Eleonora sighed before responding, as if she couldn't understand Leonar's urgency.
"Look, humans can hold their breath for about two to four minutes with training… and since the place flooded, I'd say it's been at least five minutes since we left the casino. So, it's possible that… well, you get it."
Just that explanation was enough to break Leonar's determination.
Did he react too late?
The helplessness, along with the exhaustion weighing on his body after Eleonora had used him earlier, made it clear to him that there was nothing he could do right now.
It was tough, but his rational side told him that if he tried to push further on his own, he might die too.
However, there was something else that bothered him...
It was the calm way Eleonora explained all of this.
Did she really not care about the lives of other humans who weren't him?
If that was the case…
Why did she want to save the world from its destruction?
"How did you manage to get out?" Leonar asked, curious while trying to hide his fear.
Eleonora, a bit surprised by his thoughts, responded without losing her composure:
"Don't you remember? I control water. Currents like that don't affect me at all. But the humans in there… I doubt they're as lucky."
This time Eleonora tried to be a bit more careful with her last words, but it was pointless.
It was obvious Leonar was trusting her less and less.
"Did you cause that flood?" Leonar's voice, now tinged with obvious frustration, hardened.
'Damn… I figured dealing with humans would be difficult, but this is ridiculous,' Eleonora thought with some annoyance.
Several seconds passed in silence before Eleonora answered:
"Yes," she admitted bluntly. "But why are you so worried about them? None of them cared about you."
These words irritated Leonar quite a bit.
It was true that since they arrived at the casino, everyone had started to act more distant than when he first met them in that strange workshop behind the guild building, but he'd chalked it up to the environment they were in.
A strange casino, intelligent goblins, and an offer that might allow them to survive…
That was why even he had distanced himself from everyone else to ensure his own survival, but he was still willing to share his winnings to get everyone out as a way of repaying the man who'd lent him money and as a thanks to Damian for his lesson with the gun.
"How can you know that?" Leonar shot back, annoyed.
"No one was close to you," she explained, even though she'd read all his thoughts, as it was just what she thought. "Everyone went their own way. It's obvious, isn't it?"
Although Leonar had many ways to argue with Eleonora, a part of him told him that doing so right now would be pointless.
The more time passed, the slimmer the chances that any of his companions were still alive.
They were still strangers, but even so, Leonar didn't want to leave any debts unpaid.
Leonar gritted his teeth before asking:
"Is there any way to save them?"
Eleonora responded without hesitation:
"At this point, and with your current abilities, it's impossible."
These words fell like a bucket of ice-cold water over him, but Leonar quickly countered:
"Didn't you say you controlled water?"
"Yes, I do," she replied patiently. "But your body isn't capable of withstanding prolonged use of my abilities. You simply don't have the physical training required."
'Damn,' Leonar thought immediately, clenching his fists.
"Why did you choose this method and not another?"
Eleonora, starting to tire of his insistence, answered bluntly:
"Because you're weak, Leonar. Did you want to face those goblins in the state you're in? Do you know how long I can use my abilities in that body before it collapses? This was the fastest and most effective way to deal with them. Besides, they were going to die anyway. Those goblins wouldn't have let them walk out alive. We did what we had to do."
Leonar was about to argue, his anger mounting, but suddenly several notifications popped up before his eyes:
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
With just the first level-up, Leonar felt a small portion of his strength return, and that feeling increased as he continued leveling up.
Something inside him was changing, but that didn't matter right now.
A final notification appeared, but Leonar, thinking it was just like the others, paid it little attention.
[The dungeon boss has been defeated. Floor access will disappear in 15 hours.]
"What's this?"
"You're leveling up because of… the goblins' deaths. Your stats have increased, but you need to wait until your stamina recovers," Eleonora explained, carefully choosing her words.
"Can you use your ability now?"
"You're still too weak."
"But can you activate it?"
Suddenly, an idea came to Eleonora.
"I think I can use it partially… but if it becomes dangerous for you, I'll take control."
This comment made Leonar chuckle a bit, but he immediately inhaled and exhaled several times to calm himself before declaring:
"Do it."
Even though he'd lost several minutes…
Even though the odds were slim…
Even though part of him said that what he was doing was foolish since it was impossible his companions had survived once the goblins died…
He had to do it.
Even if it was to save just one of them, he'd do it as a way of thanking those two men for the way they'd welcomed him.