Upon entering the Dungeon, a tall spiral staircase immediately came into view. At its base lay the true entrance to the Dungeon. This staircase was the daily path for all Adventurers.
Today, Bell descended the stairs as usual, but his mindset had changed.
In the past, he had no strong desires—at most, he was just trying to earn some money. But now, he had a goal that would make most people burst out laughing.
'I will make the Black Dragon my stepping stone.'
'I'll reach Level 10!'
How absurd.
How ignorant.
A mere lower-tier adventurer dreaming of surpassing Level 10—a feat no one had achieved since the gods descended to Genkai.
And yet, this arrogant boy had made such an outrageous decision, with an equally outrageous reason behind it.
He wanted to extend his lifespan, to live as long as the gods.
Not for fame.
Not for so-called glory.
Simply to gain a godlike lifespan—this ignorant young man had made the decision to reach Level 10.
Such naivety was bound to be mocked, but Bell didn't care.
Even if defeating the Black Dragon was his fate, his aim wasn't to become a hero or complete the world's three great quests.
That kind of reason seemed even more laughable and meaningless to Bell.
For the world? To become a hero?
A hero isn't someone you become just because others wish it so. If you truly want to be a hero, you must hold yourself to that standard. But right now, Bell wasn't thinking about any of that.
He was never the type to proclaim his goals loudly like a fool. Some things were better kept to oneself.
'Just saying it out loud won't make it happen anyway.'
Bell stepped into the Dungeon's entrance, where the paths began to branch and weave.
Though it was only the first floor, the Dungeon was already a complex maze of intersecting paths. Each floor had its own unique traits.
That's why it was called the "Underground Labyrinth."
With a quick scan of his surroundings, Bell chose a rarely used, secluded passage.
He listened carefully. No signs of other adventurers nearby.
He gripped the "Hestia Knife" tightly. A deep blue light flared across his body.
Lightning Command—activated!
A streak of blue lightning darted across the first floor. Every Goblin along the path was cut down in an instant, their throats slashed in a blink. Even their dropped magic stones and short swords vanished along with the flash.
This time, Bell didn't linger on the first floor.
Having made up his mind, it was time to change his approach.
A steady strategy for each floor was necessary, but there was no longer any point in wasting energy on the lower levels.
The next step was to understand the monster composition of each floor and push the strategy forward.
The first floor was filled mostly with Goblins—basic monsters compared to the rest.
But on the second floor, Shadows appeared. These were elusive beings—soundless, formless.
Bell stayed alert. Upon reaching the second floor, he canceled his Lightning Command.
He needed to carefully analyze the second floor's enemies before proceeding further.
Soon, a semi-transparent black substance drifted out of a wall—not in front of him, but from behind.
The shadow raised a part of its body—not a hand, but a mass of darkness. That mass quickly took shape, condensing into a sharp spear.
The spear thrust straight at Bell's back.
But just as it was about to strike, Bell vanished.
Before the shadow could react, a short sword crackling with lightning sliced through its form.
'Good at ambushing adventurers from behind, moves without a sound, and can shape its body into various forms.'
'Its drop item is a Shadow Chunk—an alchemical material.'
Bell picked up the dark lump on the ground, which looked like part of the Shadow's body, along with the magic stone.
Shadow Chunks were among the rarer drops from Shadows, but they weren't particularly valuable.
Their drop rate wasn't high, but they didn't have much alchemical worth either.
The Shadows on the second floor were troublesome enemies—silent, stealthy, and capable of surprise attacks. They weren't hard to defeat, just incredibly annoying.
...
That's why most adventurers avoided staying on the second floor. Those things were always lying in wait, ready to backstab at any moment.
However, most adventurers explored the Dungeon in teams, making it harder for Shadows to get the jump on them. Aside from a few careless fools, as long as there were at least two people, getting taken out here was rare.
After all, Shadows often appeared in numbers and moved silently, but their speed and reaction time were sluggish.
In fact, they were the kind of trash mobs that backline mages could whack to death with a staff.
'The monsters on the upper floors of the Dungeon are relatively simple, but the deeper you go, the more diverse they become.'
Bell firmly believed that was true.
The monsters on the first two floors were very basic. The strategy guides even said that most of the first ten floors shared this trait. But from the tenth floor onward, the real challenge began.
Most floors had more than one type of monster—sometimes several—and the rate at which they spawned was nothing like the upper floors.
Still, it helped Bell understand why most adventurers in Orario remained at Level 1.
If the first ten floors were this easy, wasn't this basically an adventurer's retirement zone?
Maybe that thought was a bit arrogant or self-satisfied.
But Bell truly believed it.
Very few monsters in the first ten floors had "hard skin." Even a knife that was just slightly better than a kitchen knife could kill them.
If someone was only adventuring to make a living, then a two- or three-person party could easily farm the first ten floors and earn enough to survive.
With things so easy, it was no wonder Orario attracted adventurers in droves.
Even those with decent talent could earn a living once they received a god's blessing.
And in such a comfortable environment, how many of them would actually choose to take real risks?
Bell felt this might be one of the reasons why there were so many Level 1 adventurers.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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