Practically all of the Horned Squirrels had been defeated.
The peaceful snowy landscape of the dungeon was now covered with footprints, shattered rocks, and small white bodies scattered everywhere. The air was still heavy with the scent of the energy that had been used during the battle.
Just as Logan had explained before entering, they had left one squirrel alive.
The hunter with the chains had managed to immobilize it with his weapons, restraining its legs and body to keep it from escaping.
The creature writhed desperately, trying to break free.
Meanwhile, the others had devoted themselves to collecting anything that might prove useful.
Crystals.
Minerals.
Strange fruits.
And, above all, the squirrels’ characteristic horns.
Logan was crouching beside one of the corpses, collecting as many horns as he could.
He piled them into his arms as if they were treasure.
That was when the hunter with the enormous gloves approached him.
"Hey."
Logan didn’t even look up.
"What do you want?"
"Leave some of that for the others."
Logan frowned.
"Excuse me?"
The young man pointed at the horns he was collecting.
"We all helped defeat them. You can’t just take everything you find."
Another hunter approached.
"He’s right."
Logan slowly raised his head.
"What did you say?"
"I said you didn’t do much to help us."
The atmosphere became uncomfortable.
"In fact, you practically left us to fend for ourselves when the boss appeared."
"And if it weren’t for Liam and Lydia, we’d probably be dead."
Logan gritted his teeth, and his hands began to tremble.
He wasn’t used to someone speaking to him that way.
Especially not someone of a lower rank.
He slowly released the horns he was holding.
They fell onto the snow.
Clack.
Logan took a step toward the hunter with the gloves.
"Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?"
The young man stepped backward.
Logan grabbed him by the neck and partially lifted him off the ground.
"I’m an Emerald-rank hunter."
The young man tried to pry his hands away.
"Let me go!"
"You should learn to respect those above you."
"Logan!"
Liam’s voice made everyone turn around.
Liam calmly walked toward them.
"Let him go."
Logan looked at him.
"Stay out of this."
"Yeah, I’m getting involved."
Liam stopped in front of him.
"You can take your share of the loot. No one’s going to take it from you."
Logan let out a small laugh.
"How generous."
"But when we leave this dungeon, you’re out of the group."
Logan’s expression changed.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Are you kicking me out?"
Liam shrugged.
"I don’t need someone who abandons his own group during a dangerous situation accompanying us into the next dungeon."
Logan laughed.
"You’re pretty funny, rookie."
Liam sighed.
"Lydia."
His wife looked up.
"Yes?"
"Show this guy what will happen if he decides not to listen to me."
Lydia smiled.
"Gladly."
Her body began to change.
Within seconds, Lydia had transformed back into a massive mass of slime.
Logan watched in confusion.
"What are you supposed to...?"
Lydia spread out, her body sliding across the snow like a green wave.
First, she covered a squirrel, and the corpse disappeared inside her.
Then another.
And another.
The bodies simply sank into the gelatinous mass and disappeared.
Several windows appeared before Liam’s eyes.
[Your Slime has consumed Level 2 Horned Squirrel.]
Another window appeared immediately afterward.
[Your Slime has consumed Level 2 Horned Squirrel.]
And then another.
[Your Slime has consumed Horned Squirrel Pack.]
Liam’s eyes widened slightly, but it wasn’t over yet.
[Your Slime has learned "Illusion."]
[Your Slime has learned "Glow."]
[Your Slime has reached Level 44.]
Liam smiled.
"Wow..."
Logan had also seen exactly what had just happened.
His mouth fell open.
First, he looked at Lydia, then at the hunter he was still holding by the neck.
And finally, he let him go.
The young man fell to the ground and began coughing.
"I..."
Logan remained silent for several seconds.
"I’m sorry."
The hunter with the gloves looked at him in surprise.
"What?"
"I said I’m sorry."
Liam smiled.
"You did the right thing."
Logan didn’t respond. He simply stepped away.
Liam turned toward the others.
"All right. Let’s finish this."
He gestured toward their surroundings.
"Collect the gems, the horns, and anything else that looks interesting. Everything you find."
The hunters nodded.
"My wife can store all of it."
Lydia, still transformed into slime, raised a small portion of her body.
The girl whose phone had been broken smiled.
"That’ll save us quite a bit of work."
"Exactly," Liam replied.
"When we get out, we’ll divide everything equally."
No one objected.
Even Logan remained silent.
◇◆◇
For the next several minutes, everyone began working.
Some collected the horns, while others searched for crystals hidden beneath the snow.
The hunter with the chains found several blue stones that appeared to have energy inside them.
One of the young men discovered some strange fruits growing beneath the trees.
And little by little...
A mountain of items began to form in the center of the group.
There were minerals of different sizes.
Green, blue, and violet crystals.
White horns.
Fruits.
Glowing stones.
Even a few objects that nobody recognized.
"I think that’s everything," one of the hunters said.
Liam looked at the enormous pile.
"Looks like we did pretty well."
Lydia approached, and her gelatinous body slowly spread over the pile.
The objects began disappearing inside her without leaving a trace.
"Wow!" one of the young men exclaimed.
The girl whose phone had been broken widened her eyes.
"Can she really store all of that?"
"Looks like it," Liam replied.
The hunter with the gloves crossed his arms.
"After everything we’ve seen today, I’m not surprised anymore."
Lydia finished storing the last crystal and slowly returned to her human form.
Her white dress appeared over her body as if it had never disappeared.
"Done."
Liam nodded.
Then he looked toward the last squirrel, which was still immobilized.
"All right."
He approached the hunter with the chains.
"You can finish it."
The young man nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. We already have everything we need."
The hunter raised his weapons, and the chains tightened.
The squirrel began struggling desperately.
Liam took Lydia’s hand.
"We can leave now."
She smiled.
"I’m glad."
The hunter made one final movement.
The chains tightened around the creature, and the last Horned Squirrel collapsed onto the snow.
Then the ground began to vibrate.
Liam looked up, and a crack appeared beneath their feet.
"Looks like the dungeon is starting to collapse."
Everyone prepared to run.
But before they could move...
A white light appeared in front of them.
The exit.
The F-rank dungeon had been completed.
Liam looked at his wife and smiled.
"Let’s go home."
Lydia took his hand.
And the group began moving toward the light.