Outside, the bitter winter wind howled, but as always, the dungeon remained hot and humid.

In such a dungeon, I wiped the sweat off my forehead and continued working diligently today as well.

“Hah!”

With a burst of effort, I swung my 【Shadow Sword】, cleanly severing the Ogre’s head.

The remaining enemies were taken care of by the serpents, bringing the battle to an end.

The upper levels of the dungeon were structured like an ant nest, consisting of halls and corridors.

Today, I had chosen as my hunting ground an area in the upper levels—one that adventurers had yet to explore.

Fighting in the middle levels, with all its explosions and chaos, was fun, but that kind of hunting felt too reckless. On the other hand, hunting in the lower levels was too demanding on my nerves.

The upper levels offered a nice balance—allowing for both an easier hunt and a bit of flashy action.

For now, I had only ventured just past the entrance to the upper levels, but eventually, adventurers would make their way deeper inside.

Once that happened, using 【Danrem’s Thread】 for flashy hunting would become difficult.

After all, blasting through corridors was one of my favorite things to do…

For adventurers, the gap between the upper and middle levels was much greater than I had initially thought.

Of course, one simple reason was that the monsters got tougher, but more than that, the distance itself was the main issue.

Adventurers capable of hunting in the upper levels could reach the middle levels if they tried. But reaching it wasn’t the goal—what mattered was what came next.

After all, by the time they had spent hours fighting monsters and carrying heavy loads just to reach the middle levels, they might not have enough energy left to battle further.

To solve this, adventurers would form expedition squads designed for long-term exploration or gather support teams to handle the monsters along the way, ensuring they could reach the middle levels without unnecessary fights.

As a result, expeditions became large-scale undertakings.

I had overheard that among those who had already advanced to the upper levels, some were handpicking elite members—including support personnel—to form a unit aimed at challenging the middle levels.

Depending on how that went, the dungeon would likely be divided into two zones: the upper levels for quick, one-day hunts, and the middle levels and beyond for long-term exploration.

By that time, I would probably be spending most of my time hunting in the middle levels.

For now, I needed to enjoy my time in the upper levels while I still could.

On a side note, Zighart once considered forming his own personal support squad, but it seems that plan was abandoned.

Adventurers skilled enough to reach that level still wanted to fight on their own, after all.

“Oh, done? Alright, I’ll gather the loot, so keep watch.”

I had left the cleanup of the beheaded monster to Akame and the others, and it seemed they had finished while I was lost in thought.

I signaled by raising my arm.

Looking around, I spotted several relics scattered in the corridor.

Since Akame and the others couldn’t pick them up, it was my job.

I quickly gathered the loot and stored it in the 【Hideout】 before setting off again.

“…Oh? Looks like this is the end of the line.”

After passing through the corridor and entering the next room, I realized that including the passage I just came from, there were only three exits—this was the easternmost section.

The room contained nearly thirty monsters, a mix of demonic and beast-type creatures.

It was a nice, round number. Finishing them off would be a good stopping point before heading back.

◇

“Cough, cough… Ugh… So dusty.”

After taking down the monsters in the hall and collecting the relics, I was ready to return.

However, everything was covered in dust.

Well, that was probably my fault—my hunting methods tended to kick up quite a bit of debris.

I considered washing my face in the 【Hideout】, but if I did that, I’d probably want to take a full shower.

Many adventurers had sharp senses, and if I walked out of the dungeon smelling like soap, it would definitely raise suspicions.

…No helping it.

I gave up on showering in the 【Hideout】 and instead held my hands out in front of my chest, as if scooping something.

“Hmph!”

With a focused effort, water began to form in my palms.

“Good, good.”

This was a magic I had recently learned—to generate water.

By blending magic power with mana, it could be used for drinking or cleaning wounds.

A skilled mage could easily produce enough to fill a pot, but this was the best I could manage for now.

Still, it was enough to wash my face.

Splashing the cool water on my face, I activated the spell once more, this time for rinsing my mouth.

Much better.

“Alright… From here on out, let’s sprint to the exit. Keep an eye on our surroundings.”

From this point forward, there was a chance we might run into adventurers.

If I carelessly used a large-scale attack in a corridor, I probably wouldn’t hit anyone in a distant hall, but the sound alone could cause quite a scare.

If someone happened to dodge at the wrong moment due to the noise, things could turn dangerous.

Even if we encountered monsters along the way, I planned to avoid combat.

I kept my eyes on the path ahead while leaving the surroundings to Akame and the others.

Just in case, I spun around once to check for anything unusual—nothing.

Time to move out!

◇

“Huh!”

I had sprinted through several corridors and halls, avoiding any monsters along the way.

So far, I hadn’t encountered any adventurers, but beyond the corridor ahead, I could see shadows on the other side of the wall—there was a battle happening in the next hall.

I could charge straight in, but…

Piihyororo…

I took out the whistle hanging around my neck and blew it, filling the air with a bird-like call.

This wasn’t the same whistle I used outside when calling patrol soldiers to handle monster carcasses.

Rather, it was one typically used by hunters to signal each other and prevent friendly fire when tracking prey.

Since bird-type monsters didn’t appear in this dungeon, I figured it would work perfectly and started carrying one myself.

As I entered the hall while blowing the whistle, the adventurers engaged in battle glanced at me for a brief moment.

But just as I had hoped, they quickly returned to their fight without any confusion.

Nice—it worked well.

I’d continue using this method from now on.

Now that I knew it was effective… I just needed to pick up the pace and make a swift return!

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

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind 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】・21 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・31 cards

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

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