7 The Labyrinth City (III)
Around half a day after he had entered the Dungeon, Izuku decided to stop and rest on the 28th Floor; the second Safe Floor. From the first Safe Floor to the second, Izuku failed to encounter another normal monster that could survive more than a few of his attacks.
Slowly but surely, the monsters he faced steadily became more and more powerful the lower into the Dungeon he went, but aside from the Monster Rex Class giant monsters that spawned before both of the Safe Floors he had managed to reach, none were even half as strong as the Hell Knights he faced in Hell.
Regarding the second Monster Rex Izuku faced, the Amphisbaena, Izuku decided it would be worth the effort to begin expending more of his Argent Energy from just occasionally making use of some buffing Runes, to a shotgun burst of Argent Bullets and killing the monster quickly. It would have been tedious to fight it given the hazardous terrain he had been forced to battle it in.
Between the 25th and 27th Floors, the environment of the Dungeon had turned to that of a cavernous canyon that was filled with many waterfalls and raging rivers. There were only a few passageways to walk on without being at risk of getting dragged into the water.
Given that the Monster Rex was at home in the water and naturally moved through it to reach the different floors, Izuku did not want to give it any more of a home-field advantage when he had his encounter with it.
At the first chance he got, he jumped onto the Monster and blew out its head, instantly killing it in the process. He had overkilled it to such an extent that he had no time to jump off its body — which had instantly turned to the ash that all Dungeon monsters did when slain — and was dropped into one of the calmer parts of the rivers.
At least he had a massive Grade IX Monster Core to show for his troubles…
Beyond the challenge of the second Monster Rex he faced, Izuku had a bit of trouble finding a spot on the 28th Floor to rest at. There were plenty of edible fruits and drinkable water easily available on the second Safe Floor, but with the constant risk that an Adventurer might run into him while he slept, Izuku had a bit of trouble falling asleep.
Eventually, he managed to get some sleep, but only after he found a spot that was obscure enough to satisfy him.
He considered it a victory when he next woke up several hours later without a weapon stabbing into him.
Beyond the 28th Floor, however… Izuku slowly started having difficulties with killing off the groups of fifteen to twenty monsters he routinely encountered, each of which would no longer die to just a few of his love taps.
On his second day in the Dungeon, he only managed to get to the 33rd Floor while sticking to his original plan of "killing every monster in my way and collecting their Monster Cores." To continue doing so would leave him exhausted long before he could reach his goal on the 37th Floor.
The weight of all the Monster Cores he had picked up over these two days had also started to impact his speed, so he threw out all the Grade VII and below Monster Core to optimize his potential speed.
When he went for another attempt at reaching the 37th Floor whilst only fighting when he absolutely needed to, he made it to the stairs that would lead down to the 37th Floor but was left too exhausted by then to even think about fighting another Monster Rex.
So he returned to the 28th Floor and decided to work on bringing up some of his Physical Abilities.
His Martial Arts, Running, and Sprinting Abilities had been steadily increasing, but they were so high-Leveled that it would take hours of prolonged use to increase any one of them. In comparison, his Calisthenic and Weight lifting Skills were underdeveloped enough that Izuku believed he would be able to make marginally better progress and impact his Stats enough to clear out the 37th Floor before his estimated time limit of a month came to pass.
…
"This defies all logic," Izuku muttered. His eye twitched as he reviewed the changes to his Status. It had been a week and he'd been receiving updates steadily to inform him of his progress, but it was too horrifically fast to be true; it utterly blew out the kind of progress he had made during his first couple of months in Hell.
[Status
Title: The Gamer
Level: 87
Name: Izuku Midoriya
Stats
Health: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Argent Energy: 100%
Strength: 169
Constitution: 126
Dexterity: 88
Agility: 152
Intelligence: 80
Wisdom: 93
Will: 49
Charisma: 52]
[Abilities
Primary School Academics (Level 90 → 95)
High School Academics (Level 33 → 36)
Analysis (Level 51)
Walking (Level MAX)
Running (Level 92 → 100 → MAX)
Writing (Level 10)
Drawing (Level 21)
Cooking (Level 2)
Calisthenics (Level 40 → 100 → MAX)
Weight Lifting (Level 21 → 100 → MAX): This Ability Grants you +1 Strength every Level and +1 Constitution every 2 Levels.
Resolution (Level MAX | MAX Level Skills can never regress)
Observe (Level 15 → 16)
Sprinting (Level 82 → 100 → MAX): This Ability Grants you +2 Agility every 4 Levels and +1 Constitution every 10 Levels
Martial Arts (Level 64 → 75 | Styleless)
Argent Energy Core (Level 30)
Argent Energy Manipulation (Level 41 → 42)
Argent Energy Resistance (Level 55)
Rune Smithing (Level 22 → 24)
Draconification (Level MAX)
Demon Dragon Transformation (Level 23)
Demon Blood (Level 17)
Argent Bullet (Level 20)
Argent Blast (Level 15)
Argent Construct ( Level 1 | Rod)
New Abilities!
Demonic Inhuman Training (Level 1): Uses a negligible amount of Argent Energy to recover from extreme forms of training and further transform the body into that of a demonic entity. Grants +2 Strength per Level, +1 Constitution per Level, +1 Agility per 2 Levels, and +1 Will and Charisma per 3 Levels]
[New Perks!
Beyond Human: Created as a consequence of maxing out all your possible exercise-related Abilities, this Ability allows you to further improve your Stats by channeling any inhuman aspect you've managed to gain.
Force Regulator: For surpassing 100 Strength, you have gained the Unique Ability to intuitively possess complete control of your strength regardless of how quickly it might increase or be decreased due to extenuating circumstances.
Healing Factor: For surpassing 100 Constitution, you have gained the Unique Ability to possess a superhuman healing factor. The threshold for you to die has been lowered from -100% to -150%. Moreover, so long as your Health is at or above -50% you now recover Health at a rate of 1% per hour.]
'How… Just, how…' Izuku had to take a seat after he took in the extent of the outrageous power increase he'd experienced over the last week.
He couldn't understand it. Just why had it suddenly become trivial for him to increase his physical abilities? The last time he could remember having a proper workout was back before he'd first stepped foot outside of the Sanctuary Safe House back at the UAC research facility in the First Circle of Hell.
He remembered it taking weeks for his Calisthenic and Weight Lifting Skills to improve back then; it was one of the reasons for why he'd stopped working out and chose to prematurely explore beyond the safety of the Safe House.
Why was it that now, it'd only taken about a week to fully max out all his possible "human" exercise-related Abilities? Was it because his Level was in the 20s then and it was now in the 80s? Could his supply of Argent Energy be connected in some way? This week was the first time he was exercising whilst having it, and it had been responsible for the automatic creation of his Demonic Inhuman Training Ability…
It could honestly be anything from his Argent Energy Core, to his subconscious use of Argent Energy Manipulation, to the Demon Blood Ability he had yet to touch outside of the last time he assumed his Demon Dragon Form. It could be something else entirely that was responsible for his insane strength growth.
Perhaps, because he had raised the physical Abilities he consistently used in all of his fights — His previously relatively high-level Martial Arts, Running, and Sprinting Abilities, for example — which brought his Stats way beyond where they should, be once he'd returned properly focus on the development of those Abilities, his progress snowballed with the additional Stat gains he made to the point that Maxing out his exercise related Abilities had become a cakewalk.
Even after dwelling on the issue for what felt like hours, Izuku didn't feel like he was getting closer to the truth. So, stood up and decided to move on.
He walked over to one of the waterfalls that were near his chosen resting spot on the 28th Floor and punched the rock face behind it.
Thoom!
The waterfall exploded for a moment to reveal that his punch had left a three to four-meter-deep crater in the rock wall, and then it was covered up once more by the waterfall.
'Yeah… I'm much, much stronger than I was a week ago, but definitely not to the extent that I'd expect from having increased my Strength by over a hundred units. Increasing my Stats is proving to provide diminishing returns and not linear or — heaven forbid… exponential — growth,' Izuku thought before making his way to delve deeper into the lower floors of the Dungeon once more.
He'd grown stronger. Possibly at a rate that eclipsed what he imagined was possible for some of the strongest people he'd ever heard of like All Might when he had been growing up and training himself to use his "all mighty" Quirk.
He took a second groan and hate himself for even thinking of that terrible pun…
Anyways, it hadn't just fallen on his lap. He'd spent the last week seriously training on just those Abilities from the moment he woke up until he was brought to the brink of exhaustion and his Stamina stood at 1%, only to continue once again after he recovered over and over again until he needed to sleep.
It reminded him that after everything he'd been through… The UAC uniform had to have incorporated some kind of self-cleaning, odor-cleansing, self-repairing technology woven into itself. It was the only way he imagined his clothes hadn't been absolutely ruined after being ran through to the extent that it was. After the months he'd lost to his mindless rampage. After the fights he'd started at the fortress to get to Gateway to Mercury…
After the days he had spent fighting even longer in the Dungeon… And directly afterward decided it was a good idea to exercise and sprint maniacally over the rough terrain of the 28th Floor and then lift massive boulders to improve his Physical Abilities.
'Yeah, these otherworldly clothes are borderline magic,' Izuku thought before he stepped out and began to carve yet another bloody path through the 29th Floor.
…
When he reached the 37th Floor, where just a week prior Izuku found himself exhausted, now he was barely even winded.
His Health had dropped to a low of 95% when a group of "Bloodsauruses" managed to corner him into a tight spot on the 34th Floor. He had allowed one of the red dinosaurs to bite him in exchange for killing the three right next to it and turning the tides in his favor.
Two hours later, his Health now stood at 97% as he'd extended his caution to the limit and succeeded in reaching his destination in almost mint condition. His Stamina was still in the upper 80s, given he'd stopped trying to kill every monster in sight and placed focus on conserving his strength for the boss battle at the end of the road.
Now that he had finally made it to the 37th Floor, though… Just the sight of it as he slowly came down the last of the stairs from the 36th Floor let Izuku know he was going to be in for a headache. Somehow, he'd just descended into a massive open area with impossible dimensions.
The ceiling of the 37th Floor was literally too high as it stretched for seemingly kilometers upwards, where Izuku knew for a fact that he had at most only traveled two or three hundred meters from the top of the stair on the 36th Floor to the base on the bottom at the 37th Floor.
'Whatever,' Izuku looked past the impossibility of what he had witnessed. 'I should have given up on the Dungeon having any logic to itself when I saw a sky on the 18th Floor and a day and night cycle come to pass on the 28th…'
From the stairs leading upward, Izuku could see that the 37th Floor was a flat "open" labyrinth with the stair that led to lower floors being located at the center of the room. Unfortunately, Adventurers couldn't just make a beeline towards the center as the was a massive gap between the area between the two stairways. If Izuku wanted to get to the center, he'd have to make it past the massive walls that split the roundabout path that had to be taken by all who couldn't just fly.
So, he made his way over to the first wall.
Surprise, surprise, it was filled with monsters; a rare few being stronger variants of monsters Izuku had already killed by the hundreds.
Izuku had no trouble getting past the first three walls. By the time he started fighting to get past the fourth wall, though, he was being swarmed by so many stronger variants that his fights started lasting more than a few seconds.
Fortunately, the area between the walls along the entire Floor was confirmed to be a safe spot to rest after Izuku chose to do so to recover his Stamina and he failed to be attacked by any monsters for the entire time.
Then he walk into the "Throne Room" within the fifth and final wall between him and the stairs that led further down the Dungeon, and to his surprise…
Clink! Clin-Cli-Clink!
Roar!
There was apparently someone already fighting the Monster Rex…
[Observed Status
Level: 66
Name: Udaeus
Stats
Health: ~80%
Stamina: ~95%
?: ~75%
Strength: ~80
Constitution: ~70
Dexterity: ~60
Agility: ~70
Intelligence: ~20
Wisdom: ~0
Will: ~0
Charisma: ~0]
It was the Monster Rex against…
'Dear god, she looks like she's younger than me!' Izuku thought.
…A young woman and her sword.
[Observed Status
Level: 59
Title: Sword Princess
Name: ?
Stats
Health: ~70%
Stamina: ~60%
?: ~85%
Strength: ~60
Constitution: ~55
Dexterity: ~65
Agility: ~70
Intelligence: ~40
Wisdom: ~20
Will: ~50
Charisma: ~60]
The battle between Dungeon Boss and the Swordswoman did not stop for Izuku to collect himself and the two continued their melee battle to the death. Amazingly, the young woman was strong enough to match the monster blow for blow.
Izuku's initial observation suggested she was actually slightly outmatched, but as the seconds turned to minutes and he continued to watch, he assessed the woman to be just the slightest bit stronger than the Monster Rex. She must have started the battle after somewhat exhausting herself and being potentially injured by making the same perilous journey Izuku had experienced while making his way through the 37th Floor, if not from all the way back up from the 29th…
Whatever the case, Izuku just watched the fight play out as he had formed a kind of respect for battle even if he didn't consciously know it. After all he'd been through, he could subconsciously relate to the drive the swordswoman must have had to be daring enough to fight the Monster Rex of the 37th Floor alone.
He wouldn't intrude on the fight she had started unless he saw that she was about to get seriously injured.
A few minutes later, after hundreds of swords blows were exchanged, blocked, and parried. After seemingly magical abilities were cast against both parties — The Monster Rex with it's Flying Sword creation and manipulation through some kind of telekinesis, and the Swordswoman with her conjured sharp winds that serve to shred through the Monster's spartan armor and also somehow make her faster…
The Swordswoman stood upon the ashes of the felled Boss Monsters as the victor.
She'd been roughed up, having been brought down to less than 15% Health and even less Stamina, but she had won by herself.
Clap, clap, clap…
Izuku was so impressed he just felt compelled to clap to express his admiration. He didn't care if he revealed himself to the Swordswoman. Even if she miraculously returned back to full health and was cured of her exhaustion, she would not be able to threaten him even if he didn't go all out. Besides… he felt she deserved to be praised for her achievement. With no one else around to congratulate her, he thought it would be a shame if he didn't.
"Wh—" The woman started but never finished. The moment she looked at Izuku she stood still for a second before she relaxed.
"Thanks," Izuku said, as he moved to keep their interaction brief. He had a feeling she'd appreciate it if he left her alone to recover without a "physical" existential threat around to keep her worries at an all-time high.
"Now I don't have to deal with the Monster Rex," he added as he kept past the woman. He had yet to find the Orb of Origin, so he had to keep searching. But, at least he had one less powerful monster to get past.
"Congratulations on Leveling Up, by the way," Izuku said before taking a second to stop and shake his head. He momentarily forgot that the Gamer System and their World's versions of assigning a Level were different. There was no telling when or whether she'd Leveled Up by this world's standards as he had yet to find any correlations between the factors that might be at play between the two systems.
"Wait," the woman quietly said, though, Izuku had heard it as loudly as if he'd been right next to her.
He stopped and turned to face her. "Yes?"
"Who are you?" She asked and although there was a moment of silence, she added, "My name is Ais. Ais Wallenstein."
"Er… I'm Izuku. Izuku… Midoriya," Izuku awkwardly said. He knew it was beyond the normal amount of awkwardness even for him.
"Can you stay here? At least until I'm rested enough to go back up?" Ais asked.
"Sure…" Izuku said. It's not like he was in a rush or anything… Even if he was, this was a great opportunity for him to gather information, so he asked, "By the way, can I ask how you managed to get here by yourself?"
"The same way as you, no?" Ais asked, though as she looked at Izuku's face scrunch up and turn as if he didn't believe her, she added, "Did you not use Monster Repellent Potions and Enchanted Specialized Equipment? That's the only way for someone to make a solo trip this far down the Dungeon…"
"That… Makes sense," Izuku said, though internally he wondered why Ouranos hadn't mentioned anything of the sort since he knew that Izuku had never been to the Dungeon. Had this been a part of some sort of test?
Izuku filed that thought for some other time. For now, he continued asking, "Anyways, what Familia are you with?"
"Loki Familia."
"And your Level?" When Ais just raised a brow to his question, he hastily added, "B-before you Leveled up, I mean." He'd stuttered from how badly he'd fumbled his question.
"If I Leveled Up to Level 6 like you think I did, then I could only have been Level 5 before, no?" She asked without a hint of sarcasm. She'd said it not in a condescending way, but as if it were a matter of fact that she was second-guessing.
"Of course…"
After that Izuku just kept his thoughts and questions to himself. He didn't want to continue making a fool of himself to someone that had impressed him any more than he already had.
