Chapter 18

As soon as we arrived back home, I went into my room and slept. With my wallet empty I would need to go back into the dungeon to refill it. Sure, I did still have some stones left over in my storage, but those would only provide me with pocket change once I sold them. Since I need to go back in any way, I figured that I should probably make this the trip to try to push my stats up past the S rank. I wasn't 100% sure how to achieve that yet, but I would wait and see before making a definite decision.

In the morning, after I woke up, I completed my routine of using Clean Wash, then getting dressed and heading to the bathroom. Before leaving the shop I dawned my armor and strapped my sword securely to my side. Once that was done I said my goodbyes to Naaza and Miach, before walking out into the street in my new clothes and armor. I drew many looks as I walked down the streets toward the dungeon.

Very few people opted for full body armor, preferring to be able to stay agile in the confined hallways of the dungeon. Similarly, the reason very few people wore helmets was due to them wanting to sacrifice a bit of safety for better visibility in the dungeon. Visibility wouldn't be an issue for me soon due to my plans to obtain the Extra Skill: Magic Sense today. The reason I had held off on going for this skill was so that I wouldn't have my brain fried due to an overload of information.

I was still concerned about this possibility, especially since I don't have either Thought Acceleration or Parallel Processing, but I do have Ultraspeed Regeneration in case things go wrong. With that said, as I walked tried to attain the skill. It proved to not be too difficult to obtain due to it being extremely common and fairly easy to gain, but it still took me until I reached the dungeon to gain the skill. As soon as I did so, I nearly fell to the ground, clutching my head painfully.

Even with my eyes closed tightly I could still observe everything that was going on around me. I had 360-degree vision with absolutely no blind spots at all. I could feel my brain straining, but soon enough Ultraspeed regeneration kicked in and fixed any issues going on in my body. It was still difficult to process, but it was much more bearable now. Anticipating the massive influx of information that I would need to process, I pulled a strip of cloth from my pocket and used it as a blindfold. This worked to lessen the flow of visual information into my brain as well as forcing me to adapt and adjust to Magic Sense.

As I clamped my helmet into place over my head I thought about the reasons I had decided to go with this big, bulky armor, despite the fact that it would be cheaper to go with less armor. Firstly, the weight of the armor was forcing me to constantly grow my physical stats while wearing the heavy armor. Secondly, I was happy with the increased protection all over my body. Finally, full-body armor looks much cooler than just a chest plate and some armor strapped to my arms and legs.

I definitely drew many more looks as I descended the stairs into the dungeon alongside my fellow adventurers. As I strode through the upper levels of the dungeon I adjusted to the feel of the armor over me and prepared to test out my normally fast-paced combat while under the constraints of my new armor. I drew my sword as I encountered a few Kobolds, rushing forward to strike them before they had even spotted me, my blade ripping through them with ease.

I didn't bother to pick up their stones as I descended deeper into the dungeon, heading for the 12th floor. It didn't take long for me to reach, especially since I roasted any monsters instead of engaging them physically after adapting to my armor. I traversed the familiar banks of fog, except my Magic Sense, which allowed me to see past them like they weren't even there. Even the darkest corners and crevices of the dungeon were revealed to me, clear as day. Monsters couldn't get anywhere near me before I had already spotted them, making ambushes a laughable concept for me.

The only way an ambush will work on me now is if it is initiated by people I trust or by all long-range fighters that are outside of my range of Magic Sense. I scoured the floor for any more Infant Dragons, but unfortunately, there weren't any around. I massacred the monsters on the floor as I walked around, but I knew that this wouldn't do much to improve my stats. I looked down at the entrance to the Middle Floors as I passed it, wondering if it is worth it to go down and start exploring them.

I decided to do it, but before I did so, I killed a few more monsters, gathering up their corpses. I dumped them into a pile in a secluded section of the floor and activated Greater Elemental Summoning. I offered up the bodies of the monsters I had slain to the Elemental as it crossed over to the physical plane. I looked intently at the Elemental that had answered my summons, excited and disheartened in equal measures.

Before me stood a humanoid Elemental with deep blue eyes that perfectly matched her flowing hair and dress. She looked around curiously before her eyes locked on me. I was glad that I summoned an elemental that wasn't associated with fire, but for the second time in a row, no Light Elementals answered my summons. Obtaining a Hero's Egg wasn't absolutely necessary for me, but I was a bit surprised that I hadn't gotten one yet. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I formed the contract with the Water Elemental, Aqua.

She was easier to convince than Regulus, consenting to the contract easily, with very little negotiating from me. As she accepted my terms I felt it as she entered my body to dwell alongside Regulus. Once that was done I made my way back to the entrance to the Middle Floors. I descended the stairs, feeling more confident now that I have two greater elementals alongside me.

As soon as I stepped foot on the 13th floor I could tell that this was going to be different than the Upper Floors. Every surface was bedrock and I could already see a multitude of tunnels and passageways leading deeper down into the dungeon. I could already tell that the layout of these floors would be much more complicated than those above. The air also became much more moist and humid all of a sudden. I could also see that the monster spawn rate was noticeably faster here.

I was rushed by monsters almost immediately upon my arrival on the 13th floor. They were soon consumed by flames, but I couldn't help but feel that it had taken a bit more power to deal with them, causing me to smile. Harder monsters were exactly what I needed right now to push me toward SSS rank in all my stats. I strode further into the floor, soon encountering a bigger horde of monsters. I caught sight of Hellhounds for the first time as they charged at me much quicker than any monster had previously.

It opened its mouth and spit flames that had claimed the lives of many unprepared adventurers. Normally, wearing salamander wool is recommended for exploring the Middle Floors, but I just made a brushing gesture with my hand. The fireball that was speeding toward me went wide, not even coming close to me. In return I slashed with my sword, sending a volley of aura blades toward the hounds. Despite their speed and firepower, the Hellhounds were fragile and easy to kill. I soon encountered rabbits and worms too, along with stronger versions of monsters that I had already seen before.

I grinned as a large group of monsters charged at me, leaking out from many of the tunnels that surrounded me. I launched waves of flame and aura slashes as I fought through the horde. As I reached the edge of the monsters encircling me I ran forward, only turning when all of the monsters were running after me. Them being bunched up gave me the perfect opportunity to test out my new spell.

As I faced the monsters, I reached out a hand and closed my blindfolded eyes shut. Then, I tapped into the dormant power inside of the falna imprinted on my back. I felt the Holy magic spark to life in my hands as I funneled it all into a Holy Cannon. Everything went gold as I released the spell into the bunched-up horde, leaving only a smoking crater behind. I chuckled as I admired the power of the Holy magic.

I quickly collected the stones lying on the ground, before turning and heading deeper into the dungeon.