The Dungeon was the heart of Orario—literally and figuratively.
It's a complex labyrinth located beneath the Tower of Babel, the only one of its kind, found only under this city.
No one knows its true origin, not even the gods, and before they descended, it had already wreaked havoc across the world.
So much for omnipresence.
Maybe the gods already know and simply refuse to tell mortals.
Better yet, maybe they created it.
Though if that were true, its clear hostility toward the gods raises even more questions.
Well never know.
Scholars, after years of studies, managed to confirm one thing—the Dungeon is alive.
From the constant spawning of monsters from its walls to the way it quietly repairs any damage caused by adventurers, the entire structure behaves less like a place and more like a living organism.
And each floor stretched deeper, wider, and more complex than the last.
Naturally, what came from such a place drew people in.
Not just monsters—resources.
Rare ores, plants with strange properties, metals not found anywhere else in the world, even materials with magical potential.
The deeper one went, the more valuable the finds.
It was the greatest treasure trove in existence… guarded by the greatest dangers.
Adventurers came to fight those monsters for the "magic stones" each one carried inside.
Those stones powered lamps, heaters, even entire industries across the world.
So as terrifying as the Dungeon was, it was also the reason Orario thrived.
The more people challenged it, the more the city grew, and the stronger the adventurers became.
But all of that came at a cost.
Seasoned explorers treated the Dungeon like an unpredictable storm.
Some days it was calm.
Other days it felt like everything inside wanted to push you back out.
Still, the benefits made it so irresistible for people to stop entering.
Hope, profit, glory, revenge—everyone had a reason.
And today, among the countless adventurers stepping inside, two such individuals could be seen.
"Phew…"
Surrounded by numerous glowing iridescent stones, Bell breathed sharply as he lowered his sword.
"Hurry and grab the stones before we continue!"
"Ah, okay!"
Moving quickly, Bell stored the magic stones dropped by the monsters he killed inside his personal key chain before running over to Kaelis.
Who was doing his own thing—grabbing everything that could be studied.
From dungeon walls, monster materials and a few pieces of unknown metal found on the floor.
"Did you grab everything?"
"Yea."
Bell held his key chain in his palm as he tried to examine it.
"How much can this thing store? I've been storing everything we could find for an hour now."
It's been an hour since they entered the dungeon.
And from the moment they stepped on the first floor, they've been swamped by various monsters aiming to rip them apart.
From the usual goblins and their fellow mutts, kobolds.
Thanks to their strength, Bell and Kaelis managed to thwart their efforts in killing them. Well, mostly Bell.
He did most of the work. From killing them to strong their dropped items under the guise of training.
Mainly because Kaelis didn't want to bother dealing with pests and just walked around, looking.
Though he didn't allow his student to get overwhelmed.
He occasionally intervened once it becomes too much for him to handle.
"Which floor are we heading to again? I got too absorbed in the various materials down here, he-he."
He asked Bell as he rubbed his hands with a grin plastered on his face. I'm getting stronger tonight~
"We're heading to the…seventh floor." Bell answered nervously.
He kept looking around, hoping to not get caught off guard by any sudden threat.
Seeing as his master would not lift a finger to fight and would just disappear off into a corner at a moments notice, he had to be alert on his own behalf.
"Um. Master…"
"Hm? What's up?"
Walking beside his master, Bell decided to ask the question that's been on his mind since they passed the fourth floor.
"Didn't Miss Eina… say I shouldn't go any lower than the third floor?"
Initially, he thought they weren't gonna go any further than that due to it being their first dive, but somehow, they ended up going three levels further and on their way to the fourth.
Now, he knew why his appointed adviser, told him to stay on the third floor.
If it wasn't for his training, he would've had a hard time when swamped by half the pack of wolves and gobs earlier.
"Since you're with me, you don't have to worry about dying. At most you'll get a few broken bones or have a limb cut off.
"That doesn't sound very reassuring!"
Lose a limb? Broken bones?
Those didn't sound very appealing to the young boy.
I wanna turn back!
"Don't be like that. It's not like you won't get them back you know, i can regrow your limbs anytime. Even revive you if need be. And besides…"
Kaelis pointed at the sword in Bell's hands.
"That sword is imbued with special effects."
'Huh? Special…effects?'
Bell glanced down at the sword. There seems to be nothing special about it other than its appearance.
"I don't see anything."
"That's cause their effects are subtle."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you realize, you haven't run outta breath the whole time but you've been fighting non stop?"
'Hmm… now that I think about it, I haven't. Is that it?'
Kaelis then began explaining what was working behind the scenes.
"When I made the sword, I infused two attributes on it, [recovery] and [Bleed]. [recovery] is an attribute that slowly regenerates stamina and mental strength which reduces fatigue buildup, a small healing ability that heals your wounds slowly. Oh and also stops bleeding." He added before he forgets.
"…"
Bell himself became dumbfounded.
He had no idea the sword had that effect and probably only Kaelis himself knew that such an effect existed.
There was never a weapon like that in the world—so similar to that of a those magical spells.
No wonder he hadn't felt tired.
He had thought it was due to his training about conserving strength and doing things with minimal effort.
Now he knows he was slowly recovering strength behind the scenes.
Well, he wasn't exactly wrong about the previous assumption.
If he had been using significantly more strength that what was recovered, he would've had to return to the surface by now.
"And! And! What about the bleed attribute!? What does it do!?"
He was feeling ecstatic now. If that [recovery] attribute thingy was so awesome already, what does [bleed] do?
Seeing Bell so happy about the effects of his sword, not wanting to drag it out too long, Kaelis explains its effect.
"It makes it so that anything that isn't dead that got cut—even a minor scratch, can't naturally heal."
"Hm?"
"Yep. Anything you cut with it, loses blood overtime and unless healed by magic or something, will eventually die."
"D-die!?"
Bell froze mid-step, gripping the sword like it might bite him.
"W-Wait, that sounds… kinda dangerous, doesn't it!?"
"Obviously. It's supposed to be."
"That's not reassuring!" Bell squealed.
Kaelis glanced at him. "Relax. It won't hurt you. The other attribute will cancel it out."
"That's not the problem!!"
Bell gaze moved from the blade to the walls, then to Kaelis, then back to the blade.
His mind raced with every worst-case scenario possible.
"What if I accidentally nick one of our allies!? O-or Miss Eina!? Or Goddess Hestia!? Or—!"
"Bell." Kaelis grabbed the boy's shoulder to stop the spiraling. "Calm. Down."
Bell stopped talking but his eyes still swirled like he was imagining disasters after disasters.
"The attribute only affects what you cut. So just don't go swinging it at your friends," Kaelis said simply.
"As long as you're not flailing around like a lunatic, you'll be fine."
Bell puffed his cheeks. "I don't flail around…"
"Sure," Kaelis said with a smirk.
Kaelis continued, more matter-of-fact now. "Look, that attribute is good for you. It gives you survivability. Your opponents won't recover—but you will. That means every exchange favors you."
"Favors… me?" Bell blinked.
"Yep. Even if the enemy doesn't fall right away, they'll be at a disadvantage the longer a fight goes on. It lowers their chance of beating you while increasing yours."
Bell considered that. Though, he still looked uneasy.
"I… guess that is useful. But I'll just have to be really careful," he murmured.
"That's the spirit." Kaelis nodded. "It's a tool. Use it responsibly."
"Okay… I'll do my best."
Kaelis smirked. "Good. Now hurry up. The seventh floor won't clear itself."
Bell: "Eeeh!? We're really still going!?"
Chapter 63 end.