Trap the Hunter, Escape the Hunt

Time: thirteen hours after leaving the safe room.

Location: the twenty-fifth floor of the dungeon labyrinth.

Characters: Ye Yousheng and Alicia.

Event: …being chased by a gigantic wolf-type monster!

“Behind us! Seal off the path behind!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Awooooooooooo—!”

The ferocious beast roared wildly as it lunged forward, fangs bared, determined to tear the two apart on the spot!

Ye Yousheng drew the Breeze Dagger and uttered the words, “Wind Bind.”

The blade instantly transformed into a long whip, lashing toward the mad wolf.

Of course, this wind rope was no longer effective against such a terrifying monster.

It couldn’t even restrain it for a moment, let alone buy time.

So… Ye Yousheng changed the way he used it!

He precisely looped the wind rope around one of the wolf’s hind legs and yanked it backward with all his strength!

The wolf, midair, instantly lost its balance and crashed to the ground.

Naturally, this kind of attack dealt no real damage.

But Ye Yousheng’s goal had never been to harm it—only to stall for time.

Everything was for Alicia to finish her spell!

“…Construct a crystal wall that isolates all—Ice Wall!”

A radiant blue wall of ice materialized to Ye Yousheng’s left, sealing the passage behind them before the wolf could rise again.

“Nice one!”

After praising her, Ye Yousheng turned and bolted forward!

With a casual swipe, he used a wind blade to split a dungeon venom insect in half ahead of him, then accelerated toward the crossroads!

Clang! Clang! Clang… crack!

Behind them, the ice wall finally shattered under the wolf’s relentless assault.

Its fur bristled as its body doubled in size.

Its originally dark red coat gradually turned a vivid crimson—like blood, like fire.

That was the pride of the twenty-fifth floor’s lord monster: Berserk.

A larger body did not mean slower movement.

Fueled by rage, the fully berserk wolf dashed forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, instantly closing the gap they had created.

Held in Ye Yousheng’s arms, Alicia saw the blood-red wolf’s gaping maw and cried out in terror, “Ye Yousheng! It’s catching up!”

“Got it—Wind Bind!”

As the wind rope formed once more, the wolf instinctively hesitated.

It was purely reflex—having just suffered from it, its body reacted on its own.

But Ye Yousheng’s target was clearly not the wolf.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think the same trick would work twice on a boss-level monster.

His real target was… the giant axe trap above the crossroads!

When the wind rope coiled around the axe’s chain, Ye Yousheng shortened it, shifting from a sprint into a swinging motion!

At the same time, the wolf snapped out of its brief hesitation and began gathering power on the spot, preparing to seize its prey in one decisive strike!

Ye Yousheng immediately shouted, “Flight! To the right!”

Understanding instantly, Alicia tightened her grip on her staff and chanted,

“O wind spirits that dance in the air, carry me forth—Flight!”

With the enhancement of Flight, their speed surged again.

They were about to reach the center of the crossroads—

And at that very moment, the axe trap was triggered.

The pitch-black giant axe fell faster and faster.

At the same time, the wolf made its move!

Releasing all the power stored in its limbs, it lunged forward like lightning, confident it could snatch those two pests before the axe landed.

Faced with attacks from above and behind—two blind spots—Ye Yousheng did nothing.

He had already issued the command for escape.

Alicia shut her eyes tightly.

Her palms were drenched in sweat, and her clothes were wrinkled beyond shape.

She had never been this nervous before.

Not even when she delivered a speech at the entrance ceremony of the Gray Magic Academy had she trembled like this.

And yet, strangely… she felt no fear at all.

Even though this was the closest she had ever been to death in her short life…

Not only was she unafraid—she was even a little excited.

In the past, when exploring dungeons, she had always been cautious, afraid of making even the smallest mistake.

Once, her arrogance had caused a teammate to be injured, and ever since then, she had ventured alone.

But in just over ten hours of traveling with Ye Yousheng…

She had come to trust him completely.

Even though, in her mind, Ye Yousheng was a despicable, shameless, sinister, vile, filthy, underhanded, utterly scummy bastard…

So why?

Even she couldn’t explain it.

Was it because he had an exact grasp of the dungeon’s map and never took a wrong turn?

Or because his commands always produced miraculous results?

Or perhaps… because they had been so physically close this entire time?

She felt a bit annoyed at herself.

She had already grown used to following Ye Yousheng’s orders.

Her thoughts churned chaotically, while the danger before them had yet to pass.

Just as they reached the very center of the crossroads—

Ye Yousheng shouted, “Now!”

Alicia snapped back to reality and cried out, “R-Right turn!”

At the same time, she pointed her staff to the right.

Receiving the command, the wind elements instantly turned them ninety degrees and propelled them to the right.

A sharp turn!

The prey escaped just like that—

And the falling giant axe struck the wolf squarely on the head.

“Awooooo—!”

Though it wasn’t fatal, it still dealt damage.

Enraged and humiliated, the wolf crushed the axe into fragments underfoot, then looked to the right—

But there was no sign of Ye Yousheng or Alicia.

The two had already plunged into the pitfall trap on the right side of the crossroads, escaping to the next floor.

If the wolf were not a floor lord, it might have chased after them.

But precisely because it was a lord, it could not leave its floor.

Breaking that rule would invite the displeasure of other lords.

And the lord of the next floor was not someone to be trifled with.

If a conflict between floors broke out over two insignificant pests, the consequences would be far worse than this minor injury.

No matter how frustrated it was, the wolf had no choice but to give up.

It decided to vent its anger on its subordinates instead.

Meanwhile, Ye Yousheng and Alicia had already arrived on the twenty-sixth floor.

Their escape from the labyrinth was now halfway complete…

And below them, even more dangerous things awaited.