"Hello Ais-san"
"Hello Ais-san"
Anakitty and Raul both said at the same time. Wow, they both are perfectly in sync. I thought as I observed them.
"Hello, Aki, Raul, and to you as well, Arin." Ais greeted in a quiet voice.
"Hi Ais, I haven't seen you since yesterday. Something happened?" I asked, as I haven't seen her either in the training area or in the mess hall.
"I… was training." She said quietly.
Oh? She is a hard worker… no wait a moment, she did not mean that she was training throughout the night, did she?
"Umm... Ais, you're not saying that you were training continuously since yesterday, right?"
"That's what I meant," Ais replied innocently.
Anakitty winced. "Reveria-sama would be mad again."
Ais paled at that. "Please don't…tell her." Ais requested with a worried face. Though I say that her face did not change much, I did notice a little frown on her face, and her lips tightened.
"I don't think we need to tell her that she must have guessed already, since you were not present, Ais-san," Raul added with a little apologetic look on his face.
Ais's shoulder visibly dropped at that.
"Are you okay, Ais?" I was starting to get worried now, even if I knew Riveria punished Ais when she overdoes it.
"I am not okay..."
Ok, now I am getting more worried!
"Don't worry about it, Arin, Riveria-sama won't punish her that harshly, probably. Besides Ais-san, we should get going to the dungeon, it's Arin's first time in the dungeon. It won't do him good if he constantly worries about you." Anakitty said, bringing us back to our objective.
Ais' strength up at her words. "You are right, Arin, don't worry about me, I will… take the punishment." Although you say that Ais, with your face being so pale, it is not helping.
.
.
.
.
We waited a little until Ais calmed down. And then entered the dungeon, or rather the entrance to the Dungeon, which is on the first underground floor of Babel.
In the center of the room is a ten-meter-long hole that leads straight into the Dungeon. Within the circular room are multiple columns at equal intervals, and above is a beautiful azure painting of the sky that resembles the real sky.
Along the circle are gentle stairs that spiral down into the Dungeon. We took the stairs down. And entered the 1st floor. The walls are light blue colored. There is also a wide hallway.
"This hallway is known as the Beginning Road. Newbie Level 1 adventurers with status of I to H in their basic abilities normally spend time on these floors." Raul explained to me as I looked around.
When we continued our walk, a little later, a goblin appeared in front of us. It was a green and plump humanoid monster with large eyes.
Amidst my observations, it sprang forward, raising his worn-out dagger to an overhead strike, but to me, it was moving very slowly. I parried its strike and gave it a kick to its side. The next moment, the goblin was sent flying, and before it impacted with the wall, it burst into ashes, leaving behind a small magic stone.
Looks like when I was trying to understand its strength, I ended up underestimating my own.
As for the disgust that comes with killing a living being, I did not feel it that deeply, maybe because it's not my first time killing something alive.
"You don't need to pick that magic stone; it will be far more productive for you to keep fighting since they don't sell for much."
While I ran up to pick the magic stone, I heard Raul.
"Raul, I don't think you know that, but I am practically broke, so even this stone is worthwhile for me, at least for now. Besides, won't other monsters eat this stone to grow strong?"
I know this information from the anime, but I also confirmed it in the *basic information about dungeon* book that Riveria brought me.
"If it's about money, then we will pick those stones so you can just focus on fighting. As for your doubt, this floor is flooded with newbies, and they won't leave free money lying around on the floor. But don't leave magic stones behind on floors below the 10th one."
"I see, in that case, I will appreciate your help."
And with two high-level level-2 adventurers and one level-4 adventurer, we advanced quickly through the dungeon, and before I knew it, we were at the entrance of the 2nd level.
The 2nd floor was the same as the previous one except for one difference: this one had a new monster.
"This is a kobold monster, which is one of the common monsters along with goblins on the first 4 levels. They also appear on the first level but are pretty uncommon." Raul explained that the kobold rushed at me, opening its mouth, trying to take a bite of me.
I took a step back and thrust the sword below its mouth as the tip of the sword came out of its head, killing it in one blow.
"I knew you were strong. But still, you make taking care of these monsters so easy. Do you even know how much it troubled us when we first fought it?" Anakitty complained.
Ah.. I guess for them, I must look like I am cheating or something.
"My race really does give me an unfair advantage, huh…" Anakitty looked a little panicked at my words, which is a rare sight. Maybe she didn't expect me to take her so seriously.
"I don't particularly think that is a bad thing." It was Ais who, until now, was just silently observing and picking up magic stones, who spoke.
"If being of a particular race gives you an advantage over the others, then I don't think it's cheating, for me it's just a part of what makes you, you."
That really surprised me. I didn't think Ais would be the one to try to cheer me up. At least not until we have made a little deeper bond with each other—No—I should already know how kind-hearted she is.
"Thank you, Ais." Maybe I will keep Riveria a little busy tonight so she is not able to punish Ais, at least for today.
"I did not do anything to get thanked for?" Ais tilted her head, seemingly confused by my words of thanks. So cute.
"Don't worry about it. Should we go deeper?" I replied, turning our attention back.
.
.
.
After that, we were able to make our way to the floor easily and reached the entrance to the 5th floor.
"Do you want to go deeper?" Raul asked.
"I am not feeling much exhaustion, my weapons are looking good too. I think we can go a little deeper." I replied, checking the condition of my sword.
"Ok, then, lead the way. But if you feel exhausted, do let us know, and we will go back."
I nodded and entered the 5th level. The walls changed to a light green color.
"Stronger monsters, such as War Shadows and Killer Ants, appear, starting from this level, and the monster birth time is faster, which is why these floors are where a lot of newbie adventurers start to die. It is recommended for Level 1 adventurers to have a status of at least G in their basic abilities to explore these floors." Raul once again acted like a walking Wikipedia.
I can see why he is sent to guide a new adventurer. He has a talent to be a guide.
Shortly after, a war shadow appeared; it was a dark humanoid monster that had long arms with three claws that were sharp like knives.
"It is the strongest monster on the 5th and 6th Floor. Along with Killer Ant, it is known as a 'newbie killer' for killing a lot of newbie adventurers." Raul continued, as I fought it.
It was a lot faster than the goblin and kobold; its sharp claws were working as living weapons.
As I deflect its right arm claws, it follows with its left ones. But after a few blows exchanged, I was able to find its weak spot.
It is like an amateur boxer that focuses solely on using its hands while leaving its legs unused. I exploited that weakness. After deflecting its next blow, I crouched down to avoid its next attack and kicked it off its legs. As it fell, I swung my sword on his chest, killing it in the process.
"That was good thinking." Ais gave a compliment.
"Thank you, Ais." After that talk on the upper floor, Ais started talking a little more, giving some insights here and there. Which I appreciated greatly.
.
.
.
We were safely able to make it to the end of the 7th level and see the entrance to the next floor, Anakitty asked.
"Do you want to take a peek at the 8th floor?" This time, Anakitty asked.
I remember Loki's words, not to go deeper than the 7th floor, and while I think I will be able to tackle most monsters on the upper floor, I don't want to risk raising a flag, so just for today, I will follow Loki's words. Besides, I want to know how many points I have gained from these fights.
"No, I think that's enough for today."
"Okay, then let's go back and get your magic stones turned into money. I wonder how much you will get. Be sure to give us a treat." Anakitty seems excited.
As we made our way back, Ais came close to me.
.
.
.
"Do you want to train together sometimes?" She asked.