The so‑called preparations for exploring the Dungeon weren't exactly much—at least not with the assets Liang Yue currently had.
From Airmid, captain of the Dian Cecht Familia, he had received a pouch of healing potions.
From Hestia, there was an adventure gift: a sharp, single‑edged iron sword and a cloak to hide the deformity of his left hand.
He glanced at the girl sleeping on the sofa. Knowing she had returned home late from work last night, he had no intention of disturbing her rest.
"I'm heading out."
"…"
The morning sunlight spilled over him, its warmth slowly driving away the lingering chill. Liang Yue decisively set off toward the heart of the city—
—toward Babel Tower, the entrance to the Dungeon.
Along the way, he bought a cheap "poor man's set meal" from a street vendor—filling enough, though the taste was nothing to praise. It would serve as his supply for the day.
At the moment, he hadn't obtained any other Sword Soul skills.
His mastery of Inner Swordsmanship was still adequate, and if he was only facing goblins, kobolds, and subterranean lizards on floors 1–3, they shouldn't pose a threat.
As he walked toward Babel Tower, he roughly planned out his day's exploration.
In the morning, there were plenty of adventurers heading to the Dungeon. Liang Yue blended naturally into the flow—after all, cloaks were standard adventurer gear.
Babel Tower loomed high into the clouds; even under the clear, cloudless sky, its tip was invisible from below.
"Almost there."
At the central plaza in front of Babel Tower, large numbers of adventurers from various familias had gathered.
The most conspicuous were the supporters with massive backpacks, waiting patiently to be hired.
When some noticed Liang Yue heading in alone, a few supporters approached like sharks smelling blood, asking if he needed their help.
He turned them all down.
For someone only working in the upper floors with no plans to go deep, hiring a supporter would just be a waste of money.
Once he clearly refused, they didn't press further—especially with the Ganesha Familia guards maintaining order during these peak hours.
They also checked adventurers' identification before allowing entry.
The inspection went smoothly.
Gazing at the wide spiral staircase descending into the earth, Liang Yue couldn't help the flicker of anticipation in his chest. Without hesitation, he stepped forward on his journey into the Dungeon.
Following the others, he passed through the Path of Beginning, the Dungeon's safe zone. The surroundings were typical cave terrain, lit by lantern‑fruit growing on the walls, giving just enough visibility.
But once he crossed into the dangerous zones, the complex network of tunnels quickly dispersed the adventurers, even swallowing up the sound of footsteps.
Liang Yue scanned his surroundings and drew the single‑edged sword from his hip.
Unlike the Asura class, which had Wave Sense, here he could only rely on his eyes and reflexes to detect danger.
Being prepared ahead of time could prevent many mishaps.
His footsteps echoed briefly against the stone floor. The deep, quiet environment didn't weigh on him—rather, without needing to hide his demonic hand, he felt far more at ease.
As he combed through the tunnels, the silhouettes of several monsters appeared at a bend ahead.
Goblins—skin dark green, ears pointed, short and ugly, wielding crude wooden clubs.
They were no different from the goblins in DNF.
Killing them had a chance to drop Goblin Teeth—materials that could be sold for extra profit besides magic stones.
"Finally ran into some."
"Wonder if they'll give EXP once I kill them…"
Gone was the unease from earlier. He brought the combat drills of Inner Swordsmanship into the moment, a sharp killing intent flashing in his eyes.
Stepping forward, he gripped the sword in both hands. The opening form of Inner Swordsmanship carried him straight into the nearest goblin.
A clean horizontal slash severed its head in one stroke.
It died instantly, without even a scream, blood splattering the cave wall before its body dissolved into black smoke.
A small magic stone clinked to the ground.
Still focused, Liang Yue caught movement in the corner of his eye—a goblin swinging its club at him. His body reacted instinctively, sidestepping the blow before flipping the blade upward, splitting it in two.
The last goblin leapt at him, but in mid‑air its head was pierced clean through.
Each motion was crisp and efficient.
All he had done was apply his training against a moving target. He bent down to collect the magic stones and sharp white goblin teeth.
Their value might be low, but "even a mosquito is still meat." After confirming the area was clear, he opened the Sword Soul Template.
「Exp +10」
「Exp +11」
「Exp +9」
Gaining EXP from killing goblins gave him all the motivation he needed. The amounts weren't much, but the progress bar shifted significantly.
「EXP: 60%」
"Not bad."
"At this rate, the early levels should go by fast."
In games, early‑stage EXP requirements were tiny, but late‑game levels demanded tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions after updates. That system clearly didn't apply here.
The Sword Soul Template seemed simplified, with greatly reduced EXP requirements for leveling up.
Even so, he still had to endure the weak "newbie phase." Only upon reaching level 15 would he unlock skills like Triple Slash and Backstep Slash.
Closing the template, he continued on. Monsters in the upper floors were weak enough that Inner Swordsmanship could handle them—though its stamina drain was higher.
Until he learned new skills, he absolutely wouldn't go deeper than floor 5.
"Still need to grind more…"
With his resolve renewed, he prowled the area for more "EXP packets." He never ran into other adventurers, but goblins appeared often—each fight a complete one‑sided slaughter.
The steady kills pushed his level up to Lv2, but he didn't stop.
Progress was smooth, but not entirely satisfying. The Sword Soul template was pure Sword Soul—no Ghost Slash, no Crescent Slash.
With more skills, his efficiency could skyrocket.
After finishing off a kobold, the constant exertion was catching up to him. He decided to return to the safe zone.
Leaning against the wall, he unhooked the canteen from his belt, drinking as he opened the template to check his stats.
「Liang Yue」
Level: 2
EXP: 63%
Skill: Inner Swordsmanship (+)
SP: 10
The "+" next to his skill made him frown slightly—it was something he'd subconsciously overlooked.
In the game, after leveling up, a Sword Soul simply acquired its skills automatically.
There was no manual SP allocation.
Skill levels couldn't be raised with points, only through costume weapons or set bonuses.
But here in the template, he could actually assign points himself!
"Well… whatever."
"SP doesn't have any other use right now. Maybe leveling the skill will increase its damage too?"
Since it would still be a long grind until new skills unlocked, and Inner Swordsmanship was his most effective attack, spending 10 SP didn't seem like a waste.
「10 SP consumed」
「Inner Swordsmanship upgraded to Inner Swordsmanship (Mastery)」
Seeing the skill name now perfectly match its form in the game world gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
After a short rest, Liang Yue set off again into the depths. Higher‑level skills always sped up farming in games—
—but he was eager to see what Inner Swordsmanship (Mastery) could do in reality.
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