Ray and Ashclaw secretly left the town and headed towards the Dire Wolf's Den.

On their way, they were ambushed twice. Both times it was a iron rank beast. Ray took care of them before Ashclaw could even move. He needed a lot of experience points to help the Metal Slime King level up, hence his eagerness.

Soon, they arrived before a pyramid shaped barrier.

"After we cross this barrier, we will reach our destination," Ray's calmness was infectious.

"Once we do, there will be no turning back." Ashclaw felt a bit hesitant. "Is it really the right decision to take this risk?"

Ray immediately motivated him.

"If we retreat now, only humiliation awaits, but advancing courageously can change our lives for the better."

"You're right, son. Let's do this!" Ashclaw had come too far to back down. So he let his greed get the better of him. Of course, such a thing wouldn't have happened if Ray's purposeful enticements were missing.

The barrier rippled like water as they passed through it.

Two spatial fluctuations later, they arrived in a place drowning in twilight.

The last rays of the sun bled across the horizon, painting the sky a bruised mix of purple and red.

All around were titanic trees.

Each trunk was so thick it would take a dozen men linking arms to circle around one. Their crowns towered so high that even if a man craned his neck until it ached, he would not see the ends. Their leaves formed a canopy so dense that twilight deepened into near-darkness beneath them.

Looking down, the ground was littered with roots as thick as serpents, moss spreading like a carpet across the earth.

Compared to Earth's forests, this one was monstrous.

On Earth, a giant tree was a rare wonder. Here, they were the standard!

"What an amazing place!" Ashclaw shook his head as he took in the view of his surroundings. "Unfortunately, it's an E-rank dungeon. We can't let our vigilance down even for a moment."

E-rank dungeons were also called graveyards of iron rank tamers. So Ashclaw was fearful.

"Don't worry, father. With me here, no harm shall come to you. I guarantee it," Ray said with a confident smirk, he had to admit, he was getting better at lying.

Look at Ashclaw. His face lit up with relief right after hearing Ray's bullshit.

Ray was going to kill Ashclaw, but only after milking him dry of his worth.

"How are you intending to draw out the dungeon boss?" Ashclaw asked him.

"It's easy—"

Before Ray could finish his sentence, the bushes rustled violently.

"Something's here. Be careful," Ashclaw's voice sounded.

Right after, a Dire Wolf pounced out from the darkness, blocking their path.

It was nearly ten feet long and four feet wide. Considering its size, it was an initial stage Bronze-rank beast. Powerful Dire Wolves were much bigger, and weaker Dire Wolves were shorter.

Its eyes glowed red. Its fur was crimson and bristling like sharp needles. Its claws looked like a set of knives of varying sizes held together by steel wires. It howled powerful and eyed the two men before it like a predator.

Suddenly.

Its maw opened wide, jagged fangs glistening with saliva as it lunged straight for Ray's throat.

'It had two choices and it picked the worst one. What a dumb fellow.' Ashclaw's expression turned funny when he saw it attacking Ray.

Still under a false impression, Ashclaw believed him to be his son, a bonafide Bronze-ranker with skills rivaling the might of those that ran on soul power and two bronze rank beasts.

A single bronze rank beast was no match for him. Ashclaw believed the Dire Wolf would get ganged up on by three Bronze-rankers and receive the beating of its life.

"Foul beast, you overestimate yourself," Ray snorted disdainfully, his gaze mocking.

His eyes glowed green, and an azure light flashed out that very instant.

The Dire Wolf only felt something unprecedentedly sharp and cold go through it before it was stabbed to death mid-pounce.

It collapsed to the ground, blood pooling beneath it, as the azure wind blade, stained red with its victim's blood, flew back to Ray, hovering beside him threateningly.

"S..S...So strong!" Ashclaw stuttered like a broken radio, his eyes contracting sharply as what he saw left him thoroughly enlightened about Ray's strength. "I have never seen a Bronze-rank beast dealt with so easily.'

Dire Wolves were amongst the tougher Bronze-rank demonic beasts. Bronze-rankers would struggle to break through their defense. He knew Ray could defeat it, but he never expected it to be defeated so effortlessly!

Texts floated in Ray's sight.

♦️ You have killed an Initial Stage Bronze Rank Demonic Beast. You have gained +15,000 EXP.

♦️ You have earned an additional +10,000 EXP for killing an opponent an entire major realm above you.

With a thought, the texts vanished.

Ray's eyes narrowed.

'I need 200,000 experience points to level up my Metal King Slime. These 25,000 EXP have pushed me a step closer towards that goal. The Dire Wolf's Den is bound to have more danger. Once I have dealt with them all, I should be able to push it to the Bronze rank. With the help of Ashclaw's rune of defense, although clearing this dungeon won't be easy, it won't be life-threatening either.'

Ray turned his focus back on Ashclaw and completed his remaining sentence. "You wanted to know how we will draw the dungeon boss out? We'll keep killing until it's drawn to us."

Some things didn't require deep thought.

Brute force was enough.

Once Dire Wolves started dying left and right, the dungeon boss would be forced to take action.

That's when Ashclaw's greatest trump card would come into play, helping Ray have a one on one, and Ray was certain he wouldn't lose to the boss of an E-rank dungeon in a fair fight.

Once he had taken care of the dungeon boss with Ashclaw's help, he would turn on Ashclaw. He wondered what Ashclaw would feel once he realized he was just a pawn in his scheme!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.