The day after introducing Ecethesus and Nakt to House Silwa, Rei’s group arrived at B17F of the dungeon.
A sea of green stretched out before them, identical to the view they had seen the day before. It was a deep, sprawling forest that seemed to have no end.
Unlike their previous visit, they had teleported directly to B17F without passing through the undead floor. Consequently, they weren't attracting monsters with the lingering stench of zombies.
The sunlight pouring down was dazzling, yet it felt almost pleasant compared to the sweltering heat outside the dungeon, where temperatures exceeded 35°C.
At the moment, Rei and his companions were standing just outside a Small Room located in a clearing within the woods. Once they stepped under the canopy, the leaves of the densely packed trees would surely provide ample shade from the sun.
"Seto, can you see any enemies watching us?"
"Guruuu."
Seto shook its head in response to Rei's question.
Rei and his group had retreated immediately upon descending to this floor the previous day, so they hadn't encountered any issues. However, many who descended from B16F to B17F suffered injuries of varying degrees from immediate monster attacks.
The primary reason for this was the rot-stench that clung to adventurers after traversing the undead floor.
The monsters on B17F possessed a keen sense of smell. As soon as they caught a whiff of decay, they would swarm the area and wait for an opening to strike.
Many adventurers who reached this level found their noses numbed by the intense stench of B16F. They often failed to realize their own bodies were carrying a scent strong enough to act as a beacon. Those who stepped directly into the forest floor without caution were usually given a harsh welcome by the local predators.
In that regard, Rei’s decision to withdraw the day before had been the right one.
"Since it’s a forest floor, there are probably plenty of monsters we've never seen before. That makes this trip quite meaningful for Seto and me."
"As for myself, forest levels only remind me of the war of attrition against those groups of Water Monkeys in the Dungeon of the Altar of Inheritance. I can’t say I’m particularly happy to be here," Elena replied with a small smile.
Despite her words, her expression held a hint of bellicose excitement.
"The map is... well, since there are no real roads on this floor, we can only confirm our general position."
"True. Given how lucrative this floor is for adventurers, you’d expect to see some well-trodden paths, but it seems the vegetation here recovers naturally even after being trampled."
"Kyu!"
Iero, who had been fluttering around the group, suddenly let out a sharp cry.
When Rei turned his gaze toward Seto, the griffon was already growling, staring intently into the depths of the forest.
"Even without the rot-stench, it looks like they’ve prepared a proper welcome for us."
"So it seems. However, unlike yesterday, there are surprisingly few of them. We should be able to handle this without much trouble. Now, let’s get moving. The map shows the stairs in the southwest. We'll head that way."
Elena turned her gaze to the southwest and began to walk. Rei, Seto, and Iero followed.
As they stepped into the forest proper, they were met by countless trees and grass that reached as high as their waists in some places.
Vines coiled around the trunks, and many of the thinner trees were covered in thorns. The growth felt less like a natural occurrence and more like an intentional obstacle designed to hinder adventurers.
"This is even more troublesome than the forest floor in the Dungeon of the Altar of Inheritance. The only saving grace is that it’s not impossible to walk through. Seto, you okay?"
"Guru... Gurulululuuu."
The gaps between some trees were too narrow for Seto to pass through normally, but the griffon was able to navigate the tight spaces by using its Size Change skill.
Watching Seto adapt, Rei felt a sense of relief as the group pressed deeper into the woods.
"If someone had the right knowledge of the wild, I bet this place would be a goldmine for materials."
Rei muttered to himself as he used a dismantling knife to cut through the vines blocking their path.
Mushrooms grew in abundance at the roots of trees, in the shade of large stones, and near fallen logs.
Having been raised in the mountains back in Japan, Rei had a decent amount of knowledge regarding fungi. However, that knowledge was strictly limited to species found on Earth. He couldn't judge the safety of mushrooms in a foreign country, let alone in another world where even familiar-looking species might be lethal.
(That one over there looks exactly like a Hanabiratake, though.)
His gaze lingered on a mushroom that resembled a crumpled ball of paper—a species he had picked many times back home.
However, since he couldn't confirm if it was toxic, he suppressed his curiosity and kept moving.
"Guruuu!"
As they navigated the pathless woods, Seto suddenly gave a sharp cry. Simultaneously, a branch directly in their path seemed to explode, and the leaves obstructing their vision were blown into the air.
It was one of Seto's skills—the Magic Eye of Shock.
As the leaves scattered, a panther-like monster about 1.5 meters long, excluding its tail, was revealed.
The primary difference from a normal panther was its green fur, which allowed it to blend perfectly into the forest. It also possessed a third eye in the center of its forehead and a remarkably long tail coiled several times around the branch it perched upon.
"A Forest Panther."
Rei muttered the name, recalling the entry from his monster book.
The Forest Panther was a Rank D monster that, true to its name, treated the forest as its primary territory.
Its green fur made it nearly invisible among the foliage. Unlike a typical panther, it didn't actively chase its prey but specialized in treetop ambushes.
Its strategy was to coil its tail around a branch and wait. When prey passed beneath, it would drop down with sudden momentum, delivering a devastating blow to the head with its front paws.
That single strike possessed enough Herculean Strength to kill even a B-Rank monster instantly. However, the trade-off for this power was the loss of the swift, agile movements characteristic of felines.
Additionally, the third eye on its forehead could manipulate magic power to adjust the color of its fur, further blending it into the scenery.
Its Proof of Subjugation Part was the Right Ear. Valuable materials included the eyeball of the third eye for alchemy, its long tail, fangs, and claws for weapons or armor, its popular meat, and its highly sought-after pelt.
Oddly, the Forest Panther remained motionless even as Rei shared this information with Elena.
While it had the strength to kill a B-Rank monster in one blow, the Forest Panther was helpless once its camouflage was compromised. That lack of versatility was the reason it remained a Rank D monster despite its high attack power.
"I see. So as long as we can spot them, they aren't that hard to kill."
Elena nodded at Rei's explanation and drew her Whip-sword from its sheath.
In a dense forest filled with trees, Elena's combat effectiveness was significantly higher than Rei’s, whose Great Scythe and flame magic were better suited for open spaces.
That said, Rei still had options, such as spear throwing.
"Hah!"
With a sharp cry from Elena, the Whip-sword extended in its whip-like form, lashing out toward the Forest Panther watching them from the branch.
The sword tip sliced through the air with incredible speed. Just as it was about to pierce the green fur—
"Golulululululu!"
With a high-pitched snarl, the Forest Panther dropped from the branch, swinging beneath it by its tail to evade the sword tip.
"What!?"
Elena let out a surprised cry as she retracted the weapon. The Forest Panther used the momentum of its swing to hop back onto the top of the branch.
"It’s surprisingly agile at dodging."
Elena muttered, looking somewhat unimpressed. There was no sense of threat in her voice.
The reason was simple. If its only method of evasion was to swing around the branch like a pivot, they simply had to time an attack for both the top and bottom.
The Forest Panther likely realized this as well. Despite its feline appearance, its movements were sluggish. As a creature specialized in surprise attacks, once it was found, its greatest strengths became its greatest weaknesses.
The front paws that granted it the strength to crush foes in one hit were too heavy for rapid defense. Even the tail supporting its weight couldn't be unwound quickly enough to flee.
(In other words, its specialization is its downfall.)
"Rei."
"I’m on it."
Understanding Elena's request, Rei pulled a Spear from his Misty Ring.
The spear’s tip was half-broken, making it useless for traditional combat. However, in Rei’s hands, such a weapon became a powerful, albeit disposable, projectile.
"I'll take the top."
"Understood. I'll take the bottom."
Following their brief exchange, Rei took a few quick steps and hurled the spear with a full-body twist.
Driven by Rei’s immense strength and perfect timing, the spear streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning, aimed directly at the Forest Panther on the branch.
"Golululululu!"
The panther let out the same cry as before, attempting to rotate around the branch like a gymnast on a horizontal bar. But the moment its head swung beneath the branch to avoid the spear, the tip of Elena's Whip-sword—which had looked like it was aiming for the forehead—snapped upward with a flick of her wrist and pierced the side of its head.
"Goru-!"
A final death rattle escaped its throat, and the Forest Panther’s life ended there.
Because it died mid-rotation, its powerful tail went limp and slipped from the branch. The Forest Panther Corpse hit the ground with a dull thud.
The sickening crunch of its neck snapping under the weight of the fall echoed through the trees. Rei and Elena stared at the body for a moment, surprised by the sudden end.
"Well, no use standing around. Let's recover the monster. We should skip the material stripping for now, though. The scent of blood will just attract more trouble in this forest. Still... I’m looking forward to that Forest Panther Magic Stone."
Rei looked at the third eye on the panther's forehead.
Since it had the ability to blend fur into the environment—a camouflage effect—he hoped that giving it to Seto might level up the griffon's Optical Camouflage skill.
Among Seto's various abilities, the power to turn invisible was uniquely useful, and Rei wanted to enhance it by collecting stones from monsters with similar traits.
After storing the Forest Panther Corpse in his Misty Ring, they resumed their trek through the woods.
"It seems there are plenty of monsters here that know how to hide... but luckily, we have Seto. We don't have to worry about being caught off guard."
"Gurulululu!"
Seto purred, as if to say, "Leave it to me!"
"Kyu, Kyukyukyu!"
Atop Seto's back, Iero cried out as well, insisting it would be just as helpful.
"Yeah, I'm counting on you two... Oh, wait."
Feeling a sense of warmth at the behavior of his companions, Rei used his knife to cut through a vine blocking their way. As the vine fell away, a thought occurred to him.
"Come to think of it, I haven't tested my new skill yet."
He remembered the Death Scythe's Pain Burst, which he had acquired on B16F.
He also decided that Seto's Sense of Smell Enhancement would be invaluable in this environment. He turned his gaze toward the griffon.
"Seto, can you try using Sense of Smell Enhancement?"
"Guru."
Seto nodded and activated the skill. With its sense of smell sharpened, it began to distinguish between the countless odors filling the forest.
"Gurulululu, Guru..."
By filtering through the various scents, Seto began to track the presence of nearby monsters, guiding the group forward.