The corpse of a Grade A monster, especially a quasi-boss level one, had more to offer than just the magic stone.
The hide, flesh, blood, organs, and so on. All were classified as high-grade materials, leaving nothing to waste.
Naturally, this led many to avoid undead-type monsters. It was understandable that after all the effort of catching one, the only thing worth selling was the magic stone.
Skeleton bones or ghoul rot might have some demand, but they were cheap compared to other monsters.
Anyway, until now, even when hunting monsters, they only took the magic stone and didn't bother collecting byproducts. It was a waste of time and troublesome.
But this time was different.
As mentioned earlier, quasi-boss level monsters had nothing to waste. Just like a cow is an all-purpose livestock, sold even for its marrow, the minotaur was the same.
From the large horns on its head, to its hide, blood, and flesh, even its testicles fetched a high price.
Like orc testicles, they were good for virility, but they also had an effect on hair loss, so they were worth whatever someone was willing to pay at auction.
It was a bit unsettling, but he put the minotaur's corpse, separated into its upper and lower halves, into his inventory as it was.
After cleaning up the area, he took a moment to catch his breath, gazing at the screen floating in the corner of his vision.
[??? Detected]
[Abnormal strengthening of monster confirmed]
[Additional rewards will be given]
[Selecting reward…]
Even after seeing it several times, the screen left a bad taste in his mouth.
He didn't know who was doing this or for what purpose, but they wouldn't strengthen monsters for no reason.
He couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Resillia, who had backstabbed Iris, was behind it, but the level of interference was too weak to see it that way.
It would have been better to wait for them to break out and then attack, so why bother doing this?
The more he thought about it, the more Resillia was falling off the list of suspects.
If that was the case, then they weren't targeting Iris.
'…Me?'
It was hard to believe that someone was targeting him, who had no connections in this world other than Iris and the World Tree, but he couldn't just relax and feel safe.
There was no harm in being careful.
"Next time, I should just run away or something."
He wouldn't have gone to such lengths to fight the minotaur if he hadn't been sure he could reach the next level.
Of course, thanks to it, he went from the 2nd Circle to the 4th Circle in one go, and he had gained so much, so he had no major complaints.
"By the way, is this also a reward?"
He picked up the two-handed axe that had fallen on the floor.
It was the axe the minotaur had used. However, the size had been slightly reduced.
Ding-
[Information about the newly acquired item is being collected]
[Bloodstained Ogre's Two-Handed Axe]
[Rank: Epic]
[You can now use 'Berserk']
[You can now use 'Earthquake']
The axe, stained crimson, looked very good at first glance.
It might not be as good as Gillenium of the same Epic rank, but it seemed to be just below that.
"Noel could use this."
At first, he had thought about putting it up for auction, but he felt a bit guilty that Noel, who had suffered with him this time, hadn't received any reward.
He would ask her if she wanted to use it the next time he summoned her, and if she didn't need it, he would sell it then.
[Time remaining for matching: 119:02:07]
It seemed like the minor cleanup was mostly done, so all that was left was to go back up.
***
"…Going back again?"
Deep in the dungeon, Yurein, observing the upper floors, watched Kang Hyunwoo heading upwards, a slightly disappointed expression on her face.
Of course, she understood it in her head.
No matter how much stronger he had become after breaking through the wall, it was still a daunting task to defeat even the gatekeeper of the deeper levels.
Now was the time to retreat and regroup.
Yurein wore a subtle smile at his ability not to misjudge his own abilities.
It was the first, and perhaps only, form of the World Tree's champion.
However.
"Even so, summoning familiars within the dungeon…"
With a troubled heart, Yurein swiped the screen of the mirror she had been watching to the side. Then, as if rewinding time, the scene of Kang Hyunwoo and Noel on the night before entering the 3rd floor was displayed.
-Hng, ugh♡ Haa?!♡
-M-Master…!!♡ Am I going again…?!♡
-Heeuk?!!♡ My, my pussy is breaking!!!♡♡
Yurein couldn't take her eyes off the fleshy landscape unfolding beyond the mirror, as if she were completely captivated.
It was a scene she had seen many times, but it felt new every time.
"S-Such scandalous…"
Even though she said that, there was no one to point out that she was concentrating as much as when Kang Hyunwoo was fighting the minotaur.
Yurein Silvenia Oliviere.
One of the few transcendents remaining on the ground, but still a virgin with no dating experience.
***
Going back up in the dungeon was different from simply following the path they had come.
First of all, unlike on the surface, there were no structures nearby to pinpoint the location, so memorizing the path was difficult.
It wasn't for nothing that I had been mapping on the 1st floor.
"…Did we come from that way?"
It wouldn't be easy to find the way alone without Noel by my side.
As proof, even though quite some time had passed since I had defeated the Minotaur, I was still wandering around on the 3rd floor.
Just as I was getting tired of the similar scenery everywhere I went.
Crash!!
-Kieeeek!!
A giant spider popped out from around a corner.
And quite a few of them.
I frowned at their bizarre appearance, their entire bodies stained crimson, but I didn't back down.
I would have had to run away before, but I didn't feel the need to do so now.
Magic began to circulate throughout my body.
Since the number of mana circles had increased, the amount of magic power, the durability of the magic circuits, and the speed of calculating magic had all been greatly enhanced.
Of course, the output of basic magic was no longer comparable to what it used to be.
I felt like I knew why 4th Circle mages were treated as quasi-nobles in many countries.
[Flame Lance x5]
The spears of fire that appeared in an instant aimed at the spiders.
As if feeling threatened by the sight, the spiders rushed towards me all at once, but a 3rd floor monster couldn't move faster than magic.
The spears of fire flew in the blink of an eye, piercing the bodies and heads of the spiders. The spiders writhed in extreme pain and heat, writhing so disgustingly that they eventually turned to ashes.
I retched at the smell that made me feel sick to my stomach, and roughly collected the coins and magic stones. Then, I hurried on my way again.
It wasn't certain, but it felt like I would find the way to go up if I went a little further.
Not long after, I was able to find the stairs to go up as I had expected.
I felt a little better, but the thought that I would have to do this twice more soon made my steps feel heavy.
This is all my fate.
The only good thing was that since Noel wasn't here, there was no one to complain even if I pushed myself a little harder?
But the silence felt strangely awkward.
I should be used to being alone.
"…If Noel were here, I wouldn't have to suffer so much trying to find my way."
Leaving that regret behind, I continued to climb the endless stairs and walk through the vast 2nd floor.
Even if it took a little longer, I didn't avoid fighting by using magic detection. It wasn't as dangerous as before, and I could make a decent amount of coins.
Time continued to pass.
I held back even when I was hungry, and I meditated moderately even when I was sleepy.
Having continued a forced march that I couldn't have imagined when Noel was with me, it didn't even take a day to reach the 1st floor.
Since I had mapping data from the 1st floor, I was basically almost there if I came this far.
Moreover, there was no way the 1st floor monsters would be my match, so I almost ran.
[Time remaining for matching: 72:37:14]
Having started on the 3rd floor, it was only a little over a day later that I was able to reach the stairs leading up to the underground vault.
It was true that I arrived relatively early compared to when I went down to the 3rd floor, but I was a little concerned that there were only three days left.
[Coins held: 4,150 coins]
On the other hand, thanks to actively hunting as I came up here, my coffers, which I had depleted by buying dice and potions, were full again, which was a kind of consolation.
It was true that strong monsters were the worst as a source of coins in this way. Catching several moderate monsters was much more efficient in terms of coin acquisition.
Of course, that didn't mean that catching strong monsters was just a dumb thing to do.
Just with this Minotaur alone, if I thought about the two Epic-grade items, the various by-products that would enrich my bank account, and the rewards that the app would give me, there was a sufficient merit to catching strong monsters.
Rather, if I didn't need coins, I didn't even need to catch weak monsters.
"By the way, I don't even know how long it's been since I last saw Iris."
That's how long it felt like I had been away. It could be because I had suffered so much during that time.
Anyway, this time I put on auxiliary magic and went straight up the stairs. Until now, I had been taking breaks little by little as I went up, but now I didn't have time to do that.
After climbing the tedious spiral staircase for a long time, the light began to come in little by little from above.
It was clearly the light from the lighting I had installed before I went down into the dungeon.
I felt strangely nervous thinking about seeing Iris again after a long time. I slowed down slightly, wiped off the sweat, and straightened my clothes.
I carefully went up and the familiar temple greeted me.
However, the inside of the temple was very dark because the golden tree that served as a lighting source was not functioning properly. It would have been much darker if I hadn't installed the lighting.
Still, I felt good thinking about escaping from the damn underground dungeon.
But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't see Iris.
I wondered if she was sleeping, so I headed towards the tent, and then I heard someone's breathing.
But the breathing was a little irregular and rough.
Like a patient's.
With hurried steps, I opened the tent door as if I were about to tear it off, and went straight inside.
"Haa, haa…"
"Iris?"
Sure enough, inside the tent was Iris, struggling to catch her breath.
As soon as I put my hand on her forehead, I felt a heat that was much hotter than I had expected on my palm. It felt like it was at least 39 degrees.
"Hyunwoo…?"
I heard a voice that sounded like it was cracking slightly.
"Iris, can you hear me?"
"I'm glad… you came back safely…"
Even as she gave me a smile, Iris repeatedly coughed several times and tossed and turned, as if she was in very bad shape.
I couldn't keep watching her like that, so I took out the last remaining Holy Water and Health Potion as a matter of urgency.
"Drink slowly."
I slowly fed her, supporting her back slightly so she could drink more comfortably.
Only after she had emptied the potion and Holy Water did she seem to feel more comfortable, and the cold sweat that had been pouring down like rain stopped.
"Hyunwoo… are you hurt anywhere…?"
It was clear that she was having a hard time herself, but I was so grateful that she was worried about me first.
"I'm fine, but what happened?"
"…It's nothing."
Iris didn't seem to want to talk about it, and she turned her head slightly, avoiding my eyes.
I didn't press her any further and raised the temperature of the tent so Iris could rest comfortably, and put a wet towel on her forehead.
"It's cool…"
The cold touch of the cold towel seemed to please her, and Iris soon fell asleep.
I felt relieved at the sight, but I couldn't just be happy because I had a hunch about what had happened to Iris.
'It's probably because of the blessing.'
The World Tree's blessing that Iris had given was so great that it lightly exceeded the effect of the Holy Water made by a bishop-level priest.
However, there was no way she could give such a blessing without any compensation.
It was clear that Iris's poor condition was also an aftereffect of recklessly giving the blessing.
Feeling a sense of guilt in my heart at the sight of Iris like that, I stayed by her side every moment until she woke up.
Unlike last time, it was a return that made me feel uneasy in my heart.