LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Wolf's Sight
Upon reaching the 3rd floor, Direwolves became much more common, and no matter how lucky I was, I would inevitably end up in combat at least once.
Sunlight filtered through the densely packed canopy of leaves. I walked straight towards the portal.
Before entering, I took a deep breath.
I hope the same situation as last time won't occur again.
"...Amazing."
After passing through, my senses went wild. I heard the sound of small rodents I'd never heard before scurrying up trees, rustling the leaves. The sound of medium-sized beasts like deer moving in the distance also reached my ears.
Compared to the plains, the density of animals was much higher here. What would they eat out on the plains anyway? At most, some raspberry-like bushes grew about waist-high. Even herbivores used their brains.
They usually avoided the plains, where they were exposed from all sides and had nowhere to hide.
I wasn't quite sure how my hearing had improved, but the Labyrinth was where I needed to make the most of my abilities.
"Let's go. Safely and surely."
After sipping water from my metal canteen, I set off in the direction my badge indicated.
My vision wasn't great. As expected, human eyes were better than Direwolf eyes during the day. The penalty of not being able to distinguish colors was significant. Of course, my right eye made up for that weakness to an extent, so it wasn't a major problem.
Instead, when night fell, the Direwolf's vision asserted itself more, illuminating the dark surroundings.
I had a lantern, but being able to see well in the dark was extremely useful. Once I got used to it, the cost of oil for the lantern would be reduced.
And these forests, with their densely growing leaves easily blocking half the light, weren't brightly lit even during the day.
'There's something ahead to the right.'
It definitely wasn't human. It was a quadruped with a low stature... Alone. Unlikely to be a dire wolf since they moved in a pack.
The distance was... about 40 meters. Walking in the same direction as me. Hard to make out due to the knee-high undergrowth.
'Let's just observe.'
I walked on the dirt to minimize the sound of my footsteps, avoiding contact with the grass. Lowering my upper body, I increased my speed.
'... It's a dire wolf, alright. But why is it alone?'
Seemed to have been left behind by its pack.
'Slowly. As fast as possible.'
I quickly moved towards its back, drawing my short sword from its sheath.
The wind was blowing from the front, so it wouldn't be able to smell me. The rustling leaves created meaningless ambient noise.
I decided to be a bit more bold.
"Hup...!"
ㅡShck
Slightly to the right of the center of its back. Avoiding the spine, I pierced the lungs to prevent noise.
"Khek.. Kheng..!"
"Damned thing. Go to a better place."
The beginning of the 3rd floor.
* * * * *
By the time I entered the Labyrinth, it was past 3 pm.
After spending about 3 hours on the 1st and 2nd floors, I reached the 3rd floor after about 2 hours and was greeted by the night.
In my previous Labyrinth run, this was the exact time I encountered a pack of dire wolves.
However, I thought I knew the reason now.
"Walking through such a dark forest with a lantern."
The best thing about my eyes turning into those of a dire wolf's was this night vision. Seeing through the wolf's eyes, I realized just how inferior humans were.
Although the trees were densely packed, the thin trunks grew straight towards the sky.
The branches also only grew to heights of over 3 meters, so contrary to the preconception that forests are an obstructive terrain, I could see quite far.
The terrain was flat, and there were no vision-obscuring elements like fog. Light a fire, and it will be visible hundreds of meters away.
"Of course they'll come to hunt."
Regrettably, there was no reason to use the newly purchased whale oil. Lighting the lamp now would clearly show my position to any dire wolves in the forest.
Of course, this was because I had the eyes of a Direwolf. An ordinary human would definitely need to light a lamp.
It was a battle of being able to see well while the wolf could also see you well versus not being able to see while the wolf could see you well. And wild beasts instinctively feared fire by default.
'But it's useful indeed.'
For a somewhat startling reason, the Direwolf's eyeballs did help in exploring the Labyrinth. They performed well.
Despite it being night, I didn't feel particularly tired. Not having engaged in proper combat also played a part, but it was surprising how energetic I felt.
"Maybe I'm a man suited for the night."
With no one around, I easily blurted out embarrassing lines.
After about 30 minutes of walking, I eventually laid out a spot to sate my growling stomach. The days would get longer from now on, and summer heat reduced efficiency.
I'd heard the heat wasn't as bad as in Korea, where you feel like you're going to die just standing still. Though it'll feel hotter since I'll be out on the field.
This period, when it felt slightly cool, could be considered the peak season. However, it might be different for people who were good with heat and disliked cold.
'Without the lamp, the dire wolves can't see me either.'
I leaned against a tree to take a short break and opened my pouch. The gambeson was so fluffy that I could hardly feel the wood behind me.
I opened the pouch and saw 8 grain cubes wrapped in white cotton cloth. This was the most common food prepared by explorers.
The white cloth in between was no different from Labyrinth Tupperware. Unless it was jerky, hardtack, or other foods that required sealing, cotton cloth was used.
First, most of the food brought into the Labyrinth was dried, so exposure to air didn't really matter. You just wrapped it roughly and stuffed it in the pouch, and that was it.
I didn't find grain cubes particularly tasty, but chewing on them for a while did bring out a subtle sweetness. Felt like an energy bar without chocolate.
The weather had gotten warmer compared to before, but the metal canteen still provided a cool sip of water.
"Whew, nice."
Consuming carbohydrates seemed to invigorate my entire body.
No matter how good dire wolves' senses were, there was no way for it to find me sitting on the ground in the middle of the night without any light.
The blade, used only once, was wiped clean of blood to avoid leaving a scent.
Blades were supposed to be wiped with an oiled cloth after use, but I wasn't enough of a bourgeois to waste oil on a cloth just for making one cut on a Direwolf's back. For now, I'd just wiped off the blood and sheathed it.
'Someone's passing by over there.'
The portal was currently to my left. Perhaps that's why I saw a flickering human-carried light far to the right.
'Damn, is that a party with one guy and two girls? I'm jealous! They look young.'
The young man leading the way with a torch was wearing metal armor on his upper body, a chain mail reaching his knees, a short sword, and a buckler.
His eyes looked very valiant. Yeah, kids like him get to be the protagonists of this world. He seemed to have a lot of money, too, and the armor had a nice sheen.
The buckler and short sword were shifted to the left, which was a problem since he was holding a lantern in his right hand.
'He'll figure it out on his own. You're a bronze-rank.'
They're probably heading to the 5th floor.
"Hmm."
But really, my night vision had improved. Even though the moonlight was shining down with no clouds, they were over a hundred meters away. Being able to confirm their equipment in one glance was amazing.
"Whew, let's get up."
Sitting alone in a pitch-black forest without a light, my melancholy rose. It seemed to be because of that party too.
When I rise to lead-rank, the first thing to do was find a party.
'They're still there.'
One of the two women behind seemed to be an archer. The other had the same buckler and arming sword as the guy in front. There were two frontliners and one rear—textbook formation.
Definitely crazy from a wolf's perspective. Lighting a lamp in the middle of a dark forest, they'd be visible hundreds of meters away.
Should I go strike up a conversation?
'Nah, forget it. I'm not the kind of jerk who'd interrupt another man's happy time.'
Although I was used to the darkness, having a light in front did bring a sense of stability.
Shit. Used to the darkness, huh. What a crappy thing to say.
Surely, my own appearance, walking around in the middle of the night without even lighting a lamp, would look quite insane to others, too.
The area around the portal was plain on the 1st and 2nd floors, so it wasn't much of an issue, but from the 3rd floor onwards, the portal was smack in the middle of the forest.
Of course, pioneering explorers clear-cut the surroundings to build a base and protect the portal, so it was usually visible.
… But I've been walking for about three hours on the third floor, and the portal still isn't in sight. They said it was noticeable even at night, so we should see it soon.
"Oh?"
To the left of the party, walking ahead… isn't that a pack of dire wolves?
"Huh."
The animals had a battle stance unique to wolves: pressing their bellies close to the ground, lowering their bodies, and glaring at their prey with raised eyes.
'No way, how can they not sense them from that close?'
The party ahead continued forward, unaware. Wasn't maintaining vigilance in all directions a must?
'... It's because of the torch.'
They were definitely beginners. Holding a bright light source like a torch that couldn't even finely control luminosity right in front of their eyes, it was only natural they couldn't see the dark forest with so much light entering their pupils.
This was why you needed to buy a lantern. Its cover was split into eight directions, allowing you to block the light coming towards you and illuminate only the front. This one tip significantly reduced the deaths of new explorers.
I should help them out.
"Be careful! There are dire wolves to your left!"
As I shouted loudly, both the wolves and the explorer party were equally startled.
And the ones to regain their senses first were the dire wolves.
There were 12 of them—decent numbers, but there were four people here. I took down 6 alone, so this should be manageable.