An Exit

With a bag of mysterious snacks now in his possession, Noir left the mansion with mixed feelings as he made his way to the dungeon. From what he could tell, it was something soft but had a strangely springy texture that made him slightly worried if there was a Slime inside.

Well, no matter what his thoughts were, he increased his pace through the now busy streets and towards the kingdom's entrance.

'I have just under a week until my first shift starts, which will be the day that the Canon timeline would have officially started. I need to find clues for the next floor soon otherwise things could end up dicey for me.'

As much as it was fun enjoying his newfound harem life and relaxing all day, he desperately needed Olivia's skills. This is especially true if he wanted to find out more about the being who sent him into this world and their agreement.

'My theory is that I am not the only person in the world with these circumstances. The other people with the God Fragment Skills are likely those people, but I have no way to confirm that. I don't want to risk violating the Great Sage's conditions again,' He sighed every time he remembered that fact. Although he'd be able to survive without the skill, it was akin to losing the internet to Noir. Not for the enjoyment aspect but for the knowledge he could have gained.

But even with the newly imposed limitations, there were still some things he could easily focus on. Especially after his spar against Alice and seeing the result.

'I sorta expected this, but even though my physique has been improving in the last few days, I lack stamina and technique for long-winded battles. Even my reactions are a bit slow, which makes me take unnecessary hits that mess with my movement.'

Some parts of him were annoyed about the latter fault. It was just like having your football get taken away from you while you were dribbling and you were aware of it happening but couldn't stop it. Though fortunately, he could learn more manoeuvring techniques from the Great Sage to circumvent that problem.

'The first thing that needs to be improved is definitely ways to avoid getting hit. After that, maybe a defensive skill since I'm quite confident in my kicks or my long-range attacks. Haaa, it's times like these that I wish the Great Sage was a physical entity that could act like a personal trainer.'

Having a couch-like figure was the most desirable in Noir's opinion. If they know what they're doing, that's what makes the difference between working smarter, not harder.

While thinking along the same lines, it didn't take long for Noir to arrive at the entrance that was without a queue. Unfortunately, he encountered a familiar yet unpleasant face once more.

'Well, it's time to put on a good boy act again.'

It was the same guard from the other day who made fun of Noir and his Baronetcy. He hadn't noticed Noir yet, which made him prepare himself to make a friendly smile as he walked towards the guard.

He didn't seem to be doing anything. He was just barely awake while he was rubbing his eyes and yawning, but when he finally noticed Noir, he made an impish smile before walking towards him.

"Gone off to get more herbs, have ya mate?"

It didn't take long for the man to try to bother Noir. He looked like he was bored with nothing happening in his post, most likely because his usual companion with blond hair wasn't here to keep him company.

Before answering him, Noir sighed silently but still maintained his fake smile.

"Yup, just doing the usual," He said while trying his hardest not to break character. Part of him wants to start cussing him or be passive-aggressive and another side wants to kick him, but he knows that something like that is unlikely to pass in this kind of world.

"Don't get too confident out there. There are a lot of things a small baronet isn't able to take care of. Don't get eaten by a goblin now, ya hear? That's one of the crappiest ways to end up leaving."

Although at first glance it may have appeared as though the guard cared for Noir, the look he was giving him said otherwise. There was a sense of disdain one would have for the classes and the weak whenever he spoke. It gave a sickly feeling to Noir, who was now probably seen as an easy outlet by the guard.

"Thank you for your wise words. I will be extra careful when exploring those areas."

But he pretended that it didn't bother him as he tried his best to be as calm as possible. He knew that the guard wanted to annoy him, but he didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing him get angry. It was similar to his streaming days when people would try to get him angry, but he's been tempered to know how to avoid showing it on his face, speech and body language.

And thanks to that skill, the interaction with the guard ended up taking more time than usual. He tried his hardest to get Noir to break character, but he eventually gave up after seeing no signs of progress. Plus, he didn't want his superiors to see him slacking off.

"Alright, get moving now and don't get your sorry ass killed."

"Thank you for worrying about me. Take care."

Noir waved at the guard, whose face was red from annoyance. Seeing his words getting misinterpreted only made it more annoying for him as he leaned against the wall.

'Dammit, he could've at least frowned or something.'

He sulked to himself as he stood there bored again. He wanted something to spice his job up, but even if he created a scene with Noir, at the end of the day he was just a commoner who couldn't exert too much control over a noble.

In this case, it could be considered a blessing to Noir that he wouldn't get picked on too much by them, but it was still annoying. The only bright side of it was to see the guards' failed attempt to troll Noir. That was the only thing that kept him from lashing out.

Once he walked a distance that the guard couldn't easily see him from, Noir started massaging his face to soothe the pains he was having from forcing the smile.

'I really hate pretending to be nice to someone I dislike, but it was worth it to see that reaction. I gotta keep up that act for a little longer though.'

He was still slightly bothered by it, but there wasn't much he could do other than make the most out of it. Though there were still some lingering feelings so he decided to do a light jog into the forest to settle what's inside of him.

He also wanted to spend some time exploring the area and finding some safe-looking fruit for snacks. He wanted to get a better sense of the kingdom's geography and learn more about it. Maybe it could help him if he ever finds out he's being followed by someone, but for now, he's doing it to get his head off things in preparation for his venture into the dungeon.

>\/<

Once Noir finally got inside the hidden dungeon, he felt a lot better and he even picked up a few fruits that he could test out on his father to see if they were safe for consumption along the way. Despite that, he did not start exploring the dungeon right away since he wanted to relax his legs first. After a quick break, he finally got up.

"Alright, time for round two against the Slimes. I should be ready for it this time."

Today's goal was simple. To explore the rest of the first floor, if not most of it, then find the entrance to the second floor. If it has a requirement, he will try to figure it out, but if he's tired or if it's too late, he won't delve deeper.

Then to end his day, he'll create another Slime War so he can get his daily level-ups. He hasn't had any problems with levelling up since he entered the dungeon. Therefore, he plans to over-level himself as much as possible before attempting the second floor for the sake of increasing his survivability.

After a few moments of walking down the dark tunnel, the first Slime of the day appeared.

"Looks like the first element of the day is wind," Noir mumbled to himself before immediately kicking a rock towards the Wind Slime. The slime didn't seem to have noticed his presence so Noir took advantage of that by kicking several rocks at it.

Compared to the last time he came to the dungeon, Noir's reaction and kicking strength have improved drastically. With just a few kicks, Noir was able to defeat the slime, leaving behind a lime-green mana prism in its place. It seemed like his accuracy had improved too.

'Alright, that was a good warm-up,' Feeling impressed with himself, Noir was pumped for the exploration ahead of him. He fought against more Slimes using the same tactic from before except against the Rock Slimes thanks to their rocky armour, so he used those against themselves by having them hit each other and then strike the soft interior with his sword when he had the chance.

He continued doing this as he slowly made progress exploring deeper into the floor and increasing his level at the same time.

>\/<

While Noir was busy fighting and exploring the first floor, his household was engaged in a different battle. His mother was having an internal conflict concerning her husband's behaviour these past few years, which made her constantly sigh in thought.

Her husband doesn't take her words seriously like he used to, nor does he think about her concerns any longer than the food is warm, so she did what she could to get her point across. She was aware that what she did was harsh, but she felt it was the only option she had left considering he would ignore her concerns or say empty words like everything would be fine.

'Were those words just lies… All those years ago?'

She couldn't help but think back to the night he proposed to her. Despite the challenges they would face, he promised her a long and happy life at the end of it all. At first, she accepted those conditions. They were better than staying with her family, but even after 22 years, not much has changed.

Instead, her husband has become someone else, to the point she wishes to forget about the old him. The man she used to love was no longer there. But it's also because she couldn't forget him that she sees it in Noir. He carries the essence of his father, the very thing she misses which is the cause of her current sorrows.

She sighed once more from making the comparison as she stared unfocused at the garden and recalled the time they spent together before his "fall".

"I feel sorry for you, mother."

When her daughter, Alice, saw her mother wallowing in the past, she gently broke her out of it. Alice held onto her slightly cold hands to make them feel better and warm up, as she looked at her with worry in her eyes. It pained her whenever she saw her mother in this state, especially when the cause of it is because of her father.

"Oh, why would you feel that way?"

She held her daughter's hand, feeling her warmth and worry, and put on a calm act so that she too could stop worrying about her.

"It's because you always have to deal with father and get angry at him for us. He's seriously stubborn in the weirdest ways."

"It's not too bad. It's still better than what other women have to deal with."

There was a time when her father, Alice's grandfather, once threatened to force her to marry someone she didn't love so he could expand his company and increase their shareholders. He was known as a greedy merchant who grew his career in less than two decades. He was willing to do anything for the sake of money, which included using his family.

Her father arranged for her fiance, who had a reputation for being a tyrant. He had connections with the underground and would frequently commit crimes, but he would get away with it because his supportive family always covered him up. Which made him an ideal match for her father's plans.

Recalling her past caused her eyes to tremble slightly as it was something else she wanted to forget.

"That's not the healthiest mindset, mother."

Alice only knew some parts of her mother's history but was able to figure out what she was thinking about and how her father had saved her in the past before becoming the mess he is today. Even she had to sigh when she thought of how he fell from doing something commendable in his youth.

"Well, there's not much you can do when you get to my point in life."

Without skipping a beat, her mother made her cynical point of view clear as she'd almost given up on hope for the man. All those years of work and there's nothing to show other than her husband's ever-growing round belly and her mountain of anxiety.

"Don't say that, you don't look a day older than 25."

"Ehehe, stop, you're going to make me blush."

Before she could feel upset about it all again, she heard Alice's words, which made the soon-to-be 40-year-old smile from ear to ear. It's never a bad thing to hear you look younger than your actual age. She was beginning to feel better after her short compliment.

"Honestly, I'd say brother is a better match for you than father"

But her smile quickly turned into confusion as she stared at Alice oddly. Initially, she thought she had misheard her, but looking into her eyes, she realised that Alice was being serious while pretending to say it casually.

"Now come on, I'm his mother. There's no way I can do something as immoral as that."

She was flustered by her daughter's suggestion. She might have thought once or twice about the similarities between the current Noir and her husband in his youth, but those are two different things.

She knew that her daughter had a thing for her brother, which she was supportive of, but this was a line she wasn't sure about crossing. She wanted to sound mature in her response so the conversation could shift to a better topic.

"Even though you were staring at his manhood?"

But instead, the topic diverged in a weird direction.

"What?"

"Don't pretend you weren't looking. I had to tell myself not to look as well."

She was caught off guard by Alice's words as she unconsciously recalled Noir's lower member and how he was clearly feeling awkward about the entire interaction.

"Don't be ridiculous. Obviously, I wasn't looking… at it."

Despite her attempts to deny it, she unintentionally compared him and his father. From what she saw, he was at least girthier than her husband.

"Is that so…?"

Alice made a mischievous smile, not believing her mother's words thanks to the slight blush on her face.

"What's with that look?"

"Nothing. I just find it amusing that you're blushing."

"Of course, I'm not. It's just gotten a bit warm here."

"Even though the windows are open?"

Mrs Stargazia could only smile wryly at the sight of her daughter cornering her up. Alice normally gets jealous whenever someone comes near Noir, and now she's making this kind of strange setup?

'Since when was she so aggressive about this? Didn't she want to marry Noir?'

It was strange, but she didn't mention it since she thought it was a placebo effect after seeing Noir improve. Maybe some of it rubbed off on her too?

"Then I must have caught a cold."

"Yeah, I guess so considering you were wearing a see-through nightgown."

"Ugh…"

Now she felt even more embarrassed after what happened last night. When she heard the loud noise, she panicked and forgot what she was wearing. She even forced Noir to strip without taking a step back to consider what she was doing or how it looked from an outside perspective.

Remembering that made her dignity as a mother shake as she had done something unbecoming of a mother.

"Hehe, I think it looked pretty good on you. Were you trying to put on a show for father?"

Seeing her teasing work a tad too well, Alice tried to dial it down a notch and asked why she was wearing something like that.

"Him… No. I just wear it all the time."

She was expecting her to blush or try to recover from embarrassment, but what Alice got instead was her mother looking sorrowful again. She had hit another landmine again. Although she wanted to cheer her up, she didn't know when she'd have another chance to ask her next question.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Is it true that father can't get it up anymore?

Alice said with a nonchalant expression, whereas her mother was left shocked and unable to respond for a few seconds.

"Wha-wha- who told you that?"

"I heard it from the source himself. He was making a joke with a colleague and it ended up getting spread."

"Haaa... I can't believe that man…"

She slumped as she finally understood why some of the neighbours were asking her if her husband was alright and if she had been happy lately. She thought it was because of his shenanigans and because of their financial issues, not because of their nightly activities.

Well, it was true, but she didn't have to confirm or deny it as she only sighed.

"I know right? Some of the girls at school were trying to make fun of me about it."

And once again, she received another shock. News of the incident even reached the school somehow.

"Was it the noble girls?"

"Yup, mainly them, but they became silent quickly once I suggested a friendly spar."

Fortunately for her, Alice was used to people trying to make fun of her. She was the top student in her class for combat and studying, although her magic talent is next to nothing much like the rest of the family.

"That's good to hear, just don't take it too far with them. You know how nobles are when it comes to their daughters."

"Yeah, I'm aware. I just make sure they remember it in other ways."

Alice smiled when she remembered the pranks she pulled on them like when she used a fake hand to pretend it was the last remains of one of the bullies' friends who was off that day because they were sick. Or when she pretended to be a ghost in the bathroom when one of her friends was being picked on.

Those were good times, but they'd always end with her mother lecturing her to be careful otherwise if she gets caught by the school, her family would take the hit.

"It seems like no one is normal in this family."

Hearing Alice's words already made her realise what her daughter was doing and only sighed. From their father to the siblings, no one was considered normal.

'You literally feed us insects and other abominations! What the hell do you mean?!?'

Alice blamed her siblings for turning out the way they did on her cooking, but she knew better than to voice that out. They were poor back then and it was the only thing they could do to feed themselves, so she wasn't going to be heartless enough to blame it all on her.

But seeing as it was getting closer to the time she had to leave, she asked one last question.

"In any case, I think big brother is suitable for both of us."

Unfortunately, she picked the worst time to say that as her mother was drinking water.

"Pfft, whkhay do you say that?"

She coughed as she questioned Alice, who replied while patting her back.

"Because I know he'll keep us happy. You made a genuine smile last night, and I haven't seen you make one like that in years."

She tried to be as authentic as possible. Her mother was looking for someone that was no longer here nor had the will to change. She wanted the best for her, not for her to wallow in the past without moving forward.

Her words caused a brief pause between them as her mother began to think, but she could feel a headache quickly developing, so she quickly dismissed Alice.

"Alright, I think that's enough chit-chat. You have school, remember?"

She needed some space to think and have a breather. It was as if she was experiencing an influx of emotions and had no idea how to deal with them.

"Oh yeah, see ya!"

After noticing that her time had run out, Alice ran to the front door to put on her shoes and was seen off by her mother. Once Alice had walked away, her mother sat back down in the living room and began to stare at her garden again.

"I don't know what's the right thing to do now…"

Her knees were to her chest as she sat conflicted. She didn't know what would make her happy given the situation she was in.

>\/<

Sadly Noir was nowhere near his mother otherwise he would've spent some time comforting her. Instead, he was busy collecting the Mana Cores from the Slimes he fought. He came to the discovery that he could now fight multiple slimes head-on without too many problems and was now reaping the rewards of that discovery.

If you include the Mana Cores he left at the front entrance, there were enough Mana Cores to fill up a large recycling bin. If he sold them, he would definitely make a marginal profit, but he had something else in mind. Something about the Slimes was irking him.

'It feels like the Slimes aren't changing their tactics against me, even after all the guerrilla tactics I've been doing against them. It feels... weird to say the least.'

It was their behaviour that weirded him out. All living things have the biological instinct to change and adapt. Almost all living creatures follow this rule and begin to display changes when they encounter a new predator, but the Slimes continue to remain the same. They're not even worried about their numbers decreasing.

'But then again they seem to be spawned from the dungeon itself so I guess numbers don't matter, huh?'

Even so, something felt odd to him. If it were a video game, it would make sense, but this was real life. What was the thing that made the dungeon even able to spawn so many Slimes?

'I wonder if it's because the dungeon programmed them to behave like that? It would make some sense to me. I guess it's a good thing.'

There are benefits if they were just programmed like that by the dungeon and that being didn't want to give them high intelligence, but that line of thought gave Noir another thing to worry about.

'I can imagine that since the dungeon is somewhat alive. I wonder if I mess it up and destroy the floors, would it create something to get rid of it? Something like it's equivalent to a white blood cell? I might try it out one day and see what happens.'

Just like how a developer can boost a mob's AI or increase the difficulty, they could also ruin a player's casual gaming experience by adding a broken monster into the mix. Unlike a game where something like that would lead to a bunch of complaints from the customer, this is real life where the creator wouldn't care about how problematic the consequences are.

Noir wanted to see what kind of limits this kind of dungeon could have and how lenient it is. It was merely out of curiosity and if he does try experimenting, it would be after he finishes exploring the dungeon.

'I wonder if that's why that Lance monster appeared in the later chapters?'

Noir vaguely recalled reading that the original Noir had fought against a Lanced knight on the lizardmen floor with talking weapons. He couldn't remember much about that event though, nor does he recall the outcome, but he suspects that that being might have been created by the dungeon.

'Well, I can only try my best to survive without angering whatever that eye thing is. I don't know if it can get angry, but there's no point in trying it out.'

In the meantime, Noir was looking around for the entrance to the second floor. Since he didn't know which way to go, he walked straight ahead and was now in between the Fire and Rock Slime territory. During his search, he noticed something unusual.

'Hmm… There's hardly any Slimes around this area.'

Slime usually aren't nimble, so they always announce themselves before they fight or whenever they're nearby, but now they were nowhere to be seen. It was odd, which is why Noir continued walking forward to see why that was the case.

Finally, when he reached the other side of the first floor, he found what he was looking for.

'Hmm, looks like the exit, but it doesn't seem to budge.'

It was a giant door similar to the one at the front of the dungeon, but this one was covered in moss and cracks as if it had seen the ravages of time. Despite saying that, Noir knew instinctively that he wouldn't be able to break or move something like that.

As he approached the door, he continued to be wary of his surroundings in case there was a sneak attack by the Slimes. As he reached the entrance, he noticed four hollowed-out symbols along the door, each representing a different element roughly the size of his fist.

When he got closer to the door, he didn't forget to maintain his defence in case there was a sneak attack by the Slimes. When he finally reached the entrance he noticed 4 symbols that looked to be carved-out holes that represented a basic element.

"So there are four keyholes… I'm gonna have to find four separate mob loots and use those to open it, aren't I?"

The thought of the grind he'd have to endure just to find it made Noir rub his temples as he worried about how long it would take. He had already fought close to 100 Slimes, and none of them dropped something like that, not to mention he needed four of them. A hidden chest might have the item, but he'd never found one before.

'Either of those options are inefficient, especially if you consider the size of this place, but it would sound like something this dungeon would do.'

Not to mention that the barrage of Slimes will make searching hell for someone like him without any stealth skills. He almost felt like punching something because of how annoyed he was getting, but then he remembered something that should've been basic for him as a gamer.

'Wait, what if it's a boss loot?'

Typically, boss monsters give powerful items or keys that other monsters on that floor would not. Normally, that would be the first thought you'd have about a dungeon system like this, but there wasn't a case of a boss monster from the anime that made Noir remove that idea when he first ventured into the dungeon.

But since this is completely different from the anime, that means there's a chance for there to be bosses.

'Looks like I'll have to explore the Slimes territories to find out my answer.'

Considering he couldn't find one so far, the only reason he could think it could be is because they're deep within their elemental territory.

He circled back to the door with engravings and walked along the left side of the dungeon wall. It was leading towards the Rock Slime's territory, but Noir wasn't trying to make his presence known. By taking cover wherever he could, he dulled the sounds of his footsteps and explored deeper into their region.

It was successful for the first few "Ooze" of Slimes, hiding behind rocks and holding his breath for the sake of efficiently exploring, but because of his lack of skill in sneaking around, now and then he'd accidentally kick a piece of rock and attract unwanted attention.

Whenever something like that happens, he'd give up hiding and fight the slimes head-on. Sometimes their numbers would be a little too much so he'd run back to lessen their numbers or have them fight against Wind Slimes and sneak some hits before taking their Mana cores.

He did so a couple of times. He was getting better at being sneaky. Whenever he failed he'd mark the wall by smashing it with another rock. Each failure led to him exploring deeper into the Rock Slimes' territory.

And thanks to the fruit of his labour, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Phew. Yup, it's a boss monster. A huge one at that."

A bit further away from him stood a Rock Slime that he had never seen before. The creature had markings around its body as if it had been engraved with symbols, a crown upon its head, and was so huge that it towered over two Noirs stacked on top of each other. It was a Rock Slime King and it looked like it was asleep.

'I think it's a safe bet to assume that thing has one of the keys I need. Now I gotta think of a way to defeat something like that. Well, I don't think fighting it immediately is the best course of action. I still have a few hours left till sundown to kill though.'

While he wasn't sure whether he was ready to take on the King Slime, he was glad to know of its existence. If he fights now he doesn't know if he'd be able to make it in time for dinner, but before he returned home, he had something he needed to do.

"Time to grind for exp instead!"

In lieu of fighting it now, Noir spent the rest of the day levelling up and fighting the basic slimes. He figured he'd have to fight against 3 more of those King Slimes and if so, he'd better increase his strength as soon as possible.

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