The first day of guarding the byrinth ended without any issues. Gcien kept hunting the monsters and bringing me the materials. Given that I saw her teeth bloody sometimes, it looked like she was eating the monsters too.

  “Don’t exaggerate, or you will get fat.”

  “Grrr…”

  “No point in compining about common sense. Anyway, you have some experience points. Where do you want to invest them? Strength? Magic? Endurance?”

  “Awoo!”

  “I don’t think that you can grow further than this, but I guess that it is up to you.”

  Name: Gcien

  Race: Gcierborn Predator

  Health: 350/350 (0/3600)

  Regen: 2.1 per hour (0/2100)

  Mana: 350/350 (0/3600)

  Regen: 2.1 per minute (0/2100)

  Stamina: 350/350 (0/3600)

  Regen: 2.1 per minute (0/2100)

  Strength: 32 (0/3300)

  Magic: 45 (0/4600)

  Dexterity: 25 (0/2600)

  Spirit: 44 (0/4000) 1.1

  Endurance: 55 (0/5100) (1.1)

  Movement Speed: 11.0

  Ice Affinity: 39 (0/2000)

  Traits: Iceborne Prowess, Frost Aura, Minor Vulnerability to Fire, Enhanced Cold Resistance,

  Csses: Beast of the North, Elemental Predator, Frost Guardian, Icebound Stalker, Winter Revenant, Tundra Huntress

  Aptitudes: Arctic Camoufge, Cold-Weather Adaptation, Predator’s Focus, Frost Manipution, Apex Instincts, Pack Tactics, Frozen Resolve, Icycle Will

  Experience: 359

  I could tell that Gcien was pretty strong… stronger than that I had been even after traveling around for a year. Well, she was an animal, and she had my support too, so it made sense that she would be making more progress and faster.

  “Rest here for a while and warn me if you pick up the scent of someone approaching. You didn’t pick any scent inside the byrinth, right?”

  “Awoo?”

  She probably didn’t, so it was fine… I didn’t know if the people beyond the mountains would know how to cause a dungeon break, but even if they knew, they probably would have to head to the deepest parts of the byrinth. They might be able to pull it off, but escaping before they are surrounded by monsters is impossible… unless they had a build focused on movement speed.

  ‘That kind of build seems fun… if it were my focus instead of dexterity, then I would be able to run forty meters per second. Actually, it seems that I already invested more points into movement speed than dexterity. It is only higher because of the multipliers.’

  I also had boots that improved movement speed, but it would be better if I increased the rank of the effects. Putting that aside, I began to work on the new wagon. The one that would be extra lighter and it would be more aerodynamic as well. The blueprint was already ready. I just needed the parts.

  While I was doing that, I wondered if I could control it remotely somehow… it would be a good idea since it could only be controlled like that as well, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about letting someone steal it.

  I also had to improve my bike… moving at forty miles per hour was nice and all, but it wasn’t enough to clear such byrinths in no time, or cross a country in just a few days.

  Once I started, it was like opening the floodgates of creativity. New ideas kept popping into my mind at an almost overwhelming pace. Each thought built upon the st, sparking even more possibilities and expanding the things of what I wanted to accomplish. It was exciting, but also troublesome. The number of ideas and their potential made it clear that I couldn’t bring everything to life all at once.

  I realized that I needed a pn. Instead of diving headfirst into every idea as it came, I took the time to write them down and organize them. I rewrote my schedule based on the usefulness of each thing, assigning each idea its rightful pce in my timeline based on its importance and feasibility.

  Even with a pn, turning those ideas into reality would be difficult. Some tasks required skills I hadn’t fully mastered yet, while others demanded resources I didn’t have on hand. Each step required patience and problem-solving. With every small victory, I felt a sense of progress, knowing I was one step closer to making all those ideas a reality.

  I spent the night working on that and lost the notion of time as well. I only stopped when I noticed Gcien's ears moving and then noticed the outside getting clear. Another day was coming and with it, a cloaked figure as well. It was that guy…

  “Hey, friend. How is it going?”

  “There were some vestiges of people that had been here recently. I can’t tell if they are enemies or not.”

  “It should have been them. They come here now and then to check the mana levels of the byrinth. They should have realized the war by now, too.”

  Things here in the northern parts were a lot less organized than the rest of the world. People lived more freely since the fear of the empire was weak. The empire wouldn’t gain much by conquering these frozen nds, after all.

  “In any case, some of those guys moved from the town as soon as they noticed your disappearance, but I can tell that they don’t know where you went exactly, so you don’t have to worry about them for now.”

  “I hope that you won’t use this chance to sck off and not keep your part of the bargain.”

  “Of course not. Still, I was expecting that you would be more eager to check the byrinth.”

  The guy looked at the byrinth and then furrowed his eyebrows. Only a part of his face could be seen, and I still couldn’t tell much of his appearance. He seemed like someone who worked in the underworld, so that wasn’t that surprising.

  “I will return ter. I think that also will check the interior of the byrinth. Are you going to offer me some support to avoid the break?”

  “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “Come on, friend. Why not work extra hard to curry favor with some people that are nicer to you than most?”

  “I am fine.”

  I needed allies, but I hated being controlled. I wasn’t going to go to stupid lengths to get some allies and let people take advantage of me. While I needed more materials and mana cores, I was fine in focusing on finding someone to properly look for Alissandra instead.

  “Is there any way that I can change my mind? How about this?” For every floor we clear, you can ask for any kind of information. My prices are usually pretty high, but this is a golden chance. I am also the best information broker of the nd.”

  He seemed awfully confident while decring that. Now that seemed a better idea, but I could tell from a mile away that he had other objectives while trying to fight alongside me.

  “Nah, I am fine.”

  “Come on… you don’t look much like they said you were, you know.”

  “They?”

  “Some old friends of yours they came here years ago and ask for some help. They told many things about you.”

  Friends of mine from years ago… I could only think of Nimir and those beastkin that I helped escape. Although Nimir could be considered a friend, those guys were basically strangers from my point of view.

  Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed back then when Vincent managed to solo the second boss of a byrinth. The memory of him standing there, fighting with nothing but his bare hands, was still vivid in my mind. It wasn’t just his raw strength—it was the sheer audacity to face such a challenge without relying on any weapons or tools.

  But as I reflected on it more, a new thought crossed my mind: I bet I could do the same now. Back then, Vincent’s feat had seemed almost unreachable, but I’d grown stronger since then. If given the chance, I was sure I could take on a simir challenge and emerge victorious. In fact, the idea itself seemed very appealing.

  It also made me wonder about Vincent himself. Was he still pushing himself to grow stronger? Or had he reached a point where he was satisfied with his abilities?

  “I can’t imagine them being my friends, given that they spoke too much about me.”

  “They just id the groundwork for some people to help you once you came here. They imagined that you would come eventually, and that was why I decided to talk with you and offer you this job.”

  “This still looks awfully convenient.”

  “I bet it is… people don’t trust us who work in the underworld that easily. Is there any way for this to work and for me to gain your trust?”

  “It is impossible for you to gain my trust, but I suppose that I can give you a hand here if you bring me the right type of payment for my services.”

  “I take it that you want some magic implements with some interesting effects.”

  Was I that easy to read? That was a bit annoying. Regardless, one didn’t have to be a genius for people to guess that was what I truly wanted.

  “If you bring me an item with the self repair effect and another with the stamina drain effect. I might give you a hand here for a few days.”

  “Those are some insane effects that you want, friend. I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that.”

  Despite saying that, he couldn’t help but consider my offer. I said that almost jokingly, but maybe I shouldn’t have done that since he began to consider the offer while holding his chin.

  I truly needed the self repair effect since the number of times I could repair my bow was reaching the limits. As for the stamina drain effect, I would need that to make myself stronger. I already had enough means to keep my mana high, after all. Still, perhaps I should try to clear this byrinth… it would be a good challenge and I could make one heck of a bow with the parts of a dragon.

  WritingMachineGun