"A wonderful day—let's start it with Dungeon exploration!"
Ron hoped it would be so.
After successfully subjugating the Goblin Guard, there had been no obstacles when pushing toward deeper Floors, which also meant he did not need to turn back to Orario for resupply.
He only needed to buy some food to fill his stomach.
Of course, part of the reason was that going to the Dungeon alone resulted in insufficient advancement efficiency; making a round trip to Orario just to deal with lunch would waste a great deal of time.
What counts as efficiency?
Naturally, it is using the time meant for rest and resupply inside the Dungeon as well!
Ron threaded his way through the alleys of Adventurer Street.
He made his way to West Street—where various stalls and restaurants were concentrated—and bought a bento with a portion large enough to fill him up, though the taste felt like opening a blind box.
"Not bad."
Just as he finished preparing and was about to head for Babel Tower in the Central Plaza,
a young girl's slightly surprised, teasing voice came from behind him: "Um… you're Ron, right? Starting today's Dungeon exploration this early?"
"Hm?"
The girl's light, lively voice sounded somewhat familiar, and more importantly, she could accurately call out his name. Ron frowned slightly and looked back in her direction.
Then, he saw a maiden in her early youth wearing a leaf-green maid uniform, paired with a white lace headband—her gray long hair tied into a high ponytail, her face exquisitely beautiful.
Syr Flova.
Orario's biggest thunderbolt.
Of course, this was not referring to her figure, but rather to her true identity—as the beauty goddess Freya, leader of Orario's strongest Familia.
Setting aside the matter of identity.
The girl before him was absolutely top-tier in terms of appearance, possessing the fresh charm of a girl-next-door—gentle and tranquil, yet carrying a hint of playful liveliness.
A textbook devil-type.
If one were unaware of the specific setting of DanMachi, it would truly be easy for the lower head to overrule the upper one; after all, there was a reason Syr could become the restaurant's poster girl!
"Um…"
"You're Miss Syr, right?"
As a highly popular poster girl of the restaurant, recognizing her was only natural.
Ron did not harbor much resistance. He was well aware that the beauty goddess was only interested in pure, radiant souls—and the colors he possessed…
Could they really enter Freya's line of sight?
He remained doubtful about this and replied naturally, "Of course. If I don't put in the effort, how could I become a strong adventurer in Orario?"
"That really is… a plain answer."
Actually—
Syr very much wanted to say that becoming a strong adventurer did not rely solely on effort; more often than not, it depended on the talent an adventurer inherently possessed.
However...
Recognizing Ron was purely because, at noon yesterday in the restaurant, he had extended a date invitation to Ryuu.
She was very curious.
Just what kind of adventurer would, after merely meeting and getting to know Ryuu for the first time, so rashly make such a request of her.
It ended up making Ryuu act somewhat oddly and bashful that afternoon!
Yet, through the boy's pair of brown eyes, Syr did not see the "radiance of the soul". Instead, what filled them was an indescribable crimson hue.
Strange.
As if it contained an ominous aura?
The girl immediately lost interest and lifted the vegetable basket hanging from her wrist. "Then I won't disturb you any further, Mr. Ron. If you have time, you can come by the restaurant."
"Even if you don't spend anything, that's fine."
"Probably because of you, Ryuu's condition has become a bit strange lately. In any case, I've never seen an adventurer who could talk to Ryuu like that!"
"I will."
How was he supposed to explain that this 'date' was not that kind of date?
Ron subconsciously rubbed his cheek and watched Syr's departing figure. Still, he kept her words in mind—after all, clearing up Ryuu's misunderstanding was indeed quite important to him.
Only after the girl's silhouette disappeared from his sight did he refrain from lingering any longer. Turning instead toward the direction of Babel Tower, he began a battle that belonged to him alone!
"Today, let's check out the 3rd Floor first."
...
Exhilarating!
Compared to ordinary Goblins and Kobolds that even roadside wild dogs could kick to death, or Dungeon Lizards that were merely somewhat troublesome to deal with, what Ron sought was truly satisfying, full-throttle combat.
And the strengthening buffs added to all monsters by the Soulslike Dungeon just happened to meet his needs—whether in terms of physique or fighting style, they were all extremely sinister.
Each time he fought, he had to devote his full concentration to it.
But as his ability values increased and he became familiar with the habitual techniques of special monsters, Ron was already close to adapting to this kind of high-difficulty Dungeon routine.
"Why does it feel like…"
"This Dungeon is like an incompetent husband—can't it come up with something more original? If you keep this up, I'm really going to go deep inside you."
After cleanly severing the Corrupted Lizard's head, the perished monster turned into black dust and was once again absorbed by the Dungeon, leaving behind only a dark-purple magic stone as proof that it had existed.
Continuing onward, what appeared before Ron next was the passage leading to deeper Floors, and there was no symbolically spawned Floor Boss.
A bit boring.
After his threshold for the Dungeon's danger had risen, the difficulty suddenly dropped, leaving Ron somewhat unaccustomed to it.
Once he confirmed that the stairway passage did not lead directly to a Boss room, he finally let out a breath of relief. After a brief rest in place, he proceeded to explore deeper.
"Keep moving forward."
The slanted passage extending toward the 3rd Floor was very long.
However...
The moment he stepped into it, Ron sensed something unusual about the corridor. Maintaining his vigilance, he looked back in the direction behind him, and then—
That was…
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…
Not far behind him, a prototype boulder shaped by the Dungeon began to move slowly, gradually blocking off the entrance to the 2nd Floor passage.
While cutting off all light, it used its inertia to surge toward Ron.
The momentum was especially overwhelming.
The boulder seemed to carry an unstoppable majesty, like a hundred-ton brute charging recklessly, causing him to vividly recall unpleasant memories from his previous life.
"Trap."
In Soulslike games, this would count as a mandatory element to savor.
But for Ron, who had just been preparing to explore a brand-new area, it was truly unnecessary. He quickly surveyed the surrounding passage—there were no branching paths.
Trying to tank it head-on with his body was absolutely unrealistic.
He had not been exploring for long, yet he was already about to waste a precious Revival use here. In Ron's view, this was nothing but sheer waste!
"Damn it."
"So this is how you want to play it, huh!"
Speed and passion.
Ron had never imagined that he would experience this kind of feeling during Dungeon exploration. With nowhere to dodge, he could only sprint madly toward the end of the stairway passage.
As the boulder rolled, he could clearly feel the tremors of the ground.
And then...
This long stairway passage seemed to have no visible end, stretching straight into the depths of the Dungeon, with no idea where the destination lay.
At this moment, Ron finally realized the problem.
"So—"
"This is the damn Dungeon's way of trying to kill me?"
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