The White Wolf's Den was a cave-type Treasure Hall.
Silver Moon were originally Monsters with high intelligence and social behavior, forming large packs and digging a single nest to live in together.
At their peak, the Silver Moon pack was said to number over a thousand. Their nest sprawled in every direction like an ant colony, covering an area rivaling that of a small village.
And even now, after the Silver Moon had gone extinct and the nest had become a Treasure Hall, it retained almost its original form.
The massive entrance to the Treasure Hall gaped open in the ground. Observing it from the shadow of the bushes, Tinno let out a sigh.
Even back when it had been a beast's nest, multiple Silver Moon had always prowled the entrance on guard duty.
But the ones prowling now were wolfmen with crimson fur. Even from over ten meters away, she could feel their scorching breath and the stench of beast. Only their gleaming eyes stood out starkly in the darkness.
The unsheathed blades in their hands reflected the dim light of the crescent moon in the night sky, glinting dully.
"Hey, it's not just swords. Some of them have bows and firearms too."
"Damn, looks like it's not just that one个体 that's strong. Has this area been oversupplied with Mana Material? Did something happen around here?"
Gregg furrowed his brow at Gilbert's muttering and studied the Phantoms.
When the Mana Material filling the world accumulated and reached a certain concentration, Treasure Halls and Phantoms were born.
But if the concentration rose even higher due to some additional cause, the Phantoms and Treasure Hall would absorb that Mana Material and sublimate into beings of an even higher Level.
It was an irregular phenomenon feared among Hunters as an "evolution."
Evolutions rarely occurred.
Mana Material normally circulated along Ley Lines that ran throughout the world in every direction.
Because it was always flowing, there was a limit to how much Mana Material could accumulate at any given location.
Generally, evolutions were thought to occur only when external factors — shifts in Ley Lines or environmental changes — caused the rate of Mana Material concentration increase at a particular location to rise.
The Zebuldia Empire, which derived great national strength from the Treasure Halls surrounding it, was highly sensitive to shifts in Ley Lines.
If there had been any such signs, the Hunters should have been informed. Tinno had heard nothing about environmental changes either.
But with multiple Phantoms of a higher rank than expected wandering right in front of her, there was no point in complaining.
Tinno steadied her breathing and calmly analyzed their combat strength.
The Phantoms were two sizes larger than the Red Moon she had anticipated.
Moreover, whereas Red Moon were quadrupeds, the wolfmen before her stood on two legs. In terms of height, they were likely more than twice the size of a Red Moon.
"The nest was originally built to Silver Moon proportions. At that size, their movement inside should be restricted. They shouldn't be able to fly or leap around… probably."
"So we're better off rushing inside rather than fighting in the open… but I don't have any long-range attack options…"
Five wolfmen were gathered outside the nest entrance.
They were all clad in what appeared to be sturdy armor, just as expected, but their armaments differed.
Three carried swords, one bore a bow, and one held a long-barreled firearm she didn't recognize. Given the formation and the number of wolfmen, slipping into the nest undetected was impossible.
Considering the risk of being caught in a pincer attack, charging straight into the hole while ignoring them would be unwise.
"Is the rescue target inside? They entered a Treasure Hall this obviously dangerous?"
"…If the Treasure Hall evolved, the Treasure Weapons we could find would be worth the risk too."
Treasure Halls, Phantoms, and the manifestation of Treasure Weapons all operated on the same principle.
The more concentrated the Mana Material, the more powerful the Treasure Weapons that appeared.
And the lack of other people was another critical factor. Treasure Weapons were first come, first served.
"Does anyone have a long-range attack option?"
At Tinno's words, thrown over her shoulder as she turned, Gregg and Ruda exchanged glances.
In this context, "long-range attack" meant something that could deal at least some damage to those armored wolfmen.
For example, Ruda could throw a short sword, but it wouldn't be an effective attack against a wolfman encased in armor and thick fur.
Watching the two fall silent, Tinno was once again struck by how poorly balanced this Party was.
In a normal Party, it was common sense to include at least one member who specialized in ranged attacks for situations like this.
Gilbert gripped the Purgatory Sword strapped to his back with both hands and raised his hips slightly.
"Can't be helped. I'll cut through them. If we take out the bow and the gun first with a preemptive strike, we can handle the rest."
"…Huh? Are you stupid?"
"Even without magic power, the Purgatory Sword is stronger than an ordinary sword. Don't worry, this kind of thing — I'm used to it."
Gilbert was lightly equipped.
His leather armor reinforced with thin metal plates was standard fare for Hunters who valued mobility, but it was hardly the outfit of someone serving as bait.
He was better off than Tinno and Ruda, who had specialized even further in mobility as Thief-class members, but he carried no shield either. The two-handed greatsword was built for offensive power and couldn't exactly be called nimble.
His casual tone in the face of five opponents truly suggested that the young man was accustomed to such situations.
"Come to think of it, didn't you say you used to be a one-man Party?"
Hunting talent varied greatly from person to person. Disparities in strength among Party members were inevitable, and Hunters who had fought alongside consistently weaker companions for a long time tended to step to the front themselves.
It was how they had kept winning. In a new Party, however, that tendency often became a source of friction.
Tinno glared at Gilbert as he started to stand.
"Don't do anything on your own. If you want to die, that's your business, but even if this is a temporary arrangement, as the leader of this Party, I have a duty to bring everyone back alive."
"…Huh?"
At her unexpected words, Gilbert's eyes widened.
Given how the Party had formed and considering their respective personalities, it was surprising that the leader would express concern for Gilbert's well-being.
Honestly, Tinno — the most agile member of this Party — could probably escape from a large number of wolfmen without much trouble.
With companions she had hunted alongside for years, that might be different, but this group was assembled from strays.
She had even considered, if only briefly, the possibility of being used as a shield.
At Gilbert's stare, Tinno frowned and declared flatly.
"I won't abandon anyone. The Master expects me to act as a proper leader this time. Bringing all of you back alive without losing a single person is — in other words — the bare minimum requirement."
Tinno knew full well that the life of a Hunter wasn't all noble ideals.
Sometimes you had to make the call to sacrifice a member in order to protect the Party as a whole.
But that wasn't what was being asked of her this time.
The Master would never issue a request that required abandoning companions — not even a temporary one.
That was precisely the way of Klye Andrich, the Master of the Beginning Footprint.
Even if this was a temporary Party forced together with strangers — no, precisely because of that, Tinno Shade was being tested right now, in this moment, for her worthiness as a leader.
She drew in the cold night air and suppressed the pulse that quickened with the approaching battle.
Then Tinno surveyed the Party members and spoke.
"Ruda and I, the lightest members, will go first to draw their attention. We've received training in evading ranged weapons. While they're focused on us, Gregg and Gilbert will assault the rear guard from behind. Once you close the distance, the firearms and arrows won't be a threat."
§ § § Please — at least let Tinno survive. At this point, I don't even care if the others are used as shields.
Gritting my teeth, I raced across the night sky illuminated only by the crescent moon.
The membrane of air piercing through my entire body.
Propelled by the thrust generated by this Treasure Weapon cloak, I flew through the sky like a single bolt loosed from a crossbow.
Like an arrow, once released, there was no going back.
I steered only by direction through the darkness.
The walls surrounding the imperial capital, the massive gate — I blew past them in an instant. Below me stretched nothing but an endless plain and a well-maintained road with no lights.
A beautiful sight, but the mood of yours truly watching it could only be described as nauseating.
The Dark Wings of the Night was a cloak-type Treasure Weapon.
With fabric the color of a deep indigo, as though the night itself had been given form, and a white gemstone set at the collar, this Treasure Weapon granted its wielder the extremely powerful ability of flight.
Treasure Weapons that granted flight were rare, highly sought-after, and therefore expensive. The only one in my collection was the Dark Wings of the Night, but this Treasure Weapon had numerous critical flaws.
The "Human Missile Incident" caused by its previous owner had demonstrated to everyone the usefulness and the danger of Treasure Weapons. It was a truly tragic event.
That Hunter, propelled by tremendous thrust, had launched himself headfirst into a ceiling and was promptly summoned to the afterlife. The Dark Wings of the Night was on the verge of being disposed of as a Treasure Weapon that had killed a capable Hunter when I took it in. An authentic defective product.
But it could fly. That much was certain.
It couldn't be finely controlled, it prioritized thrust over gravity manipulation to the point that the "levitation" most flight-capable Treasure Weapons offered was impossible, and it had no brakes to speak of — it was riddled with problems. But it could fly.
And it was absurdly fast. A speed with absolutely no consideration for safety.
Since it manifested as a Treasure Weapon, there must have been some original item it was based on. I wanted to spend a good hour lecturing whoever first conceived of this thing.
In the blink of an eye, I crossed a distance that would take even a non-human Hunter over an hour, plunging straight into the forest.
On the ground, the dense canopy of trees would have blocked my vision, and the terrain of stone and branches would have been treacherous to navigate, draining my stamina just by walking. But flying through the air, none of that mattered.
From high above at tremendous speed, the birds and beasts nesting in the forest rustled and screamed. The one who wanted to scream was me.
And through my extremely shaky field of vision, I somehow managed to spot the target Treasure Hall.
A clearing with no trees. A massive hole in the earth. There were no other cave-type Treasure Halls in this area, so it had to be the right one.
Fast. So fast even I was impressed with myself. At this rate, Tinno might actually still be alive.
The only remaining problem was that I had no brakes.
Gritting my teeth, I angled my trajectory downward and plunged straight into the hole without slowing.