The Dungeon, the great labyrinth beneath Orario, was the city's lifeblood.
It had fed generations of adventurers, and devoured just as many. Alongside the Great Tree Labyrinth and the Dragon's Valley, it was one of the world's Three Great Secret Realms.
From what Renjiro knew, the only areas suitable for him right now were the upper nine floors.
Because from the tenth floor onward, large-class monsters would start appearing.
And below the thirteenth floor lay the Middle Floors, a realm where not only the monsters' strength, variety, and numbers surged,
but the terrain itself became more complex and treacherous.
Worse still, strange phenomena could strike without warning.
For example: a sudden "Monster Feast", a mass spawning event, had claimed the lives of countless adventurers in the past.
All in all,
"Unlike other adventurers, I can always 'return to town' as long as I summon Paimon."
With that safety net, Renjiro could afford to push a little deeper.
The risks rose, but so did the efficiency of leveling.
His thinking was clear.
So long as he had a retreat prepared, he should take risks.
Yet he recalled the words of his advisor, the half-elf guild employee Eina Tulle:
"Adventurers mustn't be reckless!"
She said it out of kindness, because she didn't want to see people she cared about die.
But reality was cruel.
The truth was: if an adventurer never took risks, they would never break past their limits.
And when the prophesied Promised Day arrived,
when disasters unbound themselves across the land,
if no hero had risen…
the world would end.
================
Right now, Orario was too… comfortable.
Just as a certain evil god had once feared years ago.
Yes, fewer adventurers died than before, but fewer and fewer true powerhouses were being born.
The reason was simple.
In the distant past, before the gods descended,
humans had no "Blessing" to rely on.
They grew strong only by breaking through their own limits.
The first to do so was the "First Hero", Argonaut.
But when the Age of Heroes ended and the Age of Gods began, mortals gained divine blessings… yet their lives grew less harsh.
Too easy.
The result?
Over a thousand years later, those capable of reaching the "Hero's Realm", Level 6 or higher had become increasingly rare.
Over a decade ago, when the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia still existed,
Orario had even boasted a Level 8 [Champion]
and a Level 9 [Empress].
Among their ranks, the Level 7s [Gluttony] and [Tranquility]
were considered prodigies beyond reason.
[Gluttony] had paid in blood to help slay the Behemoth, the King of the Land.
[Tranquility] had played a crucial role in the battle against the Leviathan, Tyrant of the Sea.
In fact, when she had just reached Level 7,
she already had the strength to clash with the [Empress] herself.
And she had been only sixteen.
The gods had called her,
"A Monster of Talent."
It was, without question, a golden age.
Until the One-Eyed Black Dragon shattered it.
But even then, they had reached a height no one since could touch.
Now?
Only Ottar remained as a Level 7.
The other Level 6s had all been stuck at their limits for years.
Their stats might improve,
but none could break through.
There was no doubt:
if the Promised Day came,
the world as it stood would have no chance of avoiding destruction.
================
Renjiro's thoughts grew solemn.
"If this world follows the story I know… then the Hero should be appearing soon."
"Bell Cranel… He truly did save the world."
Before crossing over, Renjiro had read DanMachi's novels, watched the anime, and played the mobile game DanMachi: Memoria Freese.
In fact, it was on the very day that game shut down that he suddenly found himself here.
He even remembered a certain plotline:
In the game's story, the moon goddess Artemis was slain by the Scorpion of the Great Tree Labyrinth, Antares.
It would take her tens of thousands of years to revive.
And when she finally did,
the first face she saw was her dear friend Hestia,
and the man she called her Orion, reborn after countless lifetimes.
That alone proved the Lower World had likely survived.
But…
there was also the possibility that it had already perished,
and that both Hestia and Bell had been reborn in Heaven instead.
Either way,
"Rather than relying on others, I should focus on myself."
Renjiro had no intention of pinning all hope on someone else.
Especially now that he had a "cheat system."
If he still accomplished nothing,
that would be pathetic.
And so, with determination,
"The comfort of today's Orario has made most adventurers give up their chance to grow stronger. I can't blame them, who risks death when life is good? But it means fewer and fewer are willing to keep challenging the impossible."
He understood the thinking of the ordinary.
But in times like these…
"…Damn. The upper floors of the Dungeon are bone-dry."
That was Renjiro's (Aether's) first real frustration after entering the Dungeon with Lumine.
The Dungeon was shaped like an inverted horn, the deeper you went, the larger each floor became. By the time you reach the 30s and 40s, a single floor could be bigger than the whole of Orario.
Which meant the upper floors were the smallest, and yet had to feed the overwhelming majority of adventurers who didn't want to gamble their lives.
It was well-known that most adventurers in Orario never left Level 1.
That was why the gods had established the tradition: when an adventurer finally reached Level 2, they would be granted a Title.
[War King] Ottar.
[Nine Hell] Riveria.
[Thousand Elf] Lefiya.
And many, many more.
Renjiro knew: though some gods descended just to amuse themselves,
many truly loved the mortals of the Lower World, and worried for their future.
Which explained,
"No wonder the 'Little Rookie' pushed all the way to the Fifth Floor in just half a month after becoming an adventurer."
Walking shoulder to shoulder with Lumine through a narrow cavern tunnel,
Renjiro (Aether) muttered: "This whole way down, we've hardly seen any monsters."
Indeed, on the first few floors, especially the first three, it was basically a race to kill.
Everywhere he looked, newbie adventurers with cheap gear were camped out, waiting.
The moment a few monsters spawned, they all rushed in like starving wolves.
And when a high-level happened by, they'd clear the floor like mowing a lawn.
"The first three floors are hopeless."
Renjiro sighed, pressing onward.
"I'm no protagonist. It's not like I'm going to bump into a Minotaur on the Upper Floors… right?"
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