Exploding due to Oppression

Once upon a time, there was a large hole in the world.

It was a vast hole that could birth endless monsters and could be called the devil's cave.

Countless monsters emerged from the cave, causing unintentional disasters on the surface, their footsteps sweeping through forests, mountains, and even valleys, seas, and skies, covering every corner of the world.

Humanity suffered greatly and was devastated. In the end, to regain their dignity, restore peace, and avenge their fallen comrades, they transcended racial boundaries and began to cooperate to fight against the monsters.

After years of struggle, under the leadership and active performance of an entity known as "heroes" by the next generation, humans expelled the monsters back into the large hole that was their source and built a fortress above that hole.

This fortress was Orario.

The large hole was the dungeon.

The dungeon was a labyrinth.

There was another world inside, different from the surface.

In this world, there were numerous floors.

No one knew exactly how many floors existed.

People only knew that the environment and terrain on each dungeon floor were different, and the types of monsters were also complex and mutable. The deeper the layers, the more complex the environment and terrain, and the monsters became more intricate. As the floors went deeper, they became more terrifying and powerful.

In other words, those with weak strength wouldn't be able to go too far even if they entered the dungeon.

Even on the first level, closest to the surface and considered the safest with the weakest monsters, an ordinary person entering would face life-threatening dangers 80% of the time.

Even those who had received the Blessing and had ability points required courage and like-minded teammates to survive in the dungeon.

Therefore, during the day, the square in front of Babel Tower gathered many adventurers who had received assistance from various Familias, registered with the "Guild" managing the labyrinth city, and explored the dungeon as their main occupation.

They would form teams and explore the dungeon together to gain wealth, fame, and great prestige in this "unknown" world.

As for the night, generally, there were only a few adventurers entering the dungeon.

However, on this dark night, someone entered Babel Tower, passed the decorated entrance door of the first floor, followed the stairs at the edge of the large hole, and entered the first floor of the dungeon.

The person who carelessly entered the dungeon in the late hours didn't even have proper armor or equipment. They were wearing casual clothing without protective abilities, carrying a short sword, and entered here.

"————"

Endless silence spread.

Riegel lifted his eyes and looked ahead, immediately seeing a path that looked like an underground tunnel stretching in all directions.

Walls and ceilings consistently painted light blue.

Forked roads, intersections, gently sloping downhill paths, and other terrains formed a neatly arranged road periodically.

There was no one else around.

At this moment, Riegel truly stepped into the devil's cave, an dungeon.

"It's like when you're trying to survive in the forest and accidentally enter a bear's den."

Riegel was very calm and walked casually inside the cave. The sound of his footsteps echoed clearly in the silent environment.

Whether it was because of his footsteps that weren't concealed or not, a faint rumbling sound hidden in the darkness appeared.

Riegel's eyes moved, and he continued walking, looking straight ahead, towards the end of the cave.

There, at the intersection, a pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness.

Monsters hidden in the dark, waiting for their prey, emerged calmly.

Only after Riegel approached, he could see the appearance of the monster clearly.

It was a labyrinth monster with a dog's head and sharp claws – a "kobold."

With gasping and irregular breaths, a kobold separated from its group as if impatient and walked out of the darkness.

The figure was smaller than Riegel, uglier than a human, but filled with anger. For Riegel, who saw a monster for the first time, it was truly startling.

However, he didn't stop.

"Hah!"

The kobold seemed to have automatically spotted its prey coming to the door. With a sharp roar, it launched an attack towards Riegel.

The ferocious monster's form continued to grow, and its figure kept approaching.

"Huft..."

Riegel took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress his pounding heart.

This feeling—

"Long time no see."

Riegel's mouth curled in a rare and natural way.

Although he clearly faced danger, he not only felt neither shame nor fear but fell into an inexplicable excitement.

Thinking back to when he left home for the first time, away from his family's sight, seeking thrilling activities in the wild, Riegel felt the same. Not only was he not anxious, but he was also very excited.

Perhaps he had been numb for too long.

Perhaps he had been accustomed for too long.

Riegel, who had lived a life too pressured and restrained, seemed to have reached a low point, and everything had to be turned around. Once he found something highly stimulating, the calmness he maintained in the past suddenly reversed, and he would become so excited like this.

With this unexplainable joy, watching the kobold rushing towards him, Riegel accelerated his never-stopping steps.

Starting from walking to jogging.

From jogging to running.

Riegel unleashed an attack without fear of the "unknown" existence he had never seen before.

"Hah!"

The kobold immediately extended its sharp claws with a fierce gaze and reached for Riegel's head.

The next moment, with a "clang" sound, the sharp claws of the kobold fell onto the brightly decorated short dagger.

When Riegel approached the limits of the kobold, he boldly lifted his dagger and blocked the opponent's claw attack on his head.

*Peng*

In the next moment, a muffled explosion sound.

But Riegel, who had lifted his dagger to block the kobold's attack, clenched his free hand and punched the fierce dog's head.

"Hah!"

The kobold howled in pain, and its skinny body couldn't withstand the impact of his punch, and it fell to the ground.

"Hah!"

Seeing that their companions had a bad start and were punched by the waiting prey, other kobolds hiding in the darkness couldn't sit still anymore, and they all rushed out towards Riegel.

Seeing this, Riegel's heart pounded, and the excitement in his heart increased instead of decreasing. He felt his entire body filled with strength.

This was a phenomenon caused by adrenaline stimulation.

The scene in front of him reminded Riegel of what happened when he survived in the wilderness in the forest.

At that time, there was also a moment when he was ambushed by a pack of wolves at night, like this, he was attacked by many wolves.

Recalling what happened then, Riegel's body moved naturally.

Although he came from a world without mysteries or extraordinary powers, due to playing survival games in the wild and extreme sports, his original physical condition was naturally good.

Although his original owner was uneducated, as a farmer's child who had worked in the countryside, he was decent in terms of physical strength.

This allowed Riegel to use the combat skills he had learned for self-defense and the knowledge he gained in martial arts courses.

Therefore, facing a direct attack from several kobolds, Riegel chose the most appropriate action.

"Hah?"

The kobold, initially whimpering and beaten to the ground, found that it had been lifted.

Riegel grabbed the kobold's legs lying on the ground, suddenly swung it, and threw it towards the group of kobolds flying towards him.

*Peng!*

Another muffled sound was heard, and amidst the howls of the kobolds, the two kobolds in front were hit by their companion flying towards them.

The kobold group immediately descended into chaos.

The kobolds in front fell to the ground one by one.

The kobold in the back stumbled over the kobold attacking in front, and for a moment, it lost the momentum of its attack.

At this moment, Riegel moved again.

He automatically launched an attack and rushed towards the kobold closest to him. As the kobold was confused, the dagger in his hand suddenly shot forward and stabbed into its head.

"Gahhhh!"

With a shrill scream, the kobold fell to the ground with blood scattered all over its head.

Riegel's face was also smeared with a drop of blood, and his eyes shone with a cold gleam, making him look like a heartless demon.

The kobolds seemed angry; they trampled on their fallen comrade one by one and rushed towards Riegel.

In this situation, Riegel also immediately grabbed the kobold that fell to the ground and died. He lifted its skinny body and used it like a hammer. Swinging it like a hammer, he made a spinning sound. The kobold was pushed back.

No one knew how long this battle lasted.

"Pfft!"

Immediately after that, Riegel thrust the dagger in his hand into the chest of the last kobold, stabbing its heart.

The last kobold fell, announcing the end of the battle.

Silence returned to the dungeon.

Riegel stood among the corpses of the kobolds, looking at the blood on the ground and the remnants of the monsters, then at his hand and the dagger smeared with blood. The bright red blood on his cheek was dazzling.

"Not enough..."

Riegel whispered suddenly.

"That's not enough..."

His heartbeat couldn't be calmed.

The flowing blood couldn't be stopped.

A surge of joy jumped in his chest, making him whisper from the depths of his heart as if he were spitting out all the depression due to the lack of freedom in the past.

"This can be more intense..."

Following his inner muttering, Riegel completely lost his usual composure. Like a maniac chasing something unseen, he stepped further into the dungeon.