The darkness and pressure of the unknown floor below the thirteenth did not intimidate Hachiman. On the contrary, the sight of the Minotaurs and Lygerfangs snarling at him only fueled the savagery burning in his crimson eyes. He didn't wait. With Ningen Mukotsu firmly in his hands, he charged at the first Minotaur that dared to advance.
The creature attacked with its rustic stone axe, a blow that could crush a lesser adventurer. Hachiman, moving with the fluid, predatory agility that his "Savage Determination" Skill and Rank H status afforded him, dodged by a hair's breadth, the wind of the blow hissing in his ears. Before the Minotaur could recover, the tip of the white spear had already found its target: the arm holding the axe was severed at the shoulder with a single, precise movement, Ningen Mukotsu's defense-nullifying property ignoring the thick hide and dense muscle. The monster roared, but the sound was abruptly silenced as Hachiman spun and the same spear pierced its throat, severing its head in a spray of dark blood.
From atop a rocky platform, a Lygerfang leaped, claws extended, aiming for Hachiman's back. But his keen senses, amplified by the fury of battle, had already detected the movement. Before the giant feline completed its downward arc, Hachiman thrust the spear upwards in a powerful lunge. The sharp point met the Lygerfang's throat in mid-air, the force of the blow continuing until it pinned the creature against the far stone wall with a wet thud and a crack of bones. Stone and flesh collided, and the Lygerfang dissolved into black dust before it even stopped twitching.
The brutal death of the first two monsters was the trigger. Chaos ensued.
In unison, the rest of the horde – at least five Minotaurs and seven Lygerfangs he could clearly see, perhaps more in the shadows – rushed towards him. The Minotaurs advanced with heavy steps that made the ground tremble, each wielding rudimentary weapons of bone or stone. The Lygerfangs, in contrast, moved like living shadows, slinking along the sides, scenting blood, coordinating their attacks with pure predatory instinct, focused on annihilating the lone threat.
One Minotaur charged head-on, the largest of the group, brandishing a club made from a giant femur. A grave mistake. Hachiman didn't flinch. He ran to meet the monster, the Ningen Mukotsu spear held low. At the last instant, he ducked with the momentum, the spear tip passing under the creature's raised arm and exploding upwards with full force, transfixing the Minotaur's chin and continuing until it pierced through its brain. The monster fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. At the same time, two Lygerfangs leaped at him from behind. Without hesitation, Hachiman spun his body, using the weight of the Minotaur's corpse still impaled on the spear as a grotesque shield and a counterweight. The Lygerfangs collided with the Minotaur's body. With a violent tug, Hachiman wrenched the spear free, and the return motion of the spin decapitated one of the felines that was too close.
A second Minotaur tried to crush him with a stone club from above. Hachiman ducked, the blow whistling over his head. He slid between the monster's wide legs and, with a quick, brutal movement, delivered an upward thrust with the spear tip, piercing its groin and running up the creature's spine until the weapon's point exited through its sternum. Thick, dark blood covered Hachiman and the surrounding ground. But his crimson eyes remained cold, focused, the savagery burning without a trace of hesitation or revulsion.
He leaped onto a fallen rock, using it as an improvised springboard to gain height and distance from the approaching Lygerfangs. At the peak of his jump, he threw Ningen Mukotsu as if it were a living arrow. The white spear flew straight and true, piercing one Lygerfang in the chest and continuing its trajectory to impale a second one that was right behind it, pinning them both to the ground. Without a second's hesitation, Hachiman ran to the fallen bodies, yanked the spear free with a powerful twist, and in the same motion, used the shaft of the weapon to crush the skull of a Minotaur trying to reach him from behind.
Another Minotaur came with a sideways attack, its mouth open in a roar. Hachiman spun, the spear moving in a defensive arc that transformed into an offensive one. He didn't aim for the head or chest, but drove the spear shaft directly into the creature's exposed throat. The Minotaur gagged, and Hachiman used the dying enemy's own weight to relentlessly push it against a nearby rock wall, until he heard the sickening sound of rock and the monster's bones cracking under the pressure.
Looking around, Hachiman saw the remaining monsters – the few who had survived his initial onslaught and perhaps ten others who had hesitated, clearly intimidated by his relentless ferocity. They surrounded him, but now there was fear in their bestial eyes.
Hachiman gave them no chance to reconsider. Dispensing with the spear, he raised his hands. "Trace On." Two Thunder Blades appeared, crackling with unstable energy. With a swift movement, he launched them, not at the monsters directly, but at the ground and walls around them. The subsequent electrical explosions stunned and incapacitated most, and the few who tried to advance were quickly finished off by rapid projections of daggers or by Kanshou and Bakuya, which he briefly summoned.
Finally, a brief moment of peace. The corridor was littered with monster dust and magic stones. Hachiman breathed heavily, the crimson aura around him dimming slightly, but his eyes still gleamed with a cold, savage light. He quickly collected the magic stones, storing them in his spatial rings. The quantity and quality were impressive. 'These must be the 16th or 17th floors, at least,' he deduced from the strength of the monsters. Looking around, he noted the particular architecture, the walls that seemed to weep moisture. 'Wall of Lamentations... Yes, I'm on the seventeenth floor.'
He decided not to linger. The smell of blood and death would surely attract more monsters. He moved on, looking for the descent to the next level.
As he approached what seemed to be the transition to the eighteenth floor, near the continuation of the Wall of Lamentations, the ground trembled slightly. A subtle but immense pressure emanated from the depths ahead. 'The Goliath...' Hachiman thought, his crimson eyes glinting with a mixture of caution and cold anticipation. 'It hasn't emerged yet. But it's close... watching.' He paused for a moment, waiting, ready for any movement. But nothing happened. The pressure seemed to recede. 'Still not willing to come out, huh?' With a mental shrug, Hachiman retracted his intense gaze and finally headed for the passage leading to the eighteenth floor.
The transition was like entering another world. The 18th Floor was a safe point, an oasis of tranquility where no monsters spawned, although some could occasionally ascend from the lower floors. It was known as the Under Resort. The floor was vast, filled with luminescent crystals and lush nature. Large forests with pale-trunked trees and bluish leaves covered much of the ground. Crystalline lakes reflected the soft light coming from above. Within the forest, Hachiman saw blue crystals of all sizes that seemed to absorb and refract the ambient light, filling the woods with an ethereal, light-blue glow.
The ceiling was exceptionally high, almost like an artificial sky, studded with bright crystals of two colors: white crystals clustered in the center, resembling a soft sun, and smaller blue crystals scattered around, like stars in a daytime sky. The amount of light they emitted varied, mimicking the day and night cycles of the surface.
On the east side of the floor's central island, perched on a cliff about 200 meters above a vast underground lake, was the town of Rivira. It was the main outpost for adventurers exploring the Middle and Lower Floors. 'To reach here alone as a Level 2... I really must be extremely capable,' Hachiman thought with a pang of dark pride, recalling the information.
He finally entered through the gates of Rivira. The town was a mixture of rustic wooden and stone buildings, but well-made and clearly prepared for adventurers. He saw other explorers walking the streets, some in heavy armor, others lighter. Some bargained excitedly with local vendors, whose prices for basic supplies were notoriously inflated due to the remote location. Others drank and ate in makeshift taverns, celebrating a successful expedition or drowning the sorrows of a bad one.
Hachiman walked, observing his surroundings, his senses still sharp, though the savage aura had receded somewhat, his eyes returning to a more neutral tone, though still with a residual glint of cold fury. He was looking for a place to rest briefly, perhaps replenish his water. As he looked around, his vision suddenly went completely dark. He felt something incredibly soft and fragrant pressed against his face, muffling his breath. His battle instincts screamed, but before he could react, a teasing, amused voice whispered in his ear, the warm breath sending shivers down his spine.
"Well, well... I didn't expect you to reach the eighteenth floor so quickly, Hachiman-kun!"
Hachiman managed to turn his head minimally upwards, his face still partially buried in the "softness." The figure holding him in a playful embrace from behind, using her own bust to pin him, was unmistakable. Tsubaki.
Behind her, observing the scene with varied expressions, were the main figures of her Familia. Aiz Wallenstein stared at him with that mixture of impassivity and intense interest he already knew. Tiona Hiryute had a huge grin and a gleam of undisguised pure curiosity in her eyes. Tione Hiryute, as always, simply watched him with analytical calmness. And Lefiya Viridis... well, Lefiya seemed to look at him with clear and instant enmity, probably for being so close to Aiz.
'Ah, great...' Hachiman thought. 'More trouble.'