A dungeon didn't necessarily exist underground.
That was common knowledge in this world.
"Gideon, walk in front of me," Kanzaki Rei instructed.
"Huh?"
"Me?"
The shield-bearing fat man froze for a moment.
Rei nearly rolled his eyes.
What was this guy talking about?
You're the tank of the party. If you're not walking in front, am I—the mage—supposed to lead?
"Yes."
"Oh… okay."
Gideon moved ahead of Rei.
Behind Rei walked the healer Katie, and a little further behind her was the gatherer, the bearded uncle Zorrel.
You're at least a warrior, right?
Yet your positioning is even farther back than the healer?
Are you even a man…
Rei didn't bother saying it out loud.
After all, he had recruited the man as a gatherer and was only paying him a single share.
If he wasn't going to contribute as a warrior, Rei had no real grounds to complain.
The forest was filled with mist.
Once the four of them stepped inside, Rei raised a hand slightly.
「Wind Detonation (LV: 172)」
BOOM!
A terrifying hurricane burst outward in all directions!
The thick fog that blanketed the forest vanished in an instant.
After the mist dispersed—
A clear, gentle light illuminated the entire forest.
The glow spread into every corner, lighting up every shadow without a single blind spot.
「Eternal Lamp (LV: 200) (Evolvable)」
For a Level 2 Mage, the maximum proficiency level for spells was LV: 200.
Once a spell surpassed Level 100, the experience required for each additional level increased dramatically.
In five days, Rei hadn't managed to raise every spell to Level 200.
Many spells couldn't be practiced while simply traveling.
Only something like Eternal Lamp—a harmless spell that could be cast anytime—was easy to grind.
So Rei had maxed that one out.
And only after reaching Level 200 did he discover something unexpected…
A spell that had reached Level 200 could evolve further.
For now, however, Rei wasn't in a hurry to evolve Eternal Lamp.
He decided to leave the option unselected for the moment.
The wind cleared the mist.
The light illuminated the forest.
The once hazy woodland instantly became crystal clear.
How many snakes were coiled in each tree.
What dangers lurked inside each hollow trunk.
Everything could now be seen perfectly.
Then—
BOOM!
CRACK!
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Fireballs.
Ice shards.
Earth spikes.
Curse arrows.
Silent wind blades…
All kinds of spells rained down simultaneously.
Like a torrential storm.
Burned black.
Frozen solid.
Sliced into fragments…
All kinds of mangled snakes fell from the trees.
Before long—
Within visible range, every monster had been wiped out.
At least to the naked eye—
Not a single one had escaped.
"Th-that's… incredible."
They had barely stepped into the dungeon, yet every visible monster had already been butchered like vegetables on a chopping board.
"Go collect them," Rei said to the gatherer.
The bearded man froze for a moment before finally reacting.
He hurried off to gather the monsters Rei had killed.
Rei watched him work.
"Repair."
The man murmured softly.
When he touched the corpses, portions of the damage on the monsters' bodies began to restore themselves.
Repair, huh?
Gatherer was also a class.
And every class had its own unique skills.
That said, the restoration wasn't perfect.
The corpses didn't return fully to their original state.
Especially the snakes that had been burned into charcoal—they could only be partially restored.
However, snakes that hadn't suffered obvious damage—such as those electrocuted by Lightning Flash—were much easier to repair.
Those could almost be restored completely.
But the ones directly struck by Lightning Flash and blown into pulp…
Yeah.
Those were beyond saving.
After collecting the snake corpses, the gatherer also discovered two unusual mushrooms and harvested them.
When he finished, he reported:
"Seventy-two gray snakes, each worth around 10 to 20 copper."
"Fifteen gray venom snakes—every one had an intact venom sac. Each is worth about 12 silver."
"Plus the two snake mushrooms I harvested."
"The total haul is roughly 2 gold and 15 silver."
Huh?
That's a lot.
Back in the Shadow Cavern, clearing the dungeon plus the quest reward had only given him 2 gold and 26 silver.
Now, even before the dungeon boss, they had already collected 2 gold and 15 silver.
So bringing a gatherer really did increase profits significantly.
Though it might also be because it was Harvest Month.
"Alright. Let's continue forward."
They pressed deeper into the forest.
Strangely, they encountered very few monsters.
Perhaps because the moment Rei entered the dungeon's territory, he had already wiped out the majority of them.
Normally, navigating through the mist would require traveling quite some distance before gradually encountering the snakes hidden in the trees.
But Rei had blown away the fog, illuminated the forest—
And immediately began slaughtering everything.
The monsters never even had a chance to ambush them.
As they continued exploring, a few scattered monsters appeared.
Rei remained extremely cautious.
Using Wind Detonation, he blew aside fallen leaves to ensure the path ahead had zero obstructions.
At the same time, he spread 「Abyssal Shadow Mire」 across the ground ahead.
This ensured the terrain wouldn't suddenly collapse into hidden pit traps.
As for any monster that appeared within sight—
The moment Rei saw it, he immediately unleashed Lightning Flash followed by Wind Blades.
The monsters died under the bombardment of violent magic before they even entered attack range.
Watching this absurd level of caution—
Gideon and Katie couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Seriously… man.
You're this strong—what do you even need us for?
This kid's combat power didn't look like someone who could ever get hurt.
They had teamed up with Level 2 mages before.
But the strength those mages showed…
Wasn't even one percent of Rei's.
Whenever those mages were needed, they would mutter incantations forever before finally tossing out a weak little fireball.
If it weren't for the flexibility of magic and its wide range of applications…
Most adventurers would honestly prefer teaming up with archers.
Both were ranged attackers.
But at least archers didn't need to chant spells.
And they didn't run out of mana.
Katie looked at Rei's back.
Without realizing it, a trace of admiration appeared in her eyes.
So this…
Was the Second-Tier Genius Mage…
They had traveled roughly one kilometer.
Ironically, the most time-consuming part of the journey wasn't combat.
It was Zorrel collecting materials.
He couldn't even pick things up as fast as Rei was killing them.
"Zorrel, come back."
"But Captain, there are still—"
However, when he saw Rei's calm gaze, Zorrel immediately stopped and hurried back to the group.
Rei could feel it.
The dark element ahead was stirring.
It was gathering intensely in one direction.
The surrounding leaves rustled softly.
Rei followed the direction of the elemental flow and looked ahead.
SWISH—
Through the dense forest canopy—
A massive snake head finally emerged into view.
Its body also shifted out of its tree-like camouflage, becoming clearly visible.
Hiss—
The giant serpent coiled between the trees, flicking out its crimson tongue.
Rei's expression darkened slightly.
This snake…
He recognized it.
What a coincidence.
So the boss this time is you again?
「Shadow Giant Serpent King」