You know what?
Fuck this.
I was done.
Done with the misunderstandings, done with the accusations, done with people jumping to conclusions and attacking first without bothering to ask questions.
As for the thug still cowering behind them?
Honestly? I just didn't care anymore.
He wasn't worth the effort.
Let him live with the fact that he'd almost died today. Maybe it'd teach him something. Probably not, but that wasn't my problem.
I turned and started walking.
"Wait—" Riveria's voice came from behind me, strained but trying to sound authoritative. "You can't just—"
I kept walking.
"I said wait!"
I didn't stop.
Didn't even look back.
What was she going to do? Chase me down? Attack me again?
Yeah, that worked out great the last two times.
I just wanted to explore the damn Dungeon, collect some magic stones, maybe get a bit stronger.
Instead, I got ambushed by thieves, attacked by the Loki Familia twice, and accidentally triggered someone's PTSD.
I let out another sigh as I descended deeper into the Dungeon, leaving the upper floors behind.
=====
Based on what I knew, the 10th to 12th Floors shared the same general structure as the 8th and 9th. However, the 11th and 12th Floors were considered extremely dangerous for Level 1 adventurers. It was generally recommended that a Level 1 adventurer have at least a B rank in their basic abilities before even thinking of coming here. Most parties who ventured this far were preparing for their first descent into the middle floors.
But for me, these floors were not even worth calling a challenge, and that created a different kind of problem.
I was too strong. Far stronger than anyone else here.
Beyond the skills I had gained from my falna, there was not much left for me to gain in this place.
Which led me to this.
I summoned a simple ring from my inventory, its surface etched with faint runic patterns.
I called it a suppression ring.
Simply put, the ring suppressed my attributes to whatever I desired. In this case, those of a Level 1 adventurer.
By channeling a bit of my intent into it, I could limit my strength, agility, and even my magical output to match the capabilities of someone who had just received their falna. It would not strip away my skills or experience, but it would force me to rely on technique rather than raw power.
It was the only way to make these floors meaningful again.
Though I was still not sure if I could receive the respective excelia from this.
But based on the knowledge I had, excelia gains were proportional to how much of a challenge something posed.
If the ring genuinely limited my power, then theoretically, the monsters here should feel like real threats again. And if they felt like threats, then the excelia should follow.
At least, that was the theory.
I hurriedly wore it, and within seconds, I could feel my strength being suppressed. It was not painful, but there was a distinct sensation of something being drawn inward, compressed. My muscles felt lighter, less dense. The power that had been coiling beneath my skin, ready to explode at a moment's notice, began to fade.
It took a while before I had been reduced to Level 1.
I flexed my fingers, testing the difference. The movement felt sluggish compared to what I was used to. I jumped lightly in place and barely cleared a few inches. What would have once sent me several feet into the air now felt constrained, ordinary.
This was what most adventurers lived with. This was their reality.
And for now, it would be mine as well.
Well, at least for the meantime.
Should my theory prove incorrect, I would need to find other ways to gain excelia.
Worst come to worst, I might just clear the dungeon as soon as possible and move on to the next world.
Though I really was not in a hurry, as there were still months before the cube fully recharged. That left me with enough time to explore this world properly, to understand how it worked, to grow stronger in the right way.
"GURAAA!!!"
A screech cut through the silence.
I turned to see an orc angrily glaring at me. Its nostrils flared. Easily seven feet tall, thick with muscle, carrying a crude stone club that looked like it could shatter bone.
Oh good timing.
Time to test it.
=the orc didn't waste one more second before it charged.
I sidestepped smoothly, my body moving on pure instinct. The club crashed into the wall where I had been standing, sending chips of stone flying. Even with suppressed stats, reading its telegraphed attack was trivial.
The Orc recovered, pivoting with surprising agility for something its size. It swung again, a horizontal arc aimed at my midsection.
I ducked under it easily, my sword already in motion. The blade sliced through the back of its knee as I moved past. The Orc howled and stumbled, its leg buckling.
It tried to turn, to bring its club around, but I was already inside its guard. A quick thrust to the throat, angled upward. The Orc gurgled, eyes going wide, and collapsed.
I stepped back as it dissolved into ash, leaving behind a magic stone.
The whole fight had taken maybe ten seconds.
And I had not even broken a sweat. Looks like I needed more than just the ring of suppression.
So I decided to go deeper.
The 11th Floor brought Silverbacks, massive ape-like monsters with silver furs and the 12th Floor had Hard Armoreds.
They fell just as easily as the rest.
At some point, I encountered the Floor Boss.
An Infant Dragon.
Now this was different.
The dragon lunged, claws extended. I rolled aside, feeling the wind from its strike. Fast. Much faster than anything else I had fought on these floors.
I countered with a slash across its foreleg. My blade scraped against scales and barely left a mark.
Durable too.
The dragon's tail whipped around. I ducked, but not quite fast enough. It clipped my shoulder and sent me stumbling back. My arm went numb for a second.
There it was.
The suppression. I could feel it now.
My body knew what to do, knew exactly how to move, but it could not quite keep up. The gap between intent and execution had widened just enough to matter.
The fight dragged on. Minutes instead of seconds. I had to work for every opening, had to time every strike perfectly because I did not have the luxury of overwhelming power anymore.
When I finally drove my blade through the gap beneath its jaw and into its brain, I was breathing hard.
Not exhausted. Not even close.
But I had actually felt it this time.
The dragon dissolved into ash, leaving behind a significantly larger magic stone.
I picked it up, turning it over in my hand.
After killing the Infant Dragon, I thought about going deeper.
The Middle Floors started at the 13th, and if the Floor Boss here had actually made me work for it, then maybe down there I would find something that could push me further.
But I glanced at the time on my watch. It was already evening.
I had been down here longer than I thought and for sure Hestia was waiting for me anytime now.
The Middle Floors could wait. They were not going anywhere.
Besides, I had already gotten what I came for.
More importantly, I needed to confirm whether this was actually working, whether I had gained a meaningful amount of excelia, or if I had just been wasting my time walking around with my abilities suppressed for no real reason.
Because if this didn't work, then all I was doing was handicapping myself for nothing. And that… would just be stupid.
By the time I reached the surface, the sky had shifted to deep orange and purple, the sun already dipping below the city's skyline.
I headed straight for the church.
"I'm home, Hestia."
When I pushed open the door, what greeted me was Hestia hurling herself at me.
"Ow, ow."
The impact was not painful, just unexpected. Her arms wrapped around me tight enough that I had to steady myself.
"Welcome home, Leon!" She pulled back just enough to look up at me, her blue eyes scanning me over like she was checking for injuries. "You were gone so long! I was starting to worry!"
"I'm fine. Lost track of time, that's all."
She finally released me, stepping back but still hovering close. "So? How was it? Your first real day in the Dungeon?"
"It was fine." I shrugged, moving past her toward the small table where I dropped my pack. "There were some nuisances, but nothing bad."
"Nuisances?" Her tone shifted, curious but cautious.
"Just some idiots looking for trouble. I handled it."
"I see..." She watched me for a moment, then her expression brightened again. "Well, you made it back safe, and that's what matters! Come on, let me update your status. I want to see how much you've grown!"
I nodded quickly. I was curious too.
While Hestia prepared, gathering the materials she needed, we made small talk.
"How was your day?" I asked, pulling off my jacket and settling onto the worn couch.
"Oh, you know, the usual. Sold some potato snacks, chatted with customers. Actually had a pretty good day. Made more than usual." She smiled, pulling out a sheet of paper and a small vial of what looked like ink. "There was this one customer who bought like ten skewers. Said they were the best she'd ever had."
I watched her set everything up. "Speaking of which, as my goddess, you should not be doing that anymore."
Hestia paused, glancing at me with a surprised expression. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"The stall. You should not have to work like that. I can handle the income now. You are a goddess. My goddess. You should not be standing around selling food all day."
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away, fidgeting with the paper in her hands. "I... well, I mean, I don't mind it. Really. It's not like it's hard work, and it helps, you know? Plus, I like talking to people."
"That is not the point."
"Leon..." She bit her lip, then sighed. "You just started. I'm not going to sit around doing nothing while you're out there risking your life. That wouldn't be fair."
"You updating my status and supporting me as my goddess is not nothing."
She was quiet for a moment, then smiled softly. "Let's... talk about this after I see your status, okay? Now come on, shirt off. Let me see what the Dungeon did for you today."
When Hestia saw my stats, she screeched.
"Leon, what the hell!"
I winced at the volume. "What?"
"Your stats! They're all around B now! How—when—what did you do down there?!"
"Huh." I blinked, processing that. "So it does work."
I had not meant to say that out loud.
"Work? What works?" Hestia leaned closer, her eyes wide. "Leon, what did you do?"
"Nothing much." I shrugged, trying to downplay it. "I just made it to the 12th Floor. Fought the Floor Boss."
"The twelfth—" Hestia's voice cut off abruptly, then came back even louder. "The TWELFTH FLOOR?!"
My ears rang from the screech.
"Ow. Hestia, volume."
"Volume?! VOLUME?!" She grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. "Leon, you just got your falna today! TODAY! And you're already on the 12th Floor fighting Floor Bosses?! Do you have any idea how reckless that is?!"
"I was fine."
"That's not the point!" Her grip tightened. "The 12th Floor is where most parties go to prepare for the Middle Floors! Experienced adventurers! People who've been doing this for months, sometimes years! Not someone on their second day!"
"But I was fine," I repeated, slower this time. "I'm still here. Not even injured."
She stared at me, her expression caught somewhere between furious and terrified. "You... you absolute idiot."
Then Hestia's expression crumpled.
Her grip on my shoulders loosened, and I saw her eyes getting glassy. She was trying to hold it back, but her lip trembled slightly.
"Hestia..."
"I was so worried, when you didn't come back earlier, I kept thinking... what if something happened? What if you got hurt and I wasn't there? What if...What if I lost you?"
Guilt hit me harder than any monster I had faced today.
I had been so focused on getting stronger, on figuring out how to gain excelia efficiently, that I had not stopped to think about what it meant for her. Hestia had just gotten her first familia member. Her first family in this city where she had struggled alone for so long.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think about how it would affect you. That was stupid of me."
She sniffled, wiping at her eyes quickly. "You're damn right it was stupid."
"But Hestia, listen. Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm not going anywhere. You're not losing me. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm your familia."
"Umm."
Then a loud growl interrupted the moment.
We both froze.
Hestia's face turned bright red as her stomach rumbled again, even louder this time.
"I... um..." She looked away, embarrassed. "I might have skipped lunch waiting for you."
I could not help it. I laughed. The tension from a moment ago shattered completely.
"Come on," I said, standing up and offering her my hand. "Let's go eat. My treat."
"Outside? Like, at a restaurant?"
"Yeah. We're celebrating my first successful day in the Dungeon, right?"
"But... do you have money?" She looked worried again, probably thinking about the few valis we had between us.
"Of course I have money." I pulled out the pouch of magic stones I had collected today. It was heavy, satisfyingly so. "I've been killing monsters all day, remember? Plus the Floor Boss dropped a pretty valuable magic stone."
Hestia's eyes went even wider when she saw the pouch. "Wow…"
Come on, Goddess. Let me take you out for a proper meal."
Her embarrassment melted into a bright, genuine smile. "Okay! But I get to pick the place!"
"Deal."
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