'Silver slowly went down the stairs that lead towards the first floor of the Dungeon.'

'Everywhere he looked, he could see several small groups of adventurers on the stairs.'

'Finally, everyone arrived at a dark blue cave, there was a wide hallway right in front of them. This was the "beginning road".'

"It isn't as dark as I imagined." Said Silver

On the first floors, only Kobolds, Goblins, and similarly weak creatures spawn, so there isn't much to worry about.

'Silver kept walking but no matter where he went, there was always a group of people hunting somewhere.'

"..."

If I can't find a private space then I can't take out my true gear…

Should I just come equipped next time?

/Kiii!/

'A single goblin with a stone knife jumped from the shadows, trying to ambush Silver.'

/Splurge/

/Poof!/

'Without even looking, he stabbed the air and pierced the goblin head.'

"Their movements are pretty similar, but their skin is much thicker and their muscles are tougher."

"These goblins are also much "furrier" than the ones on the surface, their arms are more elongated and muscular. They also have three horns on their forehead. They are like two different creatures."

'Silver just left the goblin corpse behind, it's either going to be found by a lucky adventurer, or a monster might eat it, becoming stronger by absorbing the Magic stone.'

'If none of the two happen, then the Dungeon is going to reabsorb it.'

"The first floor wasn't that big, I would say it is several dozen stadiums big." Said Silver

'It didn't take long for him to find the entrance to the next floor.'

'He finally found a big hole with some stairs leading down. One of the entrances to the next floor.'

'There were multiple people resting on the stairs, apart from the hidden rooms, the stairs are the only safe places on the upper floors.'

(N1)

"Second floor, here I am."

'It was exactly the same as the first floor, the blue cave wall with the glowing moss at the top.'

'Now instead of one or two monsters spawning, there were around two to three.'

...

/Swush!/

'The last Kobold of this small group Lifted its claws and swiped them in Silver's direction.'

'He evaded to the side while using his feet to make it fall on the ground before pierced its head with his sword.'

"This is getting boring…" He said as shook his sword to clean the excess blood on it

'He shook his head.'

"I can't think like this, monsters aren't the only danger in a dungeon. There is also the chance of monsters coming from lower floors and mutated creatures appearing. I can't forget the strengthened species."

That is when a monster keeps eating other monsters' Magic stones, raising its stats, and transforming.

'He looked at his sword. It was slightly dented in some places.'

"My sword is also getting quite damaged… I need to find a hidden place to bring out my stuff."

/KUKI! KUKI!/

'From his right, a group of 5 Kobolds spawned from the walls.'

(That's why the Dungeon is so hardcore, monsters can spawn from the walls right above you.)

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

'The Kobolds rushed at him without even thinking.'

"I thought as much." said Silver with a small smile

/Snap!/

'One of the Kobolds clawed at his sword, but due to the bad angle, his claws snapped.'

/Cut!/

'With a single swing, Silver decapitated two of them.'

/Fwush!/

'The other 3 Kobolds attacked one after the other.'

"Oh?"

Such a combined attack is very rare on the Upper floors, so I guess it must be bad luck on my part…

/Swush/

'He kicked one of the Kobolds' legs, making him fall on top of his companion.'

/Pierce!/

'Once again with a single swing, he penetrated the heads of the two Kobolds who were on top of each other.'

'The last one missed due to his dead companions' bodies so he took the chance to strike.'

/Swush!/

'He slashed the Kobold sideways, cutting him in half.'

/Puff!/

/Clink/

"I can't get enough of the sound the Magic stones make when they fall on the ground."

'The damage was just enough to make the monster's body dissipate.'

"But this is all trash, I can't even bother to pick it up… I should get a Supporter."

'Supporters are people charged with protecting the loot and equipment of a party, they normally don't participate in combat but it can happen.'

'They normally work by picking dropped loot left behind.'

"They are mostly seen with disdain, for various reasons, but I disagree with such thinking."

Your loot, equipment, and supplies are all being carried by a single person. If that person dies, all he was carrying may be destroyed or damaged.

Imagine if he fell backward and all of the potions broke at once…

They also act as supports, memorizing the way back or studying maps and monster weaknesses to help the others in battle.

"I can agree that some supporters are better than others, but I won't look down on them."

…

/Step step step.../

'He was walking on the third floor, looking at the glowy moss and beetles when he realized, there wasn't anyone around anymore!'

'He searched for an alley, something you normally wouldn't do, and opened his inventory.'

'A large shadow came out from his hand engulfing the ground in front of him. After he retracted it, a large full plate armor was on the ground.'

'The armor was fully crimson red and it didn't have that many details, but it was obvious it was the work of a decent smith. Its most obvious detail was the white scarf around its neck.'

"I still don't know what this is made of..." He said as he looked at the white scarf

This was a gift from my grandparents, Saphos and Uliia. They said it was a high-class item that will help me greatly even when I become an adventurer.

I studied it many times, but the only thing I know is that it's made out of silk-like threads.

Perhaps it's made from the silk of some kind of spider monster? It would make sense if I cant break it.

My weapon of choice was a Berserk-style super large claymore, and strapped on my belt was my Mk3 magic sword. A prototype for my own magical weapons.

(N2)

Although I didn't take it out, I still have a shield, several potions, and other special materials inside the space.

That's all, most of it… In fact, everything else apart from some potions and the Scarf was made by me. My grandparents were adamant about not giving me anything else.

"Although I know they want me to be independent... At least give me some information and not just the basics... Sheesh."

It was enough for me though.

For the armor, a full plate isn't recommended in the dungeon because of its weight and lack of maneuverability.

Most of the adventurers will try to avoid blows instead of receiving them. The few who use such armor are shield bearers that normally tank for their allies.

That's because, for lower-class adventures, normal armors tend to be worse than the monster claws and weapons. Only higher-class blacksmiths can make weapons and armor good enough to clash with the strong monsters.

Even then, they still need to constantly fix the adventure equipment for every expedition, else it may break.

"Large swords also tend to be a problem on upper floors due to their narrow corridors... Well, they aren't super narrow, around 4-7 Meters wide, however, some areas can be truly narrow."

(Some lower floors consist of labyrinths so I imagine they would be bad in those places as well)

'Silver strapped one potion to his belt just in case and continued on his adventure.'

…

"Hm?"

'Silver saw a Kobold rushing at him alone from the end of the hallway.'

"A good opportunity."

I still didn't have the chance to test how strong a normal mob is, since I just killed them all in a single strike.

"Wuuuf!" Screamed the Kobold as he clawed at Silver

/CLANG!/

'He used his giant sword to block it.'

"..."

The impact was quite significant, I would say this Kobold is at least two to three times stronger than the ones on the surface.

/Swush!/

/Poof!/

'The poor kobold was cut in half by his sword attack. He couldn't even block it.'

(N3)

"Hm... He is indeed considerably stronger. If this is the norm then a Wyvern might be too great of a threat to me right now…"

But if I have time to prepare them I might have a chance in a direct confrontation.

'He placed his hand on his chin as he thought.'

Let's go to the 5th floor? I want to see a killer ant.

There aren't any killer ants on the surface because they were all wiped out several hundred years ago.

It was all because of how much of a pest they were. I guess a colony of thousands of Ants the size of a full-grown man isn't really good for crops...

So eventually, everyone worked together and wiped them all out.

…

/Small change of perspective/

/Clang!/

/Clang!/

'Somewhere in the Upper floors, a group of adventurers was fighting against another group of adventurers.'

"Just accept your death! No one will come to save you! All of the others just left!" Said a guy with blue piercings strapped to his face.

"Arg!

/Crack!/

'One of the members of the defending side received a sword strike right in the chest, being thrown several meters backward.'

"Wirs!" Screamed a girl

/Clang!/

'Their captain, a tall Elf girl, parried an attack while she looked at her fallen comrade.'

"With this, we got 2, just 3 more!" Said the man with blue piercings.

"You can't get away from this Park! Once you get to the surface…" Said the captain

"Nothing will happen, because no one will find out! Now, would you kindly... Die! Gulios Lastro!"

'A Blue rope materialized in his hand, and as if alive, made its way to the other three at high speeds.'

'It was too fast for them to evade.'

/Clap!/

'With a clapping sound, the robe bound the three survivors together.'

"Looks like we are finished here, any last words my old friend?" He said with a macabre smile

/Spit!/

'The Elf spit right at his face!'

'But the man didn't react much, as if expecting this development.'

"Is this all? Alright then."

"Hey Park. Don't you think we should have some fun before leaving?" Said one of the gons.

"HAHA! If you are so horny just wait until we get to the surface, it's not safe to play in the Dungeon. You never know when the monster will decide to strike, much less when your pants are down!"

"Such vulgarity." Said a man going down the corridor

"Who?!" Said Park

'A knight clad in red armor appeared from the dark corridor, he had a massive sword on his back and a white scarf around his neck.'

"Keh! Look at this guy. Playing hero?" Said one of the goons

"... Please… Escape! Don't let yourself be caught because of us!" Said the Elf

'She didn't want to bring other people into her trouble, even though she also didn't want her friend to die.'

"That's too late now!" Said Park as he kicked the ground and ran in the red knight's direction.

'The Knight didn't do anything even when Park reached close to him.'

/Slash/

"No!"

'The Elf girl screamed while Park pierced his sword right through the armor, but there wasn't even a little bit of resistance…'

"?"

What's happening?

'Park was confused.'

/Splurge!/

'The sound of meat being crushed and bones breaking sounded from behind him.'

'He looked back to see the same red knight with his bloodied sword on the ground.'

'And his friend's dead body, cut in half.'

'Silence...'

'The red knight pointed his hands forward and said:'

"Enrage."

'Red smoke formed above his hand and it turned into a ball. After fully forming, it flew towards Park. Exploding into a red cloud.'

'That was the last thing Park remembers because immediately afterward, he ran towards his closest target and slashed.'

'Unfortunately, that was his companion.'

'Within a second 2 members out of the 7 assassins were killed with Park already running after the next one.'

"...!"

'One of them tried to open his mouth to convene orders but no sound escaped from his lips.'

What's happening?!

'However, his confusion was destined to never be answered.'

/Slash!/

'Another one fell to Park's enraged sword.'

"!!"

Shit! Park's gone nuts, but he is the strongest among us!

'He looked at the red knight, only to see him looking at them.'

Who did we mess with this time? A high"level adventurer going on a hunt? This isn't normal magic! Park is level 2! To affect him he needs to be at least a high Level 2…

/Slash!/

'Unfortunately, his mind isn't powerful enough to think long lines in a second, like most villains in a fight.'

/SPLURGE!/

'While he thought, Park let loose on his companions, killing another one in the process. leaving only him and another assassin combat"ready.'

…

/End of small POV/

'While he despaired, our protagonist thought:'

30 seconds have passed, but he is still under the Enrage effects. This is very good. I wanted to try more Plasmids on humans, but I should end this.

Mind shock.

'The captain's mind suddenly went blank and he fell on the floor.'

/Splurg!/

'After killing the last assassin, Park jumped at his previous captain and slashed his throat.'

'His bloodshot eyes were now aimed at Silver.'

"Corpse bomb." Whispered Silver

/Snap.../

'From the outside, he just snapped my fingers, but inside the armor, his right hand turned black and necrotic, with some parts of it glowing red as if it was going to explode.'

/Booom!/

'The corpse below Park exploded. Killing him in the process.'

'The three conscious survivors, who happened to be a Pallum, a catgirl, and an Elf respectively. Stared at this mysterious and scary Red knight.'

'The Pallum girls even trembled a little.'

...

/Elf Pov/

'The Elf girl stared as the scary red knight approached her.'

"Is everyone alright?" Asked the armored man

"Yes… No! Please! Go check on Wirs! She replied

"Don't worry, I already cast a healing spell on him." Said the knight

He-Healing spell?

'She tried to remember the fight....'

"..."

He started by disappearing from his position, we can assume he is just that fast. Then he cast a … Curse on Park, making him lose control.

For one second he lifted his hands and their captain just lost consciousness. Lastly, he pointed towards his corpse and it exploded… That's already over 3 magics!

Now he even healed Wirs with magic?!

'He went to Rubbert's body and said:'

(Rubbert is the other companion mentioned by Park)

"His heart was pierced, but his brain is still fine. Let's see…'

'Pinkish light emanated from his hands as something akin to a small person made out of light entered Rubbert's body.'

"This..."

What is that?

'The Elf girl had her mouth open as she looked at the sight.'

/13 Seconds later…/

"He isn't waking up…" Said the knight

/THUD!/

'The knight just punched right into his chest while lighting formed in his hands.'

'The Elf girl didn't even have the time to retort.'

/Gasp!/

'Miraculously, Ruppert opened his eyes and took a deep breath.'

"What… Happened?" He asked

'But no one answered him.'

"Is there anyone else in need of healing?" Asked the knight as he got up and looked around

"No…" Replied the Elf girl

"That's good. Be careful on the way back." He said as he started to walk away from them

"Wait!" Said the girl as she did her best to get up despite her injuries.

'She wasn't being bound by the rope since it dissipated when Park died.'

"Is there anything else?" Asked the knight

"How can we… Repay you?"

"There is no need for that. I already got what I came here to do. Just make sure to reach the surface safely, that will be enough."

'His body started to be enveloped in dark smoke.'

'When it all dispersed he had disappeared.'

"Wait! At least your name!..."

'Silence...'

"That was… Cool… " Said the catgirl for the first time.

"Uhum! The Pallum girl just nodded in agreement."

"What do I do with you two…" Said the Elf girl

A red knight… I don't remember there being a First class adventurer like this. A new one?... Well, it's not like I know everyone.

/End of POV/

"What a good experience." Said Silver as he reappeared in a cave near the battle

I managed to test several Plasmids at once and their effects on people.

I never managed to do that before due to the interference of the Familia protecting the villages.

So there were never any bandits around for me to experiment on...

The ones I used were:

Invisibility and Decoy.

Enrage.

Sound muffle.

Mind shock and Corpse bomb.

In this order.

Invisibility is different from Chameleon. The latter is much more cost-effective but it only works when I am still.

Decoy is just a copy of me that will repeat the same action I did prior to creating it. That's why it stayed still.

Enrage is all about making someone lose control, but there are limits to that. Higher-level adventurers can easily resist it with their Stats alone, much less if they have items and skills.

Or if they have strong emotions. I could have a father lose control but he could hesitate to attack his family.

Sound muffle couldn't be more obvious, it removes the sound within a certain area or person.

Mind shock can immediately make someone lose consciousness if they aren't paying attention. It causes no physical harm, but it can royally fuck a mage.

Corpse bomb launches a super-fast needle that can do one of two things: Miss, or hit.

If it hits and the target dies within the time limit, I can control when it will explode. But that also has a time limit, after the limit, the body will just explode on its own due to the accumulation of gas inside it.

I also healed that man's body followed by a small current of electricity in his heart to see if he would be resuscitated.

The last thing I used wasn't exactly a Plasmid, but a combination of invisibility and partial activation of another one, creating that smoke around me.

And that's all I used so far.

"... Phew..."

"All of this made me quite tired. Should I drink a potion and continue or call it a day?"

…

'He sat on the stairs to the sixth floor and thought to himself.'

At this point in time, I don't know if I should still refer to this power as a Plasmid.

In two years of trial and tests, never once did I feel one of the common side effects from Plasmids overuse. Instead, I just feel tired or suffer from Mind down.

Also, they are relatively more flexible than they should've been. Originally, Plasmids only had one/two abilities, like being either able to create a fireball, or a fire trap.

After I took the "Ambrosia", this limitation was removed and I could use them as I wanted. But there were still some limits I couldn't surpass, like using two Plasmids at the same time.

I would have to research something new if I wanted to fuse to Plasmids effects at the same time.

Yet, this limit is not present here. The only thing limiting my progress is my proficiency in this power, and the amount of Mind I can use.

"I used quite the amount of Mind today, I think this is enough for now. No need to be hasty."

'He walked towards a hidden alley and checked his surroundings.'

"Let me see if this works."

'Inside of the armor, his hand became purple as multiple carvings appeared in it, similar to those found in wooden doors.'

'The ground started to shift, and a large door appeared.'

"So far so good. The cost wasn't really that big."

But from now on is the real deal...

'He grabbed the doorknob and pulled.'

"URG!"

An immense amount of mind was immediately drained from him, almost making him fall, but he barely persevered.'

'On the other side of the door was none other than my room in the Inn.'

'He stepped over it with difficulty and crashed in the bed after doing so.'

/Creaaaak!/

'The door slowly closed, creaking a bit. It then disappeared as if it was never there.'

/Snore.../

'Silver soon fell asleep.'

…

/One hour later on the surface./

'There was a very tall girl crying continuously while hugging two other girls.'

'This was the goddesses of the Leto Familia, Leto. In her arms were None other than the Elf and the Catgirl Mellios previously saved.'

'She had green hair and she wore a white apron with brown clothes underneath. She had that "motherly look".'

"I thought… /Sniff/… That you guys had.../SNIFF!/. BUWAAA!"

"Calm down Leto-Sama…" Said the Elf in embarrassment

"But…"

"We are all fine and that is all that matters." Replied the cat girl.

/Sniff/

"Okay…"

"Lets go home and eat something sweet! We can talk about this matter there… I want a shower now." Said the Pallum girl.

"TSK! That damned man! I will bring this up in the next Denatus!"

(N4)

'But during all of this conversation, the Elf girl couldn't help but to look back at the dungeon with a pensive look.'

"Heh… Did someone get smitten?" Said the cat girl

"?!"

'The Elf girl's ears got a little red before she resumed her poker face.'

"I only want to repay him, I don't like owning someone like this…"

"Is that so? Could it be that Yilfi the Elf, has fallen in love with the hero who came at the last second to save her and her friends life's only to disappear like smoke? Like in the fairy tales she heard from her mother?"

"Stop it Gvir!" She said with an even redder face.

"I will admit he was kinda cool, but what guarantees he is handsome behind that helmet?" Said Gvir

"That's not important… Wait!"

"KIKIKIKIKI! I knew it! Yilfi is in lo~ve Yilfi is in lo~v… Pfft!"

'Gvir started to jump around the elf girl and play around when she received an elbow strike in the stomach.'

'The Goddesses' ear perked up when she heard the Catgirl.'

"Ara? Yilfi, how about you explain that to me in finer detail?" Said Leto

"I was already planning on doing that at home..."

"What do you like about him?" Asked the Pallum girl

"His voice and presence… HEY!"

'One of the male adventures had a grim expression...'

'And so the happy and joyful family continued on their way to their humble abode.'

…

.

.

.