"Sss haa sss haa—"

Maintaining his stance by the shoreline.

Only after a full quarter-hour did Il's rapid breathing finally calm down.

Once his body had more or less returned to normal and his hands had reverted to slender arms, Il plopped down on the beach, gazing at Ronald with a relieved expression:

"Boss, thank you for your hard work."

"I'm basically alright now, we can proceed back."

"You should take a moment and rest." Although Il wasn't human, Ronald felt it was best not to push his body too hard. He patted Il on the shoulder, suggesting that he remain seated for a while longer, "In the meantime, you should tell me what exactly happened to you just now."

"I can't imagine the dominant life form of Yizi Forest being easily troubled into that state."

"Ugh..."

Faced with Ronald's comfort, Il instead displayed a look of embarrassment.

Like a shy girl making small gestures, he then replied in a puzzled tone:

"Boss, honestly, I have no idea what happened."

"It was just after you took me flying through the air that my circulatory system underwent a drastic change. At the time, my stored energy was unable to cope with this shift, so I had to revert parts of my body to a plant state to rapidly absorb nutrients, which finally stabilized my body."

As he spoke, Il pointed at two slender holes in front of him.

These were the spots where he thrust his hands into the ground earlier.

Although they appeared as two small round openings, Ronald knew through the [Star Chart] spell scanning the terrain that beneath the surface lay an impressively vast labyrinth of tunnels Il had dug.

This was all the trace left from earlier when he drew nutrients from the soil to regain his state.

Fortunately, this wasn't in a city area.

Otherwise, with Il's disturbance, the already moist seaside soil might cause the buildings above to face imminent risk of collapse due to settling.

"Sigh..."

Seeing the hazard left behind by Il's recovery, Ronald gently sighed, then cast his spell to firmly press the ground downwards.

Boom—

Amidst a dull rumble, the ground in the vicinity sank by an entire layer, while the soil underneath grew more compact.

After eliminating this danger, Ronald resumed his conversation with Il:

"So you have no idea what happened just now, or even whether it was an attack?"

Il nodded confidently, adding:

"I don't know what occurred, but it shouldn't be the work of a Wizard, because there were no signs of a corresponding spell or method."

Not a Caster's doing...

Ronald pondered briefly and then asked again:

"Can you really not think of any possible clues?"

"..."

Pressured by Ronald's insistence, Il thought carefully for over ten seconds. Finally, with a sense of resignation, she extended her white arm towards Ronald:

"Boss, maybe you should take a sample of my body or use some of your strange spells to check. I really have no useful information."

"Alright." Ronald didn't hesitate and began examining Il.

After all, the deep-sea species evolving into magical creatures was noteworthy. Additionally, as an extremely evolved being, Il piqued Ronald's curiosity regarding any similar changes she might have undergone.

First up was the "Origin of Species" collection of genes for reference comparison.

Since Ronald had conducted an in-depth analysis of Il a long time ago, this time the genetic comparison was straightforward.

The results were simple—Il's genes showed only slight changes.

Such minor changes didn't imply any genetic issues from Il's recent ordeal.

As a beneficiary of the "Organic Encyclopedia," Il's ability to control a large area of Yizi Forest lay in her capability to alter her body.

This process, though not as simple, direct, or fast as "Origin of Species," allowed Il to collect excellent genes and modify herself.

These microscopic changes were merely personal optimizations over months, rather than signs of a recent genetic mutation.

Next was the extraction of information via the [Greed Sin] spell.

This spell remained as reliable as ever.

Once it materialized the extensive information housed within Il, Ronald finally found something valuable at the end of its message!

—Physical state: weakened.

—Recovering from an extremely unstable infected state.

"..."

Infected!

This was indeed a valuable term, but with such a brief introduction, Ronald couldn't draw a precise conclusion.

Yet, thoroughly investigating the changes in Il and understanding this term's implications wouldn't yield further info through the [Greed Sin] spell's probing.

For the moment, the situation offered no clear direction.

At this moment, Il, who's been observing Ronald, cautiously asked:

"Boss, have there been any results?"

"Just a superficial understanding." Ronald nodded lightly, bluntly sharing his findings, "The spell's message mentioned you had been infected, causing extreme instability, but beyond that, there's nothing that can aid us."

Upon hearing this explanation, Il's expression matched Ronald's closely.

"Infected... My body got infected without me knowing, are you joking?"

Such a result equally astonished Il.

Following this exchange, both Ronald and Il were almost ready to set aside the perplexity temporarily.

Yet, just then, Costate, who'd been standing by, spoke up:

"Sir, perhaps we should consult other Casters as this doesn't mean our action tonight will be exposed."

"Whether it's the powerful archetype holders local to Capon or those knowledgeable Wizards aboard the fleet, consulting them for information is unlikely to meet with resistance."

"..."

"That works too!"

Ronald was momentarily stunned but quickly affirmed Costate's suggestion.

Such inquiries wouldn't cause trouble.

Even if those at the "Dawn Spell Society" noticed, they wouldn't necessarily react strongly.

And given Ronald's present capabilities and status.

Seeking such information would surely attract friends eager to provide intelligence.

No need to ponder it all alone!

With that thought, Ronald felt much more uplifted:

"Let's head towards the theater first."

"We'll inform Ms. Theresa of the developments and also inquire with the Witches if they understand the meaning of this term."