Roland first spent 30,000 Valis at a weapon shop on a double-edged one-handed sword. He tucked his staff back into his backpack; as for the spear, he decided it would be perfect as a projectile for emergencies.
Full of excitement, he headed into the Dungeon. Five goblins emerged from the stone walls, snarling as they attacked. Roland spun his sword, a horizontal slash sending three heads flying. He spun and kicked the remaining two goblins against the wall, finishing them with a thrust.
"The feel is definitely different. But I don't have time to waste on the first floor. Let's head to the sixth." He stowed the magic stones and moved on.
On the sixth floor, Roland slaughtered the monsters. His improved agility allowed him to dodge most attacks while simultaneously counter-attacking. As long as he avoided their claws, the War Shadows were killed in a single strike.
"Seems I've fully adapted. Next, the seventh floor."
Killer Ants—known as "Newbie Killers"—are insectoid monsters with hard exoskeletons and six legs. They have two scythe-like claws on their upper bodies and call for reinforcements when in danger.
In a tunnel, three Killer Ants crawled out from the walls. Their crimson shells and bright red eyes were enough to make one's skin crawl. They rushed Roland like giant cockroaches. He dodged a scythe strike and slid his blade into the gap in the creature's armor, easily severing its spine.
Flashy moves weren't meant for the Dungeon; here, simple and efficient techniques were king. Roland avoided clashing his sword directly against their hard claws—it was his first sword, after all, and he wanted it to last.
After a brief skirmish, all three ants were dead. Roland quickly collected the stones and moved to prevent a swarm from gathering.
Checking his status, he saw he was now Level 13. Two more to go.
As more ants surrounded him, Roland began channeling mana into his sword. The silver blade glowed with a pale green light as wind spiraled around the edge. With a swing, the blade sliced through the hard exoskeletons like paper. He moved with practiced ease, purple fluid spraying as heads flew. The ants were as fragile as fruit in a game of "Fruit Ninja" before his enchanted blade.
Soon, the area was cleared.
[Personal Information]
Name: Roland
Age: 13
Level: 15
There was no quest or notification, but his [Skill Bar] changed. Now, the skills were categorized, and a [Job Change] option appeared. He felt the "Abyssal Eye" (Darkness Eye) inside him shift.
Clicking [Job Change], he saw the five familiar paths: Elemental Bomber, Glacial Master, Blood Mage, Swift Master, and Dimension Walker.
He chose Elemental Bomber first, as it suited his current style. His hair fluttered, and his eyes turned dark like a black moon, tinged with a hint of deathly aura. Mana boiled within him, a surge of power making him want to unleash elemental chaos.
Next, he tested Glacial Master. His hair faded to snowy white, and his eyes turned from black to red. A chilling aura emanated from him, and his restless heart became icy calm. He touched the wall, and it froze instantly. Even my appearance changes? he noted, looking at his reflection in the ice.
Then came Blood Mage. His short black hair grew long, flowing down his back, and his eyes became a glowing crimson. He even seemed to grow taller. The blood-red essence from the fallen ants was absorbed into his Abyssal Eye. Four more ants arrived, attracted by the scent, and Roland wiped them out with wings and blades made of blood. The power of a class is insane. I don't even have to control it precisely to get this much output.
Finally, he tried Swift Master. His hair shortened back to shoulder-length, his eyes returned to dark red, and his mana turned into howling winds. He felt a sudden urge to fly. He began to hover and glide through the narrow tunnel.
He hesitated at the last one—the Dimension Walker. Since it involved Lovecraftian/Cthulhu elements, he worried about catching the attention of an outer god. He decided to wait until he was stronger.
After experimenting, he set Elemental Bomber as his active class since it changed his appearance the least. As long as he suppressed the mana in his Abyssal Eye, he looked normal.
He spent the rest of his time on the seventh floor slaughtering Killer Ants. Moving to the eighth floor, he encountered Needle Rabbits—horned rabbits with high agility but low combat power. They were only dangerous because they attacked in large groups.
A swarm of them charged at Roland. He stepped forward, his wind-enchanted blade taking off four heads at once. However, in the chaos, one rabbit managed to gore his right leg with its horn.
"Ow! Dammit, I got careless."
He used a Flame Shield to incinerate the remaining rabbits, then pulled the horn out and poured a potion on the wound. He rested and collected his loot while blasting any stragglers with magic. Once his leg healed, he picked up his sword and continued his hunt on the eighth floor.
Fighting with only a single-handed sword proved difficult to manage at times. Roland's body was soon marked with a few minor scratches, and he spent a significant amount of time on the eighth floor before finally reaching the entrance to the ninth.
The ninth floor was home to the Purple Algae Moth. These creatures fluttered about, scattering toxic scales. While inhaling a small amount wasn't immediately fatal, prolonged exposure would lead to a poisoned state. The moths themselves were physically fragile; their primary drop item was the Purple Algae Wing.
Roland pulled out a mask and put it on to prevent inhaling the toxic powder. As long as the toxins didn't enter his system, skin contact alone wouldn't cause poisoning. Dealing with these monsters was easy—as long as you could reach them, killing them was a simple matter.
Originally, Roland only intended to scout the ninth floor and head back. Going down to the tenth floor without a detailed map or better intelligence made it easy to get lost. Furthermore, from the tenth floor downward, one could encounter a "Monster Party"—a sudden surge where a massive number of monsters spawn simultaneously.
However, it seemed going home wouldn't be that simple. Roland noticed the gravel around him vibrating. From up ahead came a heavy thumping sound, accompanied by the trampling of many feet and the guttural roars of a massive horde approaching.
"Ah, what a pain. It looks like I've run into a 'Monster Train' (Pass-Parade). What should I do? Run?" Looking at the situation, Roland recalled Kaguya's teachings back at the Familia.
A Monster Train was a tactic used by some adventurers in the Dungeon. When retreating, they would lure the monsters chasing them toward other adventurers, making them the new targets so they could escape. While the unspoken rule of the Dungeon was not to interfere with others, some parties used this as a standard tactic in desperate situations.
Worse yet, there were "scumbag" adventurers who specialized in creating Monster Trains to attack other teams. If the target party was wiped out, the perpetrators would swoop in to loot their remains. This was how these unscrupulous individuals survived. Because of this, many Familias on expeditions would kill such adventurers on sight to protect their own members.
In the Dungeon, might makes right. The law of the jungle applies not just between humans and monsters, but between humans themselves.
"I'll go check it out. It might be adventurers who were set up and need help. As a member of the Astraea Familia, I can't just sit by and watch."
Roland stowed his sword in his backpack and pulled out his staff, letting it float behind him with mana. He began condensing an elemental cannon in his hand.
Reaching the source of the noise, he saw a swarm of tenth-floor monsters: Imps and bat-like creatures called Badbats, which used ultrasonic waves to disorient adventurers. In the center were several Orcs—three-meter-tall pig-men whose sheer size was intimidating. A group of adventurers was fighting a desperate losing battle, their bodies covered in wounds and their eyes filled with despair.
"Looks like they aren't scumbags, but victims of a Monster Train."
Roland didn't hesitate. He pulled up his hood, fired an elemental blast into the Imp swarm, and blinked into the middle of the adventurers.
"Who's there?" a mage in the back rank asked nervously.
"Just a passing adventurer. No need to remember me," Roland replied with a wave.
Mana surged, and three Flame Shields formed instantly according to his will. He didn't launch them immediately but used them to force the encroaching Orcs back. With a flick of his hand, the shields flew into the horde. In an instant, many Imps fell, and several Orcs roared as they were scorched. The Badbats tried to dodge using their sonar.
Before the monsters could recover, Roland gathered wind and fire in his right hand, completing an elemental cannon shell almost instantly. He fired it into the crowd while his left hand flashed with a magic circle, erecting an Ice Wall between him and the adventurers to block the flying debris, monster remains, and blood.
When the ice shattered, the scene was one of total devastation. The monster horde had been decimated. Very few magic stones or materials remained intact. Roland finished off the few surviving Imps with a few magic missiles.
"Whew..." Roland exhaled softly and turned to the party. "Are you alright? Is anyone seriously injured?"