Ethan stared at the Hydra's massive body.
The core alone would make him rich.
But the body of the Hydra itself could make him even richer.
He looked at its enormous body.
"Still…"
"There's no way I can carry all of this."
Ethan sighed.
"But I still have to try to get out of here."
He clenched his fist.
"And when I get out of this dungeon…"
"I'll find those bastards."
His expression became serious.
"I'm sure they targeted creatures like me because they thought I was weak."
"But I won't let it slide."
Ethan's body slowly rose into the air.
"This is taking too much time."
"Why don't I just fly my way out of this dungeon as fast as I can?"
He flew toward the open door.
As he passed through the floor, he noticed a strange rock monster.
Ethan recognized it.
"That monster…"
"It could probably give me another ability."
He glanced at it.
"But I'm not going to waste time fighting it."
Ethan continued forward.
The doors leading to the other floors opened with a quick push.
Each time he reached another floor, he flew as fast as he could.
Some monsters tried to attack him.
Ethan simply avoided them and continued toward the door.
He pushed it open and immediately flew toward the next floor.
Floor after floor.
He continued moving as quickly as possible.
Until eventually—
Ethan suddenly recognized the surroundings.
He stopped.
He hovered in the air for a moment, catching his breath.
Then he looked around.
"This is…"
He counted the floor numbers with his fingers.
Then his eyes widened.
"The forty-eighth floor."
Ethan remembered.
"This is the floor I was on when I woke up."
He breathed in.
Then breathed out.
"Yes…"
"I remember now."
Ethan looked toward the path ahead.
He was still flying.
"At this rate…"
"There's no faster way for me to get out of here."
He continued forward.
"But I'm sure…"
"In just a few hours…"
"I'll be out of this dungeon."
Ethan looked down at the Hydra core in his hand.
"It's useless…"
"But I have too much to carry."
He looked at the core again.
"Seriously…"
Ethan then tore off part of his remaining clothing.
He wrapped the piece of cloth around the Hydra core and tied it securely.
Then he attached it to his wrist.
The core hung from his wrist as he flew forward.
Ethan looked at it.
"It should be fine for now."
He continued flying through the dungeon.
Ethan was exhausted.
He looked around the dungeon, searching for a safe place where he could sleep.
After a while, he found one.
There were no monsters nearby.
Ethan finally relaxed.
He lay down and fell asleep.
The following day, Ethan woke up.
He continued walking through the dungeon.
As he moved through the floors, he began noticing something different.
Adventurers.
He was finally seeing other adventurers again.
"So I'm getting close…"
Ethan continued forward until he finally reached the dungeon's entrance.
He looked ahead.
The exit was right in front of him.
Ethan raised his hand and smiled.
"Finally…"
"I'm out."
He stepped out of the dungeon.
The dungeon guard standing outside suddenly froze.
He stared at Ethan from head to toe.
His expression changed as if he had seen a ghost.
The guard instinctively jumped backward.
Ethan's clothes were completely disheveled.
They were torn and covered in dried blood.
He looked nothing like someone who had simply spent a few days inside a dungeon.
"What the hell?"
"Who are you?"
The guard stared at him.
Ethan looked at himself.
"I've been inside the dungeon…"
The guard's tense shoulders slowly relaxed.
He looked at Ethan again.
"Please…"
"Can you tell me what date it is?"
The guard hesitated.
Then he answered slowly.
"It's October 29."
Ethan froze.
"October 29…"
The guard continued.
"Before you enter the city, go back to the gate."
"The guards there will give you some new clothes."
"You can't enter the city looking like that."
Ethan remained silent.
October 29.
His eyes widened.
"That day…"
"The day I entered the dungeon was my birthday."
"October 3rd."
Ethan's expression changed.
"Wait…"
"Those people tried to kill me on October 3rd."
"Could they have been following me around the fort?"
He lowered his head.
"After I lost so much blood…"
"I passed out on one of the floors."
Ethan's eyes widened further.
"Could I have been unconscious for almost twenty days?"
He looked around the dungeon.
"I can't even tell how many days passed after I woke up."
"What the hell…?"
Ethan shook the thoughts out of his head.
He didn't have time to figure everything out right now.
"Oh…"
"Thank you."
He turned around.
Then he headed back toward the city gate.