The bear howled, its head snapping to the side, a deep smoking wound now seared across its temple. But it still didn't go down. Instead, it convulsed. The eerie crimson glow in its eyes flared wildly, and the blackened veins running along its hide, spread.

Ethan did not give it any time. With his mana drained, he didn't hesitate—his wolves surged forward, fangs flashing as they latched onto the bear's thick hide, clawing and tearing to bring it down.

Ethan joined them, his new dagger gleaming in his grip as he rushed in, ducking low beneath a desperate swipe of the bear's massive claws.

The bear stumbled. Then, with a final, strangled roar, its body collapsed. Silence settled.

[Ding! The entity Black Mountain Bear has been added to your summoning list]

Ethan summoned the big boy and asked him the same question. "How did you become so strong?"

The bear immediately looked towards the cave. Ethan followed the bear's gaze toward the dark, yawning entrance of the cave.

His grip on the dagger tightened, a deep sense of unease curling in his gut. Whatever had corrupted this creature—whatever had made it stronger—was inside that mine.

Lia shifted uncomfortably beside him. "Master… I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Ethan admitted, his voice quiet but firm. He turned back to the bear, now normal nothing corrupting it.

"You were normal before you went in there, weren't you?" Ethan pressed.

The bear let out a slow, rumbling growl, nodding its massive head.

Ethan's frown deepened. He had suspected as much. The corruption hadn't been something natural. It infested creatures, and changed them.

He glanced back toward the mine's entrance, where an unnatural energy still lingered in the air, thick and suffocating. It wasn't just mana. It was something else.

Ethan exhaled sharply. "There's something down there," he muttered.

Lia wrapped her arms around herself. "Are we… going in?"

Ethan hesitated. Something was there inside and it was dangerous but there was no reason for him to go in. He looked back in the direction of the town and hesitated some more but in the end, decided against it.

"Let's just keep looking for more beasts."

Since they had arrived at the spot, he let his army loose and they started combing through the forests for potential pray.

Maybe he was not willing to take a big risk for the sake of people he had only just met but at least if his minions killed off all the beasts in the vicinity, they would get more time to deal with whatever was in these mines.

Ethan turned away from the mine entrance, the unnatural energy still pressing against his senses like a weight on his shoulders. But even with all his curiosity, he knew better than to throw himself into a situation without enough information.

Lia let out a relieved breath when she saw his decision. "So we're… not going in?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. There's no reason to take unnecessary risks. If something is coming from down there, I'd rather prepare for it than stumble in blind."

She nodded, looking back toward the darkened mine entrance with a wary expression.

Ethan turned his focus back to his wolves, who had already scattered through the dense forest, their senses sharp as they hunted for new prey.

His newly summoned Black Mountain Bear remained at his side. He studied it for a moment, taking in how it looked now that the corruption had faded. It was still massive—easily twice the size of a normal bear. But without the eerie crimson glow in its eyes, it looked… calmer. Tamed.

Ethan sent it away as well, ordering it to hunt and grow stronger. The panther followed suit. Lia had already tended to the injuries of the wolves and she continued tending to minions one after the other as Ethan summoned them.

It was inconvenient to keep summoning them and draining the mana but it was more convenient than having them run across the town to get here. A group of insectoids and goblins running together would only draw unwanted attention, and the last thing Ethan needed was curious townsfolk—or worse, authorities—getting involved in his business.

As Lia worked to heal his minions, Ethan took a moment to assess his own condition. His mana reserves were still low, but they were slowly regenerating.

He had been relying too much on mana bolts for damage output, and that needed to change.

He had been avoiding direct combat, but that wouldn't always be an option.

The sound of snapping branches drew his attention back to the forest. His wolves had already engaged their next target—a corrupted boar, its thick hide covered in jagged, pulsating veins of black.

It thrashed wildly as they surrounded it, but the pack had learned from the previous fight. They moved in formation, darting in and out, attacking its weak points while staying clear of its deadly tusks.

The Black Mountain Bear arrived soon after, joining the fight without hesitation. Despite its massive size, it was surprisingly quick. It barreled into the boar, using its weight to pin the beast down while the wolves tore into it. The fight didn't last long.

Ethan smiled. Let the grinding begin.

The rest of the day went by very quickly as everyone was quite busy. Ethan did not expect it but the group managed to find more than fifty corrupted beasts in the vicinity.

Ethan's heart ached to leave all of the precious beast bodies heaped up into a pile on the forest floor to go to waste but he simply did not have the time or the skill to skin and carve all of them.

At least his summon roster was getting bigger and bigger. He was still far from filling it but he was getting there slowly bit by bit. Now it was time to head back to the small town and get his coin. It was time to get out of here.

Ethan glanced one more time at the pile of corpses. Surely, this would be enough to tip everyone off about the danger in the mine. He hoped so.