After walking a short distance farther, another monster appeared from deeper within.
『Gubufu…』
Larger than a goblin, slightly taller than a human, with a protruding belly and tusks jutting from both corners of its mouth.
The creature lumbering toward me was an orc.
Orcs ranked D, one step above the E-rank goblins, and were considered stronger.
A single one was manageable, but they preferred to move in groups, and the clubs or axes they favored delivered powerful blows.
The orcs in front of me were no exception—five of them clustered together.
(It seems true that the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters get.)
『Gugoooo!!』
The orcs charged at me faster than I had anticipated.
But my response remained the same.
""Death""
The released Instant Death Magic vanished as if absorbed into the orc's body.
『Gub!!』
The first orc died instantly.
『Guooo!! Guoooo!!』
The remaining orcs paid no attention to their fallen comrade and pressed forward without hesitation.
Unlike the goblins, they showed no sign of faltering.
As they closed in, one raised its club and swung down mercilessly.
I leaped backward to evade.
(My body is reacting properly.)
Even though orcs were only D-rank, a swing from one should have felt overwhelmingly fast to a level-1 like me.
Yet I could clearly track its movement.
It must be because Soul Collection had absorbed the stats from the ten goblins earlier, plus the orc I just killed, boosting my speed further.
""Death""
『Guaooo!!』
For now, I simply kept killing.
""Death""
『Gugaa!!』
That was the only thing I could do.
""Death""
『Guuuu…』
""Death""
『Gubu!!』
The last of the grouped orcs dropped to its knees and stopped moving.
"…Finished."
Still, no skill level increase.
The Killing Bear I defeated was B-rank.
Apparently, defeating a handful of E- or D-rank monsters did not provide enough experience for even one full skill level.
I did not know what kinds of monsters appeared in the upper layers of this dungeon, but pushing farther might lead me to stronger ones.
For now, I stored all the defeated orcs in Coffin of the Dead.
Orc meat was apparently quite tasty, and adventurers often sold it for a good price.
When I returned to town, I would sell it to a merchant instead of the guild.
I began walking again through the unchanging dungeon corridors.
After descending several staircases along the way, the scenery suddenly changed dramatically.
I emerged into a large cavern filled with abundant grass and trees.
Despite being underground, it was completely a forest.
Crystals exposed in the ground and walls emitted light, making the space as bright as midday on the surface.
"This is incredible…"
Perhaps because the monotonous brown ground had continued until now, the sudden appearance of such a wondrous underground space left me in awe.
"Hm?"
I noticed several people in the open area ahead raising their hands toward me.
"Hey! Over here!"
Sitting on ground thick with grass and waving were what appeared to be an adventurer party.
There were three of them.
A man in iron armor, a woman in white robes, and another man in leather armor.
From their appearances, I guessed swordsman, priest, and thief.
To show I meant no harm, I raised my hand and approached.
"Hey! You okay!?"
"Eh?"
The armored man's sudden question caught me off guard, and I could not respond right away.
"Come on! You can't just say 'eh?' after coming this far alone! And what's with that outfit!?"
As the thief-like adventurer pointed out, I wore no armor at all—just my travel clothes.
In contrast, the party in front of me was fully equipped.
I was also alone.
No ordinary adventurer entered a dungeon solo unless they were exceptionally skilled.
Under normal circumstances, it would seem strange.
(If going solo in a dungeon is already suspicious, that could be a problem.)
"Actually, I heard this place was incredibly beautiful and just had to see it for myself."
"Good grief… This isn't somewhere you come just to sightsee!"
I could not admit I had fought my way here with Instant Death Magic.
So I gave the first excuse that came to mind. The three of them looked exasperated.
"We're heading back to the surface now. Would you like to come with us?"
The priest woman suggested, and the other two nodded in agreement.
"We came for orc meat. It sells well and levels us up. Plus, if things get bad, we can retreat here."
The thief showed me a bag stuffed full of meat.
"True, monsters don't come in here, so it's safe, but we can't stay forever. We'll escort you back to town this time."
"Monsters don't come in?"
I could not help asking at the odd statement.
"Yeah. No one knows exactly why, but upper-layer monsters never enter this area. That's why we rested here before heading back."
It seemed dungeons had safe zones like this.
There were probably many other mechanisms I could use.
If I took advantage of them, it might help with leveling my skill.
"All right, let's get moving… W-wait! What's wrong!?"
Suddenly the swordsman panicked and ran toward the back.
"Ugh…"
What appeared before us was a party of four adventurers.
All four were covered in wounds, one supported between the other two as they limped.
"H-help us…"
"Hang on! We need healing right away!"
"A-ahead… there's this huge skeleton… and then…"
At those words, the faces of the adventurers paled.
"A skeleton!?"
"Hey, skeletons are C-rank monsters! Why the hell would one be in the upper layers of this dungeon!?"
Skeleton.
An undead monster born from the bones of those who fell in the dungeon.
Once revived as grotesque bone figures, they continued moving until their bodies were completely shattered.
"This is bad… It might come here. We need to get to the surface—"
Just as the man started to speak, the air around us shifted.
In the direction the adventurers had fled from stood a single monster.
A body composed entirely of bones.
But it was larger than a goblin or orc, and it had four arms.
"Th-that's no ordinary skeleton… It's an Ogre Skeleton!!"