Chapter 144: Floating Basalt Monoliths

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Floating Basalt Monoliths

The afternoon faded smoothly into evening as Squad 07 enjoyed their barbecue, laughing over stories from earlier floor runs and savoring the high-grade domain produce. They spent the remaining hours performing light maintenance on their gear, refining tactical plans for the Wind Quadrant, and letting their stamina fully recover.

Just as they were preparing to turn in for the night, heavy, staggered footsteps echoed from the archway. Harvey’s group hobbled back onto the central platform, looking thoroughly battered. Their plate armor was scorched black and dripping with seawater, and one of their vanguard members was limping heavily, relying on Harvey’s shoulder just to stay upright.

Harvey paused near the edge of the nexus, his eyes narrowing as he sniffed the air. Despite Rowan’s campfire, he picked up the faint, lingering metallic scent of discharged mana and scuffed stone near the central portal.

"What happened around here?" Harvey asked, wiping ash from his brow and looking around the pristine, bodiless plaza.

Rowan adjusted the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, casually stoking the dying embers of the campfire with the tip of his hoe. "Nothing much," Rowan replied smoothly. "Just some people who came to find trouble."

Harvey stared at Rowan for a second, catching the calm, unquestioning confidence in the Gardener’s eyes before letting out a dry, weary laugh. "Right. Remind me never to come looking for trouble with your group."

Seeing the state of Harvey’s injured teammate, Seraphina stepped forward, pulling two high-purity Lesser Regeneration Salves from her potion belt. "Here. Rub this over those thermal burns and that leg—it’ll knit the muscle and stop the inflammation before morning."

"You’re a lifesaver," Harvey grunted, taking the vials with a grateful nod as he helped his teammate sit down on a nearby stone bench. "We managed to secure both cores, but Ghor’lok’s berserk phase nearly took off our tank’s leg. We’re definitely calling it a night."

"Rest up," Rowan said with a friendly nod, settling back onto his bedroll with the Hoe of the World-Tiller by his side. "Tomorrow at dawn, we take the Basalt Monoliths."

***

As dawn light washed over the central platform, the rich, savory aroma of roasted spirit-tubers, thick-cut smoked ham, and golden sun-corn chowder drifted across the central nexus. Rowan adjusted his Enchanted Straw Hat as he stirred a wide cast-iron pot over the campfire, using his A-grade domain produce to craft a breakfast specifically designed for deep physical recovery.

"Making enough to feed an army?" Barney asked with a grin, piling his own plate high with toasted sourdough and eggs.

"Just enough for six extra," Rowan replied with a calm smile. "Harvey’s group took a beating in the Fire zone yesterday. High-grade domain produce will clear out residual burn trauma faster than basic salves."

Loading a heavy wooden tray with steaming bowls of chowder, warm loaves of sourdough, and crisp spirit-apples, Rowan walked across the stone plaza toward the northern edge where Harvey’s party was slowly stirring.

Harvey was sitting up on his bedroll, carefully re-wrapping the bandaged leg of his vanguard teammate, whose face was still pale from the residual heat damage of Ghor’lok’s flames. As Rowan approached, the irresistible, hyper-pure aroma of the meal hit the weary southern adventurers, turning every head in their camp.

"Morning," Rowan said, setting the heavy tray down on an overturned supply chest. "Thought you guys could use a proper breakfast before setting out today."

Harvey blinked in surprise, looking from the glistening golden chowder to Rowan. "Is this... from your private stock?"

"A-grade vitality harvest," Rowan confirmed, resting his hand comfortably near the Hoe of the World-Tiller at his side. "It’ll flush out any lingering thermal toxicity in your mana channels and speed up muscle recovery before you head for the Water Quadrant."

Harvey let out a breath of genuine gratitude, his eyes shining as he handed a steaming bowl to his limping vanguard. "Rowan... I don’t even know what to say. First the boss intel, now this. You’re a lifesaver, truly."

The injured vanguard took a single bite of the rich chowder, and his eyes widened almost instantly as a soothing wave of golden vitality spread straight through his chest, dulling the deep, burning pain. "Spirits above... that’s better than a high-tier recovery elixir!"

Rowan offered a relaxed nod, tipping the brim of his hat. "Eat up and rest a bit. We’ve both got bosses to clear today."

***

With Harvey’s party comfortably settled and nursing their remaining bruises over warm bowls of chowder, Squad 07 gathered their gear and turned toward the northern archway. A howling, tempestuous draft whistled through the carved stone threshold, bringing with it the sharp, clean bite of high-altitude ozone.

Crossing the boundary, the steady stone floor of the central nexus abruptly ended. Spreading out before them was the breathtaking, dizzying vista of the Floating Basalt Monoliths.

Massive, jagged islands of dark crystalline rock hovered suspended in mid-air over a boundless, cloud-shrouded abyss. Invisible updrafts roared through the deep canyons between the landmasses, driving gale-force winds across narrow, unstable stone bridges that swayed violently with the atmospheric currents.

"Keep your centers of gravity low," Rowan warned, tapping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat against the gusting gale. "One wrong step on these updrafts, and you’re taking a long fall."

Seraphina immediately passed around vials of Gale-Anchor Elixirs. As the squad downed the heavy, amber-tinted draughts, a subtle gravitational aura enveloped their boots, locking their footing securely onto the slick basalt despite the swirling wind.

Barney stamped his heavy iron boots onto the nearest stone slab, testing the resistance. "Feels like walking on solid granite. Let’s move."

Rowan stepped onto the first floating monolith, the Hoe of the World-Tiller resting across his shoulder. The moment his boots touched the suspended rock, his domain authority subtly reached out to the mineral-rich basalt. Though held aloft by wind mana, the monolith was still earth—and it acknowledged the Gardener of Eden. Faint, luminous threads of root-like mana extended from Rowan’s soles into the stone, instantly stabilizing the floating island and locking the swaying landmass firmly in place for his squad to cross.

As they pushed deeper into the windy labyrinth, piercing, metallic shrieks echoed through the clouds above. A flock of swift Zephyr-Claw Harpies swooped down from the upper currents, their razor-sharp talons extended as they used the howling gusts to dive-bomb the trespassing party.

Mirei drew her bowstring back in a single fluid motion, her eyes calculating the wind vector in an instant. "I’ll clear the skies," she stated calmly, releasing a streak of frost-coated steel straight into the gale.