Bernard asked Letis.

“What exactly was it? What kind of corpse?”

“Ah, um… Well, half of it had already been devoured by monsters…”

Letis glanced at me, slightly hesitant.

That reaction was enough for me to guess. It must be a gruesome corpse, too cruel for a ten-year-old to hear about. In other words, there was a high chance it was human.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Bernard, sorry. I need to step away for a bit.”

“Are you alright?”

I wasn't ignorant or foolish enough to not understand the meaning behind his words. In one possible scenario, this could be a member of the fourth or fifth team.

We had deliberately chosen a path where no tracks of the commoner team were visible. So the probability should be low. And yet…

I murmured, “It’s fine. I’m used to this.”

Yes, I was used to it. If I were Blythe, I would have been used to it.

And yet, why is my heart racing like this? Eremi's body is trembling. An endless surge of anxiety and fear wells up from this small frame.

A cold sweat seeped from my forehead. So this is what it means to feel the blood drain from your face.

Even so, I had to confirm it with my own eyes.

As I was about to step forward, Letis grabbed my hand.

“Wait, Eremia!”

“...What is it?”

“Even if it was human, I don’t think it was a knight school student. If they were wearing a uniform with metal threads, there would be remnants unless they were swallowed whole. This one was eaten apart, but not swallowed. So…”

“I see.”

Nodding, I shook off his hand and ran.

Pushing past the first and second team members, I made my way to Oujin, who was kneeling beside the corpse.

“Oujin!”

Oujin looked up.

There was no sign of distress on his face. Only then did I feel a sense of relief.

“Eremia? What do you think this is? It looks human, but something feels off. It doesn’t resemble any creature from my homeland.”

I knew at a glance. This was not human.

I exhaled in relief.

The head was missing, and the abdomen had been entirely consumed, entrails and all. But the remaining limbs—despite being ravaged—were too large for a human.

I recognized this distinctive physique. From my past life, of course.

Looking down at the corpse, I murmured, “This is an ogre. It’s not human. It’s a monster that preys on humans.”

It lurks near human settlements, attacking villages in the dead of night, abducting and devouring people. In this dungeon, it had likely been sustaining itself by feeding on goblins.

Near the royal capital, surrounded by high walls, it’s a rare sight. No wonder most of the students here didn’t recognize it.

“An ogre… So this is one.”

Oujin muttered, covering his mouth with his hand.

“They didn’t exist in Hinomoto?”

“Apparently, they did a long time ago. In our country, they were called oni. But most of them were exterminated by swordsmen known as samurai and warriors. This is my first time seeing one in person.”

After a brief pause, Oujin continued in a low voice.

“In Hinomoto, the ‘ki’ in ‘sword demon’ refers to this.”

I see. The term “sword demon” in Hinomoto likely doesn’t hold the same meaning as Gallia’s “sword saint” or “war maiden.” That title might be closer to a cursed name.

On the other side of the corpse, Ilga murmured in admiration.

“I’m surprised. You seem quite knowledgeable about monsters for your age, Eremia.”

“Ah, well… The Neu family is from a mountain village. In places like that, monsters are just a part of life.”

I told a lie I had prepared in advance.

But this was a problem.

Ogres are by no means weak monsters. Goblins are considered lower-class creatures, but ogres rank in the middle tier. That means this dungeon not only houses ogres but also contains something powerful enough to hunt them.

This corpse—there’s no way a human did this. While the missing head is one thing, the abdomen looks like it was taken out in a single bite.

What is lurking in this dungeon?

We should regroup with the fourth and fifth teams as soon as possible.

But—

When I glanced at Ilga, he was dragging a massive steel sword from beneath the ogre’s corpse.

He wiped the blood with a cloth and held it up to the magic lamp’s light.

“Doesn’t seem to be made of any special metal. The blade is completely dull. It’s more of a blunt weapon now. And it’s heavy. I don’t think I can swing it… It’s worthless.”

That figures. It was more of an iron lump than a sword. If it were Blythe, he would’ve happily carried it around for throwing at enemies, but neither Eremia nor any of the students could likely wield it.

Well, maybe two of them could.

One, of course, was Void Scale. And the other—

“Should we give it to Bernard?”

With his physique, he could probably swing it with no problem. If he could use it, the sheer weight alone would make it a powerful weapon.

But Ilga shook his head.

“Bernard specializes in spears. Especially cavalry spearmanship. It’d be better to discard it rather than force him to use something unfamiliar.”

Cavalry spearmanship, huh? Yeah, that wouldn't be useful here.

“I see. That makes sense.”

Ilga rolled the ogre’s steel hunk to the edge of the passage.

Did he notice the danger of the sixth floor? No, even an idiot would realize it. This dungeon is teeming with mid-tier monsters—and even worse, something strong enough to kill them in a single strike.

Oujin voiced what was on my mind.

“Ilga. We should regroup with the fourth and fifth teams. This is a dangerous discovery for all of us. The information should be shared.”

“...”

Ilga furrowed his brows, staring at the ogre’s corpse.

Then, he finally lifted his head and shook it.

“No. We’ll continue forward to the seventh floor. We should start finding valuable discoveries soon. If you come across anything, report it immediately.”

With that, Ilga turned his back on us and walked away.

Oujin and I exchanged glances and shook our heads.

There was nothing to do but sigh.