The sun crept over the horizon, casting its light upon the streets of Orario.
Beneath the looming shadow of Babel Tower, five figures, having eaten breakfast and packed their rations, crossed West Main Street and arrived at the Central Square. Several adventurer parties had already gathered there. Charles lifted his gaze toward the towering white spire before heading straight into the entrance that led down into the Dungeon.
Following the winding descent of the Beginning Road's corridor, they soon entered the narrow, oppressive cavern tunnels.
In Charles's memories, this wasn't his first time entering the Dungeon—
but for the original Charles of this life, it was.
His soul hadn't fully merged with his past self's memories yet, and the resulting unfamiliarity made the surroundings feel strange to him.
He stopped in his tracks.
"What's the matter? Don't waste time—keep up!"
Whoosh!
Charles tilted his head, narrowly avoiding a kicked stone. It smacked into the pack behind him with a loud thunk.
The heavy impact pushed him backward slightly, and a sharp ringing filled his ears.
If that had hit his head directly, it would've cracked it open for sure.
He narrowed his eyes, glaring coldly at the culprit—Link, the party's ranger.
"Well, well… with aim that bad, maybe you should quit being a ranger and become my supporter instead?"
Good. You've just found yourself a death wish.
"Sorry, sorry—force of habit. I'll be careful next time." Link raised both hands with a smirk, pretending to surrender.
After this small test, Link became certain that Charles was all bark and no bite. His malicious side began to surface.
"You're too slow," Emma chimed in.
"Yeah, pick up the pace. Your useless parents died to monsters because they moved too slowly, remember?" Swen added with a seemingly kind smile, though his tone was ice-cold.
"You wouldn't want to follow in their footsteps, would you?"
Charles brushed some dust off his shoulder.
The difference in Falna stats is too big… even just a gap from E-rank to I-rank is enough to crush me.
I can't let them keep testing me like this. I need to give Captain Zanis a little trouble.
Only when Captain Zanis is forced to deal with multiple problems will I get the chance to prove to him who's truly worth trusting at his side.
---
Dungeon – 5th Floor
Charles quietly followed the other four, deftly cutting out and collecting magic stones from slain monsters along the way.
Every so often, out of habit, they would hurl insults or try to psychologically wear him down.
"You're too slow—we'll leave you behind!"
"Oh no, the monster slipped past! Charles, hold it off for a bit!"
"Too many monsters! Charles, go distract them—just for a moment!"
"Sorry, they're too tough… you alright?"
Charles swigged some liquor, triggering his skill to raise Endurance and soak up the damage.
In the process, he became aware of a glaring weakness.
I don't know any proper martial arts… My half-baked Western Iaido is barely serviceable, but I'm hopeless with spears or polearms.
Against charging Big Frogs, he often ended up coated in sticky slime. Without his skill boosting his already decent Endurance, he'd have lost limbs by now.
Crouching down, he expertly carved out a magic stone and gathered the loot.
Combat technique takes over a decade to truly master.
He furrowed his brows. It wasn't hard to see why, before Ais Wallenstein, no adventurer had ever leveled up in less than three years.
There's no time to dwell on that now. I can do what Bell did—stack my stats first, then work on technique later. This body at least has natural talent in Agility. Even without deliberate training, I shouldn't end up too weak.
For now… I just need to survive my growth period.
---
While Charles was busy dealing with a Frog Shooter's corpse, Sven and Gannu exchanged glances.
"You noticed, right?"
"Yeah. Before, that kind of hit would've kept him down."
"Must be some sort of defense-boosting skill."
"Heh… a sturdier punching bag is still just a punching bag."
"Haha, I think he could be more than that. Maybe a shield for us."
Seeing Charles's performance, Gannu and the others gradually lowered their guard.
They'd already tossed aside Zanis' original orders—now their only concern was earning more money.
In their eyes, a trash skill wasn't worth the attention of Zanis in the first place.
Swen sneered. "So, boss, what's your plan?"
Resting his axe on his shoulder, Gannu stroked his beard.
"Killing monsters one by one is too slow. Let's have the kid lure them to us. And if we head a bit deeper, we might find something better. I hear the Guild's been buying up Blue Moth wings. If we're lucky…"
"Blue Moth? Those only show up near the food storage zones," Link said cautiously. "What if we get surrounded?"
Gannu scoffed. "Then we leave the brat as bait. With that new skill of his, he should last a little longer, right?"
The four exchanged wicked grins.
---
Once their plan was set, they waved Charles over.
Emma bent down, running her fingers through his hair with a false smile.
"You're not hiding any loot from us, are you?"
Charles replied with righteous conviction:
"You misunderstand me—everyone here is my beloved family, my brothers- and sisters-in-arms! How could I possibly hoard our Familia's property?"
They were pleased with his attitude—until he continued:
"Everything belongs to Captain Zanis! I'll make sure to hand over every bit for him to decide what to do with it."
Their smiles froze.
"Captain Zanis doesn't care about scraps like this."
"Really?" Charles rubbed his chin.
"Then you're right—loot from just the 5th Floor wouldn't catch his eye. We should find something rarer."
The four exchanged uncertain looks.
Wait… we were about to set him up, and now he's volunteering?
This… isn't a trap, is it?
Charles's reverse psychology made them hesitate.
Swen tested the waters. "Alright, kid—what kind of gift do you think would impress him?"
Charles clapped his hands. "I know! Blue Moth wings! Rare monster drops like that would definitely please Captain Zanis. And you'll swear loyalty to him, won't you?"
---
Blue Moth
Said to appear on the Dungeon's 7th Floor, these rare monsters had four translucent blue wings that shimmered with faint, glowing scales as they flew. So beautiful were they that even adventurers would pause mid-battle, entranced by the sight.
Their drop item was a key ingredient in high-grade elixirs and could even be used in brewing.
Gannu's eyes widened. A single Blue Moth wing sold for over 2,000 valis—and they always appeared in groups of at least five.
That meant one encounter could yield over 10,000 valis—
an entire day's income for an experienced Level 1 party.
Unable to resist the lure of profit, Gannu barked, "We're going!"
He led them toward the 7th Floor—
a depth their party could just manage.
But given Soma Familia's aggressive tendencies, "just manageable" was more than safe enough…
Charles followed behind them, silently mulling things over.