Right now, the only monster standing and moving in this hall is a single Giant Ape.

Even if it tries to act cautiously and wait for an opening, it’s meaningless.

Last time, I successfully took it down solo using a Combustion Orb, but today, I’ve upgraded my strategy even further.

Might as well settle this quickly.

I activated my Blessing again and pulled another Combustion Orb from my pouch.

“…Hup!”

I accelerated the 【Floating Orb】.

Fortunately, there’s nothing around the Giant Ape that it can throw at me. I’ll charge straight at it using the shortest route.

Even as I rush toward it at high speed, the Giant Ape doesn’t look flustered.

It probably thinks it can handle me with a simple counterattack.

The one I fought last time was the same…

Heh… That overconfidence will be its downfall.

“Here we go!”

Just a few meters before impact, I altered my trajectory upwards and hurled the Combustion Orb straight at the Giant Ape’s head.

“Wahaha! Burning!”

The Combustion Orb reacts to the mana of dungeon-born monsters and ignites.

Hitting its mark perfectly, the orb bursts into flames, engulfing the Giant Ape’s head.

Unfortunately, even though it’s a direct hit, it’s not enough to be fatal.

But… it does create an opening!

Using my momentum from passing by, I landed about twenty meters behind the Giant Ape and immediately activated 【Danrem’s Thread】, getting into a firing stance.

There aren’t any other monsters in the line of fire to get caught in the attack, but that’s fine for now.

Then, aiming for the back of the struggling, burning Giant Ape…

“Here we go!”

I let the arrow fly.

I’ve heard somewhere that biological creatures generally have stronger defenses on their backs.

This attack, as always, gouged out the ground with its sheer power.

Yet, despite striking its back directly, it didn’t finish it off.

The Giant Ape realizes I’ve moved behind it. Even as it writhes in pain, it still has enough awareness to stay on guard.

Well, that was expected.

When I defeated a Giant Ape with 【Danrem’s Thread】 before, I had crushed its arms, burned its head, and left it with no means to defend itself.

“Hah!”

The battlefield is now shrouded in a cloud of dust and debris, but I take a deep breath and charge in regardless.

Even with poor visibility, that doesn’t matter to me.

The Giant Ape was just suffering from the flames, but my last strike must have extinguished them.

However, judging by its posture, it took significant damage and has collapsed onto the ground.

Looks like my strategy was correct.

This situation is similar to last time, but the damage inflicted this time is far greater.

They say a wounded beast is dangerous, but there’s no way it has the strength left to go berserk now.

Time to finish this.

I approached carefully, ensuring my guard was up, and pressed my tail against the back of its head from behind.

In its weakened state, it shouldn’t be able to turn around.

Still… was it fortifying its back this whole time?

The impact area is deeply gouged, exposing bone, but that’s as far as it goes.

Even though my attacks can shatter dungeon walls…

“Well, in that case, this’ll do. Here we go!”

I brought down the 【Shadow Sword】 on its neck, slicing through it cleanly.

With this much exhaustion, even the 【Shadow Sword】 can be effective.

“Akame.”

At my command, Akame swiftly burrowed into the corpse and crushed the core in its chest.

The corpse vanished. Giant Ape extermination complete!

From the start of the battle, not even two minutes have passed.

Last time, I began by using 【Danrem’s Thread】 to restrict its movements, gradually wore it down, stalled for about ten minutes, then landed a finishing blow with a Combustion Orb to the head, and finally shot another 【Danrem’s Thread】 to end it.

That strategy worked, but I was too cautious.

Not only did it take time, but I also had to engage in close combat, which required a lot of focus.

But today’s approach?

Starting with the Combustion Orb, then following up with a single powerful strike to the back, and finishing it off when it was immobilized… so much simpler!

Of course, the key is landing the first Combustion Orb, but I have plenty in reserve.

If necessary, I can even use a blinding tactic to make sure I don’t miss.

Now that I know Combustion Orbs and 【Danrem’s Thread】 are effective, the best strategy is the simplest one.

“Alright… let’s take care of the remaining monsters together.”

Dozens of monsters lay poisoned on the ground.

They’ll serve as nourishment for the snakes.

For some reason, my snake companions seem particularly lively.

It has been a while since they last hunted in the dungeon, after all.

…Well, the downside of this hunting method is that I don’t get any Holy Coins.

But if they grow stronger, that ultimately strengthens my own combat power.

Today, I’m heading back after clearing just one room, but I think I’ll be able to handle two next time.

I just need to figure out how to split things up efficiently.

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

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】【Red Sword】・19 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・34 cards

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

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