Chapter 6 : The Wolf’s Vision

When you reach the third floor, you will start to see many direwolves, and no matter how lucky you are, you will inevitably have to fight at least once.

Through the thick canopy of leaves, sunlight pours in. You run straight towards the portal.

No, not running. You have to walk while controlling your pace.

Please, I hope the same situation doesn’t happen like last time.

“…Amazing.”

My senses are going wild.

I hear the sound of small rodents climbing trees and the rustling of leaves, which I’ve never heard before, and in the distance, I can also hear the sound of medium-sized animals like deer or roe deer moving.

The animal density here is much higher compared to the plains.

What could they eat in the plains? There are occasional raspberry bushes that grow low to about waist height, but herbivores also think, you know.

In places where you can see everything and there’s nowhere to hide, they don’t often go there.

I don’t really know how my hearing has improved, but the dungeon is the place where I need to use my abilities to the fullest.

“Let’s go for sure. Safely.”

After taking a sip of water from my metal canteen, I moved in the direction the pack was pointing.

My vision is not great.

As expected, during the day, human eyes are better than the direwolf’s.

The penalty of not being able to distinguish a few colors is significant.

However, the right side compensates for that, so it’s not a big problem.

On the other hand, at night, the direwolf’s vision takes the lead and brightly illuminates the dark field.

I have a lantern, but the fact that I can see well in the dark is quite nice.

Once I get used to it, I might be able to save on lantern oil later.

And the trees here have thick leaves that block about half of the light.

Even though it’s day, it’s not very bright.

It’s not that it’s completely dark, though.

‘There’s something ahead on the right.’

It’s definitely not a human.

It’s a low-to-the-ground four-legged animal… just one.

It’s not a pack of direwolves.

The distance… about 40 meters.

It’s walking in the same direction as me.

It’s hard to confirm because the grass grows up to my knees.

‘Let’s just see what it is.’

I walked on the ground to minimize the sound of my footsteps and avoided contact with the grass.

I lowered my upper body and increased my speed.

‘It’s a direwolf, right? Why is it alone?’

It seems like one that got separated from the pack.

If it’s just one, it should be easy to catch.

‘Slowly. As quickly as possible.’

I drew my one-handed sword from its sheath and quickly moved behind it.

The wind is blowing from the front, so I can’t detect it by smell.

The rustling leaves create a relatively loud and meaningless noise.

A little more boldly.

“Huff…!”

Squelch

Slightly to the right of the center of its back. I avoided its spine and pierced its lungs, preventing the noise from escaping.

Gagging.. Choking..!

“Damn it. Go to a better place.”

This is the beginning of the third floor.

By now, the time when I entered the dungeon had already passed 3 PM.

After spending about three hours on the first and second floors, I reached the third floor and it was already nightfall after about two hours.

Last time, during my journey to the dungeon, I encountered a pack of direwolves around this time.

But now, I think I understand the reason.

“I walked around with a lantern in such a dark forest.”

The best part of having direwolf eyes is the night vision.

Now that I see with wolf eyes, I can clearly tell how insane people are.

The forest is quite densely packed with trees, but it’s made of coniferous trees with thin trunks growing straight upwards.

The branches only grow above 3 meters, so, unlike the common notion of a forest, you can see quite far.

The terrain is flat, and there are no elements like mist that block your vision.

If I light a fire, it would be visible from hundreds of meters away.

“Of course, they’ll come to catch me.”

Unfortunately, I don’t see a reason to use the whale oil I just bought.

If I turn on the lantern now, I’ll only reveal my position to any direwolves that might be in the forest.

Of course, this is because I have the direwolf’s eyes.

Ordinary humans would have to turn on a lantern.

It’s a battle between I can see well, and the wolves can see well, versus I can’t see, but the wolves can.

And wild animals generally have a default fear of fire.

‘That being said, it’s still useful.’

It’s a bit surprising, but the direwolf eyes are definitely helpful for dungeon exploration.

They work well.

Even though it’s night, I’m not particularly tired, and maybe it’s because I haven’t had a proper fight yet, but I still feel unusually strong.

“Maybe I’m a man who belongs in the night.”

Since there’s no one around, I end up saying embarrassing things out loud.

I had walked for about 30 minutes when I decided to take a short break to calm my now growling stomach.

The days are getting longer, and summer tends to be less productive due to the heat.

I heard that it’s not the kind of brutal heat that feels like you might die just by standing still, like in Korea.

Still, the human body generates heat as it moves, so it’s not exactly a breeze either.

This slightly cool period is probably the peak season.

Of course, if you can tolerate heat well but hate the cold, it might feel a bit different.

“No torches around, so no direwolves in sight either.”

I leaned my back against a tree for a brief rest and opened my pouch.

Thanks to the padded gambeson, leaning back for a bit doesn’t cause any real discomfort.

Inside the pouch were eight grain cubes wrapped in white cloth.

When it comes to food storage during labyrinth expeditions, this is the go-to.

This white cloth is practically a dungeon version of a Lock & Lock container.

Unless it’s jerky, hardtack, or something else that needs to be airtight, the cloth works just fine.

Most of the food you bring into a labyrinth is dried anyway, so it doesn’t really matter if it’s exposed to air.

Just wrap it up, stuff it into the pouch, and you’re good to go.

Grain cubes don’t exactly taste great, but if you chew on them long enough, they have a faint sweetness, like an energy bar without the chocolate.

Even though the weather is warmer now, my metal canteen still keeps the water nice and cool.

I took a sip.

“Phew, that’s nice.”

With some carbs in me, I felt energy spreading through my whole body.

Even if it’s a direwolf, there’s no way it’ll find me sitting here in the dark without a fire.

I wiped down my blade, making sure there was no blood scent left.

You’re supposed to oil your blade with a cloth after using it, but I’m not rich enough to soak a cloth with oil just because I nicked a direwolf’s back.

For now, just wiping off the blood will have to do.

“Huh, someone’s passing by.”

The portal is to my left, so it makes sense that I’d see someone walking in that direction.

Off to the right, I noticed the flicker of a light held by a group.

“Damn, looks like a party with one guy and two girls. Lucky bastard. They look young too.”

The guy leading with a torch was in metal armor covering his upper body, a chainmail skirt down to his knees, and carried a one-handed sword and buckler.

His eyes looked fierce.

Yeah, guys like him are the ones destined to be the main characters of this world.

Looks like he’s got money too, judging by that shiny armor.

But the problem is his gear distribution – the torch in his right hand means his left side is loaded with both his buckler and sword.

“Whatever, he’ll figure it out. Stay focused, Yueon.”

They also seem to be of the ‘bronze’ tier. Maybe heading for the fifth floor.

“Hm.”

Now that I think about it, my night vision has really improved.

Even without clouds, the moonlight only goes so far, yet I can clearly make out their gear from over 100 meters away.

Pretty impressive.

“Alright, time to get moving.”

Sitting alone in the pitch-black forest like this feels a bit depressing.

Maybe it’s because of that party I just saw.

I should look into forming a party once I rank up.

“They’re still there.”

One of the two girls at the back looks like an archer.

The other one has the same buckler and arming sword as the guy in front.

Two in the front and one in the back – a classic formation.

From a wolf’s perspective, they’re basically screaming ‘come get us’ with that torch lit in the pitch-black forest.

They must be visible from hundreds of meters away.

Should I go over and say something?

“No, forget it. I’m not the kind of jerk who messes with another guy’s happy moment.”

Even if I’m used to the dark, the small comfort of seeing a light up ahead is kind of nice.

Damn it. ‘Used to the dark’? I sound like a complete edgelord.

Yeah, to anyone else, I probably look like a total nutcase wandering around at night without a light.

The first and second floors have open plains around the portal, so it’s not a big deal.

But from the third floor onward, the portal is buried deep in the forest.

Early explorers already cleared the trees around the portal to build a base, so it should be visible soon.

I’ve been walking for about three hours on this third floor, but still no sign of the portal.

“Oh?”

To the left of that party up ahead – isn’t that a pack of direwolves?

“Ah, crap.”

The wolves were in their classic hunting stance – bodies pressed low, eyes locked on their prey.

Clearly, they’re about to attack.

“How are they not noticing this?”

The party is just marching ahead, completely oblivious.

Basic situational awareness, people.

“…It’s because of the torch.”

Yep, they’re rookies.

With a bright light in front of them, their pupils are too constricted to see into the dark woods.

This is exactly why you need a proper lantern.

Guess I should step in.

“Watch out! There are direwolves on your left!”

I shouted, and both the wolves and the party froze in surprise.

The first to recover were the direwolves.

Twelve of them.

That’s a lot, but there are four humans here.

I took down six by myself, so this should be manageable… right?