It took Arthur a while to process what he was seeing. Not because of the beauty itself—rare as that already was—but because of the level. Level 50! Someone at that stage could already be considered a B‑rank hunter, which was incredibly high.
Given how young she looked, the chances of her reaching A‑rank were more than likely, and that alone would place her among the very best.
Awkward and startled, Arthur muttered, "Your sister is level 50? Isn't that… really high?"
Yuri also seemed uneasy. It was as if he were comparing his own level to hers and realizing just how vast the gap between them truly was.
"Yes, hehe," Yuri replied, "but she's not here to help me fight monsters. She's more like a guardian against other hunters. And of course, she's teaching me how to track monsters, fight, and all that."
Yuri made sure to emphasize that part, which made sense. He didn't want Arthur to think he was one of those hunters who entered dungeons with higher‑level companions, relying on buffs and enjoying an absurd advantage.
At first glance, that seemed like a good thing. In the short term, it was. Facing monsters and racking up EXP quickly was great. But there was always a price.
Hunters who had been power‑leveled often ended up dead when they faced harder dungeons alone. Level mattered, but skill had to match it.
A hunter who reached level 50 through his own effort was far more capable than one who got there by riding on someone else's buffs. Everyone knew that.
"You don't need to explain why she's here," Arthur said. "I just found it curious. And I get it. Hunters can often be crueler than the monsters themselves." His words carried the weight of experience—he knew all too well how ruthless humans could be.
Yuri then told his sister, Lily, that he had met Arthur, and that Arthur was one of the rare hunters capable of summoning creatures.
At first, Lily didn't think much of him. Sure, there were goblins nearby, but she assumed that was due to some special item he had found in the dungeon. Items that allowed temporary summons weren't exactly rare.
But when she heard he was a true summoner, things changed. Her curiosity was piqued, and she wanted to know more about Arthur.
"What family are you from?" Lily asked.
Every known summoner came from a famous lineage, since it was nearly impossible for someone to acquire such a class on their own. It was common to see several in the same family, as if the heads of those clans guarded the secret method of obtaining it.
That was why Lily assumed Arthur must belong to an important family. Yuri hadn't even considered that detail until his sister's question—and now he was curious too.
The answer to that question was more complicated than it seemed. Arthur had to be careful with what he said.
"My family isn't famous or anything like that," Arthur replied. "You could say we're a family of summoners who prefer to remain anonymous."
Lily wasn't satisfied with the answer—she had wanted to know more about him or his family. Still, she didn't press further.
"Well then, what's the plan for you two now?" Lily asked, turning to her brother. "Are you staying here? Leaving the dungeon?"
Yuri had already planned to leave. He had other matters to attend to outside. Training often happened in the world beyond the dungeon as well.
As for Lily, being a strong hunter meant she had administrative responsibilities and even specific missions to carry out, since she was regularly contracted by different people.
Of the three, only Arthur had nowhere else to go. He was the only one content to spend long stretches of time inside the dungeon.
"I think I'll head out," Yuri said.
He then decided to give Arthur his phone number.
"When you leave the dungeon, send me a message. I'll help you," Yuri said with a wave. "See you."
Lily then pulled out a special stone. It was an item with limited uses, but most hunters bought them with coins earned from missions, monster hunts, and so on. The stone could open a portal to the outside world from anywhere within the dungeon.
Well—almost anywhere. There were exceptions where the stone wouldn't work, such as boss fights or specific mission stages dictated by the system.
The two stepped through the portal and vanished, leaving Arthur alone with his goblins.
"They seem like good people…" he murmured.
If Yuri truly managed to help him once they left the dungeon, it would be like an angel descending into Arthur's life. Things wouldn't be easy once he was on his own outside.
He returned to the goblins to deliver the news to the tribe's leader and the native goblins of the dungeon.
"The hunter is gone," Arthur said. "We're safe—for now. But we need to pick up the pace. Do you think we can reach our goal tomorrow?"
"I think so," the goblin leader replied, "but that means we'll have to march without rest, faster than usual. Do you think that's wise?"
Arthur wanted to reach his destination as soon as possible. He had just encountered a hunter—Yuri—and his sister, another hunter of terrifying strength. If they turned out to be enemies, everyone here would be slaughtered.
In other words, it was only a matter of time before he crossed paths with hunters again, and when that happened, Arthur wanted to face them from within his goblin stronghold. That was the plan.
"Yes. The longer we linger here, the greater the chance we'll run into hunters. You said yourself this mountain is well hidden, so our best shot is to get there as quickly as possible."
The goblin leader relayed the message to the rest of the tribe, preparing them for the next day. Arthur tried to sleep again, but rest eluded him. Anxiety gnawed at him, the fear that other hunters might appear during the night.
At dawn—before the sun had even risen—the goblins set out. They marched for nearly twenty hours without pause.
Along the way, Arthur encountered more weak monsters, none of which could withstand his summoned goblins. He even managed to push halfway through level 2, edging closer to level 3.
By the time they reached their destination at the base of the mountain, exhaustion forced them to stop and rest.
"I'll only know what this place truly looks like in the morning," Arthur thought, gazing at the mountain cloaked in darkness.
The next day, Arthur would finally begin building his new tribe. Step by step, he was drawing closer to dominating the dungeon—using his goblins to push his experience to the limit.
*
Near the main portal leading into the dungeon—the same one Arthur had used—a group of hunters stepped inside. Three of them.
They were well‑known. The trio had built their reputation on hunting down criminal hunters.
"Are you telling me some brat entered this dungeon without authorization?" one of them scoffed.
"Yeah. Let's hunt him down and drag him straight to the hunter tribunal. Stupid kids these days…"