Chapter 7 : Night’s Condition

“Ahhh!”

The archer screamed first.

I was still far from the direwolves, as there was a distance between me and the front party.

Think calmly. There’s no need to rush.

‘Should I strike the side of the wolf pack? Join up with the party?’

The thought didn’t last long, and I immediately moved forward.

The sensation of my feet hitting the ground feels completely different from before.

Has my physical ability awakened? The sole of my shoe strikes the ground heavily, and I feel the sensation of advancing as it crushes the earth beneath.

‘It’s fast..!’

I lunged forward as if throwing myself, drawing my sword from its scabbard.

Some of the direwolves, who had been watching me, began to bark and split into two groups—one charging at me and the other heading toward the party.

‘Four of them! There’s a chance!’

Lowering my upper body and using the speed of my run, I thrust my sword into the gaping mouth of the wolf.

Ggggggh..!

Before I could pull my sword out of the creature pierced through the esophagus, another wolf that had approached from the side was kicked in the jaw with my boot, reinforced with steel, and I thrust the recovered sword into the back of its neck.

‘Two down!’

As the two wolves that had charged ahead fell, the others hesitated in fear.

“Damn these bastards! They’re really damn bastards!”

They flinched visibly whenever I shouted. It’s clearly different from last time.

Is there a change in my body? The wolves seem much more frightened than before.

With my vision cleared, their movements became easy to track.

Not much of a threat.

They’re just slightly larger wild dogs.

As long as my feet are well-protected, there’s no big issue.

“Whoo!”

I swung my sword at one of the trembling wolves, who was drooling profusely.

The swing was too large, so the wolf managed to dodge it, but I can swing again!

Swish!

“Crazy..!”

Has my sword gotten better? Before I could retrieve my extended sword, I swung it to the left, and the direwolf’s skull split vertically, with its brain spilling out.

There was slight resistance, but I actually cleaved through its skull.

Seeing that, one of the wolves started to flee in the opposite direction.

“Yeah! Go!”

There’s no need to chase the one fleeing.

How’s the party doing?

“Back! Come back!”

“If we do that, we can’t shoot arrows!”

As expected, the archers are useless.

This is a common type among beginner explorers.

They’re afraid of close combat, so they buy cheap bows, shoot a few arrows at nearby targets, and haven’t properly practiced in real combat.

Thud!

‘This is a mess.’

The female warrior, who had fallen to the ground, was flailing her arms and legs wildly, unable to open her eyes properly.

As a result, the male frontliner, who had intended to help, was afraid of her random sword swings and was hesitant to assist.

Ah, really.

“Stop flailing and open your eyes! Get up and plant your feet properly!!”

“Yes, yes!!”

I shouted loudly and ran toward the back of the wolf pack in combat, where three wolves turned their heads toward me.

Using my running momentum, I kicked one of the wolves in the stomach, sending it flying.

I felt something break, so it probably won’t recover soon.

I immediately turned and approached the female frontliner, but as I did, a direwolf was about to attack her.

I swung my sword horizontally toward its thigh,

Kaang!

With a wet sound, I created a Jamaican-style hamstring.

‘Has my cutting power improved like this..?’

I grabbed the tail of the wolf that fell to the ground like a tricycle and swung it toward the head of the approaching wolf.

Then, as if to show some coordination, I jumped high and stomped down on the two wolves that were tightly grouped together.

No, I tried to stomp.

“What the hell, crazy?!”

Unexpectedly, I soared more than three meters into the air, losing my balance like a WWE wrestler, and landed with my right elbow on the two wolves lying on the ground.

Crack!

The direwolf’s spine, struck by my elbow, shattered as if it had been changed to an alternate notation, and the wolf let out a final breath, vomiting blood as it collapsed.

Kii, kiing…

Perhaps because of the loud noise from the fall, the remaining two wolves panicked and ran away like scared dogs.

“Agh, my side hurts.”

Fortunately, my ribs are intact. I fell from three meters, but I landed on a soft chunk of meat—the direwolf.

“Are you okay..?!”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

I brushed off my right side and went over to the wolf I had kicked earlier.

It seemed to be dreaming of running across a field, as it lay sideways, kicking at the air.

Kki, kkhing…

“What’s the hurry? Go slowly so you don’t fall.”

I avoided its spine and drove my sword into the lower part of its neck, and with a snap, its kicking stopped.

The party, who had been watching from the side, stood with their mouths wide open, looking foolish.

They clearly look around seventeen.

Kids.

“Why are you fighting like that, recklessly?”

“Th-thank you! We’re sorry!”

“Shh. Don’t speak too loudly. It’s not that you should apologize to me, but what if you had died?”

“We’re sorry.. no, this is our first time in a dungeon…”

As expected, they were beginner explorers. If it’s their first time in a dungeon, they must be bronze rank.

The archer seems mostly unharmed.

But is that really the right outfit?

They’re exposing their legs.

The male is limping badly, probably bitten on the left leg.

The female frontliner, though a bit ragged from rolling on the ground, seems unhurt.

“Uh, um.. you’re going to the portal, right?”

“Yes. But…”

There are three main reasons why explorers enter dungeons.

One is hunting parties, who aim to hunt after reaching a specific floor.

Another is dive parties, who go as deep as they can.

The last is quest parties, whose goal is to complete tasks.

No one forms a hunting party for the third floor.

The cost doesn’t make sense.

The female frontliner sheathed her one-edged sword, approached me, and spoke.

“If it’s okay with you, would you join us…? Heeek?!”

“What is it? What’s the matter with staring at my face in shock?”

“Your eyes..!”

Ah. It’s because of my left eye. That makes sense.

“I just replaced it. It looked good.”

“Eh..?!”

“Just kidding. I can’t go with you.”

It’s obvious that I’d be a burden.

It’s much faster for me to go alone through the forest to the portal.

Plus, without a lantern, I’ll be less likely to encounter direwolves.

“Please! We’re really inexperienced…”

The archer also stepped forward, his face scrunched up, looking like he might cry.

Given his short height, he only reached up to my chest.

It seems like the guys don’t really want me joining their group.

Well, I have no intention of hanging around the third floor either.

“This was a big help. You saved us from a near-death situation. Now, try to handle things on your own.”

“Let’s go, Lupina. Tresha.”

The male explorer, who had been giving me an uncomfortable look, grabbed the two women by their shoulders and pulled them toward him.

Yeah, you should take care of your own girlfriends.

The two women seemed unwilling, but what can you do?

I’m not one to chase after someone else’s woman anyway.

The real issue is that I don’t even have one of my own.

“Hey. You should listen to the party leader.”

“Th-That’s…”

“We can handle this on our own.”

“Seems like that’s the plan.”

Confident, huh? Must be their youth.

Would be nice if they weren’t bleeding all over the place, though.

I swung my sword through the air to flick off the blood, then wiped the remaining stains off on the wolf pelt on the ground, before sheathing it.

I walked away first, and soon enough, I heard the slow footsteps of the party trailing behind me.

This ruins the whole point of going solo.

If they keep wandering around with a torch that bright, it’s only a matter of time before I get spotted too.

So, I picked up the pace, moving quickly.

‘What the hell?’

I could hear their footsteps speeding up as well.

After about 30 minutes of this awkward, silent speed walk through the forest,

‘I see it.’

In the distance, countless clustered lights came into view.

I could even make out a few human figures here and there.

I heard a sigh of relief from behind, suggesting they noticed it too.

“Hold, hold. Who goes there?”

“Bronze-ranked explorer.”

“Looks about right. Well done.”

Looks about right?

That’s a bit harsh, but I guess I can’t argue.

After I passed through the gate, the trailing party entered the portal outpost as well.

There wasn’t much to see inside – just a wide area surrounded by wooden fences,

filled with people wrapped in robes and blankets, lying on the ground.

They’re probably resting up before heading to the fourth floor.

‘I actually prefer the night over the day.’

I don’t know why, but my body feels sharper at night.

When I hunted a lone direwolf during the day, it felt sluggish, but at night, I could take down twelve without breaking a sweat.

What is this…

‘Am I turning into a wolf or something?’

Watching the huddled explorers sleeping on the neatly laid stone floor,

it almost feels like a slum.

And there are merchants here, too, selling direwolf jerky.

It’s not cheap, but it tastes decent.

Still, I just came out of a fight.

Better get my gear in order and recover before moving on.

More importantly, my body feels different.

‘Was I trying to jump that high?’

I thought about jumping, but three meters?

No normal human can leap three meters without some kind of help.

There’s this mysterious energy called ‘mana’ in this world.

It enhances physical abilities, speeds up natural healing, slows aging, and makes you more agile.

People here are generally stronger than those from Earth.

But still, three meters?

Even the locals here can’t jump that high, unless they have some exceptional skills.

‘Could it be… a direwolf trait?’

These wolves are nocturnal, but how does that relate to me?

Maybe… it’s the blood.

That might be it.

Not certain, but it’s possible.

As I sorted my thoughts, I finished organizing my gear.

I cleaned my sword and straightened out the messy pouch I carry.

Most of the direwolves on the third floor are juvenile.

Not fully grown, so they’re not as tough, but the adult ones are bigger and pack a meaner punch.

“Let’s head out.”

“W-Wait a second!”

Someone called out from behind me.

“What is it?”

It was the same party from earlier.

The frontliner woman.

“A-Are you leaving now?!”

“Yes. Why?”

“A-Aren’t you going to wait until morning?”

“No. Why?”

“W-Why…?”

“Because I’m stronger at night.”

The woman tilted her head, clearly taken aback.

“You have a skill like that…?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“T-Then… be careful.”

What was that about?

Anyway… off to the fourth floor.

Time to test what my body can really do.