While playing a pi-hyara flute, I passed through the shallows and headed towards the upper levels.

The faces of the adventurers hunting in the upper levels seemed unchanged from before the raid.

Well… hunting here requires a certain level of party strength. Unless you’re incredibly skilled, it’s usually a hunting party made up of familiar faces. Even though there are a lot of adventurers in the city now, there probably aren’t many people you can really rely on.

I proceeded straight ahead towards the entrance to the middle levels, without taking any detours through the upper levels. The combat on this floor is… a bit too familiar, and there’s not much to gain from watching it. Sometimes in the shallows, I would get a surprise, but… not here.

“It’s almost time… Huh?”

As I moved forward, I ignored the empty spaces on the upper floor and continued deeper. Nearing the entrance to the middle levels, I noticed several human presences ahead. What’s this? I wondered, but could this be the knight order the old man at the guild mentioned?

“Oh… as expected.”

When I entered the hall, I saw soldiers fighting off monsters. They were lightly armed with spears and swords and were effortlessly handling a group of monsters. Near the wall of the hall, tents were set up. They were basic, but it looked like that was their base.

Around thirty soldiers who weren’t engaged in combat were gathered, either resting or sitting around tables. It had the feel of an exploration headquarters within the dungeon… but did they carry all of that here by hand?

Well… since I’m here, might as well say hello.

◇

“Good work!”

Once the battle in the hall ended, I descended and greeted the group gathered in front of the base. As I got closer, I noticed that the tents were equipped with potions, water, food, and magical tools for cooking or storing things… Did they really carry all this stuff by hand?

From a distance, it wasn’t clear, but there were adventurers working alongside the knights as well. I had called this place a base, but with the water supply here, it looked like it served as a headquarters for exploring both the upper and middle levels.

“Hey! Vice-Captain. Hunting, huh?”

I approached the group working nearby.

“Yeah. Down below… What are you doing?”

It looked like they were dismantling a monster. Inside the dungeon, monsters’ bodies don’t disappear unless you destroy their cores, but if you take the core out, the body stays. I know that sometimes people cut off limbs when transporting them to make things easier, but what they’re doing now feels a little… different. Could it be…

“Is it this? We’re dismantling them. We bring some from up top, but there are also some that can be found here. We’re not as good as the hunters, but… it’s not bad, right? Want some, Vice-Captain?”

“Ah… I already ate, so I’m good.”

So, it was for food… I had a feeling when I saw the way they were hanging them up and cutting open the stomachs. It wasn’t like the usual method of just putting them on a cart and chopping them up. And it wasn’t just one monster, but several.

With my 【Wind Garb】, I didn’t smell anything, but looking around, I saw guts and blood separated into different piles. It was very different from the usual way of dismantling for transport.

I knew that dungeon monsters could be eaten if properly processed, but they were going all out here. I hadn’t seen this kind of scene in Zelkis or the royal city’s dungeon.

“Are you all staying here the whole time?”

I asked, and he laughed loudly.

“No way. We rotate every two days.”

“Oh… I see.”

Living in a place full of monsters for two days seems like quite the ordeal, but they didn’t seem to mind. Huh… The second team is mostly made up of adventurers who’ve worked in dangerous areas before. They’re tough old guys.

“Well, I’ll be heading off now. You guys don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah! You don’t have to worry about us, Vice-Captain, but take care! Oh? Sorry.”

After offering a blessing to everyone, I left.

◇

Now, I’ve made it to the middle levels.

Unlike the upper levels, there’s a lot of height variation due to slopes, and pillars stretch all the way up to the ceiling, making the view quite poor in addition to the dim lighting of the floor. The footing isn’t great, and though it’s a forest-like area, it’s similar to the shallows in some ways.

The monsters are gradually becoming stronger, and although there’s a base nearby, hunting here is still quite tough.

For me, however, the bad visibility, bad footing, and strong monsters don’t really matter. It’s a perfect level for me to fly around and fire arrows. But unfortunately, it looks like my easy hunting is going to be tough from here on out.

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Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】・19 cards

Seriana・【Range Identification】・【】・34 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards