The Dungeon Boss's Gift

"Damn it…"

I looked behind me. The gigantic wolf that had been lying down was now standing, glaring at me.

The sheer intimidation of the giant wolf was overwhelming, making my legs tremble. It began charging towards me. I threw off my backpack and prepared to meet it with a triple push.

The giant wolf's head collided with the D-particle plate. The impact shattered the plate into pieces. The wolf shook its head lightly, then opened its massive jaws, ready to crush my head.

I immediately cast 'Swing,' striking it with a punishing plate. The wolf staggered back.

"No good. I can't deal enough damage to create an opening. Oh, right…"

I had forgotten that I had reached magic level 4.

The giant wolf circled me, growling menacingly. It suddenly charged, its fearsome teeth bared. I activated a quadruple 'Swing.' The punishing plate struck with unprecedented speed, twisting the wolf's neck and knocking its huge body sideways.

It seemed to have taken some damage this time. But it was far from a fatal blow. I rushed forward, intending to finish it off with my hunting knife.

Just then, the wolf's paw struck me, sending me flying about three meters. I rolled and quickly jumped back. A split second later, the wolf's massive jaws snapped shut where I had been standing.

My abdomen hurt from the kick. Noticing my pained expression, the wolf came after me. I used a quadruple 'Push' to shove it away and gain some distance.

Using both quadruple 'Push' and 'Swing,' I fought desperately. But I was gradually being cornered. Activating quadruple magic seemed to take longer than triple, causing my counterattacks to lag just slightly.

Because of this, I ended up covered in slashes from its sharp claws. Meanwhile, the giant wolf didn't seem much affected. Its healing and toughness were on a completely different level from a human's.

I needed something—anything—to turn the tide. Otherwise, I was going to die.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, the wolf lunged at me. Its gaping maw, filled with sharp teeth, looked like a portal to hell.

In a desperate gamble, I cast 'Hole' into the wolf's mouth. Panicked, I associated the hellish mouth with a hole, and the magic responded to my fear.

The D-particle-formed ladle dug into the wolf's mouth. This was no single strike; the ladle repeatedly burrowed inside.

The giant wolf forgot about me, writhing in agony. This was my last chance. Timing my move, I plunged my hunting knife into the wolf's chest. The blade pierced its heart—a miraculous strike.

This blow seemed to be the final one. The wolf's massive body disintegrated into particles of light, leaving behind a magic stone, goggles, and a scroll. Inside me, I felt a deep pulsing sensation. My magic level had increased to 5.

The moment I felt relief, pain surged through my body. First, I needed to tend to my wounds. I took out medicine and bandages from my backpack and treated myself as best I could. Then, I examined the items left behind by the giant wolf.

"Why goggles?"

I put on the goggles. They were like tinted glasses, large enough to fit over my regular ones.

They had no visible straps or ties, yet they adhered perfectly to my face, not falling off even when I shook my head. They seemed to have some special properties.

And they made the dim dungeon remarkably bright. These goggles were a magical tool, functioning like night vision equipment. I easily removed them.

"Night vision goggles, huh? Handy."

Given the dungeon's many dark areas, these would be useful. I decided to keep them on.

Next, I picked up the magic stone, a red gem about three centimeters in diameter. Red magic stones were used as magical batteries for devices, and a stone this size could sell for around 500,000 yen.

I stored the red magic stone in my backpack and finally picked up the scroll. It should contain some form of knowledge. Though I wanted to examine it immediately, I decided to head back, as it was getting late.

The journey to the fourth floor was uneventful. As I was making my way back through the maze on the third floor, I heard a woman scream.

"Huh? A student here at this hour?"

I hurried towards the sound.

A female student was being attacked by a blue lizard. I recognized her. She was a first-year student in my life magic class. I didn't know why she was alone in the dungeon, but I had to help.

I drew my hunting knife and rushed in.

###

Amane Mori was a student at the Gibic Magic Academy. However, she ranked near the bottom of the academy rankings. These rankings were determined by dungeon depth reached and practical exam scores.

Amane was an enchanter with low offensive capabilities in combat. Her solo dungeon record was only to the third floor of the Giant Tree Dungeon.

Driven by a competitive spirit, Amane had been training in the dungeon over the long weekend to improve her rank. However, struggling against the blue lizards on the third floor, she had been unable to descend to the fourth floor.

As the long weekend drew to a close, Amane, growing desperate, skipped proper rest and continued fighting blue lizards. She ended up having her war hammer knocked away by one's tail.

"I have to run…"

Weaponless, Amane screamed and ran. But the blue lizard caught up, cornering her in a dead-end of the maze.

Amane deeply regretted her actions. She had thought she could handle a beginner-level dungeon alone. That was naive. With her limited magic abilities, she stood no chance of soloing a dungeon.

The blue lizard closed in. Terror made her legs shake. At that moment, someone jumped in. This person plunged a large knife into the lizard's back and did something.

The knife started to burrow into the lizard's body, eventually piercing its heart and killing it.

"Are you alright?"

I recognized the voice. The person was wearing goggles, making it hard to see their face.

"Thank you. Um, who are you?"

The person seemed disappointed.

"Oh, right. You can't see my face because of the goggles."

"I forgot."

The person removed the goggles. When I saw the face beneath, I was shocked.

"…Mr. Grimm?"