but still capable of holding an edge.

Disappointed, I throw the sword away and continue to look. One day I will surely find some legendary weapon! Totally.

The trio and the little girl already sit around the fireplace, feeding it with wooden furniture, the room only lit by the light from the cracking fire while the building continues to creak as we hear the strong wind hitting it.

I open another door and pause for a moment, feeling a weak hint of mana from inside of it. [Perception] encompasses the room a few times, and then I enter, carefully and wary of possible traps.

The mana comes from one of the drawers close to the bed in the corner of the room, and I create a tentacle made of mana that reaches towards it, slowly opening it.

Nothing happens.

I step a bit closer and there is a tiny crystal inside the drawer.

Mana Stone (Common) - A simple transparent crystal, nearly void of any visible power or energy. This common item once held magical energy, but now waits to be refilled.

Oh! With excitement, I grab the mana stone and start studying it. Sending my mana inside it. Even though the item is of common rarity, I'm excited. I saw what was possible with such stones back on the second floor. People turned them into stones able to heat a room. They were used to make things lighter temporarily, they are imbued into weapons to make them handle mana better.

My mind continues to study it, sending mana towards it while the world around me becomes quieter. My curiosity, my enjoyment of learning anything new related to mana, taking over.

Only after a long while, do I take my eyes off the stone that is now partially filled with my mana that slowly leaks out and dissipates into the air. Then I realize that hours have passed and I got lost in all of it.

A quick check tells me that only one of the people in the next room is awake, the rest of them sleeping, and I put the stone away.

Now then, it's time to upgrade my construct and create the second one.