Ryoji took a shower and returned to his room. There was no trace of worry or fear on his face, and he was completely unconcerned about his secret being exposed. He didn't sense any malice from Loki's body; after all, intuition was not to be underestimated.
In contrast, the steady improvement of his strength made him feel quite pleased.
Among these improvements, the enhancement of his physical abilities was expected, but what excited him the most was undoubtedly the growth of his Magic Power.
In this Danmachi world, Magic Power was also a form of mind energy. Unlike in the Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry World, where it served as fuel for special abilities, in this world, Magic Power was used to release Magic.
During the day in the Dungeon, he had used the special ability
However, since his total Magic Power was already quite low, and he needed to reserve some for unexpected situations, he hadn't used his special ability too many times, and the amount of Magic Power he had used was minimal.
Even so, his Magic Power had still increased.
Although it was only by a tiny bit, almost negligible compared to his original total, what mattered more was that this slight increase in Magic Power gave him hope for getting stronger!
He had previously been quite anxious.
He feared that his Magic Power wouldn't be able to be enhanced by Blessing(Falna), leaving him stuck at this level for life. However, this update of ability values had broken that barrier, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
As long as he could improve both his physical abilities and Magic Power, his biggest shortcoming would be compensated, leading to a significant leap in strength!
"Dungeon!"
The key was still the Dungeon! For him now, it was the greatest treasure!
......
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Three mice, roughly the size of humans, blocked Ryoji's path, emitting fierce cries.
Each of these mice was over 1.5 meters long, standing upright on their hind legs, with sturdy claws on their forelimbs and covered in pitch-black armor, even their heads were shielded, making them look incredibly tough.
Hard Armored.
The armor on their backs was harder than regular steel, easily flicking off attacks from Dwarves, making it one of the excellent materials for crafting armor. When facing enemy blade attacks, they would immediately curl up, using their armored backs to block the attacks, then tear apart their enemies with their forelimbs.
"Vrring~!"
Ryoji swung his sword. His wrist trembled with the irregularity of his breathing, causing the Hard Armored directly in front of him to freeze in place, shortly afterward being stabbed into the soft fur of its chest and abdomen.
According to the information, the chest and abdomen of Hard Armored were very soft, allowing even inferior blades to pierce through their flesh and kill them.
Using the sword skill Flickering Light and Passing Shadows, Ryoji caused the Hard Armored's senses to become disoriented, leaving it in a dazed state, unable to curl up in time, allowing him to strike true.
Flickering Light and Passing Shadows was a move that had proven effective time and again; as long as the opponent's method of analyzing information was still within the range of carbon-based life forms, unlike robots with no blind spots, it could repeatedly hit.
The downside was that it could only be used on one target at a time, making it unsuitable for group battles.
The other two Hard Armored had already charged in, their forelimbs glinting with cold light, sharp as blades, slicing toward his chest.
"Bang!"
Ryoji turned his body, hiding behind the Hard Armored he had just stabbed, causing the attacks of the two Hard Armored to miss. At the same time, he used his arms to forcefully shove the Hard Armored he had stabbed away, crashing it into the bodies of the other two Hard Armored.
The blade light flickered, and sound effects flew chaotically.
Caught off guard, the two Hard Armored had their throats cut one after the other, only able to let out a dying scream before dissipating.
"Phew…"
Ryoji exhaled a breath, panting a bit rapidly. This was the 12th Floor. It was the last layer of the upper levels, the 1st to 12th Floors, and also the limit that a Lv.1 Adventurer could explore.
The terrain here was almost indistinguishable from the 10th Floor, with thick fog drifting through the corridors and grass, and visibility was quite short.
Thanks to this, Ryoji hardly saw any Adventurers.
In the past few days, he had encountered several third-rate Adventurers who had their eyes on his Vrring sword, wanting to rob him for money, but today he hadn't run into a single one.
"That over there is the staircase leading to the 13th Floor."
Ryoji continued to advance through the fog, defeating all the monsters he encountered without letting any slip away, as if he were a glutton, unwilling to let any Excelia escape his grasp.
After walking through the thick fog for half an hour, the mist gradually thinned, and Ryoji arrived at a massive cave that was two people high.
Inside the cave, there was a stone staircase winding down, looking dark and ominous, with dew condensing on the steps and moss growing in the corners, creating a heavy humidity.
This was the passage to the 13th Floor.
The two floors of the Dungeon were generally connected by passages, some in the form of stairs and others as slopes. As long as one passed through these passages, they could enter the next layer.
However, the 13th Floor was already in the mid-level domain, where Lv.2 monsters began to appear, and the threat level would rise significantly compared to the 12th Floor!
More importantly, Ryoji didn't have any information for the 13th Floor and had no idea what kind of monsters would appear there.
Dungeon monsters didn't have levels; only the Guild assigned levels to those monsters to indicate their threat level. Saying that the 13th Floor had Lv.2 monsters meant that the monsters there possessed the power to threaten Lv.2 Adventurers.
A Lv.2 Adventurer entering alone could easily face death.
"I have a gut feeling, and with the special ability Absolute Divine Speed, it should be fine to just go in and take a look." Ryoji thought to himself.
The deeper one went into the Dungeon, the stronger the monsters became, and while the threat was indeed higher, they could also serve as excellent growth supplies, allowing him to get stronger at a faster pace.
Moreover, he had confidence; at least escaping wouldn't be a problem. With that in mind, he decided to venture in and test the waters!
Ryoji made up his mind and walked into the staircase passage leading to the next layer.
Five minutes later.
"Boom Boom Boom!"
Accompanied by a series of explosive sounds, Ryoji ran back, covered in dirt and dust.
"What the Hell is up with that!" He cursed loudly.
This was insane! The monsters on the 13th Floor could use "Magic," and their range reached about 30 meters! A few of them gathered together, and he couldn't get close at all!
Just a few minutes after entering, he was blocked by three canine monsters that didn't engage in close combat; they opened their mouths from a distance, and fireballs the size of basins came flying at him, startling him.
The most critical part was that the terrain on the 13th Floor was incredibly torturous; the passages were long and narrow, and encountering monsters that spit fireballs in such passages left him no room to dodge, making it extremely frustrating!
He activated Sword Step, rolled several times on the ground, barely escaping with his life, and then hurriedly ran back, abandoning all semblance of composure.
No wonder it was said that even Lv.2 Adventurers could die if they went in; it was simply not a place for humans to play!
"Going in alone is impossible on the 13th Floor; you must have strong teammates! Special preparations are also necessary!"
Ryoji brushed off the dirt from his body, moved his ankles, and found that he hadn't sprained them, which relieved him. He then quickly left the passage and headed toward the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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