Now that Ethan had ten undead thralls under his command, it was clear, there was no way he could store all of them inside his dimensional storage anymore. Just three Dusk Fangs alone nearly maxed out the space he had available.
Like, maybe he could squeeze in three Dusk Fangs and one Wild Boar at best. The rest had to remain outside.
So Ethan decided to only store the Wild Boars. Their movements were more aggressive and loud, after all.
The Dusk Fangs could move swiftly and silently, so they were safe to bring along. As for the Venom Bites, those oversized rats were nimble enough to scurry through ruins and shadows without drawing much attention.
It also served as a reminder: for now, two Wild Boar undead were enough. He still needed room in his storage for other essential items.
The sun was just about to rise, the first hints of dawn creeping over the skyline, and Ethan was preparing to retreat back into his hideout.
When suddenly… from afar, he heard it. An explosion, followed by monster cries. A battle?
Curious, he crept forward, moving quickly and silently through the ruins, peeking from behind a shattered wall.
And there, in the open field between collapsed buildings, there were humans. Four of them. Three men and one woman, probably in their twenties.
Ethan hadn't realized just how much he'd missed seeing human faces. Weeks of wandering this ruin, with nothing but monsters and his own skeletal reflection staring back at him in cracked mirrors.
Those humans were dressed in outfits that mostly covered their entire bodies, painted in black and deep red colors. It looked like something tailored and customized specifically for their team. Matching in theme, yet clearly adapted for individual roles.
One of them wore more plated armor than the others, bearing the weight with ease as he wielded a massive sword carved in a sleek, intimidating design. Another carried a spear. And the third guy... Is that a gun he was holding?
But not just any gun. This one looked unlike anything Ethan had ever seen. It was bulkier, and instead of bullets, it fired what looked more like glowing, magic-infused projectiles.
The only woman in the group was positioned at the rear, wielding a bow and firing with precision while the others held off the monsters swarming around them.
It looked exactly like a monster-hunting party straight out of an RPG.
Only, their gear was clearly superior, their weapons and armor didn't resemble the usual monster drops at all. They looked like custom-built equipment.
Could it be that humans had started crafting their own magical weapons now?
It actually made a lot of sense. Given how ridiculously low the drop rate from monsters was, they couldn't possibly survive by relying solely on loot. There had to be another way.
Still… the idea that humans had managed to develop their own magic-infused weaponry within five years? That was impressive.
From what Ethan could observe, the monsters those humans were fighting numbered in the dozens. It was a pretty intense encounter. The party didn't seem exceptionally skilled, but they weren't reckless either. Judging by the pace at which they were taking down the monsters, their levels were probably still in the teens, definitely not past level 20.
This was the first time he'd seen a human party hunting monsters in this area, which was strange in itself. The number of humans out here was so small. Surely humanity hadn't gone extinct… right?
He caught bits of their conversation as they shouted over the chaos of battle.
"Hunting here is a total waste of resources. The rewards don't make up for it," the one with the greatsword yelled.
"Like we have a better option," the spear-wielder snapped back. "We need to hit level 25 and complete our second class advancement before the year ends. Otherwise, we're stuck like this, barely scraping by. This job's more likely to kill us than make us rich."
Level 25? Second class advancement?
So, at level 25, a person could undergo a class upgrade, an evolution of their current class. In Ethan's case, that would be his Grave Caller.
And now he couldn't help but wonder, what kind of upgrade could possibly top a class this cool already?
Ethan continued watching from a distance, keeping himself hidden while trying to gather more information from whatever bits of conversation he could catch.
For a moment, he considered stepping out, just walking up to them and introducing himself. Maybe he could get them to share more insights.
But… he hesitated. It might be smarter to wait. Better to reach level 20 first, or even 30. If he really pushed and made full use of his undead army, that goal was well within reach.
Besides, they seemed fully preoccupied with their own mission. They were talking about rewards and riches. What kind of wealth were they chasing by hunting monsters here?
The conversation picked up again.
"That's exactly why no one wants to hunt in this place. Which is why I said it was stupid to come here," the woman complained.
"Well, it's quiet here. We can explore more freely," the guy with the gun answered. "Besides, there's the maze. It won't be long before this place gets crowded. So we might as well capitalize on everything we can before everyone else starts pouring in."
The maze?
Hell, what was that supposed to mean?
The battle eventually came to an end, and the human party looked visibly exhausted. The woman immediately dropped down onto a nearby rock, catching her breath.
"Whose turn is it now?" asked the one with the greatsword.
Everyone's eyes turned toward the man with the gun.
"What? Why does it always have to be me?" he groaned.
"No complaining. You just stand in the back and shoot. Hahaha," the swordsman replied, clapping him on the shoulder with a grin.
The gunner sighed, stashed his weapon into his inventory, and pulled out something else. A blade, short and slightly curved. He crouched beside one of the fallen wolf monsters and started doing something to it.
The man was slicing open the monster's upper belly. Deliberately, like he knew exactly what he was doing.
What are they doing?
After a few moments, the man reached deep inside the monster's body and pulled something out.
What's that?
"Good, this one had it," the man said, holding up the object.
It looked like something no bigger than a clenched fist. Slick with blood, yet firm and faintly shimmering as the first rays of morning light caught on its surface.
Ethan had no idea monsters held something like that inside them.
Damn it... how much had he missed out on just because he lacked this kind of information?
The man continued his work, moving on to the other monsters. From what Ethan could see, not every monster had one. It was random, or perhaps based on something he didn't yet understand.
And then, through their casual chatter, Ethan finally caught the name: Monster Core.
"This wolf's got decent skin. Take it with us. We can sell it," one of the others said.
And Ethan nearly smacked his own forehead.
Of course. The carcass of these monsters had value. And that core, this Monster Core, was worth something too.
All this time, he'd been killing and walking away with nothing but EXP…
One of them spoke again. "I walked past some of the monster carcasses earlier, and after checking, there were still Monster Cores left inside," said the guy with the spear.
"Looks like some idiot who doesn't need money left them behind," he added, half-laughing.
That should be mine!
Ethan cursed inwardly, practically screaming at himself in frustration.
Until now, he'd always assumed that any valuable loot would simply float to him, absorbed straight into his dimensional storage like the item drops he'd seen before. He had no idea there were things, valuable things, that had to be harvested manually.
Better late than never.
From now on, he would make damn sure to slice open every monster he brought down and dig through their insides for anything worth keeping.
He wasn't about to lose another Monster Core again.