“Is it okay for me to take this?”


    “If it wasn’t I wouldn’t even talk about it.”


    She looked at the body of the T-rex.


    “Can you take care of it?”


    I touched its body. Its scales were tough.


    “Even with the proper equipment and skillful group of 5, it would take over a day. I am also not experienced with this kind of creature so maybe even longer.”


    She frowned.


    “I see. We have to wait until my group arrives. Now, step back so I can create a barrier around it.”


    I stepped back as she told me.


    “Is it to preserve the body? Or protect it from scavengers?”


    “Both and more.”


    A blue transparent cube appeared around its body.


    “If a kill doesn’t get processed into something else or put into a bag of holding, it will turn to mana and will be absorbed back to the dungeon.”


    So killing wasn’t the only thing you had to worry about in a dungeon raid. You also had to worry about carrying it.


    “What if you ate it?”


    She looked at me like I was crazy.


    “It would count as being processed. Though I don’t recommend you eat every monster you killed since most are not fit to consume.”


    Heh. Most of the Horde was both poisonous and venomous yet we still ate them. She clearly didn’t know what she was talking to. I put my sword to my back, it was a little too long to be comfortably hung from my side. We moved forward. No T-rexes were in sight. Perhaps it was like a mid-boss? A rare monster maybe? But without a doubt, the main monsters here were the wolves. But unlike the first ones we saw they were fully black. It was weird. Wolves that hunted in darkness were pale white yet the wolves in here, in the light were pitch black. Their fur wasn’t the only difference. They were bigger and much more muscular. Even with their thick coat of fur, I could see their muscles twitch and shift. They nearly were tall enough to reach my chest. Thankfully, they were few in number, mostly traveling in groups of 2 to 3. Their mana stone wasn’t on the outside but inside, just beside their heart. They were bigger and shone brighter. Unlike white wolves, she wanted black ones'' mana stones. Considering she killed 3\4 of them, I didn’t argue.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    “What is your name, My Lady?”


    While I was pulling the mana stones from wolves I remembered that I didn’t know her name.


    “Blanche. Blanche Silverfox.”


    Hmm. I silently repeated her name to myself.


    “Nice to meet you formally, My Lady.”


    She just looked at me without saying anything.


    “You are a weird one.”


    She said after a brief silence.


    “So I have been told.”


    I got up and tried to wipe my blood-stained hands on my coat.


    “Don’t. Come here.”


    She pointed her index finger toward me.


    “Clean.”


    Blood and all that viscera were just washed away like I was being sprayed with a hose.


    “Convenient.”


    I looked at the path in front of us. Well, there wasn’t an actual path. Even though we were walking and fighting for some time only now I could see things other than blue grass. The ground in front was barren. It was like something sharp cut the area. Hip-length grass existed on one side and the other side just didn’t have any. My years of experience screamed danger. Especially since I could see bones scattered all around the ground there. There must be some kind of reason why no grass was growing there. Blanche must be thinking the same since she looked there with a slightly worried expression.


    “That place looks bad.”


    I said.


    “It is probably the boss area.”


    Oh. This dungeon was smaller than I thought. I kind of expected more than this. Yeah, we were here for several hours but…


    “Let’s go. We will be conquering this dungeon.”


    She started to walk towards the barren area. I followed her. She stopped just outside and chanted.


    “Hmm. Mana density here is much higher. Will you be okay?”


    I felt like she was asking that question to herself rather than me. She stepped to the barren area. Seeing she was fine, I also stepped in. Suddenly my body felt heavier and colder. The dungeon until now was cold but this part was freezing.


    “Resist Cold.”


    (You''ve been buffed by magic Resist Cold. Your resistance towards cold will be increased by 25 percent for 5 minutes.)


    She casted her magic. I felt myself getting warmer.


    “It will last around 5 minutes. I can’t also cast on us continuously. If I do, we will gain resistance towards it. That’s why we must find the boss quickly and kill it.”


    She moved quickly. So quick in fact that I had trouble keeping up with her. Thankfully we could move quickly since we didn’t have to walk through the grass. Unlike the darkness and grassland, no monster attacked us. This place really must be the boss area. The only thing missing was ammo and healing items.


    “Woooooo!”


    (You have been exposed to Freezing Howl.)


    (Iron Will neutralizes the fear effect.)


    (You failed to resist the freezing effect. Your body will be freezing slightly.)


    Thin ice formed on top of my armor. I felt my body getting colder.


    “It came to us.”


    Blanche said. Unlike me, she seemed to be resisted both of the effects.


    “Haste, Strength Up.”


    A blue hue covered her body.


    “Get out of here. I can’t protect you. It seems most of the mana in this dungeon is concentrated on the boss. It will be dangerous for you.”


    As I tried to move my freezing body, something big came rushing.


    “Auuuu!”


    It was a wolf. Not surprising. What’s surprising was its size. Even though it was on its four legs it stood taller than me. Its entire body was covered with ice, like an armor. Every step it took shook the ground, its own weight and the ice armor it carried must be immense. Despite that it rushed towards Blanche, its jaw opened to its utmost limit.