The Dungeon, the 13th floor.
Here, much like the cavern chamber marking the entrance to this floor, grey rocks lay scattered everywhere across the level.
It resembled a natural cave deep within a mountain. The surrounding walls, the floor, and the ceiling were all composed entirely of bedrock without exception.
A slight dampness hung in the air, and the illumination was even scarper than on the mist-shrouded 12th floor. Emerging from the downward slope extending from the 12th floor, what awaited the adventurers was a monotonous, singular rocky path stretching into the depths. The path seemed to connect to a cavern chamber up ahead; though the way did not bend, the view of what lay forward remained obscured.
"So this is the Middle Floors?"
Stepping onto the rocky pathway, Leon immediately began surveying his surroundings to confirm the terrain. He muttered these words under his breath involuntarily, causing Line, who had caught up, to smile.
"Yes, this is the starting point of the Middle Floors domain, which spans from the 13th to the 24th floor—the 'Cavern Labyrinth'."
The Cavern Labyrinth was the collective name for the five floors from the 13th to the 17th.
As the name implied, these five floors were labyrinths formed by cavernous terrain. Their defining features were the ubiquitous grey rocks and the pit-like vertical holes situated in the corners of the walls.
"These are the pitfall holes that lead to the lower floors, right?"
Leon walked to the edge of one of these vertical holes and peered down, finding that he could actually see the floor below.
This was a sight absolutely never seen on the Upper Floors.
The various floors of the Dungeon were connected by clearly defined pathways. To go up or down, one generally had to use these paths, at least on the Upper Floors.
However, once one reached the Middle Floors, this rule was gradually broken.
"Some of these vertical holes lead to the 14th floor, and some even skip two or three levels to connect to much lower floors. They are traps where you might never return if you step into them."
Line explained the trivia to Leon in a low voice, and Leon nodded imperceptibly.
It stood to reason that if one accidentally stepped into these vertical holes and dropped into a floor far beyond their capabilities, the outcome would certainly not be pleasant.
Particularly for adventurer parties that had just arrived at the Middle Floors, they might not have even fully conquered the 13th floor yet. Falling into a deeper floor by accident would cause their mortality rate to skyrocket.
The Middle Floors were already reputed as the primary death line of the Dungeon, with a mortality rate far eclipsing that of the Upper Floors. If that rate were to rise any further, survival would be practically impossible.
In the original story, the protagonist's party had nearly lost their lives precisely because they unluckily fell into one of these vertical holes, dropping straight from the 13th floor to the 15th. Had a certain Pallum girl not been exceptionally bold and wise, suggesting they head directly to the 18th floor for sanctuary instead of trying to climb back up, the protagonist's group might truly have never returned.
"Of course, if they possess high-level, superb strength, adventurers can also utilize these vertical holes to shorten the travel time to the lower floors."
Line told Leon this.
"The Level 2 adventurers in our Familia do this quite often. As long as you have a sufficiently detailed map, you can successfully confirm your position and find a way up or down even without following the standard route."
Evidently, the Loki Familia possessed a detailed enough map.
After all, they were the strongest Familia that had already conquered domains below the 50th floor. A place like the Middle Floors domain had likely been thoroughly mapped out long ago.
"The phosphorescence here isn't very bright, and the pathways connecting the cavern chambers are very long. To fight more safely, the first thing to do upon entering is to quickly reach the first chamber."
Line continued her explanation, and Leon listened attentively.
Though the labyrinth pathways on the 13th floor were wider than those on the upper floors, they were still ultimately limited and littered with vertical holes. Engaging monsters in such paths was truly not a good idea, especially given that the spawn rate of monsters in the Middle Floors was far greater than in the Upper Floors. Fighting here would sooner or later lead to a predicament—being overwhelmed by an endless tide of monsters.
Furthermore, upon reaching the Middle Floors, adventurers generally did not wander alone; teamwork was a fundamental requirement for adventuring here. Fighting alongside comrades in such a narrow path would inevitably restrict one's movements, making it easier to be surrounded by surging monsters. When that happened, the adventurers would face a stalemate where the pathway was packed tight with monsters and they had no room to retreat.
Therefore, when fighting in the Cavern Labyrinth, the key lay in utilizing the more spacious cavern chambers. This allowed all members to move freely, defeat monsters individually, and leverage their numerical advantage and coordinated actions.
This applied to Leon as well. After all, if he were surrounded alone in a pathway packed with monsters, escaping would be difficult, and it might even lead to the death of Line, who was a supporter and healer incapable of protecting herself.
"Let's head to the chamber ahead first, then."
Leon stopped examining the terrain and proceeded toward the chamber under Line's guidance.
As a professional supporter capable of hand-drawing maps, Line had already mastered the terrain of the Middle Floors. She knew the way without even looking at a map, sparing Leon from having to expend effort thinking about it.
Thus, having arrived here, Leon's task remained exactly the same as before.
That was to fight to his heart's content.
"Geee!"
Very quickly, as Leon and Line advanced, the cries of monsters began echoing from the front of the rocky path.
Before Leon and the other could halt their steps, several monsters came hopping out from the depths of the road ahead.
They were monsters that looked exactly like rabbits.
Their long ears flopped back and forth, their fur was a mix of yellow and white, and a sharp horn grew from their foreheads. They stood on two legs and were roughly the size of a human child—bipedal Al-Mi'raj.
"It's an Al-Mi'raj!"
Line instantly called out the monster's identity.
The Al-Mi'raj looked quite docile on the surface, seemingly not much different from the Needle Rabbit encountered on the upper floors, though the ones on this floor were clearly larger and more vicious. In reality, however, this was a stronger variant of the rabbit monster that only began appearing on the Middle Floors.
Though they appeared gentle, they were actually highly aggressive, and like Imps, they were cunning and favored group combat. Their capabilities were terrifyingly high, which was why the Guild classified these rabbit monsters as Level 2 in their threat assessments.
Indeed, they were actually stronger than the large-scale monsters appearing on the upper floors, such as Orcs and Silverbacks.
At the very least, their threat level was above that of Orcs and Silverbacks.
"Geee! Geee!"
The red-eyed Al-Mi'raj spotted Leon and Line and immediately let out shrill cries. Unexpectedly, they used their slender little fists to smash the large rocks beside them, pulling out small stone axes from within.
Those were the brand-new natural weapons birthed only from the 13th floor.
Many of the rocks in the Cavern Labyrinth served as the labyrinth's armory, concealing various natural weapons that the monsters of the Middle Floors could utilize, adding an even greater threat to these already fearsome creatures.
"Geee geee geee! Eee!"
Clutching their small stone axes, the Al-Mi'raj let out piercing screeches and rushed together toward Leon.
"Monsters incoming! Mr. Leon!"
While issuing a warning, Line quickly retreated to clear the battlefield.
"Clack!"
At the exact moment the Al-Mi'raj rushed over, Leon equipped his small straight sword and raised it high.
"Geee!"
Seeing this, one of the Al-Mi'raj maintained its speed as it lunged at Leon alongside its companions, suddenly hurling the stone axe in its hand fiercely at him, causing the axe to spin and slash forward at an incredible velocity.
"Clang!"
Almost instinctively, Leon swung the small straight sword in his hand, deflecting the flying stone axe cleanly and decisively with minimal movement, sending it soaring into the air to strike the ceiling.
That movement was identical to how Ais usually deflected Leon's slashes with her scabbard.
Clearly, this was a parrying technique Leon had learned from Ais.
"Geee geee geee!"
"Eee-ah!"
Seeing this, the remaining Al-Mi'raj hurled their small stone axes one after another, causing axe after axe to spin and slash toward Leon. Yet Leon remained rooted to the spot just like before, executing a few small swings with his small straight sword to deflect the incoming axes one by one.
Having deflected all the flying axes, Leon suddenly lowered his stance, kicked off the ground, and dashed forward.
His speed was so fast that the Al-Mi'raj lunging toward him could not manage a reaction in time.
"Pfft!"
As the sword-light flashed across, the Al-Mi'raj rushing at the very front was sliced into two halves, blood splashing into the air.
Leon moved like the wind, executing this swift and fierce strike the instant he brushed past that Al-Mi'raj. While slaying the creature, he maintained his speed and charged toward the other Al-Mi'raj.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!"
Along with the clean and decisive slaying of two more Al-Mi'raj by Leon, the remaining rabbits finally reacted. They let out sharp screeches, launching furious attacks at the charging Leon.
Some swung fists capable of shattering boulders at Leon, while others lowered their heads to charge at him with their horns. Their aggressive manner looked nothing like harmless rabbits.
"Bang!"
Leon's figure remained as swift as the wind. Stepping and shifting through his footwork, he evaded the attacks of the fist-swinging Al-Mi'raj. Facing the rabbit charging with its horn lowered, he pivoted and delivered a flying kick to its flank, sending it crashing away with a heavy, muffled thud.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"
Immediately after, Leon quickly spun back. Taking advantage of the fact that the fist-swinging Al-Mi'raj had yet to reorganize their stance, he slashed his small straight sword in rapid succession, tracing arcs of sword-light that cleaved them into two halves one by one.
"Chuuu eee-ah!"
In an instant, the dying wails and furious roars of the Al-Mi'raj rang out consecutively, echoing through the rocky passage alongside the din of battle.
Leon engaged in a fierce battle against the large horde of Al-Mi'raj, either dodging their attacks through misdirection or swinging his sword to slay the lunging rabbit monsters, causing sword-light and hopping rabbit silhouettes to appear continuously.
In less than a minute, the number of Al-Mi'raj Leon had slaughtered exceeded ten.
This already surpassed the initial number of Al-Mi'raj that had appeared.
"Be careful! Mr. Leon! More Al-Mi'raj are constantly rushing over from the surroundings!"
Line called out warnings from the rear more than once, explaining why the number of Al-Mi'raj Leon slaughtered was so high.
It was unclear whether they were drawn by the noise of the battle or if this many Al-Mi'raj had been lying in ambush around them from the start. In short, as the battle progressed, the number of Al-Mi'raj around Leon did not decrease; instead, they grew more numerous, to the point where countless white shapes nearly engulfed him and filled the entire passage.
Gradually, Leon began to feel the strain.
The increasing number of Al-Mi'raj was one reason for his strain, but an even greater factor was that the mounting monsters around him were occupying a massive portion of the pathway. His movements began to be restricted, preventing his speed and footwork from being fully unleashed. The area he could operate in grew smaller and smaller, causing him to fall into a state of being surrounded and even forced into passive defense.
"This pressure————is this the conquest difficulty of the Middle Floors?"
It had been a long time since Leon felt this strained. It was evident that the conquest difficulty of the 13th floor had indeed taken a qualitative leap compared to the Upper Floors, just as initially anticipated.
This was precisely why, even though the 13th floor could be conquered as long as one was Level 2, the Guild still recommended forming a three-person party.
Not only did the monsters here become much stronger, but their spawn numbers were also far beyond what was seen on the upper floors. A momentary lapse in attention would plunge someone into a situation more troublesome than being surrounded by a colony of Killer Ants. If the speed of exterminating monsters wasn't fast enough, the monsters would only grow more numerous. Ultimately, you would find yourself completely surrounded by monsters, unable to kill them faster than they appeared.
"No! We can't fight in the pathway!"
Line immediately made a judgment, an anxious expression surfacing on her face. Following that, she actually ran directly toward Leon's direction.
"Geee geee!"
"Geee geee eee!
"Eee-ah!"
Only then did the Al-Mi'raj seemingly discover that there was another enemy here. Emitting sharp cries, they began lunging toward Line's direction.
"Line!"
Leon slew two oncoming Al-Mi'raj with a single slash, and only then did he witness this scene, crying out in shock.
As if she hadn't heard him, Line put her head down and ran, unexpectedly drawing away a portion of the monsters.
"Mr. Leon! Go to the chamber ahead!"
Line shouted even as she ran, letting Leon know her intention.
But————
"No!"
It wasn't that Leon didn't want to go to the chamber ahead, but rather that he had already noticed monsters lying in ambush there.
"Look ahead, quick!"
Under Leon's warning, Line finally noticed that at the entrance of the chamber ahead, several monsters were crouched in wait.
Their bodies possessed bumpy, uneven skin, and they were pitch-black all over. A pair of eyes shone with a piercing red light. Their builds were somewhat robust, and they possessed ferocious faces distinct from wolves, baring their fangs and letting out low growls toward this direction.
Incredibly, they were none other than Hellhounds, the monsters that demanded the most caution and dread on the 13th floor.
"Garurururururururu———!"
The roars of the Hellhounds vibrated through the air, their hideous fangs bared as a red glow flickered within their mouths.
In the next second, scorching flames were spewed forth by them, illuminating the rocky passage and lighting up Line's delicate, pretty face.
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