The sun climbed above the horizon, casting its light onto the bustling streets of Orario.
Its rays glinted off the towering Tower of Babel.
The five of them grabbed some dry food for breakfast, then quickly crossed West Street and arrived at the central courtyard, where numerous adventurer teams had already gathered. Charles looked up at the imposing chalk tower, then stepped into the dungeon's entrance below.
They descended the corridor from the starting point and soon entered the cramped, narrow cave.
In Charles's memory, this wasn't his first time entering the dungeon—but it was his first time in this life. His souls hadn't fully merged yet, and a strange sense of unfamiliarity lingered.
He stopped.
"Hey! What are you doing? Don't waste time, catch up!"
A stone whizzed past his head, narrowly missing him and thudding against the backpack on his back.
The heavy impact pushed Charles backward, and a sharp ringing pierced his ears.
If this keeps up, my head's going to be busted and bleeding!
He narrowed his eyes and glared coldly at Ranger Link, who had just taken the shot.
"Hey, your aim's awful. Why don't you give up being a ranger and be my supporter instead?"
Well, congratulations—you just found a new way to die.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm used to it. Be more careful next time." Link raised his hands in mock surrender with a playful grin.
After this little test, Link was sure Charles only looked strong on the outside—his weaknesses were exposed.
"Who told you to walk so slowly?" Emma chimed in.
"Faster! Your useless parents got eaten by monsters because they were too slow!" Sven smiled kindly but his words were ice cold.
"Don't follow their footsteps."
Charles brushed the dust from his shoulders.
The gap in grace levels was too big. Even a difference between E and I was enough to crush him.
They can't keep testing me like this. I need to make trouble for Lord Zanis.
Only if Zanis faces enough trouble will I have the chance to prove I'm the most trustworthy person by his side.
…
The fifth floor of the dungeon.
Charles followed the four quietly, skillfully picking up and recovering magic stones dropped by monsters.
Occasionally, they would humiliate and PUA him as they had in the past.
"You're too slow. We're leaving you behind!"
"Ah, sorry! A monster got in the way. Charles, hang on!"
"There are too many monsters! Charles, attract their attention for just a moment!"
"Sorry, the monster was tough. You okay?"
While enduring it all, Charles triggered a skill that increased his durability and damage resistance.
Through this, he realized a serious flaw:
"I don't know martial arts. I'm okay with American Iai, but swords and guns are tough."
When giant frogs rushed him, slime covered his arms and legs. Without the skill's extra durability, he'd have lost limbs long ago.
Squatting on the ground, he dug out magic stones and gathered spoils with practiced hands.
"It takes more than ten years to master combat skills."
He frowned. It wasn't hard to see why before Ais, every adventurer's upgrade records exceeded three years.
I don't have time for that now.
I can copy Bell—stack attributes first, then consider adding skills. My body is quite gifted in agility this life, so training won't be as hard. I shouldn't be too weak.
For now... just get through the growth period.
…
While Charles dealt with the Frog Shooter's body, Sven, Canoe, and the others exchanged looks.
"You found it."
"In the past, he probably wouldn't have stood up after that attack."
"Well, that's a defense-increasing skill."
"Heh, a tougher sandbag is still just a sandbag!"
"Hahaha, I think it can be our shield as well as a sandbag."
Charles's demonstrated abilities gradually relaxed the group.
They'd left Zanis's orders behind and now just cared about making money.
To them, Charles's skill was useless, unworthy of Zanis's attention.
Sven sneered, "What do you mean, boss?"
Canoe stroked his beard, axe in hand:
"It's too inefficient to hunt monsters for money all the time. Why don't we have that kid lure monsters for us? We can explore the lower floors too. The guild's been buying blue magic butterfly wings. If we get lucky and find some..."
Link frowned. "Blue Papilio? They only appear near food storage. What if we get surrounded?"
Canoe sneered, "Then that kid takes the blame! Heh, with his new skill, he should last longer!"
They exchanged sinister smirks.
…
After their discussion, the four waved at Charles behind them.
Emma bent down, touched his hair gently, and asked, "You're not hiding loot, are you?"
Charles answered seriously, "You misunderstand. You're all my beloved relatives, brothers, and sisters! How could I hide family property?"
They were satisfied with his answer, but then Charles changed the subject:
"These are all Lord Zanis's property! I'll hand them over in full!"
Their faces darkened.
"Lord Zanis wouldn't consider that."
"Really?" Charles stroked his chin.
"Sure enough, just fifth-floor spoils. Lord Zanis doesn't even look at them. Let's go find rarer drops!"
Canoe and the others exchanged uneasy looks.
No, we were just trying to trick you—why did you just fall for it?
This... won't be a surprise, right?
Charles's counter moved scared them.
Sven probed, "Well, kid, what kind of treasure do you want?"
Charles clapped his hands. "I know! The Blue Papilio's Wings! If we get rare drops like that, Lord Zanis will definitely be pleased."
"You'll swear allegiance to Lord Zanis!"
The Blue Papilio is said to appear on the dungeon's seventh floor.
They have four transparent, faintly glowing blue wings. Their graceful flight is so mesmerizing that even adventurers stop to admire.
Though beautiful, they're a rare and elusive monster.
Their wings are key materials for high-level elixirs and can even be used to brew wine!
Canoe opened his mouth. Blue Papilio wings usually sold for over 2,000 valis each, and they appeared in groups of at least five.
In other words, luck permitting, they could earn an extra 10,000 valis in one go.
That's a full day's income for a senior level 1 adventurer team!
Thinking this over...
"Let's go!"
Unable to resist the lure of money, Canoe led the way toward the seventh floor.
That depth was barely reachable by their team.
Yet for the radical Soma clan, "barely reachable" was actually very safe.
Charles followed silently, thoughts racing.
…