Exploring the 2nd Floor.

Rob brought Caerbannog to his secret hideout. At first, Caerbannog followed behind him as he rushed through the labyrinth corridor with a mix of Air Dance and Aerodynamics. However, he found that Caerbannog easily lost his presence and got left behind several times. Therefore, he had to carry Caerbannog on his back so that it wouldn't lose his presence and get left behind.

Caerbannog was a bit depressed because it couldn't keep up with its master and even made trouble for him. How could it be a loyal follower of its master if it easily loses its master's presence?! It's such an embarrassment! It felt very ashamed of its shortcomings!

Even though Rob didn't understand the meaning of the sound Caerbannog was making, he was aware of its low mood after losing his presence a few times. He tried to persuade it to stop feeling disappointed in itself. Fortunately, he managed to cheer up his first companion.

On another note, Rob realized that the effects of Presence Isolation had also enveloped Caerbannog as he carried it on his back. He noticed it because when they passed by a few packs of Wolves and other Rabbits, those monsters didn't notice their presence.

Previously, when Caerbannog tried to follow Rob but failed, it encountered a pack of wolves that noticed its presence right away. Of course, the pack of Wolves foolishly attacked it and died tragically by its deadly kick. Rob didn't even need to help it.

After Rob killed the Bear and Caerbannog drank Ambrosia and became stronger, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Caerbannog became the strongest monster on this floor. Regardless, Rob got an idea after realizing that his Presence Isolation also enveloped Caerbannog if he carried it.

Rob soon decided to carry the Caerbannog on his back when they came down the next floor to reduce the danger threatening Caerbannog on the next floor.

However, enough talking about that. Rob finally arrived at his secret hideout together with Caerbannog.

"Kyuu!" Caerbannog let out a cute voice and gave Rob a pleading look. It also waved its short, stubby forelegs animatedly to make a point about something.

After noticing the Ambrosia accumulated under the Divinity Stone in the hideout, Caerbannog wanted to drink that. Therefore, it asked for Rob's permission. Its unquestionable loyalty to its master made it not dare to drink Ambrosia without its master's permission. It loyalty really deserved to be commended.

"Nope!" Rob shook his head firmly. Though he was unable to understand the meaning of the sound Caerbannog was making, he realized what it wanted. "You can't drink Ambrosia unless you are seriously injured and my healing magic is unable to treat your wound!"

"Kyuuuuu..." Caerbannog deflated after hearing its master's answer. It then looked at the puddle of Ambrosia that was dripping from the Divinity Stone forlornly.

After that, Rob decided to put the accumulated Ambrosia and the Divinity Stones in his Item Box. He wasn't too sure of Caerbannog's loyalty, but he was aware that greed was dangerous. He didn't want Caerbannog to drink Ambrosia behind his back. As such, he put them in the Item Box.

After collecting the Ambrosia and the Divinity Stone, Rob took out the Bear's body from the Item Box. It immediately caught Caerbannog's attention. Then, under the watchful eye of a curious and interested Caerbannog, Rob began to dismantle the Bear.

Rob would only consume a little bit of the meat to get the Bear's unique skill, while the rest of the meat and organs would become Caerbannog's meal. For the Bear's fur and bones, he would keep them. After all, they could become useful materials.

After dismantling the Bear, Rob roasted the meat with some seasonings, after which he ate the meat with a glass of Ambrosia. He suffered for a few moments, and Caerbannog became overly worried when it saw him convulse on the ground.

After recovering from his suffering and convincing Caerbannog that he was fine, Rob checked his status plate. As he expected, he obtained the Gale Claw skill. On top of that, he got another skill called Monstrous Arms.

After that, Rob tested his new skills. Before that, he made a twenty-by-twenty-meters wide and ten meters high next to his main hideout. He stopped when he was satisfied with the test. Overall, he only spent around two hours building the training room and testing his new skills.

The Gale Claw skill was just what he expected. It allows him to launch blades of wind by swinging his limbs or his sword.

Meanwhile, Monstrous Arms momentarily doubled his arm strength. It was basically the arm version of Monstrous Legs he got from eating the Rabbit.

On another note, Caerbannog also got stronger after eating the Bear's meat. Not only did it gain growth in its magic power pool but it also gained the skill to launch concussive blast from its kicks.

After testing his new Skills, Rob decided to go to sleep. Unfortunately, he woke up from a nightmare after sleeping only for a few dozens of minutes.

It appeared that his close to death experience left a trauma in his subconscious.

Granted, Rob had never experienced something like the imminent threat of death before his fight against the Bear. It left a trauma in his subconscious.

Rob realized that he might have been underestimating the danger of the True Great Orcus Labyrinth. After all, knowing and experiencing are two different matters.

However, it was too late to pull back. Rob had undergone Monsterification, stayed on this floor for the whole week, and killed the boss of this floor.

Indeed, it was too late to go back.

After reaffirming his resolve and swearing to be more careful next time, Rob decided to forego sleeping entirely. He wouldn't be able to get a night of restful sleep because of his nightmare, anyway.

Then, Rob decided to spend his waking moments producing more bullets for his revolver, processing the materials from the Bear's body, and sparring against Caerbannog.

On top of that, Rob made a pair of greaves for Caerbannog from Taur Stone and the Bear's bones. It had a magic circle that allowed Caerbannog to convert its concussive blast strike into wind blades.

Since Caerbannog had become his only companion for exploring the labyrinth, Rob wanted Caerbannog to survive all threats waiting for them in this wicked death trap. Therefore, he armed it to be more deadly.

Like that, three days passed. On the tenth day since he fell into the abyss and underwent monsterification, Rob finally decided to go down to the next floor. As such, he and Caerbannog stood in front of the staircase leading to the next floor.

The staircase was very roughly carved. It was closer to a bumpy slope than an actual staircase. Moreover, there was no Green Glowstone lighting the way, and the descent was steeped in darkness, giving off an ominous atmosphere.

The darkness and shape of it made the entrance resemble the gaping jaws of some humungous beast. It feels as if once you entered, you would never be able to come back out.

"We're going down, little guy. Are you ready?"

"Kyuui!" Caerbannog replied animatedly.

"Heh, I like your answer!"

After that, Rob crouched down and ordered his loyal and faithful companion in the abyss, "Okay, hop on my back! This way, you'll be safer since my Presence Isolation will cover you too. The next floor is a pitch black place filled with lizard-like monsters that can petrify your body with their gaze, the Basilisks. On top of that, there are also Owls that can see in the dark and shoot feathers that can penetrate our defense easily."

Most of that explanations flew through Caerbannog's head. Granted, it didn't understand some words coming out of its master's mouth. What is a Basilisk? Is it tasty? Is Owl also tasty? What kind of monster is a Feather for it can pierce through their defense?!

Nevertheless, Caerbannog hopped on Rob's back. Then, Rob went down the staircase after making sure that Caerbannog was secure on his back.

Once Rob started going down the staircase, the darkness enveloped him fully. While it generally made sense for an underground labyrinth to be dark, every floor he had passed so far had been lit with Glowstone. Even if it hadn't been bright, it had never been so fully dark that he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

However, there was no Glowstone lining the staircase. Rob stopped for a while, hoping his eyes might adjust, but no matter how long he waited, all that his eyes took in was black.

"Kyu-" "Shush!" Caerbannog that perched on Rob's back made a confused sound. It wondered why Rob had stopped. However, Rob rudely told it to shut up as he hurriedly relocated from his place.

Fortunately, Caerbannog obediently stopped making sounds. In addition, it could feel the urgency in Rob's hiss.

Rob's decision to move from his place in a hurry was right. Just as Caerbannog made the sound, Rob caught a glint in darkness not far from where he was. His Detect Magic, Detect Danger, and Wild Intuition also warned him of the dangers of something that made that glint.

That glint came from the eyes of a Basilisk inhabiting this floor. Basilisk is a massive two-meter-long gray lizard, and its golden eyes have magic capable of turning something they see into stone.

Rob carefully approached the Basilisk. He invoked all his presence-concealing skill on full throttle.

The Basilisk was unaware of impending doom until it was too late. Rob, who'd arrived next to it, immediately chopped its neck using his right arm and the combination of Monstrous Arms and Gale Claw.

After beheading the Basilisk, Rob was relieved. He'd managed to kill the first monster on this floor without getting petrified like Hajime in the original story.

"Kyuu..." Caerbannog suddenly made a quiet sound.

"I don't understand what you're saying."

"Kyuuuu..." Caerbannog faintly breathed out in resignation.

On another note, Caerbannog was thanking Rob for telling it to be quiet. It had finally realized the danger of this floor after sensing the potent magic power contained in the dead Basilisk.

That magic power pool surpassed its and the Bear's magic power pool. If its master didn't shut it up, it would have pointlessly invited unprecedented danger upon them.

Regardless, Rob immediately stored the body and head of the Basilisk he killed in the Item Box. He then continued to move in the darkness, invoking all his presence-concealing skills and means of detection to be safe. He wadded through the darkness for hours, assassinating some new monsters he discovered on his way.

After nearly ten hours had passed, Rob couldn't find the stairs down. That's when he decided to take a break and process everything he got. He put his hand on a nearby wall and transmuted it. The wall opened up easily enough, and he walked into the passage he had made for himself.

Rob continued transmuting the area around him until he had a space about five-by-five meters wide and three meters high. After putting down Caerbannog who'd been comfortable on his back, he took the Divinity Stone out of his Item Box and placed it onto a cavity he had carved out for it.

Of course, the Divinity Stone and the Ambrosia dripping down from it caught Caerbannog's attention immediately. However, it didn't dare get close to them since its master had banned it from approaching them. Still, it didn't feel wronged by it. After all, its master still gave it some Ambrosia when they feasted on the monsters they'd killed and gathered, just like what was happening at that moment.

After dismantling and processing the meat of the monsters he had killed, Rob prepared two portions for himself and Caerbannog. Other than the Basilisk, he also killed and gathered the remains of Owls and Six-legged Cats inhabiting this floor.

Then, Rob and Caerbannog began their meals. And just like what happened before, Rob suffered after eating the monster's flesh and organs, while Caerbannog worriedly hovered around its master who writhed on the ground in agony.