18th Floor!

Chapter 25 - 18th Floor!

The Next Day,

After leveling up, Shiro, as usual, teamed up with Lefiya to enter the dungeon.

However, there was one difference today: their team had an additional member, Ais.

"Grrr!!!"

A group of wolf-like monsters appeared, named Hellhounds.

They were the primary reason for the annihilation of some adventurer teams between the 13th and 14th floors.

However, not long after these monsters appeared, three silver streaks flashed through them, and the newly spawned Hellhounds were sent back to the dungeon for resurrection.

After clearing these monsters, Lefiya went to collect the monsters' magic stones, while Shiro sheathed his sword and stared at his hands, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

Ais was the first to notice Shiro's unusual behavior and asked.

"Nothing, just feeling that I am indeed stronger than before."

The improvement from upgrading to level 2 was greater than the strength gain achieved from rank I0 to S999 in level 1.

Shiro truly felt himself getting stronger, but this rapid improvement also had its downsides; he couldn't control his body as well as before.

Take the recent killing of the Hellhounds, for example: he aimed to behead them with a single strike, but his enhanced physical condition caused him to move much faster than expected, nearly leading to a collision.

At lower floors, this was not much of an issue, but at higher floors, it could lead to serious injury.

Ais, with her abundant experience as an adventurer, could see Shiro's current problem at a glance.

"Adventurers often struggle to adapt immediately after their first rank up. This might mean a temporary decrease in combat efficiency or unfamiliarity with new abilities. However, as you keep fighting, you should be able to return to your normal state in about half a day."

This was the first time Shiro heard Ais speak so much at once, which was quite rare, but since it was advice from Ais as a senior adventurer, he took it to heart.

"Torajirou-san, the 17th floor is up ahead!"

"Then let's go."

Arriving at the Big Wall of Grief, it was as breathtaking as when he first saw it yesterday, but the traces of yesterday's battle had disappeared.

The dungeon has fully repaired everything and restored the scene to its original state.

The first great feat was achieved, and now Shiro was moving towards a broader horizon.

Stepping into the 18th floor, a vast new world unfolded before them, known as the safe floor, where monsters do not spawn, making it a popular resting area for many familias during their expeditions.

What came into their view was a vast forest, where countless green leaves formed a dome overhead, and light filtered through the gaps, adding a filter-like effect to the trio.

"Light?"

The first thing Shiro noticed upon entering the 18th floor was this; unlike the gloomy 17th floor, the lighting on the 18th floor was as bright as the surface during the day.

This was peculiar for the underground dungeon, where such light should not exist.

Ais thought for a moment about how to respond to Shiro's question, then decided it was better for him to see for himself and pulled him towards a certain direction.

"Eh...! Ais-san, wait for me!"

Behind them, a honey-colored-haired elf cried out, but Shiro had no time to look back.

After being pulled along for a short distance by Ais, Shiro saw it.

Crystals.

Crystals of different colors and shapes scattered around.

Some grew in the ground like plants with buds protruding, others stood like giants in the center of the forest.

These crystals of varying sizes all reflected a sparse and light blue light.

The entire forest was tinged with light blue by these crystals, even the roots of the big trees dividing the land had pieces of light blue crystal fragments.

This dreamlike scene unfolded before Shiro's eyes, prompting him to exclaim in admiration.

"So beautiful..."

Lefiya, panting behind them, also agreed with his words.

"Yes, it's so beautiful, no matter how many times I see it..."

The crystals on the ceiling extinguish when night falls, allowing people in the dungeon to distinguish between day and night time.

After admiring this dreamlike sight, the three of them headed west and came upon the town built by adventurers on the 18th floor—Rivira Town.

It is said that this place has been demolished and rebuilt over 300 times for various reasons.

Shiro, who entered the streets of Rivira for the first time, walked around under the guidance of Ais and Lefiya.

After a while, he was holding a potion and having a heated discussion with the shop owner.

"Is this potion better than the one on the surface?"

"No."

"Then does this have additional effects?"

"No, this is just an ordinary potion, the same you could buy in Orario for 500 valis."

"Then tell me, what is the marked price here?" Shiro pointed to the price tag and yelled at the shopkeeper.

"10,000 valis." The shopkeeper seemed accustomed to customers like Shiro.

"You're selling a 500 valis potion for 10,000 valis?!?!"

"Torajirou-kun, forget about it, let's just leave."

Lefiya acted as the peacemaker and pulled Shiro away.

Shiro then went to look at other stores, where the situation was almost exactly the same as this store.

Most of the items were sold at more than ten or twenty times the normal price.

"The prices here are outrageous..."

"Ahaha... This is considered one of the 18th floor's quirks – as they say, 'If you're desperate enough to buy things here, we'll absolutely take full advantage of you.'"

This was also a way for older adventurers to make money: they buy various potions and special items in advance from the surface, then charge exorbitant prices to the distressed adventurers on the 18th floor.

Originally, he wanted to visit other places on the 18th floor a bit more, but after going through all this, Shiro didn't have the mood to wander around anymore.

Considering the round trip time, he didn't directly go to the middle floors, but instead chose to return to Orario.

But Shiro did not know that Orario was currently in turmoil because of him.

…

Adventurer's Guild,

A pallum adventurer and his dwarf companion were gathered around the notice board.

The pallum nudged his dwarf companion with his elbow.

"Hey, reaching Level 2 in just a month? That must break the record set by the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia, right?"

"Yeah, everyone from Loki Familia is a monster. Better remember this guy's face well, you don't want to get on his bad side the next time you're out drinking..."

While there were some who maliciously belittled Shiro out of jealousy, the overall impression of him was good, as Shiro was both handsome and powerful.

But, a lot of gods still harbor ill will towards Shiro.

"Did Loki cheat using divine power?"

One god said to another god, filled with malicious speculation about the boy.

If Loki was present here, they would never dare to speak like this; not to mention how troublesome Loki was in the heavens, but now her Familia was one of the two kings of Orario, so they could only speak behind her back.

"Apollo-sama, what are you looking at?"

A beautiful man with an appearance that could rival an elf asked a reddish-blond-haired man wearing a wreath and ancient Greek clothing.

The man known as Apollo was frowning deeply, staring silently at Shiro's portrait.

Seeing his own god fixated on another man, a pang of jealousy pierced the handsome man's heart.

After confirming something, Apollo spoke with unprecedented seriousness, an expression the handsome man had never seen before.

"Hyakinthos, I want to meet this person."

 ---

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