Flesh Golem of the Labyrinth City - Chapter 7



6. The Wolf’s Perspective

Upon reaching the third floor, dire wolves become more prevalent, and no matter how lucky you are, you will inevitably have to fight at least once.

Sunlight streams through the densely packed leaves that form a ceiling. I run straight to the portal.

No, I’m not running. I need to walk while pacing myself.

Praying that the same situation as last time doesn’t occur.

“…Amazing.”

My senses are going wild. I hear the sound of small rodents climbing trees and rustling leaves, sounds I’ve never heard before, and in the distance, the footsteps of medium-sized animals like deer or roe deer.

Compared to the plains, the density of animals is much higher. What would they eat in the plains anyway? At most, there are raspberry-like bushes that grow low to the ground, about waist-high to a person. Even herbivores think.

That’s why they don’t often go to the plains, where they can be seen from anywhere and have nowhere to hide.

I don’t know how my hearing has improved, but the labyrinth is a place where I must make the most of my abilities.

“Let’s go safely and surely.”

After taking a sip of water from my metal canteen, I moved in the direction indicated by the compass.

My vision isn’t great. Daytime vision is better for humans than for dire wolves. The penalty of not being able to distinguish a few colors is significant. Of course, my right eye compensates for that, so it’s not a big problem.

Instead, at night, the dire wolf’s vision asserts itself more, brightening the dark view.

Although I have a lantern, being able to see well in the dark is very advantageous. Once I get used to it, I might even save on lantern oil.

And these forests, with their densely grown leaves, block about half of the light. So, even during the day, it’s not brightly lit. But it’s not completely dark either.

‘There’s something ahead on the right.’

It’s definitely not a person. It’s a four-legged beast with a low stature… and it’s alone. 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 see because of the knee-high weeds.

‘Let’s just see what it is.’

I walked on the dirt to muffle my footsteps, avoiding contact with the grass. Lowering my upper body, I increased my speed.

‘It is a direwolf. Why is it alone?’

It seems to be a straggler from the pack. If it’s alone, it should be easy to catch.

‘Slowly. As fast as possible.’

I drew my one-handed sword from its sheath and moved quickly towards its back.

The wind is blowing from the front, so it won’t be able to smell me. The rustling leaves create relatively loud, meaningless noise.

A bit more boldly.

“Hup…!”

—Squelch

Slightly to the right of the center of its back. Avoiding the spine, I pierced its lung to block any noise.

—Gurgle… Yelp…!

“You wretched thing. Go to a better place.”

This is the beginning of the third floor.

* * * * *

It was already past 3 PM when I entered the labyrinth.

I spent about three hours on the first and second floors, and after about two hours, I faced the night on the third floor.

During the last labyrinth expedition, it was around this time that we encountered the direwolf pack.

But, I think I know why.

“Carrying a lantern in such a dark forest.”

The best thing about having the eyes of a direwolf is this night vision. Seeing through the eyes of a wolf, I can clearly understand how crazy humans are.

The forest is dense with trees, but they are thin and grow straight up towards the sky, forming a coniferous forest.

The branches only grow above three meters, so contrary to the preconceived notion of a forest, you can see quite far.

The terrain is flat, and there are no elements like fog to obscure the view. If you walk around with a light, you can be seen from hundreds of meters away.

“Of course, they would come after you.”

Unfortunately, there seems to be no reason to use the newly bought whale oil. If I light the lantern now, it would only reveal my position to any direwolves that might be in the forest.

Of course, this is because I have the eyes of a direwolf, but an ordinary human would definitely need to light a lantern.

It’s a fight between being visible to both me and the wolf versus me being invisible but the wolf seeing well. And wild beasts are generally afraid of fire by default.

‘That being said, it’s quite useful.’

Although it was a bit of a surprising reason, the eyes of the direwolf are helpful for labyrinth exploration. They perform well.

Even though it’s night, for some reason, I’m not particularly tired. Not having engaged in proper combat might be a factor, but even so, it’s amazing how energized I feel.

“Am I a man suited for the night?”

With no one around, I can say embarrassing things easily.

After walking for about 30 minutes, I laid down for a moment to soothe my hungry stomach. It seems like the days will get longer, but summer is hot and efficiency drops.

I’ve heard that it’s not as hot as in Korea, where you feel like you might die just standing still. But still, the human body generates heat while moving.

This slightly cool period can be considered the peak season. It might be different for those who can endure heat well but dislike the cold.

‘Without the lantern, I can’t see the direwolves either.’

I leaned against a tree for a moment’s rest and opened my pouch. The gambeson was soft enough that leaning back for a bit didn’t cause any discomfort.

Opening the pouch, I saw eight grain cubes wrapped in white cloth. This is what we mostly use to store food during labyrinth expeditions.

This white cloth is practically the labyrinth’s version of a lock-and-lock container. If it’s not jerky, dried food, or other items that need to be sealed, we use cloth.

Most of the food we bring into the labyrinth is dried, so it doesn’t matter if it’s exposed to the air. Just wrap it up and stuff it into the pouch, and that’s it.

The grain cubes don’t taste particularly good, but if you chew on them for a while, a subtle sweetness emerges. It’s like an energy bar without the chocolate.

The weather has gotten warmer than before, but still, a sip of cool water from the metal canteen is refreshing.

“Ah, that’s nice.”

Consuming carbohydrates seems to invigorate my entire body.

No matter how direwolves are, there’s no way they can find me sitting on the ground in the middle of the night without a fire.

I cleaned the knife I used only once to ensure it didn’t smell of blood.

Normally, after using a knife, you should wipe it with an oiled cloth, but I’m not rich enough to waste oil on a cloth just because I made a cut on a direwolf’s back. For now, I’ve just wiped off the blood and put it away.

From noble mtl dot com

‘There’s someone passing by.’

The portal is currently to my left. Maybe that’s why, but I can see a light carried by someone flickering in the distance to my right. They’re walking towards the portal.

‘Damn, is it a party of one guy and two girls? Lucky! They look young.’

The guy leading with a torch is wearing metal armor on his upper body, chainmail down to his knees, and is equipped with a one-handed sword and a buckler.

His eyes look quite brave. Yeah, kids like you are the protagonists of this world. You must be rich too, that armor looks good.

The problem is that because he’s holding a lantern in his right hand, his buckler and one-handed sword are shifted to the left.

‘He’ll figure it out. You’re just a bronze rank. Get a grip, Yuna.’

They also look like bronze rank. Maybe they’re heading to the fifth floor.

“Hmm.”

Anyway, my night vision has improved. Even though there’s no cloud and the moonlight is pouring down, I can see over a hundred meters away. If I can even check their armed status, isn’t that amazing?

“Hoo, let’s get up.”

Sitting alone in the pitch-dark forest without a single light, I feel a wave of melancholy. Maybe it’s because of that party just now.

I should find a party first when I get to the lead grade.

‘They’re still there.’

One of the two women in the rear 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 rear? Classic formation.

From a wolf’s perspective, they must look like a bunch of lunatics. They’re lighting a lantern in the pitch-black forest, so they can be seen from hundreds of meters away.

Should I go and talk to them?

‘No, forget it. I’m not an uneducated jerk who interrupts another man’s happy time.’

I’m used to the darkness, but having a light in front of me makes me feel a bit more at ease.

Damn it. Saying I’m used to the darkness. What a load of crap.

Surely, walking around at night without even lighting a fire makes me look like a crazy b*stard to others.

The first and second floors are plains around the portal, so there’s no problem, but from the third floor, the portal is stuck in the middle of the forest.

Of course, the first explorers cleared the surroundings and built a base to protect the portal, so it’s usually visible.

I’ve been walking on the third floor for about three hours. I still can’t see the portal. They said it would be very bright at night and visible when you get close.

“Huh.”

To the left of the party walking ahead. Isn’t that a pack of direwolves?

“Whoa.”

It’s the typical pre-hunting posture of wolves. They lower their bodies, pressing their bellies to the ground, and lift their eyes to stare at their prey.

‘No, can’t they feel it being so close?’

The party ahead is oblivious, only looking forward. Isn’t situational awareness essential?

‘…It’s because of the torches.’

They’re definitely beginners. Holding a bright light source like a torch right in front of their eyes, unable to adjust the brightness delicately, it’s no wonder they can’t see the dark forest with all that light flooding their pupils.

This is why they need lanterns. With something like a cover split into eight directions, it can block the light coming towards me and only shine forward. The advice from the lady is truly invaluable.

Still, I should help them.

“Watch out! There’s a direwolf on the left!”

As I shouted loudly, both the direwolf and the explorer party were equally startled.

And the ones who regained their composure first were the direwolves.

Twelve of them. They have the numbers, but there are only four people here. I took down six by myself, so roughly calculating, it’s manageable..!