Livelihood Dungeon! (English Version)

Peter could not sit still as he wondered whether the young monkey would truly be able to find this exact place again.

He paced back and forth while deep in thought.

After several moments of brainstorming, he decided to leave behind a marker—something the young monkey could easily understand and that could also serve as a guide back to this place before they began wandering around to hunt food for Ichiro.

Peter first returned inside the dungeon.

A short while later, he emerged once more carrying several tools.

He took a deep breath.

Then, he swiftly lunged forward.

The tall grass standing around the area fell one after another.

With every swing of the incredibly sharp sickle in his hand, the grass was effortlessly cut down.

He repeated the process over and over until he created a clean open space around the area.

Once satisfied with the result, he stabbed the sickle into the ground.

Peter dropped to one knee before manually pulling out the remaining pieces of grass that had not been completely cut and were still rooted in the soil.

His gaze drifted once more toward the sharp sickle.

He had bought it before inside the Livelihood Dungeon using his precious Dungeon Points.

In fact, this was already his second sickle.

He already had an old one when he first obtained the dungeon.

He only bought the new sickle back when he had been helping Peach with the tasks inside the dungeon.

He pulled it out from the ground once more.

Afterward, he headed toward the very center of the cleared area.

Peter sat down there and began drawing on the ground using the tip of the sickle.

He repeatedly drew and erased it while gradually getting used to using the sickle as a temporary pen.

Before long, what he was drawing slowly began to take shape.

Peter grimaced when he looked at the finished result.

"I really have no talent for this," he said while shaking his head.

Peter traced over his drawing once more.

But this time, he pressed the sickle more firmly into the ground so it would not be easily erased.

"Surely this should be easy enough for it to notice, right?" Peter muttered while looking at the large drawing of a peeled banana.

Even if it was imperfect and had several messy intersecting lines, it was still obvious what the picture was supposed to be.

He glanced toward one direction—the same direction the young monkey had taken earlier.

At first, he had also considered cutting down the tall grass there, but he quickly discarded the idea.

What if the monkey saw it and became confused about the path?

They might never meet again.

In the end, he became satisfied with what he had done.

Little by little, he would tame the young monkey.

If he truly wanted to, he could have returned to the dungeon to get even more bananas for it, but he restrained himself.

The few pieces he had given earlier were enough for now.

From the very first moment they met, he already knew that he wanted to make it his new companion.

And if he wanted to tame a young creature—especially an innocent one like this—then immediately giving it an excessive amount of food was the wrong approach.

It had to be done little by little.

That way, it would grow even more attached and grateful toward him.

He called this plan:

OPERATION SEDUCTION.

For all he knew, he might even gain a surprise bonus.

Judging by how healthy the young monkey looked, he was one hundred percent certain that it had a family.

And he could not deny that the possibility of recruiting its family through the little monkey had crossed his mind.

Peter's grin widened at the thought he imagined.

But he immediately shook his head and reminded himself.

This was neither the right place nor the right time to daydream.

He was inside the Eternal Forest.

The most dangerous place in the entire Terragon Kingdom .

Peter swallowed nervously as he slowly stepped forward.

Exactly one week had passed since their journey into the depths of the dangerous forest had been cut short.

And before he could even truly experience the dangers of the creatures living there, a fellow human had already nearly taken his life.

Though somewhat delayed, these steps symbolized the continuation of his journey once again.

He continued moving deeper into the part of the Eternal Forest almost consumed by towering grasslands.

He repeatedly pushed aside the tall grass blocking his vision.

Suddenly, the three of them came to a halt.

Not far away, they spotted a gigantic creature.

At the same time, the giant boar also noticed them.

Peter quickly glanced around the area to check whether the creature had companions nearby.

After confirming that the target was alone, he immediately gave instructions to his two companions.

He no longer needed to worry about Ichiro.

Although he did not completely understand the reason, he could clearly feel Ichiro's intense eagerness through the connection created by their Crest of Friendship.

The variant wolf-dog eagerly stepped forward.

It even moved in front of Peter as though declaring its readiness to protect its master.

Ichiro could not help but remember its dark past.

Back when it was still young, there had been nothing it could do except leave its own pack because of its weakness.

But things were different now.

It was no longer the weak and tiny wolf-dog it once was.

This time, the outcome would be different.

It would defeat the gigantic boar.

And it would eat it.

"Gra!"

A challenging snarl escaped the Terrestrial Wolf.

Ichiro repeatedly scraped the ground with his paws as though ready to charge at any moment.

Iyashi leaped down from Peter's shoulder and clung onto Ichiro's nape.

At the same time, both the Terrestrial Wolf and the gigantic boar charged toward each other.

Their swift lunges created a powerful tremor.

The two gigantic creatures collided at the center.

"Bam!"

Head against head.

Once!

Twice!

Three times!

Ichiro was forced to retreat three steps backward.

From the very first clash, the wolf-dog had already lost the advantage.

It shook its head repeatedly to get rid of the dizziness.

Peter saw that.

He was slightly surprised upon realizing that the gigantic boar was actually somewhat larger than Ichiro.

After evolving into a Terrestrial Wolf, Ichiro had already reached two meters in length.

That meant the gigantic boar was nearly the same size.

And that was not all.

Its body was far heavier and bulkier compared to the slimmer and more agile Ichiro.

Peter moved.

Peter immediately dropped into a crouch and moved carefully while maintaining a low posture.

He also tightly gripped the sickle he had brought with him—a tool he had intentionally carried for situations like this.

He stopped at the gigantic enemy's blind spot.

From there, he silently observed and waited for the right opportunity.

However, only moments later, his eyes widened at what Ichiro did next.

He had no idea that Ichiro was actually capable of controlling every fragment of the Meteoric Drops.

One by one, the fragments of Meteoric Drops surrounded the gigantic boar.

The distance was precise—far enough to avoid hitting it directly, yet close enough to prevent it from escaping the encirclement.

If the boar attempted to break out, it would surely be struck by the floating fragments.

Ichiro immediately took advantage of that opportunity.

With the enemy's movements now restricted, he charged forward at once.

"Bwuā!"

The gigantic boar let out an irritated cry as the Meteoric Drops repeatedly crashed around it.

Its vision of the approaching enemy became obstructed.

"Bwū!"

It cried out again as countless chunks of dirt and stone burst toward it from the explosive impacts.

But suddenly, it was startled.

Ichiro was already diving straight toward it.

The gigantic boar immediately accelerated in response.

It was extremely confident in its own destructive power.

But Ichiro was prepared for that reaction.

In fact, that was exactly what he had been expecting.

Ichiro was deliberately baiting the gigantic creature into using this kind of attack.

At the very last moment, the wolf-dog suddenly decelerated before swiftly veering to the left.

But even though he managed to evade it, the gigantic boar's linear acceleration was still on an entirely different level.

It was abnormal for a creature that heavy.

Ichiro was still slightly grazed.

And even though it was merely a glancing hit, the force behind it was still tremendous.

The Terrestrial Wolf was sent bouncing away and rolled three times before finally regaining control.

He quickly dug his sharp claws into the ground to forcefully stabilize his body.

His claws carved through the earth as he desperately tried to stop himself from sliding further.

The trail he left behind stretched nearly a meter long.

But the very moment Ichiro recovered, he did not waste another second.

He charged once more toward the gigantic boar, which had still not completely stopped from its powerful rush.

The boar's body was already covered in countless small wounds.

While Ichiro was in the middle of his charge, the gigantic boar slowly turned toward his direction as it finally came to a complete stop.

Peter's eyes suddenly lit up as he watched.

He had discovered the enemy's weakness.

He immediately moved.

His grip tightened around the sickle as he sprinted toward the gigantic creature.

Nearly half of the boar's body had already turned by the time Ichiro reached its rear.

With all his strength, the wolf bit down on the giant creature's neck.

"BWUĀĀ!!"

A violent squeal erupted from the gigantic boar because of the pain.

The two gigantic creatures wrestled fiercely against one another.

One desperately struggled to break free.

The other clung tightly and refused to let go.

And while the two were occupied in their savage struggle—

Peter suddenly lunged and swung the sickle in his hand toward the boar's hind leg.

That attack was filled with conviction.

Peter might still be incapable of harming an innocent creature—

But it was a different matter when his family was at stake.

He was prepared to stop—

Or even kill—

Anyone who tried to hurt his family.

"Ting!"

Peter shuddered in pain as he felt a violent vibration run through his arm.

The gigantic boar's hide was so tough that it felt as though he had struck solid steel.

He quickly looked up at it.

When he saw that the monster was not paying attention to him, he repeatedly swung the sickle at its hind leg.

And after a relentless barrage of attacks—

At last, its thick hide finally split open with a wound.

Peter grinned at the success.

But he immediately jumped backward when the boar attempted to kick him.

So his suspicion had been correct.

Its movements were much slower compared to its straightforward forward charge.

After successfully evading, Peter's confidence grew even further that he could avoid most of the giant creature's attacks.

Well...

Except for its abnormal forward charge.

That thing defied science.

According to physics, the heavier an object is, the slower it should move.

And Peter was obviously faster than the gigantic boar.

But it was a completely different matter once it began charging straight ahead.

Getting hit by such an enormous body moving at that speed was like being rammed by a speeding truck.

Peter was not confident that he wanted to get isekai'd for a second time.

The gigantic creature lost its balance after failing to kick Peter with its hind leg.

One of its legs even buckled slightly.

Ichiro immediately seized that opportunity.

He drove his fangs even deeper into the enemy's neck.

At the same time, Peter charged forward once again.

He leaped and swung the sickle in his hand.

This time—

It sank in.

No matter how formidable a creature's defenses were, the weakness of their eyes would never disappear.

"Bwūā! Bwūāā!!"

The gigantic boar let out a wide-mouthed scream because of the sickle embedded in its eye.

Meanwhile, Peter could no longer stop his own body after launching his attack.

He slammed hard against the giant creature's side before rolling away.

Blood escaped Peter's mouth when his back violently struck the ground first.

His eyes widened as he quickly rolled away again after seeing the collapsing body of the gigantic boar falling toward his direction.

Ichiro forcefully finished off the enemy.

"BANG!"

The ground shook violently as the gigantic creature's agonized roars finally ceased.

The sickle had sunk even deeper through its eye until it finally pierced its brain.

Ichiro immediately stepped on the neck of the now lifeless boar before raising his head toward the sky.

"AWŌŌŌ!!"

The Terrestrial Wolf released a long howl, as though proclaiming his strength and victory to the entire forest.

Peter slowly pushed himself back up.

He was just about to speak when he suddenly hissed in pain.

He had accidentally bitten his own tongue when he fell earlier.

He was still fortunate.

If he had landed the wrong way earlier, things could have ended far worse for him.

"Let's go! Remember, we're inside the Eternal Forest. Something has definitely been drawn here by the noise of the fight—especially because of your battle cry," Peter ordered the two.

"Open."

The moment he spoke, the entrance to the Livelihood Dungeon opened.

Ichiro looked at his master with drooping posture and guilty eyes, as though apologizing for letting out the howl.

Despite struggling, the wolf slowly dragged the gigantic boar toward the portal.

And at the exact moment the dungeon entrance closed—

The tall grass around the area suddenly began to move.

One after another, no fewer than three dozen goblins emerged from within it.

Every single one of them carried a weapon.

And before even a second passed—

Their shrill cries echoed one after another, accompanied by a thunderous, monstrous roar coming from deep within the grasslands.