Livelihood Dungeon! (English Version)

"Grā! Grā! Grā!"

The Terrestrial Wolf growled in anger, denial, and grief.

One by one, the wolf recalled the short yet joyful memories he had shared with the little monkey. Without realizing it, tears were already streaming from his eyes.

As he stared at the arrogant black bear and the lifeless body of the little monkey sprawled across the ground, memories the wolf had long tried to forget resurfaced once more.

That time, it had been night instead of morning—the complete opposite of the present.

They had just successfully pulled off a hunt after luring a gigantic boar into their territory. Though the hunt had ended in victory, there had been no celebration.

That hunt had demanded far too many sacrifices.

No fewer than a dozen members of their pack had died.

As always.

For their unfortunate race—one that was not born as spirit beasts yet still dwelled within the cruel Eternal Forest—every hunt came hand in hand with heavy casualties and noble sacrifices.

As the weakest creatures in the chaotic forest, wolf packs were forced to hunt prey that was usually far stronger than themselves.

Enemies that defied common sense itself—

The beings known as spirit beasts.

When left with no other choice, a wolf pack's final resort was cannibalism. They hunted other packs of equal standing. It was a common occurrence near the entrance of the Eternal Forest. That was precisely why it was impossible for wolves like them to unite here.

They could not even bring themselves to trust one another.

So to hell with petty celebrations.

Unfortunately, that same familiar and cruel bear had arrived to steal their spoils.

And in the process, they lost even more companions, pushing them further toward impending doom.

Ichiro violently shook his head.

He reminded himself—

This isn't the time for memories. This is war.

For a brief second, two images overlapped within his vision.

The body of the fallen young monkey was replaced by the image of his former packmates, their corpses mangled beyond recognition. Beside them were the deep and massive claw marks left behind by the bear.

Back then, the bear had seemed gigantic.

Yet even after evolving and growing larger himself, the cruel monster still appeared just as massive in his eyes.

The bear remained a giant.

It possessed overwhelming strength, yet its cunning had never faded.

Ichiro was right.

The black bear was terrifyingly cunning.

Unbeknownst to him and his master, the creature had been observing them for quite some time already.

Perhaps nearly a week had passed since it first discovered their existence.

The bear had been drawn in by the noise they created during their hunt against the gigantic boar. When it arrived at the scene, it just so happened to encounter a group of goblins that had likely also been attracted by the aftermath of their earlier skirmish.

The bear crushed the weak-minded goblins effortlessly within its grasp.

Having already filled its stomach with the goblin group, the black monster postponed hunting Peter's group for the time being—but it also made sure not to alert them.

It erased every trace of the massacre it committed against the goblins.

Not a single goblin corpse was left behind.

The bear removed the flattened grass that could have served as a warning sign. It even covered the bloodstains scattered throughout the area.

In the end, it simply discarded the goblins' armor and weapons one by one since they held no value for it.

And throughout the entire process, the bear never once took its attention away from the place where it had last sensed Peter's group.

Since it was already full, it patiently waited instead.

And now—

They had arrived at this dreadful moment.

One of the bear's four massive paws rested atop the lifeless young monkey, pressed against the torn flesh near its neck.

The Terrestrial Wolf glanced toward his master.

Sadness filled him at what he saw.

Peter's eyes could not focus properly.

For the first time, he was utterly shaken after witnessing the brutal death of someone close to him.

"Grā!" Ichiro growled challengingly at the gigantic and brutal black bear.

Unlike Peter, Ichiro had grown up watching loved ones die on a regular basis.

Because of that, the Terrestrial Wolf managed to maintain his composure.

He only had one wish—

That such a fate would never befall his boss.

And to make that happen, he needed to protect him properly.

Without dying, of course.

The towering black bear noticed Ichiro's actions.

It looked as though the wolf was preparing to charge.

The bear released the young monkey's corpse and rose onto only two legs.

Even the Terrestrial Wolf could not help but look upward.

Now, he was certain.

The bear had indeed grown larger.

Back then, its height had only hovered around two meters.

But now, it stood just short of three.

The bear excitedly pounded its chest with both fists.

The bear truly was cunning.

It was fully aware of it—and even proud of it.

Yes.

It was powerful.

But the bear had become far too old and experienced to believe that strength alone was enough.

It had witnessed countless times how the weak could bring down the strong.

The perfect example was how a mere wolf pack once managed to kill a spirit boar.

That was why the bear had long since developed the habit of hunting cleverly.

It carefully chose its targets—

Preferably the weaker ones.

And once it selected its prey, it always launched a surprise attack first and immediately eliminated the weakest link.

That was exactly what it had done in this hunt as well.

The very first time it saw the little monkey, it instantly targeted it.

The bear was excited.

The wolfdog standing before it looked strong.

But not strong enough to threaten it.

This was excellent stimulation.

The bear bared its teeth and challenged Ichiro with a growl.

In the past, the bear had always been part of Ichiro's nightmares.

And within every dream, every encounter between them guaranteed death.

Though fear still lingered within him, Ichiro charged toward the provocative bear without hesitation.

A streak of light suddenly leaped onto his back.

Like a butterfly attempting to break free from its cocoon for the very first time—

Ichiro moved forward.

He had already defeated the wolf pack that once annihilated his own.

He had practically defeated the gigantic boar alone that once required an entire pack to bring down.

Now only this bear remained—

The final boss lurking within every one of his nightmares.

Meanwhile, throughout all of this, the young monkey's mother remained silent in the background.

She knelt motionlessly, her body so stiff that she resembled a statue.

Her head tilted upward as tears streamed endlessly from her eyes without a sound.

Her eyes had already turned pale from the sheer volume of tears she shed.

Her mouth hung open wide, exposing her large teeth.

She had completely shut down from the shock of what happened to her child.

She had already lost her mate in the past.

So it was hardly surprising that this time—

Losing her child had broken her completely.