Bang—
With a cracking sound, the monster collapsed.
After receiving a fatal blow, it dissolved into black smoke and disappeared.
Ais, like a tireless warrior, had slain most of the monsters along the way.
Behind the Sword Princess, Paimon's small figure fluttered about like a cheerful little sprite, collecting every magic stone dropped by the fallen monsters.
Meanwhile, Cao Ye had become almost completely idle.
Holding his black sword, he had barely used it.
This was the first time he had walked through the Dungeon this easily.
It was certainly a unique experience.
Howl—
A wolf's howl echoed from deep within the rocky cavern.
Cao Ye glanced toward the sound.
From every direction, Hellhounds began crawling out.
They had been surrounded.
"So many wolves, Traveler!"
Paimon immediately hid behind Cao Ye, nervously peeking out.
At the same time, Ais quickly returned.
Although she often fought alone, she always rushed back immediately when her companions were in danger.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Cao Ye smiled and reassured Paimon before turning to face the Hellhounds.
Suddenly—
He burst forward.
Holding the black sword, Cao Ye moved like a rampaging dragon, turning into a blur of shadow.
"So fast…"
Ais's eyes widened.
That speed was definitely not something a Level 2 adventurer should possess.
Even when she herself was Level 2, she hadn't been this fast.
Slash!
With a single strike, a Hellhound's head flew off.
"ROAR!"
The remaining Hellhounds attacked together.
Jets of blazing fire erupted from their mouths, targeting Cao Ye.
But—
Cao Ye leaped into the air, easily avoiding the flames.
At the same moment—
A spatial crack tore open in midair.
From it, snow wolves burst out one after another.
In an instant—
The snow wolves collided with the Hellhounds.
Ambush after ambush followed.
Within seconds, the Hellhounds were slaughtered.
"Wolves?"
Paimon stared in surprise.
Ais glanced at them as well.
She had seen these wolves before when she encountered Cao Ye in the Dungeon previously.
She hadn't expected to see them again.
There were twelve snow wolf cursed corpses.
The damaged ones from the last expedition had already been repaired by Cao Ye.
He had even upgraded them slightly.
Their combat strength was now even higher.
"Snow wolves, Paimon. They're basically your seniors."
"Seniors?"
At first, Paimon thought they were like her—mutated cursed corpses.
But she quickly realized they had no consciousness.
They were simply puppets.
"Hmph!"
"Paimon doesn't have seniors like that!"
"Paimon is unique!"
"Paimon isn't some mass-produced product!"
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Cao Ye burst out laughing.
To be fair, Paimon was right.
A mutated cursed corpse with self-awareness was on a completely different level from his mass-produced constructs.
"A controlled puppet… what an interesting fighting style."
Ais commented calmly.
"They're not puppets. They're cursed corpses."
"Cursed corpses?"
Ais tilted her head.
That head tilt almost made Cao Ye melt.
"Think of them as… special puppets."
"Oh."
Cao Ye wanted to explain properly but couldn't figure out how.
So he left it at that.
After dealing with the Hellhounds, Cao Ye didn't dismiss the snow wolves.
Instead, he continued controlling them as they traveled deeper into the Dungeon.
Paimon even sat on one of them like it was her personal mount.
Anyone seeing it would assume the wolves belonged to her.
Soon, the trio passed through the upper and middle floors.
They arrived at the 18th Floor Safe Zone.
Rivira Town.
The infamous rogue town of Orario.
Cao Ye had visited it once before and had even spoken with its leader.
But today the atmosphere felt strange.
A large group of people had gathered together.
"Borus!"
"Hm? Cao Ye?"
The man in the crowd turned around.
After seeing Cao Ye, he immediately recognized him.
This was someone Borus had once tried hard to befriend—even lowering his own status to recruit him.
They hadn't seen each other for quite a while.
"Long time no see, brother."
"And isn't that the Sword Princess from Loki Familia?"
"How did you two end up together?"
"Well… various reasons."
Borus knew Ais as well.
He had plenty of connections.
Although his own strength wasn't particularly impressive, his network was extremely wide.
"Borus, what's going on here?"
"Why is everyone gathered?"
"Nothing much," Borus replied.
"The town was attacked by monsters again earlier."
"The fight just ended."
"We're about to divide the loot."
"I see."
Cao Ye looked around.
Many people showed signs of battle.
Their armor was scratched and damaged.
"What about you? It's been so long."
"Want to grab a drink?"
"Maybe next time."
"Alright."
Borus glanced at Ais and gave Cao Ye a knowing smile.
He even gave him an encouraging look.
Cao Ye could only sigh helplessly.
He wasn't trying to flirt with Ais.
But luckily Ais didn't understand that kind of implication.
Otherwise things might have gotten awkward.
"Traveler!"
Paimon suddenly flew up from the snow wolf.
"Is there anything good to eat here?"
Cao Ye sighed.
"Didn't you just eat earlier?"
"Paimon is hungry again!"
"After working so hard, Paimon digested everything already!"
"You'll have to wait until we get back."
"There's nothing for you here."
"No!"
"You clearly have snacks stored away!"
Cao Ye froze.
Those were his emergency rations.
And now Paimon had set her sights on them.
Borus stared at Paimon with curiosity.
"Brother… what exactly is that little thing?"
"Is it a half-elf and pallum hybrid?"
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