After experiencing a special incident, the Ganesha Guard began conducting stricter identity checks on adventurers.
The objective was to prevent remnants of the Evil Faction familias from bringing items imbued with divine presence into the Dungeon. As for whether it actually worked, only Ron knew.
Arriving at the starting floor, he looked toward the girl standing beside him—quiet and reserved, yet with brown eyes filled with anticipation.
Ron felt it was very necessary—before truly beginning today's Dungeon exploration—to inform Mikoto of all the special situations they might encounter.
"There are some things I need to tell you."
"Is it about Dungeon exploration?"
The girl raised her head, roughly able to guess what Ron was about to explain.
Forming a party.
It meant that next they would fight side by side in the Dungeon. Judging by his current strength, dealing with special monsters would be extremely easy.
But for Ron, who had just become an adventurer, these were goals to improve his own combat ability.
—Moreover.
Mikoto chose to team up with Ron with the goal of seeking out powerful monsters worthy of her personal intervention, while at other times prioritizing his safety.
Mikoto took the initiative to explain: "If we encounter powerful monsters, we'll clear them together!"
"You're still a rookie adventurer. You need constant practical experience to improve your strength. As for ordinary monsters, you should still rely on your own means to deal with them."
"I don't want my joining to cause your plan to deviate."
It was genuinely heartwarming.
In the original DanMachi work, Mikoto possessed an upright and polite personality, was not good at lying, and even had the resolve to sacrifice herself for her companions.
After actually interacting with her, the impression he received was the same.
Ron nodded seriously, then said, "I actually want to remind you that the attack methods of these monsters may be even more insidious than you imagine."
That was the truth.
Including, but not limited to, monsters that could hide anywhere and launch sneak attacks at any time.
Creatures unique to the soul-type worldview—ones that looked battle-hardened, yet could still easily pierce through your weapon.
He took the initiative to walk at the front and, before officially beginning the Dungeon exploration, explained as much as possible: "Compared to ordinary monsters, they possess higher intelligence."
"They have mastered coordinated combat, ambushes, feints, and similar techniques."
"That really is quite rare…"
Mikoto recalled the very beginning—Ron's cautious attitude when facing the elite goblin, as well as the archer hiding in a dark corner to carry out a sneak attack.
If it were herself...
If she encountered the same situation, would she be able to make a better choice?
The girl firmly engraved these words in her mind, then smiled and nodded as she said, "Truly, the vast majority of adventurers probably don't have an attitude as rigorous as yours."
"Of course."
All of it was lessons piled up from blood and sweat.
After a brief exchange, Ron once again came to the staircase leading to the 1st floor. The moment he arrived here, he felt an extremely familiar sensation.
Hatred.
This kind of feeling was hard to describe.
It was as if someone had kicked a newborn in a sensitive spot just as he shouted "Dad," only for his mother's lifeline to be cut off—leaving him without a mother ever after.
And Ron was like a plunderer of the Dungeon's own mother.
The wave of malice surging toward him did not stop his steps. Thinking of the monsters he would soon have to face, Ron even felt a faint sense of anticipation.
After updating his ability values...
No matter what, he had to step on a monster's head and ask—just how much did he still resemble his former self?
"Let's go!"
...
Party exploration.
Mikoto was already accustomed to it. The main reason was that the Takemikazuchi Familia had relatively few members; only through close cooperation could survival rates in the Dungeon be improved.
But teaming up with members of other familias—this was the first time!
Even though it was the shallow floors.
After personally witnessing the anomaly and hearing Ron's repeated warnings, the girl maintained a cautious attitude.
She deliberately softened her footsteps, observing her surroundings when necessary. Only after ensuring there were no threats did she dare to proceed with peace of mind—until she saw Ron.
The girl's expression management nearly collapsed.
Because at this moment, Ron was far beyond merely observing the environment.
His advance was slow. His gaze was almost without blind spots, sweeping from the ground to the cave walls, leaving no place where monsters could hide unchecked.
He even—
As they were about to pass a turning point, Ron even brought the heavy brass shield on his back around to the front, guarding against monsters in the darkness launching ranged attacks.
Is this really necessary?
Mikoto simply wanted to ask, with no intention of offense whatsoever.
Whoosh!
What broke the silence first was an arrow streaking out of the darkness at extreme speed, tearing through the air and continuously letting out a sharp whistling sound.
Ron, however, seemed to have anticipated it long ago.
He simply raised his hand and easily blocked the monster's sneak attack. When the iron arrowhead collided with the heavy brass shield, it let out a dull thud.
Could you try something a little more original?
Following the direction of the sound, the girl looked deep into the darkness. Because the faint illumination along the dungeon walls was poor, she could not even see the monster's silhouette.
By contrast, Ron maintained a calm expression from beginning to end.
As if this kind of thing was something he had long since grown used to!
Mikoto took a deep breath and tried to steady her emotions, but the twitching at the corner of her mouth still betrayed how she felt at that moment. "Ron, I finally understand what you mean."
"Hm?"
"Monsters are lying in ambush everywhere, and the key point is that their strength is many times greater than that of monsters on the current floor."
Realizing that this was the kind of daily routine Ron had to endure, the girl suddenly understood—advancing slowly through the Dungeon was merely his method of self-preservation.
She continued to add: "If it were other adventurers, the slightest carelessness would be enough to get them caught."
This was only the beginning.
Still, Ron was quite satisfied with the change in Mikoto's attitude. When traveling as a party, what one fears most is an impulsive teammate who ends up needing others to clean up the mess.
Lv2 strength was indeed an advantage on the shallow floors of the Dungeon.
But for a Soul-Type Dungeon, caution was the most crucial factor. After all, even a casual little trick like attacking a vulnerable spot could be enough to bring down a Lord of Cinder.
"When you get used to this kind of exploration, you won't find it troublesome anymore."
"Places like cave corners—where the field of view suddenly opens up—there will absolutely be monsters lurking here to launch sneak attacks. But that still isn't the most insidious part."
"Some nasty bastards will even pounce directly from the walls to ambush you."
Of course.
There was also the possibility of a boss dropping down from above and hoisting you up to smash you.
As if the Dungeon were responding to Ron's words, chunks of dirt and debris fell from the walls, striking the ground and producing crisp impacts that echoed through the empty tunnel.
And then—
Large sections of the wall began to peel away, and seeds formed of flesh and blood fell through the air.
As the outer husks of those seeds were torn open, what finally appeared before their eyes was a goblin with dark green skin and an exceptionally robust build.
Compared to the "elite."
This monster's physique was even larger. It wore rust-covered armor, ragged scraps of cloth hanging from its body, and held a broad-headed spear in its hands.
"What is that thing?"
Ron sensed that something was wrong. Frowning slightly, he kept retreating.
The sound of running coming from behind him made his internal alarm blare. He abruptly turned his head and saw a mutated, twisted kobold charging straight toward them.
It was extremely fast, continuously kicking up dust from the ground.
Without thinking much, he directly shoved the girl beside him aside and quickly shifted his body to evade the monster's ambush. But it was obvious that this kobold's target was not Ron.
It did not stop until it reached the goblin. Although the worldview was different, it should be an isomorphic counterpart of a Souls-game knight.
However.
Compared to that, what Ron cared about more was—
Just which version of a knight is this damn thing in front of me?
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