7. Night’s Condition

“Kyah!”

The archer screamed first.

There’s still some distance between me and the party ahead, so I’m still far from the direwolves.

Let’s think calmly. There’s no need to rush.

‘Should I flank the wolf pack? Or join the party?’

The thought didn’t last long, and I immediately started moving.

The feeling of my legs pushing off the ground is distinctly different from before. Has my physical ability awakened? The sensation of the sole of my shoe crushing the ground as I forcefully step forward is transmitted to me.

‘Fast..!’

I sprang forward as if throwing myself, drawing my sword from its sheath.

Several direwolves that had been watching me started barking, splitting into two groups: those coming towards me and those heading for the party.

“Four of them! We have a chance!”

Lowering his upper body, he used his running speed to thrust the sword into the gaping maw of the wolf.

—Kkek..!

Before he could pull the sword out of the throat of the impaled one, he kicked the jaw of the approaching one with his steel-plated leather boots and drove the retrieved sword into its nape.

“Two down..!”

As the two leading wolves were taken down in an instant, the ones following hesitated, filled with fear.

“You b*stards! You real b*stards!”

He could clearly see them flinch every time he shouted. It’s definitely different from before. Is there a change in their bodies? The wolves were more frightened than before.

With his vision clear, he could see their movements, making it not difficult. Just slightly larger wild dogs. As long as his feet were well protected, there was no big problem.

“Huff..!”

He thrust his sword at the one drooling and trembling low. It was too big a move, so it dodged, but he could swing again!

—Skeok

“Crazy..!”

Has the sword improved? Before he could retrieve the extended sword, he swung it to the left, splitting the direwolf’s skull vertically, spilling its mushy brain.

There was a slight resistance, but to cut through a skull with a sword. One of the wolves watching the scene started to run away.

“Yeah! Go!”

There was no need to chase the fleeing one. How’s the party doing?

“Back! Get back!”

“Then, I can’t shoot the bow!”

As expected, the archer was a half-wit. A common type among novice adventurers. Afraid of close combat, they buy a cheap bow, shoot at a nearby target a few times, and lack proper field practice.

ㅡCrash!

‘What a bunch of amateurs.’

The female warrior who had fallen to the ground was flailing her arms and legs wildly, unable to even open her eyes properly. As a result, the male vanguard who was trying to help her was scared off by the randomly swinging sword and hesitated to assist.

Oh, for crying out loud.

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

“Y-Yes!!”

As I shouted loudly and ran towards the back of the pack of wolves we were fighting, three wolves turned their heads towards me.

Using the momentum of my run, I kicked one of the wolves in the stomach. I felt something break, so it wouldn’t be recovering anytime soon.

Immediately, I turned my head and swung my sword horizontally at the thigh of the direwolf that was approaching the female vanguard who was trying to get up,

ㅡKaang!

With a slicing sound, the direwolf’s leg was severed.

‘Was my sword always this sharp..?’

Grabbing the tail of the fallen wolf with my left hand, I swung it down onto the head of another wolf that was charging at me. Then, I jumped high and stomped down with the sole of my foot on the two wolves that were sticking close together.

Well, I tried to stomp.

“What the hell?!”

Unexpectedly, I soared more than three meters into the air, and like a WWE wrestler, I lost my balance and fell elbow-first onto the wolves lying below.

Crunch-

The direwolf’s spine, which was struck by my elbow, was now written as “sp/ine.” The wolf, having expelled all the air left in its lungs, coughed up blood and collapsed,

ㅡWhimper, whimper…

Maybe it was the loud noise from my fall, but the remaining two wolves were so startled that they ran away like scared puppies.

“Ouch, my side hurts.”

Fortunately, my ribs are intact. I fell from a height of 3 meters, but thanks to landing on the soft, meaty Direwolf.

“Are, are you okay..?!”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine.”

Rubbing my right side, I approached the one I had kicked earlier. It was lying on its side, kicking the air as if running through a meadow in its dreams.

—Whimper, whimper…

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

I slid the knife into the area below its neck, avoiding the spine. With a crunching sound, its kicking stopped.

The party, who had been staring blankly, stood there with their mouths wide open and dumbfounded expressions.

They looked about seventeen at most. Just kids.

“Hey, you can’t just fight recklessly like that!”

“Th-that… I’m sorry!”

“Shh. Don’t speak so loudly. It’s not me you should be sorry to. What if you had died?”

“S-sorry… It’s our first time in a labyrinth…”

So they were novice adventurers. If it’s their first labyrinth, they must be bronze rank.

The archer didn’t have any major injuries. But is that outfit appropriate? Exposing their legs like that. The guy was limping badly, probably bitten on his left leg. The female vanguard looked filthy, probably from rolling on the ground, but at least she didn’t seem to have any injuries.

“Um, excuse me… Are you heading to the portal?”

“Yes. Why?”

There are three main reasons adventurers enter a labyrinth.

A hunting party that hunts after reaching a certain floor. A dive party that goes down to the deepest floor they can reach. And a quest party whose goal is to complete a commission.

No one organizes a hunting party to hunt on the third floor. It has to be worth it.

The female vanguard sheathed the single-edged sword she was holding and approached me.

“If you don’t mind, could you join us… huh?!”

“What? What’s with being startled by someone’s face?”

“Y-your eye..!”

Ah. Is it because of my left eye? That makes sense.

“I just replaced it. It looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yes..?!”

“Just kidding. I can’t go with you.”

It’s obvious I’d be a burden. It’s much faster to sprint through the forest to the portal alone. The biggest advantage is that without carrying a lantern, there’s less chance of encountering dire wolves.

“Please! We’re very inexperienced…”

The archer also approached, looking up at me with a tearful face. He’s short, so his face barely reaches my chest.

It seems the guy doesn’t want me to join. I don’t particularly want to linger on the third floor either.

“You owe me for helping you out earlier. I saved you from almost dying. Now, try to manage on your own.”

“Let’s go, Lupina. Tresha.”

The male explorer, who had been making a displeased face, grabbed the shoulders of the two women and pulled them towards him. Yeah, you should take care of your girlfriend.

The two women looked reluctant, but what can you do? I have no interest in coveting someone else’s woman. The problem is, I don’t have a woman of my own.

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

“Th-that is…”

“We can do it on our own.”

“That’s right.”

Is it because he’s young? He’s brimming with confidence. It would be better if blood wasn’t gushing out.

I also swung my sword in the air to shake off the blood, then wiped the remaining blood on the wolf’s hide lying on the ground, and put the sword back into its sheath.

As I left first, I heard the sound of someone slowly following behind.

No, this ruins the advantage of traveling alone. If he wanders around with such a brightly lit torch, I’ll eventually be discovered too.

In the end, I quickened my pace a bit to move faster.

“What the hell.”

I heard the footsteps of the party matching my speed.

After about 30 minutes of uncomfortable silence, speeding through the forest,

“I can see it.”

In the distance, I saw a place densely packed with countless lights. I could see the shapes of people here and there, and I heard a sigh of relief from behind, as if they had noticed too.

“Stop, stop. Who goes there?”

“A bronze-ranked adventurer.”

“Looks like it. Good job.”

Looks like it? That’s a bit harsh. But he’s right, so I have nothing to say.

After I passed through the gate, the party that had been following me also entered the portal base. There wasn’t anything particularly impressive, just a wide area surrounded by wooden fences, filled with people lying down covered in robes or other cloths.

They must be planning to go to the 4th floor after the night passes.

“I prefer the night over the day.”

I don’t know why. When I stomped my feet to catch a stray direwolf during the day, my body felt slower than when I caught twelve at night.

What is this…

‘I feel like I’ve become a wolf.’

Watching the explorers lying sprawled out and sleeping on the neatly laid stone floor, it feels like a slum.

And there are merchants here too. They sell jerky made from direwolf meat, but it’s not cheap. Tastes good though.

Anyway, we’ve just come back from a battle. Let’s properly repair and recover our bodies before we set off again. And more importantly, my body is distinctly different from before.

‘What kind of high jump was that?’

I thought about jumping high, but I didn’t expect to jump 3 meters. A human can’t jump 3 meters without some kind of help. The mysterious energy called ‘magic’ that exists in this world has a beneficial effect on everything.

The term ‘beneficial effect’ is too broad and abstract to really feel it, but…

For humans, it makes them a bit stronger, enhances natural healing, slows aging, and increases agility.

Compared to people on Earth, basic physical abilities are much better.

Even so, people in this world can’t jump 3 meters. Of course, it’s different for those with good skills.

‘Could it be the characteristic of the direwolf?’

These wolf creatures are nocturnal, but what does that have to do with me? My eyes and blood are a bit…

‘Is it the blood?’

That could be it. I’m not sure though.

I finished my maintenance while continuing these random thoughts in my head. I polished my sword and tidied up the inside of my pouch, which had become messy from shaking. Most of the direwolves on the third floor are young. In other words, they’re still weak wolves that haven’t fully grown.

There’s not much difference in combat style, but adult direwolves are bigger and stronger.

“Let’s go.”

“W-wait a minute!”

Someone called out to me from behind.

“What is it?”

It was the party I just met. A female vanguard.

“Y-you’re leaving now?!”

“Yes. Why?”

“A-aren’t you leaving in the morning..?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Why..?”

“Because I’m stronger at night.”

The woman tilted her head as if she couldn’t believe it.

“You received such a skill….”

“Yes, well, something like that.”

“Th-then.. be careful….”

What is this.

For now.. I’ll go to the 4th floor.

And there, I’ll test my physical abilities.