Danma: Danganronpa, but Monster Hunter!

A natural cave located on the mountainside.

Gray rocks were rolling everywhere, and the surrounding walls, floors, and ceilings were all made of bedrock, with a slightly humid air floating around.

A faint phosphorescence shimmered on the overhead and surrounding rock walls, reducing visibility; it was probably some kind of bioluminescent mushroom-like creature.

A straight, rocky path stretched out beneath my feet, and even squinting to look into the distance, I could hardly see the end of it.

In addition, there are vertical caves in the corners of the walls that lead to the next floor, like wells.

Although these traps may seem ordinary, the difference in elevation between each level of the dungeon is quite significant. If you underestimate them and accidentally fall into one, even the toughest adventurer will suffer.

But for Blazing Flame, this is a shortcut to the next level.

Because he is a hunter, he possesses a skill in this world called Featherfall, which ignores fall damage.

"The 13th floor is characterized by its long passageways connecting the caves. To fight safely, the first thing to do is to quickly reach the first cave along the path, and then use the space of the cave to fight the monsters."

Raul explained the special features of the current floor, and Blaze nodded slowly.

"Common monsters that appear on the thirteenth floor include the unicorn rabbit and the hellhound. The Minotaur also occasionally appears on this floor, but the Minotaur mostly appears on floors below the fifteenth floor. However, even if you encounter the Minotaur, there is no need to worry. Mr. Lieyan, with your current level, defeating the Minotaur should not be a problem. The thing you need to watch out for is the hellhound."

"Unlike the monsters on the upper levels, hellhounds can breathe fire, and this fire is extremely powerful, capable of easily melting ordinary armor. Generally speaking, if an adventurer's team is wiped out on the thirteenth or fourteenth level, the cause is almost always the hellhounds."

Raul gave instructions, and then his enhanced hearing transmitted a signal to him.

In the distance, at the edge of his vision, the sound of footsteps, like something running, reached his ears.

Raul was slightly taken aback. This... just like that?

"It seems the opportunity to solidify my knowledge has arrived."

Flame glanced at Raul meaningfully.

For some reason, during the time we were moving through the dungeon, whenever Raul introduced a monster, a group of monsters would always appear at just the right moment to provide an on-the-spot tutorial.

Goblins are like this, Shadow Warriors are like this, and now Cerberus is like this...

This kid,

Is he just unlucky...?

Chapter Nineteen: Wisdom and Tactics—

Raul's face contorted into a bitter expression.

Frankly, he'd rather this opportunity to solidify his knowledge never existed. After all, his mouth, which seemed to predict the exact monsters that would appear, was practically a jinx in this dungeon. Even his own clan members would simply sew his mouth shut in this situation.

Ignoring Raul's expression, Blaze focused his gaze on the passageway in the distance.

Bathed in the faint phosphorescence, three jet-black, four-legged beasts trod across the rocky floor, advancing swiftly towards them as if they had chosen their target from the very beginning.

"Could you please get me my cloak?"

As they spoke, Flame first removed his sword and shield, then used the blade of the shield to stab it into the ground. He then placed his backpack at his feet, and finally removed his cloak, handing it to Raul.

A cloak that can conceal equipment is still very important. After hearing Raul's introduction to the Hellhound, Flame abandoned the idea of ​​fighting the Hellhound while wearing a cloak.

His equipment wasn't particularly afraid of fire, but his cloak was still quite fragile. He had already gotten a tear in it when facing Zhan Ying before because he couldn't dodge in time. Now, facing the Hellhound whose strength was unclear and which could breathe fire, it might be damaged if he wasn't careful.

Considering that she would need to use the cloak to cover her equipment again when she returned to the ground, Flame felt that she had to protect the cloak. So, it was time to go fully armed.

Unhurriedly, Lieyan took a helmet out of his backpack and put it on his head.

The Rock Dragon Helmet is made from the skin of a Pteranodon, using three of the hardest chest shell materials from the Rock Dragon. It is a Rock Dragon armor piece that can only be obtained by heating and melting red lotus stones to obtain a special adhesive from the poison sacs extracted from the Rock Dragon. Its unique appearance immediately evokes the head of the Rock Dragon.

Just as Flame put on the Rock Dragon helmet, with only his chin showing, making him almost flawless from every angle, Raul, who had taken the cloak from the side, looked at the full armor on Flame's body with envy in his eyes.

Raul knew that Flame's equipment all came from monsters he personally hunted, and this could also be seen from the shapes of the remaining materials on Mr. Flame's armor.

The armor on the waist and legs, like the helmet, has an iron-gray appearance and is made of metal and the shell of some kind of monster.

The chest armor was a yellowish-brown color, roughly pieced together from several massive blocks of material that resembled either bone plates or pottery, each with huge vertical ridges. The shoulder armor looked as if two holes had been carved out of the material to accommodate the arms.

The wrist guards appear to have been constructed differently. The left wrist guard offers a larger defensive area and is more menacing, fitted with yellow spiked armor. The right wrist guard, on the other hand, seems to prioritize flexibility, featuring exposed fingers and less menacing blue armor compared to the yellow one.

Rock Dragon Helmet, Sand Dragon Chestplate, Blue Bear Gauntlets, Rock Dragon Waistplate, Rock Dragon Leggings.

This is Mr. Flame's equipment...

Raul's eyes were fixed on the flames, unblinking.

He is very clear,

The equipment worn by Blaze is essentially equivalent to, or even surpasses, the customized gear of a first-level adventurer.

It would be hard to find armor more sturdy than this in the dungeon.

But having said that...

This equipment isn't a complete set; it looks really mismatched, even a bit ugly. The style of the upper and lower body armor is too different!

Raul thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

If Lieyan knew what he was thinking, he'd probably shed a tear too.

He was also desperate because there was no equipment transmogrification in the realistic Rise of the World. He also wanted to be a cool hunter, but wasn't safety more important?

Mixing together Rock Dragon and Barroth armor might look a bit ugly, but it's tough!

Defense 6!

The monster's footsteps grew closer, and then its ferocious appearance came into view.

Its skin resembled land ravaged by fire, its entire body radiating a jet-black color, uneven and rough. Standing over a meter tall at the shoulder, it was a truly large dog, its ferocious-looking head adorned with two red eyes that gleamed in the dim light.

In short, it truly lives up to its name, appearing to be an existence from hell.

"Roar—woof—woof—!"

Meanwhile, in the distance, the three-headed hellhound barked in unison, its body, about the size of a calf, accelerating further.

He tossed his backpack aside, took a step forward, and pulled his sword and shield from the ground with both hands. With a crisp cracking sound, he was now equipped with his sword and shield.

The distance of tens of meters was flattened by the hellhound's rapid run. In an instant, the hellhound, which was less than ten meters away from the flames, jumped up with its hind legs.

A gaping maw descended from the sky.

"They are fast, but not very agile. They are highly offensive and proactive. They are small in size and adept at using the environment to create advantages. Also, they are good at group combat..."

Flame's gaze swept quickly across the three-headed hellhound, which had approached by leaping, approaching from the ground, and then crouching low at a distance as if gathering its strength. Flame then drew a conclusion.

The intelligence and tactics of the dungeon monsters should not be underestimated.

As Lieyan sensed the increased intelligence of the dungeon monsters for the first time, his heart began to burn with excitement. That's right, this is the kind of opponent you should have!

Ignoring the hellhound approaching from the ground, Flame stared intently at the gaping maw descending from the sky, then swung his right arm.

Shield Thrust!

The heavy shield whistled through the air as flames used it as a spearhead to thrust through the air. The heavy impact of the straight thrust squeezed between the sharp teeth, and the edges of the shield wedged directly into the corner of the hellhound's mouth.

"Uh-oh——"

The hellhound, forced suspended in mid-air, let out a scream, but Flame's movements didn't stop. He continued to exert force with his arm, using the momentum to lift the hellhound down from the sky.

The heavy shield blade pressed against the hellhound's neck bone, slamming it into the ground with a shattering sound, and crimson and black blood gushed out.

With an attack that was neither clearly a smash nor a severing motion, the first black hound died on the spot. Immediately afterward, before the hellhound running on the ground could get close, Flame raised his shield, and a blue thread surged from his right arm.

The radiant flying insect flew straight, anchoring itself in space like a nail. Flame gripped the blue threads, pulling itself forward, while simultaneously inserting its sword into a special mechanism in the center of the shield with its left hand. With a soft click, the sword and shield were secured together, and the shield slid 180 degrees along a special track, revealing two enormous blades.

But the flames did not cease. With the help of the flying insects, he activated the mechanism on the sword hilt, disassembling the shield again. The sword hidden within the mechanism then thrust towards the hellhound at an even greater speed.

Swift Insect Technique: Transform and Advance + Sword: Spinning Slash!!

Chapter Twenty: First Day's Harvest

A wide, single-edged sword with a blade length of over a meter swept across.

The hellhound was completely helpless against the sudden attack, and could only watch helplessly as the blade sliced ​​through both of its eyes in one fell swoop, spraying black and red blood. But before the hellhound could even howl, Flame ducked down, slid to its side, and brought his single-edged sword down diagonally.

Sword: Moving Slash!

A faint line of blood appeared on the hellhound's neck. Its head slid off, and a torrent of blood gushed out. Its four-legged body, having lost all strength, collapsed limply into the pool of blood with a dull, sticky thud.

At that moment, a fierce fire struck.

The flames, compressed inside the demon hound's mouth, were released in full.

As the flames swiftly killed two hellhounds, the third hellhound, which had been charging up for some time, finally completed its attack.

The crimson shell pierced through the air in one breath, sending up a scorching heatwave.

"Mr. Blazing Flame!"

Not far away, Raul, his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, raised his voice, ready for battle.

"Don't worry."

A voice brimming with confidence emanated from the flames.

Flames—he'd encountered far too many beings capable of wielding fire: the Umbrella Bird, the Rathian, the Fire Dragon, the Rock Dragon, the Anjanath…

It was just a fireball spat out by a mere puppy.

Lieyan turned the shield around, inserted his single-edged sword into it, and activated a mechanism. The bottom of the shield popped out with a clang, and the sides also opened outwards.

At the same time, pale blue threads flowed and shifted on Flame's right arm. Following his will, the winged insect leaped out from a special device beneath the arm armor, its limbs outstretched to secure itself to the inside of the shield, spitting out blue silk to connect with it.

Wirebug Technique: Full Charge Counterattack!!

Pale blue silk threads held the flames firmly in place, while compressed fireballs slammed into the shield that completely protected the flames behind it.

Flames burst out.

A crimson glow, seemingly capable of burning everything, echoed through the straight passage, revealing a ferocious grin on the black wolf beast's face.

In his limited mind, he had this impression: if the enemy wasn't equipped with clothing wreathed in fiery red particles, then after being hit by one of its flames, the enemy would definitely lose their fighting ability, turning into a lump of charcoal, or screaming in agony as they endured the burning pain of the flames.

But the next moment, a single-edged sword pierced the air, tearing horizontally through the curtain of fire.

Release animation cancel + attribute release spinning slash!!

Energy stored in a special device, the "bottle," surged into the shield, causing it to emit a faint red glow. Lieyan, carrying the red shield, emerged unscathed from the flames.