The first few steps in the Dungeon nearly made you think you were entering a palace fit for an Emperor. The floors and walls were built entirely out of marble, artwork that could rival any in the outside world adorned the walls of great battles that had taken place within the Dungeon. Every year the walls would grow further as the Dungeon grew with it.

The Dungeon was far older than the capital that surrounded it. By this point, it would take a Saint with a strong team to reach the bottom.

The Dungeon had been one of the main reasons for the fall of the capital. The treasures it possessed were far too powerful for a country that no longer even had a wizard, let alone a Saint or a Magic King.

I was sure I wouldn't be able to reach those lofty goals within the few years I had before the attack, yet there were still enough secrets around the capital for us to have a far greater chance of survival if I made use of them together.

That was how the first floor of the Dungeon continued. Long ago, the first floor had been deadly. The Dungeon had started with only one after all. Over the years, it changed itself to entice more adventures. Giving life to their exploits for all to see was a powerful motivator. The riches that came with it were also highly sought after. Getting on the dungeon wall earned a great reward from both the Dungeon and the kingdom.

Thus it was many people's dreams to reach such heights. By this point, all notable achievements in the lower floors had long since been completed. Some luck would go along way to making the trip more than worth it. I knew of many that would be accomplished within the next few years, but even they were on the fifteenth floor and below.

Heading down the stairs after the long list of accolades, the first few of them being from when the Dungeon first began, now all the fights were titanic clashes between archmages and dragons. Not something that was easily replicated by someone in my position.

The first few floors were simple caves. It was only deeper where spatial magic truly came into play to make some levels look like worlds of their own.

The caves of the second floor were home to the easiest monster in the Dungeon. Rabid Satyrs were a hassle to deal with, as they only ever moved in groups. Those creatures were the backbones of the first five floors. On this floor, it was rare to encounter a larger group than two, apart from the boss fight, which was a slightly stronger group of five, with one Elite Satyr among them.

I wasn't yet confident enough to take on the fifth-floor boss alone. These traveling bands, however, should be easily dealt with.

It wasn't long before I was facing my first fight.

I crept along the route. The first floor had long since been mapped with the movements of the patrols well documented. Moving away from the center, I moved to a corner that was a well-known ambush spot. A patrol would come past this spot every ten minutes or so. One would go around first. So with a strong first attack, you would be able to turn the fight into a one on one.

A few minutes later, I heard the clop of the satyr hooves. The quiet apart from that wasn't reassuring.

My breathing sounded thunderous, shouting to my ears as they came closer and closer.

A normal satyr would have the senses to discover me long before I would find them. Luckily these low-level dungeon spawns didn't have a shred of the same skills.

Around the corner came the first monster I had seen in this new life. The glowing red eyes were the only thing different from a Satyr you could meet on the street. The goatman held no weapons, on the second floor they only relied on their claws.

It snarled the second it caught sight of me. Before it could get ready to attack, a dozen mana bolts ripped through its head and body. It slumped to the ground just as its companion came hurtling down the tunnel.

An enraged roar was let loose after it saw the fate of its brethren. It came barreling down towards me. A simple mana bolt was more than enough to take out the creature as well. It seemed I had overestimated these rabid creatures.

Just like that, my first fight ever in the capitals dungeon was over. The Dungeon recognized that as the bodies began to sink into the floor, leaving a few copper coins behind, along with a single Satyr hoof. A widespread item that was worth less than the copper coins. Still, as my first piece of loot, it was more than worth keeping as memorabilia.

The next group wouldn't come around for another ten minutes, so for the moment, I could rest and think further through my tactics for the floors boss battle. I wanted to take out a few more groups in this ambush point before fighting any larger groups further in.

That was what I did. There weren't many adventures in the highest floors around these times. Only the seasoned veterans who would be delving far deeper than here. So I was left alone to rip through the whole floor.

I soon grew confident enough to take on both the Satyrs at once. After that, I began to hunt the duos all around the first floor. The knowledge that the guild released publically was invaluable to my hunts.

I knew where to be and where not to be at any given time, so I only ever faced beings I was comfortable with fighting. That soon grew to the larger groups. I managed to tear through them with practiced ability.

The few close encounters happened when I let my guard down for a two-person team when it turned out to be a three-Satyr force. Even they weren't a struggle once I had gained my footing.

It truly must be how wealthy scions felt when attempting the first few floors of the Dungeon. Able to rip through all opposition with ease as simply nothing could stand against them.

It was no wonder they were so arrogant after facing the first few levels of the Dungeon.

I would still be careful, however. That continued for another hour or so before I had no other choice but to face the boss of the second floor.

One Elite, surrounded by a squad of Satyrs. I was not going to play fair, however. All it took was an overcharged mana arrow to take out half the Rabid Satyrs. I ran in, bombarding the others with mana bolts, which took them both out in quick order.

That only left the still reeling Elite, who was only getting over his confusion. That was the expression that remained on its face for the rest of its life as an empowered mana blade ripped through its throat, decapitating the creature in one fell swoop.

The planning had worked out perfectly. The second-floor boss was surprisingly unable to stand up to me.

They soon returned to the ground and, in turn, a small chest began to rise from where the Elite had been sitting. The Dungeon was famous for giving useful loot. It was one of the few dungeons on the continent that was considered a Positive dungeon.

A dungeon that was seemingly at least focused on the growth of its delvers, rather than just killing off all who enter its reaches like many of its brother dungeons littered worldwide.

Opening the chest revealed a small wand, undoubtedly with a minor efficiency increase in magic, possibly with a spell attached. Taking it from its place in the chest revealed the copper coins hidden below. Certainly wasn't incredible wealth, but it would be more than enough to keep me well fed until the academy.

This would only be the start of my dive. It had only taken a few hours to rip through the second floor. I was more confident I could be faster on the third. It would only be the fourth-floor boss that would be able to give me pause. Even a JourneyMage would struggle with the fifth floor alone.

It was still many hours until the next street fight for Sammy. So now would be the best time to work on my razor's edge.

The first would be the third-floor elites, where they would almost be as common as the Rabids on the second. The boss fight was a squad of Elites that would be quickly dealt with as well.

The brutes who began to appear on the fourth floor would take a little more effort. It was only the shaman boss of the fourth floor that gave me pause. It would take a significant amount of planning and luck to take out the two brutes and the shaman that blocked the way to the fifth floor.

With that in mind, I continued to the next floor.