[37] Real Archer use Blade!

In the end, Aiden had to abandon the idea of finding a supporter and once again ventured into the dungeon alone.

Real men conquer the ninth floor!

After careful consideration, Aiden dismissed the idea of targeting only the sixth floor and set himself a brand new mini goal.

After all, the pressure from the monsters on the first three floors was simply too low for Aiden. In this dungeon, not only were the types of monsters on each floor highly regular, but the increase in strength of monsters on each floor followed a similar pattern. The further up the floors, the stronger the monsters became, but apart from the floor bosses, the difference in strength wasn't usually significant.

So even on the sixth floor, there wouldn't be a qualitative difference in the abilities and spawn rates of monsters.

But the gap in strength between Aiden and the monsters on the first three floors was akin to the difference between a famous general and foot soldiers in Koei Tecmo's games.

Aiden even entertained a bold idea: if the monsters on the ninth floor still didn't pose enough of a threat to him, he would just head straight to the tenth floor. Of course, he would stop at the tenth floor as well.

After all, Aiden only had maps for the first ten floors, and maps beyond the tenth floor weren't publicly available for sale. He was still directionally challenged.

Following the crowd into the dungeon, adventurers formed groups of three to five or teams of four to five, leisurely stepping into different passages, eventually disappearing from Aiden's sight.

As a lone ranger and part-time directional disaster, Aiden held Durandal, already unsheathed, in one hand and a map stained with a bit of blood in the other. While keeping an eye on his surroundings, he headed towards the entrance to the second floor.

After a familiar sound, the familiar voice of the first novice guide in the multiverse once again made a dazzling appearance.

Today's novice guide was quite miraculous, clean as a whistle and enjoying the same treatment as the kobolds when it came to weapons... bare-handed.

"Ah woo-rua woo-rua!" The familiar demonic cry echoed.

As soon as the unarmed goblin landed, it rushed towards Aiden on all fours. This pounce resembled a unleashed husky leaping onto a sofa, flowing effortlessly like water.

"Smooth moves, but the difficulty level is too low. I'll give you a passing grade." Aiden, whose mind oddly connected the goblin's posture to that of a husky, felt no ripples in his heart at this moment, even finding it slightly amusing. He lowered Durandal in his hand, his body unmoving until the goblin lunged at him.

"Ora!" Aiden clenched his right fist and delivered a serious punch directly to the goblin's chest.

Boom!

Of course, Aiden didn't punch the goblin through its chest like a boss, but with a dull thud and the sound of ribs breaking, the peculiar goblin was sent flying by Aiden, crashing into the wall on the right. Its eyes lost their gleam, turning into a lifeless body, and finally with a bang, it turned into dust, leaving behind only a small blue magic stone as proof of its existence.

If wielding a sword provided the satisfying sensation of cutting through flesh, the friction against muscles, and the resistance felt when the blade touched bone... pleasurable to those immersed in swordplay and combat, then bare-handed combat offered another kind of thrill. Each punch landing, each sound resonating, the primal sensation of bodily collision created a different kind of fighting pleasure.

"Goblin-sensei, you're as weak as ever. But this feeling, it's indeed different from using a sword. Is this the thrill of fist fighting? No wonder Nero in Devil May Cry 4 and 5 was so fixated on his fists." Reflecting on the sensations vastly different from sword fighting, Aiden bent down to pick up the magic stone, once again grasping the hilt of Durandal and continuing downwards.

Today's dungeon was quite normal; he encountered only a few goblins on the first floor.

Making it to the third floor smoothly, Aiden entered the passage marked on the map as the closest to the entrance to the fourth floor.

As soon as he entered this passage, accompanied by the sound of the walls cracking, a furry kobold, using the wall as leverage, pounced at Aiden with the force of a hungry tiger and the madness of a rabid dog.

Facing the oncoming mad dog, Aiden, itching for a fight, once again set down Durandal. When the kobold reached him, he swiftly struck, grabbing its neck.

The kobold, unable to resist Aiden's grip on its throat, could only watch helplessly as its enemy lightly tossed it up, then delivered a powerful kick directly to its face. The last thing it saw in its life was the boot sole looming larger and larger before its eyes.

With a forceful kick, Aiden sent the kobold flying back into the embrace of the dungeon's depths.

After that, Aiden encountered few monsters, the numbers nowhere near what he faced the day before.

"So what was yesterday all about? Was it just luck?" Aiden was also a bit puzzled.

Without the advantage of numbers, these monsters seemed even more pathetic.

To avoid wasting time and to experience the thrill of battling deeper-level monsters sooner, Aiden set aside his playful demeanor and resolved to deal with every monster he encountered with a single sword strike.

He swiftly reached the fourth floor, where the variety of monsters increased slightly, but they still posed no challenge to Aiden. Even when surrounded, he could easily break free.

Stepping into the fifth floor, Aiden could clearly feel that the air here was more humid than on the previous four floors, akin to stepping out of a plane in a coastal city during summer and being hit by a wave of humidity upon leaving the airport.

If Aiden remembered correctly, the characteristic monsters of the fifth floor were frog-type creatures called Frog Shooters, resembling giant-eyed chameleons that attacked adventurers with their long tongues. No wonder the fifth floor was so damp.

"Another Archer that doesn't use bows and arrows. So what's your gimmick? Unlimited Blade Works? Projection Magecraft? Gate of Babylon? Or just that disgusting tongue?" Dodging the Frog Shooter's tongue attack with a sidestep, Aiden evaluated the creature's strength after piercing its head with a single sword thrust.

Making his way smoothly to the sixth floor, Aiden halted his steps as the monsters ahead made a grand entrance, as bosses and elite monsters often did, in a manner distinct from regular creatures.

The walls cracked, revealing numerous fissures, and the monster extended its arms from the cracks, not simply squeezed out by the dungeon but clawing at the walls before gradually exposing its body parts.

With each piece of debris falling to the ground, this monster, with its unique entrance, made a dazzling debut.

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