Alright, alright, alright… I finally made it to the middle layer I was aiming for.

Previously, I could have just blasted past the shallows and the upper layers in one go to get here, but with too many people around who aren’t from my inner circle, I had to keep my speed in check.

Maybe it’s also because I was chatting along the way, but it took me nearly an hour to get here.

That said, I was able to thoroughly plan my battle strategy for today’s middle-layer hunt.

If I had to say, since it’s been a while since my last hunt, I would have liked to warm up against some weaker monsters… but that might be asking for too much.

Well, the hunt I’m about to do isn’t a normal one anyway, so there’s no problem.

“Monsters are crawling everywhere, but there’s no human presence. Yep, just as planned.”

Activating 【Wind Cloak】 and 【Amber Shield】, I let the snakes emerge from beneath my clothes.

I also activated 【Ankle Bracelet】 and grabbed 【Floating Orb】—all set.

I won’t be using 【Purple Wings】 for this hunt in the middle layer.

Since the area is so vast, I don’t know how long it would take for its effect to cover everything—or if it’s even possible to do so.

Besides, poison isn’t the right approach for this hunt!

“Alright… here we go!”

I rotated my shoulders a few times and let out a battle cry.

Looking to the right immediately after entering the middle layer, I spotted a group of monsters watching me from a distance.

I charged straight toward them.

And then—

“Flash!”

I unleashed a spell right into the middle of the horde.

Normally, I’d use this spell to immobilize the monsters and then finish them off with 【Shadow Sword】 or 【Scarlet Bee Needle】, but today’s hunt is a bit different.

Instead of attacking the monsters blinded by the flash, I slowly backed away.

The blinding effect lasts about ten seconds at most.

If I didn’t move fast enough, I wouldn’t be able to put enough distance between us—but for today’s hunting method, this is fine.

“Mmm… alright. They’re following.”

Glancing back as I moved, I saw the monsters that had been caught in the spell roaring in fury as they chased after me.

It’s been a while since I hunted this way, but yes, yes… just as planned.

“Next… over there!”

In my line of sight was another group of monsters.

Still leading about ten monsters, I charged toward them.

“Flash!”

The second blinding spell of the day.

It worked perfectly!

◇

After that, I continued casting spells at scattered monster groups, luring them in. By now, I’d gathered over a hundred monsters.

I occasionally fired spells behind me to provoke them, making sure the horde didn’t scatter too much as I moved, until I finally arrived at my intended destination—the northeast corner of the middle layer.

Then, turning around—

“Ohohoho… what a magnificent sight!”

The ground rumbled as the mass of monsters charged toward me at full speed.

If I weren’t floating, the vibrations alone would’ve shaken my entire body.

“Alright, time to get started. Let’s do this…!”

I activated 【Danrem’s Thread】 and 【Serpent’s Tail】.

Adjusting my position while using my tail to steady my bow, I gripped it using 【Ankle Bracelet】 and drew the bowstring back with 【Scarlet Bee Needle】.

With a sharp twang, the arrow sliced through the air, piercing through the monsters as it tore up the ground in its path.

The dust and debris kicked up by the impact made it hard to see, but… using 【Fairy Eyes】 and the vision of my snakes, I could confirm that a large number of monsters had been taken out in a single shot.

Even those who avoided a direct hit suffered significant damage from the shockwave.

“Hahaha! Don’t let any escape—wipe them all out!”

I stowed my bow and activated 【Shadow Sword】, giving orders to the snakes.

All three followed my command, stretching their bodies into battle mode.

I ascended to a higher altitude, waiting for the dust to settle before launching another charge!

◇

Starting from the northeast, I swept through the southeast, southwest, and northwest, decimating the majority of the middle-layer monsters using the same hunting method.

Of course, unfortunately, some monsters managed to stray from the group during the chase, so I couldn’t clear out the entire layer.

I could take out those stragglers too, but considering how I was wiping out huge numbers of monsters at once, there was a risk that I’d end up right in the middle of a fresh monster respawn later on.

That’s a scary thought, so I decided to let them be.

Lucky you, monsters—you get to live another day!

That said, relics were scattered all around, so I planned to gather as many as possible.

Before, it wasn’t much of an issue to leave them behind, but now that adventurers have started entering the dungeon, they’ll eventually reach the middle layer.

If they find relics lying around, they might get suspicious.

“Hmm… maybe I should leave some baskets at 【Hideout】 from now on…”

While picking up the relics, I realized that some weren’t just small trinkets—holding even one or two filled up my hands quickly.

So, I had to keep running back and forth to 【Hideout】 to store them.

Relics aren’t guaranteed to drop from defeated monsters.

From what I hear, the drop rate is around 10%.

But considering I wiped out hundreds of monsters in this layer… I had a mountain of them!

I do have wooden crates, but those are too bulky to carry around.

Baskets, like the ones farmers use to store vegetables… where do they sell those?

Maybe at the Commercial Guild…?

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

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】・15 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・28 cards

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

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・8 cards