An icy breath escaped the jaws of a quadrupedal monster with lupine characteristics. Its fangs, cws, tail, and fur were reinforced with shards of gleaming ice, giving it a chilling and fearsome appearahe chamber was littered with these menag beasts, their eyes unfathomably deep and cold as they prowled.

  [Arctic Dire Wolf | Lvl 25 | General]

  The imposing presence of these creatures sent a chill down Daisuke’s spine. Deactivating the Eye of Verity, he slowly withdrew from the bend he had been peeking around. Moving stealthily, he scaled a wall, disappearing into a hidden cavern that led him back to the others in under five minutes.

  “Arf!” Zephyr leaped into Daisuke’s arms upon his return, his energy and vitality finally restored.

  “Zephyr, you’re finally awake!” Daisuke cheered in an uone as he hugged the pup close. “That Berserk skill really did a number on you, buddy; I thought you were never going to wake up.”

  Lyanna raised one eyebrow teasingly. "I'm surprised you weren't knocked out cold too, after battling that thing."

  "I felt like it," Daisuke fessed with a wry smile. "But if I pass out in here, I might just wake up in heaven."

  “Or hell,” Gavric added.

  "Hey!" Daisuke retorted with a pyful jab of his finger. "We only accept positive vibes in this party, buddy."

  Elena couldn’t help but giggle. “I hought you could be this talkative, Haxks.”

  “She’s right, y’know,” Rexar accused with a frown. “You gave us nothing but the cold shoulder before the dungeon.”

  "Just thought I'd try to lighten the mood while we're down here," Daisuke expined.

  "Well, it's definitely appreciated," said Finnian.

  Milo nodded in agreement with a smile, but Rexar pouted.

  “So,” Gavric urged, “what did you find out?”

  The group’s undivided attention was on Daisuke as he reyed the information. “Dire Wolves. Lots of them. But we should be safe if here for the night. Let's all get plenty of rest and devise a game pn tomorrow. All in favor?"

  Everyone raised their hand. “Aye~”

  Suddenly, Milo's stomach growled loudly, and he awkwardly punched himself i. "S-Sorry," he apologized, his cheeks flushing as he tousled his hair. "My body's ibalizing itself trying to replenish my mana."

  Elena pced a hand oummy dejectedly. “e to think of it, we haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast.”

  Lyanna’s expression crumpled. "Of all the weeks to start a diet, I had to choose this one."

  "I could eat aire minitaur right now," murmured Rexar, his own stomaow growling in protest.

  Though Gavrid Finnian were equally famished, they remaioically silent, refusing to voiy pints. Daisuke, notig their hunger, heaved a wan smile. With a flick of his arm, he summoned a pile of firewood from his iory. They fell onto the ground with a ctter, and then he begaly stag them together into a heap, astonishing the group.

  “Zephyr.”

  “Ruff~”

  With evideraint, the e spat a tiny ball of fire onto the dried wood, swiftly engulfing them in fmes. , Daisuke retrieved the sizeable heap of moss he had gathered.

  Rexar shifted his gaze to Finnian with a challenging frown, and the samurai raised his hands in surrender.

  “I still don’t think that makes him a ranker,” he defely.

  Milo smiled at their pyfulness.

  "Do you recall when I went to fetch my on?" Daisuke began to expin. "Upon revisiting the pce where we fell into the dungeon, I noticed that the roots from the trees on the surface were protruding from the walls.

  Anticipating that we might be spending several nights down here, I took the liberty of preparing firewood. Additionally, I collected all the moss I could find on the walls; we use it as bedding to sleep on."

  Gavric closed his mouth, his surprise evident as he spoke. "At this point, your resourcefulness doesn't surprise me anymore," he aowledged. "What truly has me stumped is your ste ability. Do you happen to possess a magic bag like Professor Bayley?"

  As Daisuke pted his response, he summoned a wooden pail he had received from Gret, its tents sloshily as he lifted it. Filled with cool, refreshing water, he topped up a mug and began passing it around to quench their thirst.

  “What I have possesses the same subspace capabilities as a magic bag,” he informed, “but it uses a different cept. Instead of a material object, this ste space is made possible entirely due to a skill.”

  “…A skill?” Lyanna’s eyebrow quirked iion. “Oh. You mean magic?”

  Daisuke frowned inwardly. It looks like NPCs are not meant to fathom the world from the perspective of a pyer; what we see as skills, they perceive as a form of magic.

  “Then I suppose it’s just one of the many perks of being a Fallen,” Finnian assumed.

  “Yes, that’s right,” Daisuke firmed—though, he wasn’t sure how to feel about being referred to as a Fallen.

  Everyone waited in anticipation to see what else he would jure from his seemingly endless bag of tricks. What had initially started as a demonstration of resourcefulness had now evolved into a captivating magic show.

  "After some experimentation," Daisuke tinued, "I've discovered that anything I store ihis subspace is frozen in time, which means..."

  With a wave of his hand, he jured a bed e leaves, upon which he summoned loaves of bread, fruits, roasted Horned Rabbit, and fish. "...I even maintain food at the same temperature it ced in, and it never spoils."

  Between the groundbreakiion and the tantalizing smell of the food, everyone was left pletely dumbstruck.

  “Help yourselves,” offered Daisuke with a smile. “I have enough rations to st us a few weeks, and we always cut down a few monsters if we run out.”

  The party, their hunger overing them, begaing like starving wolves.

  “Under normal circumstances,” Daisuke added, “I would offer a stew to warm your bellies, but I’ve had a bad experieh food attrag monsters, which is why I gave you cold bread a.”

  “That’s nom-nom-nom uandable,” spat Gavric with a mouthful of bread. “The smell of hot food nom-nom-nom carries much farther.”

  “Wow, this is delicious!” Elena gushed excitedly. “Haxks nom-nom-nom… did you make all this yourself?”

  Daisuke patted his head shyly. “…Yeah.”

  Lyanna, with a twinkle in her eye, excimed, “Oh my gosh! This is great! Haxks, by ce… do you have a girlfriend? I could definitely get used to this.”

  Elena pouted in jealousy, promptio eat even faster for some inexplicable reason.

  "Ha-ha!" Gavric chuckled. "They do say the quickest way to a woman's heart is through her stomach. I guess they were onto something."

  Laughter and camaraderie filled the chamber as the party eheir ued feast in the midst of uainty and danger.