Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

As they brushed past each other, the blade flashed.

The monster behind him let out a short cry, followed by a thud as it fell to the ground.

Looking back, the frog monster with the huge single eye was already dead, its red and black fluids spilling all over the ground from its dissected body.

The frog monster "Frog Archer" attacks adventurers by shooting out its long tongue.

My sunken eye sockets stared emotionlessly at the monster's corpse, and I turned and left.

Ignoring the signs of fatigue in my limbs, I focused solely on finding moving objects in my field of vision and ventured into the depths of the intricate maze.

It is an orderly maze structure consisting of smooth floors, walls, and ceilings.

The endless, uniform, and monotonous continuous space clung to me as I wandered aimlessly.

Unlike daytime exploration, the dungeon possesses an eerie tranquility. Not only are there no monsters, but you also can't sense the presence of fellow adventurers.

Only the sound of my own footsteps echoing in the winding passageway.

"..."

I moved through the dungeon with the gait of an undead, glancing down at my own body.

He wasn't wearing any armor, just ordinary casual clothes. His body bore the marks of monster claws and fangs. His tattered clothes made him look like he'd been robbed.

He held the short sword in his right hand, a protective weapon he carried on his person just in case. It was stained with the blood of countless monsters and was dripping wet.

(Covered in wounds...)

Without even a decent piece of equipment, and with my body covered in wounds, I seemed indifferent to it all. I didn't stop walking; I just closed my eyes for a moment.

Run, run, run, and run again.

They rushed out of the tavern, crossed the streets, and ventured into the underground city.

They simply chased after the monsters, running endlessly through the maze.

Swing the sword, swing the sword, swing the sword, and swing the sword again.

They acknowledge their own weakness and pathetic state, and become self-destructive.

Driven by the ever-present regret, I repeatedly wielded the only weapon in my hand.

I risked my life, just to shorten the distance between myself and her on that distant shore, to reach a height that I myself did not know how arduous and difficult it would be.

I surrender my whole being to the will deep within me that burns like a fool.

(Where am I?)

now.

The initial burst of passion, where I abandoned reason, had passed, and the burning heat within me had cooled somewhat. Furthermore, with the monsters suddenly ceasing to appear after the hunt, my muddled thoughts finally began to stir, and my mind began to grasp the current situation.

The walls of the dungeon surrounding me were no longer the pale blue I was used to seeing, but a pale green. The passageways had also become extremely narrow, and the maze's structure had become more complex.

The monsters we just encountered were no longer the low-level monsters we had fought so far.

(The 5th floor... no, the "6th floor".)

I traced back ambiguous memories, calculated the number of steps I had taken, and drew a conclusion.

It seems I am now on a new floor that I have never set foot on before.

Feeling nothing at all, I wandered around the 6th floor. Now, almost all my senses were numb, and I couldn't even imagine that there was an option to "turn back".

In a hazy state of consciousness, as if propelled by something, I began searching for my next target.

"Ha ha……"

My breathing was rapid and disordered. It seemed I was more fatigued than I had realized.

I don't even know how much time has passed since I entered the underground city.

Inside the maze, thanks to the phosphorescence hidden in the ceiling, there was no problem with the light source; however, the light was always equally dazzling, whether it was night or morning. Without a clock, I had no way of knowing the time.

(……here it is……)

After walking for a while, I soon came to a spacious, room-like area.

The hall is square, with nothing obstructing the view. The space is filled with pale green walls, empty and utterly devoid of any charm.

I walked to the middle of the room and stood near the center. I glanced around but couldn't find any other way out. It seemed the path I had come from was the only entrance to this hall.

With vacant eyes, I knew this was a dead end, and I planned to turn back the way I came—just as I turned around.

There was a cracking sound.

“——”

Crack, crack.

The originally silent hall was then filled with the strange sound of something breaking.

My legs froze, and I suddenly raised my head, twisting my neck to look around.

In the open hall, no monster could be seen. Only the intermittent vibrations of tense sonic blocks vibrated the eardrums.

Faced with this situation for the first time, a possibility arose in a corner of my mind.

With my five senses enhanced by the [ability value], I relied on my hearing to find the source of the sound, and then, as if guided, I moved my gaze to that location.

The underground city walls were stained a light green.

The sound coming from the front part of the maze wall grew louder and louder.

Before long, the maze wall in front of them "broke".

"...!"

Monsters are born from the dungeon.

Just as I am witnessing now, the monster broke through the labyrinth's walls from the inside and was born as a life form. Skipping the growth process, it directly became a strong, mature individual capable of fighting immediately.

This enormous underground labyrinth (dungeon) is the womb of the monsters that threaten humanity.

The monster stretched its hands out from the cracks in the wall, clawing wildly in the air and creating fissures in the surface, exposing part of its body to the outside air one by one. Fragments of the dungeon were scattered on the ground.

Finally, there was a particularly loud crashing sound, and the monster's feet stepped on the ground.

If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "shadow".

It was about 160cm tall. Its physique was similar to mine, and it was entirely black from head to toe, with arms and legs that were remarkably human-like. However, it lacked any hair or skin-like tissues; its entire body looked as if it had been painted with black paint.

The only cross-shaped head has a perfectly round part that looks like a small mirror and may be a face.

Like an alien monster that appears directly from its shadow.

The monster that appears on the 6th floor is called "War Shadow".

"...!"

Another "crunch" sound came from behind. Turning around, I saw another war shadow emerging from the underground city wall in the same way.

Flanking from both the front and back.

No, it's two against one. The situation is not favorable for me.

From maintaining its silence all along—like luring someone into a trap—the dungeon revealed its true nature.

"..."

The Shadow Warriors, who lacked vocal organs, silently rose and quietly assumed battle stances.

The mirror-like surface of my face, emitting a strange luster, stared intently at me, its prey.

"……ha!"

I exhaled and gripped the blood-stained dagger tightly once more.

I think I may have given up on myself to the point of no return.

The scene from that tavern flashed through my mind. The reality I was forced to confront had enough heat to easily reignite my gradually cooling body.

Ignoring the warning bells rang by my instincts, I threw myself into the reckless battle that lay before me.

✲

The Shadow Warrior possesses sharp "fingers".

Their unusually long arms have three fingers at the tip, these sharp tips shaped like daggers. They advance with a speed that goblins or earth spirits can only dream of, then launch their attacks with their hand-held weapons.

Zhan Ying's pure combat ability is unmatched among the monsters on the 6th floor.

In the dungeons defined as the "upper levels" from the 1st to the 12th, the War Shadow is arguably the most difficult monster for novice adventurers to deal with.

"!"

In fact, it is true.

I was attacked and injured unilaterally.

Although the attacks unleashed by the two shadowy figures were monotonous, they possessed astonishing power and speed. Struck by the pitch-black, monstrous hand at a speed I had never experienced before, my skin and clothes were left with abrasions.

Arms with impressive attack range extend from every angle. Faced with a decisive difference in range, I cannot draw my opponent into my grasp. I cannot even get close to him.

They are completely different from any of the monsters I have ever seen.

It left me unable to retaliate, unable to seize an opportunity to attack, and unable to escape.

They can be summed up in one word: strong.

"..."

"Ugh—!"

To unleash a deadly and persistent attack without uttering a word.

Three black blades, curved like bird claws, rapidly approached from the corner of my pupil. My heart pounded violently. I barely managed to dodge them, but another attack came from outside my field of vision, almost grazing my skin.

From the front, side, and rear.

Centered on me, a total of four long black arms came one after another, repeating back and forth.

I spun my body like a top, attacking as I passed the monsters. Sweat and red blood splattered through my shaky vision, creating the illusion of a life-or-death dance on a precipice.

The sense of crisis that had been necrotic was rapidly revived at this moment.

When I realized it, my breathing had completely become erratic.

(--Why.)

Only now do I feel a deep sense of anxiety and a strong sense of unease.

My poor thinking ability, coupled with a sense of crisis, brought me some composure, forcing me to see the incomprehensible current situation clearly.

Why am I still alive?

I should be the first to notice this.

Why were my hands and feet still intact when I reached the 6th floor?

Why was I able to barely hold my own against the monster on this floor?

Thinking about it carefully, it's really strange. An adventurer who's been in the dungeon for less than half a month couldn't possibly have survived exploring this floor at such a slow pace. Nor could they have survived encountering a War Shadow.

That half-elf woman had indeed taught him. She had warned him.

A newbie's incomplete [ability stats] are useless against the monsters on this floor.

(—Ability, value?)

The abnormal ability values ​​that had increased dramatically after only one update flashed through his mind in an instant.

"Could it be..." This thought occupied my mind.

The sacred text engraved on my back seemed to be getting hot.

“Ah!”

A sudden, visceral tremor pulled my consciousness back to the reality before me.

Taking advantage of my distraction, Zhan Ying's attack struck my body directly.

A backhand punch landed squarely on my shoulder. As I was thrown sideways, the powerful impact knocked the short knife from my hand to the ground.

My only weapon fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"!"