"How’s he doing?" Asked Frost shortly after finishing his training session.

"He’s stalking them, learning how they work as a team against a pair of frost drakes." Replied Loki. Since his job was merely to monitor Kiba’s progress and given that he was still rather drained from his own training Loki was sent to the private space and was currently sitting on the large family sized sofa, multiple screens showing the 2nd room of the 9th floor spread out before him.

"Cautious, good." Frost nodded his head pleased by Kiba’s choice of action.

"Has he enlisted help yet?"

"Yes and no, he’s ordered two frost drakes to leave the area likely planning to use them at a later point but there’s been no action on their part." Loki watched Kiba slink away as the adventuring party finished off a solitary frost drake. He came across several D-rank and even a couple C-rank monsters but rejected them without much hesitation until coming across a pair of aged frost drakes, their bodies showing several scars as proof of their battle experience. He had been forbidden from using any of the Dungeon menu’s features so he had to rely on his instincts and whatever information he could gleam through his eyes and ears.

His aides couldn’t be too strong otherwise the future trials would be even more tedious thus Kiba devised a plan that would not only fit a convincing narrative but also primarily showcase his own strength.

After analysing the party’s battle composition the plan was for the two old frost drakes to attack their camp, enraged by the mass hunting of their kin....a believable and relatable situation that wasn’t uncommon in monster lairs especially amongst higher ranked and more intelligent species.

Caught off guard and ill-prepared but at the same time not overwhelmed since the opponents were merely two and well within their ability to handle he would strike from their back lines, instantly eliminating either the archer or the mage but from his scouting efforts he’d come to understand that the female mage Eha was no soft persimmon. While her potential may have dried up, her strength almost certainly restricted to C-rank she made up for it with vast knowledge, experience and a natural cautious nature, never allowing her successes no matter how minor or major to cloud her judgement.

"Frost drakes are a good choice, though lacking in flexibility and attack methods they’re sturdy, durable monsters that can hold the line." Frost commented while caressing his chin.

"I’m guessing he plans to use them as a distraction and or placeholders for their attention while he takes advantage of his speed and offensive power to quickly take them down one by one." It didn’t take him much thinking to understand Kiba’s choice in strategy or at least isolate the most likely/what he would do if he was in his shoes.

"That’s my guess as well but we’ll have to wait and see." Loki thought in a similar manner, his education from Maya and Findley bearing fruit.

Frost glanced at the screens then back at Loki, his eyes were a little bloodshot and his expression haggard, but his eyes were full of fire, he was enjoying watching Kiba hunt.

"Do you want to sleep for a bit; I can watch him in the meantime." He gently offered not wanting the young boy to push himself.

"Thank you master but I’m fine, sitting still on the sofa counts as resting." Loki stubbornly refused with a strong shake of his head, he wanted to complete the task Frost had given him, then and only then would he allow himself to sleep.

"Haaaaa fine we can watch him together but if I catch you yawning even once then I’m tucking you into bed until dinner time got it." Sometimes a guardian needed to be firm in their care.

"....."

"....." The two stared silently at one another, Loki’s face scrunching as though desperately trying to resist something. Saying the word yawn reminded his body just how tired it was.....but his determination won out in the end.

9th floor, 2nd room.

Kiba had watched his targets methodically hunt frost drakes, tracking them down, manoeuvring themselves into ideal positions and gradually but safely bring them down without suffering any injuries nor expending any excess energy.....it was almost perfect given their individual strengths and role composition.

Eha the party leader and mage would take strict command, her eyes taking in every single detail of the enemy, her allies and the surrounding area. The moment a change occurred she responded almost instantly, from ordering someone to move position to calling for a full retreat. Frost drakes were their sole targets anything else being less valuable or too risky. Kiba watched as they actively avoided lesser yuki-onnas and frost revenants, not even willing to engage them when confronted during an active hunt, instead choosing to immediately run away.

If anything was to go wrong with his hunt he’d put his money on that mage being the reason, quite frankly he was grateful her strength was merely mid C-rank.

Midnight started to approach; the deadline Eha had set for their hunting schedule. Like yesterday and the day before their group had managed to succeed in their evening hunt, managing to safely cull four frost drakes, suffering nary a scratch on their bodies and minimal damage to the monster’s hide and scales.

"Phoooofff another day of hard work over, Nanuk ready the tents, Lur the food and Khiran set up the defences." Eha ordered the moment they returned to their impromptu campsite, a location that was both close enough to their targeted hunting grounds while at the same time far enough away to rarely cross paths with them.

""Yes boss"" The three answered with smiles plastered on their faces, Lur and Khiran almost giddy as they ran numbers in their heads.

’That’s at least 10 gold coins for today alone.’ One day of hard work had earned their group roughly 10 gold coins before costs and expenses as well as apportionment between the four of them.....frost drakes were literally walking bags of money in their eyes. With Eha in command taking them down was easy, almost mechanical in nature. Irritating and frustrating after a while but in the face of riches more than bearable.

The four split up to carry our their duties. Nanuk set up four individual, sturdy tents lined with thick pelts making even a night in this environment pleasantly warm. His tent was settled next to his aunt’s while Lur and Khiran’s were together on the other side of the camp, close enough to group up quickly but far enough away to prevent an entire party wipe. Of course for the young and proud Nanuk having to shelter next to your aunt every night was annoying to say the least, but Eha ignored his whining, caring more for efficiency than emotions something he had come to learn after becoming her subordinate rather than her adorable nephew.

He may complain under his breath and occasionally grow irritated, but he did his job as instructed each and every time, measuring the distance between tents, not skimping on the set up nor letting his guard down despite being back in the campsite which was considered a safe haven. Eha would practically rip off his ears if he didn’t.

Lur, their resident archer and scout tended to the food not because Khiran was better at setting up the camp’s defences or patrolling the area of enemies -quite the opposite actually- but because out of the four of them he was the only one who could cook anything that wouldn’t result in the rest having a stomach-ache.

Khiran always undercooked meat preferring to eat it raw and juicy with remnants of blood while Nanuk had a terrible palate, everything tasted the same to him regardless of how much or how little seasoning he used but the worst of all was Eha, if you were fortunate she’d merely serve a black dish that had been cooked to death but if you were unfortunate the taste and texture would traumatise you for life. Lur couldn’t fathom how she managed to turn simple dishes into such deathly concoctions and thus by unanimous vote he was permanently given jurisdiction over their meals.

While those three tilled away like clockwork, long gotten used to such living Eha inspected their supplies, counting their potions, the amount of space they had left in their packs and storage rings, the rough value of their current bounty as well as roughly how much repairs and replacements they’d need once they left the Dungeon.

’One more day, after that we’ll head back up through the floors and sell the loot in Niflheim or Furano.’ If they had no intentions of delving back into the Dungeon anytime soon Eha was more than happy to travel to the Furano viscounty to acquire a better price for their goods.

"Lur remember to take my meat out early." Khiran who had just finished setting up the early warning system cheerfully bellowed, his stomach growling in anticipation of a good meal before resting his weary bones. Earning money was hard work especially for him who was a frontline fighter, so much physical exertion.

"I know, I know you remind me every time you damn carnivore."

"Yet you still overcook it."

"If you want to eat it raw on your own time be my guest just not when we’re on the job." Having even one of them out sick meant they couldn’t hunt, too dangerous.

"Tsk." Khiran clicked his tongue, disappointed but...understanding of the reasoning thanks to Eha’s repeated sermons.

"Khiran have you finished setting up the defences?" Eha coldly asked as she perused through their packs.

"Ugh not yet."

"Then stop chatting and get it done."

"Y...Yes boss." Eha was a terrifying individual.

As Khiran was setting up the final set of defences and observing his surroundings for nearby monsters he failed to spot a large, winged tiger hiding in the bushes over 30 metres away. If it was the archer Lur with his well honed eyesight it may have been different but since it was him Kiba remained completely out of sight.

There was a growing a smile on his lips that showed off his ferocious fangs as he watched his prey, counting down the seconds until it was time to make his move.