Tap tap tap—
Inside the deep cavern, a man and a woman walked side by side.
"Lord Cao Ye… is this really okay?"
Haruhime looked at Cao Ye with obvious worry.
She had almost no combat ability, and Cao Ye himself was only Level 2. Entering the Middle Floors of the Dungeon like this felt a bit reckless.
"It's fine. Leave everything to me."
"…Alright."
Seeing Cao Ye remain confident, Haruhime could only accept it.
Back when she was part of the Istar Familia, she had occasionally entered the Dungeon with senior members.
But she had only been a companion.
At most, she had just gained some experience watching.
Actual combat had nothing to do with her.
The 19th Floor of the Dungeon was located just beneath the safe zone of the 18th Floor.
It also marked the beginning of the Great Tree Labyrinth region.
This area was filled with dense forests and towering trees.
Numerous insect-type monsters lived here.
Without antidotes, adventurers could easily run into serious trouble.
The thick vegetation made it impossible to see where danger might be hiding, and many monsters here carried deadly poison.
Even though it was only the 19th Floor, many high-level adventurers disliked coming here.
Rustle rustle—
A noisy sound came from the bushes.
Cao Ye smiled.
He had just arrived, and already the "welcome party" had appeared.
"Lord Cao Ye…"
As a beastman, Haruhime had sharp senses.
Combined with the Falna, she immediately noticed the danger.
Whoosh—
A massive insect suddenly burst out from the bushes.
If it appeared in Cao Ye's previous world, it would probably be large enough to set a world record.
"A Mad Beetle."
Cao Ye instantly recognized the monster.
Before coming here, he had done plenty of research.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
But this beetle was only the beginning.
More and more Mad Beetles crawled out of the surrounding brush.
"B-Bugs…"
Haruhime's entire body stiffened.
Her fluffy golden tail puffed up like a startled cat.
As a girl, she naturally feared insects—especially ones this big.
"Gem Magecraft: Flame!"
Boom—!
Cao Ye took out a gemstone.
In the next moment, blazing flames erupted violently.
The fire instantly cleared the area ahead.
Every Mad Beetle in the flames was burned to death.
The result was surprisingly effective.
Crack—
However, before Cao Ye could celebrate, the gemstone shattered.
Just like that, it was gone.
Truly pay-to-win magecraft.
The gem even contained a large portion of his stored magic power.
And it disappeared in a single attack.
Rustle rustle—
But in the Great Tree Labyrinth, monsters were everywhere.
Killing one group only attracted more.
Cao Ye didn't worry.
Instead, he prepared to test another ability.
More precisely—
A spell technique.
Buzz—
A crack slowly tore open in the air beside him.
A passage connected to the Imaginary Space opened.
The next second—
One wolf after another stepped out.
Snow-white fur.
Ice-blue eyes.
Sharp claws.
Deadly fangs.
Snow Wolves.
These were cursed puppets created by Cao Ye.
Instead of starting with extremely powerful constructs, he chose animal templates for his early experiments.
Over the past few days, he had produced twelve Snow Wolf puppets.
"Alright…"
"Let the hunt begin."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wolves instantly charged forward.
Their bodies were crafted using materials dropped by Middle Floor monsters, giving them excellent durability.
A battle between wolves and insects began on the 19th Floor.
Slash—
Under the wolves' attacks, the beetle monsters were quickly torn apart.
Cursed Puppet Manipulation was a technique capable of fighting beyond one's level.
As long as the puppets were strong enough—and numerous enough—defeating stronger enemies was entirely possible.
Of course, controlling so many puppets placed heavy strain on both magic power and mental focus.
But Cao Ye was hardly a normal adventurer.
For someone like him, such extravagance was manageable.
Thus, Cao Ye and his mischievous fox companion continued advancing through the Middle Floors.
Haruhime acted as a supporter, collecting all the monster drops.
Cao Ye had said it wasn't necessary.
But she still wanted to contribute in whatever way she could.
So he didn't stop her.
Slash—
With one final strike, the last monster fell.
This battle finally ended.
Monster corpses covered the ground.
Of the twelve Snow Wolf puppets, only eight remained functional.
Four had been damaged too severely to continue.
"Lord Cao Ye… water."
Haruhime walked over with a flask as Cao Ye shook the blood off his black sword.
"Thanks, Haruhime."
"It's the least I can do."
Throughout the journey, Haruhime had little presence in battle.
Moments like this were when she felt she could finally help.
After the events of the previous day, Cao Ye had realized something important.
Haruhime's heart was very fragile.
Teasing her lightly or flirting was fine.
But if the joke went too far, she could genuinely feel hurt.
Seeing those tears nearly fall yesterday made him understand that clearly.
"Lord Cao Ye, which floor are we going to today?"
"The 22nd Floor."
"Then which floor are we on now?"
"The 21st Floor."
Cao Ye answered confidently.
The reason he knew they hadn't reached the 22nd Floor yet was simple—
His system quest hadn't been completed.
[Daily Quest: Reach the 22nd Floor of the Dungeon!]
[Progress: 21 / 22]
[Reward: Diamonds ×20]
Recently, the daily quests sometimes rewarded 10 diamonds and sometimes 20 diamonds.
Cao Ye had already accumulated 90 diamonds.
Just 10 more and he could perform another 10-pull draw.
That was why he had entered the Dungeon early in the morning.
As for Haruhime coming along—
She had insisted.
And considering her magic ability, Cao Ye agreed.
Although his strength didn't come entirely from the Falna, gaining a temporary level boost would still greatly increase his combat power.
Check out Patreon.com/UchihaAce For Early Access of chapters