Before he realized it, Yoru had once again arrived at the second floor of the Dungeon. Since more people had started appearing on the first floor, he decided to move to the less crowded second floor to avoid the hassle.
Yoru still clearly remembered the route he'd taken yesterday. If he wanted to, he could easily descend to the fifth floor. However, because of Eina's repeated warnings, he decided to hold off on that plan for now.
Forget it, I'll keep looking around the second floor. Maybe there really are just too few monsters on the first floor, and that's why I haven't run into any?
With that thought, Yoru wandered through the second floor. Time passed, and by the time dusk approached, he still hadn't encountered a single monster.
Even someone as slow to react as Yoru couldn't help but feel that something was off.
This has nothing to do with luck, right? For some specific reason, I can't encounter monsters.
Frowning in frustration, Yoru began to think.
Why exactly… can't I encounter monsters?
He placed his hand on the Dungeon wall and suddenly thought of a possibility.
If this Dungeon is truly alive, and monster births are controlled by it, could it be that… it's afraid of something? Is that why no monsters are being born near me?
Is this Dungeon… afraid of me?
Yoru touched the tip of his nose, feeling that this idea sounded a bit too arrogant. He was just an ordinary person, after all. Why would something that even the gods held in such high regard be afraid of him?
Without realizing it, Yoru found himself once again standing at the stairs leading to the third floor. Staring at the depths below, he fell into deep thought.
Should I… go down further?
Even though Eina had warned him so seriously, he still felt unwilling to accept returning empty-handed just because he hadn't encountered a single monster.
Sighing lightly, Yoru eventually chose to continue downward. If I keep going back with nothing, it's just too frustrating.
With that thought in mind, he wandered around the third floor—and still didn't find any trace of monsters.
"This is getting… interesting."
Muttering to himself with a frown, Yoru stood once again at the stairs to the fourth floor—his fourth time passing by them.
Just like yesterday, he hadn't encountered a single monster on the third floor either.
"If you really are alive, Dungeon… can you tell me what exactly you're afraid of? I seriously don't think I have anything on me that could scare you…"
Sighing softly, Yoru descended to the fourth floor, and then quickly made his way to the fifth.
If you won't spawn monsters near me, then I'll just keep going down—until you do!
If anyone else heard what Yoru was thinking right now, they'd probably think he was insane. But there was no one in the Dungeon who would kindly remind him how dangerous his behavior was.
After all, in the Dungeon, blindly trusting strangers could easily cost you your life. A complete stranger might suddenly become the one to stab you in the back.
Soon after reaching the fifth floor, Yoru found the stairs to the sixth floor. But once he descended, his movements noticeably slowed.
The sixth floor was completely unfamiliar territory to him. He didn't know the terrain or layout at all.
That said, it wasn't like there were no clues. This Dungeon had existed for who knows how many years, and countless adventurers had come and gone. Well-traveled paths that led downward could be distinguished from others.
For example, small scratches at corners, smoother stone pillars, or less dusty passageways. By using such signs, it was still possible to determine the correct paths without much trouble.
Very quickly, the seventh floor. Then the eighth, the ninth—Yoru was nearly at the tenth floor within less than an hour. Even seasoned adventurers who had maps of the first ten floors might not move as quickly as him.
After all, they had to constantly be on guard for monsters that could suddenly burst out of the walls. Yoru, on the other hand, had no need for such caution.
This so-called perilous Dungeon had remained completely peaceful in front of Yoru. It felt more like his own backyard.
"If I keep going… I'll reach the tenth floor soon, right?"
Staring at the stairway in front of him, Yoru sighed in frustration.
Even now, he still hadn't encountered a single monster.
"This can't be explained by luck anymore… What the hell is going on?"
Just as he stood at the stairway, struggling with whether to continue downward, a roar echoed from below.
It sounded like the bellow of a bull, but there was no way a docile animal could make such a terrifying sound.
A monster… has appeared?
Yoru froze for a moment before realizing—he had finally encountered a monster.
The ground shook beneath his feet. Whatever had made that sound was now charging at full speed—heading straight toward him.
His joy at finally encountering a monster quickly turned to dread. Yoru suddenly remembered something.
Wait—this monster… shouldn't it be from below the tenth floor?
No… this roar, like that of a raging bull—according to Eina, isn't this the kind of monster that only appears on the fifteenth floor? A Minotaur?
Though Eina's lectures had been dull, Yoru had remembered the important parts. The Minotaur was one of them.
She'd only mentioned it briefly, but Yoru knew it was a Level 2 monster.
While it might sound like just one level higher, Level 2 monsters were on a completely different scale—something a Level 1 adventurer couldn't hope to fight.
"So… in this kind of situation… should I run?"
Recalling Eina's words, Yoru muttered to himself.
The earth beneath him trembled, and the beast's ferocious roars drew closer. Yet Yoru showed no real sense of crisis on his face.
Maybe it was because he was so frustrated at finally finding a monster—only to be told to run away—that he just couldn't feel satisfied.