Inside the Tower of Babel.
Rayleigh descended the spiral staircase.
Since it was afternoon, those emerging from the labyrinth far outnumbered those heading in.
Many bore the marks of recent combat.
A significant number were wounded.
Injuries were an unavoidable part of fighting monsters, which was why forming parties was essential.
Often, a single reliable companion could turn an impossible solo situation into a manageable one.
...
Basement level 1.
This wasn't yet the labyrinth proper, the path leading here was known as the Porte.
As he walked, Rayleigh studied the Novice Adventurer's Handbook issued by the Guild as he reached the labyrinth's entrance.
Rayleigh felt a chill rising from the depths below.
Though only a single gate separated him from the world outside, it felt as if he had stepped into another realm.
...
First Floor
Several minutes passed.
Rayleigh moved through the dungeon, his senses heightened, alert to every sound and movement around him.
Topographically, the First Floor resembled a cave.
Numerous glowing minerals embedded in the cave walls illuminated the surroundings, providing excellent visibility.
According to the collective experience of Adventurers, the Dungeon could be divided into four tiers:
Upper Floors (Floors 1–12)
Middle Floors (Floors 13–24)
Lower Floors (Floors 25–36)
Deep Floors (Floors 37 and below)
The Dungeon's structure was conical, its area expanding with each descending floor.
A Level 1 Adventurer's capabilities were limited to exploring the Upper Floors.
Within this tier, monsters on Floors 1–4 had ability stats ranging from I to H, relative to Adventurers.
"Such detailed strategies... The Guild put a lot of effort into this," Rayleigh murmured, unaware that Adventurers who read such manuals were rare.
"Gak... Gak..."
As he approached a corner, a strange cry startled him.
He peered around the darkness lay beyond.
The sound was coming from within.
Rayleigh drew the iron sword from his waist while raising the fingers of his left hand.
'Alright then.'
'Let's give this a try.'
"Destroy yourself..."
"Black Dog of Rondanini, upon a single glance... be incinerated and sever your own throat!"
He whispered the incantation.
"Bakudo Nine: Geki!"
The chanted Kido unleashed at that moment and a red light shooting into the darkness.
A panicked shriek echoed from within.
Rayleigh charged forward.
Rounding the corner, he spotted the monster bound by the red light.
'Is that... a Goblin?'
He had no time for further thought, the sword in his hands was swinging.
The blade sliced into the Goblin's neck and the Goblin's head was severed, its body collapsing to the ground.
During his five-month journey, he had experienced combat and encountered Goblins before.
But the monsters on the surface and those within the Dungeon were worlds apart in strength.
That's why he had used a chanted Binding Path right from the start.
"Seems like I overdid it a bit..."
Rayleigh reflected.
After all, he had just received a Falna, and all his stats were at their lowest.
The Magic attribute affected the quality and quantity of his Spiritual Pressure.
From that Bakudo Nine: Geki!, he estimated his limits.
At full strength, he could unleash Kido at maximum power for three times.
Moreover, he could use Kido up to number nine for now.
'Poof.'
The Goblin's corpse disintegrated into ash.
Where it had stood, only a crystal pulsing with magical energy remained on the ground.
Rayleigh picked up the crystal and examined it.
"So... this is a Magic Stone."
He marveled at it.
In the Dungeon, monsters' bodies vanished upon death, absorbed by the Dungeon to be reborn—the cycle of monster death and respawning.
After a monster died, the Magic Stone within its body would drop.
There was also a small chance of additional drop items.
For Goblins, the drop item was a Goblin Tooth.
The probability of a drop item appearing was low, but as long as the Magic Stone wasn't destroyed, it was a guaranteed drop.
Monster Magic Stones are the core source of income for Adventurers.
The Guild purchases Magic Stones and processes them into other items, such as the Magic Stone Lamps used for lighting within the city.
Rayleigh stowed the Magic Stone—about the size of a gold coin—and continued moving.
Soon, he encountered another Goblin.
This time, he didn't hide.
The Goblin spotted him and charged forward while screaming.
Rayleigh tested his Shunpo, dodging the Goblin's attack and circling behind it.
The Goblin was frozen in its lunging posture.
"Too slow."
Before it could react, Rayleigh thrust his sword through its spine.
Standing behind the Goblin, Rayleigh twisted the hilt, needing a bit of effort to pull the blade free as a spray of blood erupted.
"Was that bone I felt just now?" Rayleigh inspected the iron sword's edge and found several nicks.
They must have been caused by the blade getting caught on the Goblin's sternum.
It was a matter of angle.
Come to think of it, he'd heard that many bones in the human body could damage a sword's edge—the sternum and skull, for example.
So, if aiming for the heart, one should target the area below the ribcage or beneath the throat, near the collarbone.
These angles avoided bone, preventing damage to the blade.
That said, against a goblin, the force of his last piercing attack had been overkill.
Rayleigh reflected on his performance, mentally cataloging the issues he'd encountered.
If he could address these points in the next battle, he could turn experience into tangible growth.
Getting stronger wasn't just about stacking stats.
...
His third encounter with a monster was another goblin.
This time, Rayleigh decided to try Hakuda.
The goblin's claws and teeth were sharp.
He pulled back his left arm, his gaze fixed on the creature, tracking its movements to pinpoint its center of gravity.
"Greee—!"
The goblin shrieked, its sharp claws slashing toward Rayleigh's face.
Rayleigh leaned forward, dodging the claws as he darted in.
His cocked right arm unleashed an inch-punch against the underside of the goblin's forearm.
Thud.
The goblin's attacking arm was knocked aside. Its center of gravity shifted, leaving it wide open.
Rayleigh drove his right fist straight into the goblin's heart!
As the punch accelerated, it rotated inward, achieving a second burst of speed.
"Gaaah!!"
The goblin shrieked, its heart stopping.
It died on the spot.
"Third one."
Picking up the pitifully small Magic Stone, Rayleigh continued deeper.
But the monsters seemed to have vanished.
He didn't encounter a fourth one until he reached the Second Floor.
'Sigh.'
'So this is the weakest floor of the Upper Floors.'
Not only were the monsters weak, but their respawn rate was slow.
Since the Dungeon was a massive labyrinth, the monster respawn rate was a decisive factor in its danger level.
For example, in a circular corridor, if adventurers cleared the monsters at the entrance and moved deeper, the entrance monsters could respawn and join the fight before the inner ones were dealt with.
This would trap the adventurers between two fronts, overwhelming them.
Clearly, that kind of situation would never happen on this floor.
"It's not like a newly launched MMO where there are more players than monsters... Seriously..."
Rayleigh entered the Second Floor.
After nearly ten minutes of exploration, he hadn't encountered a single monster.
If this continued to the Third Floor, Rayleigh feared he wouldn't be able to resist breaking his promise to his Goddess.
They had agreed he wouldn't venture below the Third Floor.
Crack.
A strange noise from the wall caught Rayleigh's attention.
He retreated a few steps.
Instead of drawing his dulled longsword, he gripped his Asauchi.
Crack, CRACK!
To Rayleigh's astonishment, four lizard-like monsters crawled out from the Dungeon wall.
As soon as they emerged, the cracked wall repaired itself at a visible speed.
Then, they fixed their gazes on Rayleigh.
Two of them scrambled down the wall to attack from the ground, while the other two crawled along the ceiling.
Rayleigh dodged the saliva dripping from above with a look of disgust, studying the new monsters.
'Dungeon Lizards. Active on floors 2-4.'
'They're this big?'
'1.8 to 1.9 meters maybe?'
'Or maybe even two meters long.'
Swish!
Rayleigh used Shunpo, appearing behind the two Dungeon Lizards in the blink of an eye.
He slashed their heads, leaving small but deep wounds. Blood spurted out like arrows, splashing onto the ground.
After finishing off the two on the ground, he raised his arm, extended his index finger, and aimed at the targets on the ceiling.
"Hado Four: Byaku—"
Just as he was about to unleash Byakurai, a faint breeze from deeper within the Dungeon brushed against his back.
He froze.
He was only a third of the way through the Second Floor.
Wasting precious spiritual pressure on Kido to kill two Dungeon Lizards was not worth it.
What about throwing his longsword?
If he missed or the sword got stuck in the ceiling or carried away by the lizards, it would be a devastating loss.
"I'll let you go for today."
Rayleigh sighed and turned to venture deeper into the Dungeon.
...
After two hours of exploration, he had gathered 16 Magic Stones.
He thought of them as 'shards' because they were too small to be called 'crystals' or 'chunks.'
His swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, footwork, and Kido had seen some practice.
'Time to head back.'
Rayleigh gazed into the dark, winding passage.
'This isn't the Orario from the main story,' he thought. 'The Evilus are rampant here.'
They were like the player-killing guilds in SAO—full of deviants and murderers.
'The sun should be setting outside. Better to return now, just to be safe.'