Orario had plenty of nightlife, but the only entertainment available to adventurers consisted of taverns, gambling houses, and the pleasure quarter.
Ron had no interest in any of that.
After high-intensity training, combined with the fullness brought on by food, he fell asleep early on the sofa, only waking naturally at dawn when his biological clock stirred.
The night before, when he proposed going to explore the Dungeon, Hestia had not refused.
She had merely laid out the conditions for exploration:
When encountering Dungeon monsters, please do not force yourself into battle. After expending uses of the "Revival" skill, you must immediately withdraw from the Dungeon.
If necessary, you may seek help from other adventurers.
Ron naturally had no objections. After all, only by staying alive could there be a future. After getting up from the sofa, he looked toward the beautiful girl sleeping soundly on the bed.
Her sleeping posture could hardly be called elegant.
When he returned from the bathroom after taking care of his hygiene, Hestia was already awake.
"Good morning, Lady Hestia."
"You too."
The girl lazily stretched, and beneath the accent of her dress, her perfect figure was strikingly apparent. "Heading into the Dungeon so early to start exploring?"
"Leaving early."
"If you really run into danger, once you safely withdraw from the Dungeon, there'll still be time to train."
Ron took out the weapons and armor Hestia had prepared from the storage box, but ran into a very obvious problem when it came to putting them on.
For a modern person, this was a bit over the top.
Seeing this, Hestia took the initiative to step over to the boy's side, standing on tiptoe to help adjust everything, until Ron in front of her was fully equipped with all the armor.
Only then did she clap her hands in satisfaction, before suddenly remembering something: "This is money for breakfast. Only by maintaining your best condition can you explore the Dungeon."
"..."
Ron lowered his head and looked at the copper coins pressed into his palm, then looked at Hestia—who clearly could not even take proper care of herself, yet still gave him every possible preferential treatment.
This time, he did not say thank you.
Only after truly adapting to the rhythm of Dungeon exploration would he be able to genuinely repay her.
After leaving the communal dormitory together with Hestia, the morning sunlight had already completely driven away the chill and mist. Bathed in it, his body felt pleasantly warm.
They walked along the lively adventurers' street toward the city center, the Tower of Babel.
However, when they passed by the "Hephaestus Weapon Branch," the girl used the excuse of looking for a close friend. After offering a few words of encouragement, she entered the shop alone.
Ron naturally understood the reason.
After buying a portion of Jagamarukun from a roadside stall as a makeshift breakfast, he stepped into the steadily growing crowd of adventurers and headed toward the Tower of Babel.
About to head into an unfamiliar Dungeon for exploration—saying he was not nervous would be a lie.
Coming into contact with monsters that, in his previous life, had existed only in a fantasy world…
Not to mention that these monsters had all been strengthened by the "Dungeon's Hatred." Ron could only keep adjusting his state of mind before finally making a decision.
"Better to be steady."
Upon arriving at the central plaza in front of the Tower of Babel, he looked around. Even in the early morning, the number of adventurers gathered here was enormous.
They traveled in groups, leaning close to one another and chatting quietly.
Joining a mature familia with stable development probably led to scenes like this—during the novice adventurer stage, there was no need to fight alone in the Dungeon.
Following a familia's adventurer team provided a safe environment for growth.
These were conditions the Hestia Familia simply could not offer, and he himself was the sole member bearing a god's expectations.
There was not much Ron could do right now.
In the hell-level difficulty of the "Souls-style Dungeon," he had to explore as safely as possible, improve his strength, earn money, and reduce Hestia's burden.
"Familia development…"
"Those things can wait until I can safely explore the Dungeon!"
After the Ganesha Guard finished verifying his adventurer identification, Ron followed the main group of adventurers and proceeded down the spiral staircase toward the Dungeon.
The first place they reached was the safe floor, "Starting Path."
Looking around, the surroundings were a very typical cave environment. Relying solely on the faint light provided by lantern-like growths on the walls for faint illumination, it was at least enough to avoid losing the way.
The complex terrain of the starting floor diverted many adventurers, and even the sound of footsteps was completely swallowed by the vast cavern passages.
However...
The moment Ron arrived here, the skill "Despicable Outsider" he carried caused him to vaguely sense a trace of unease deep in his heart.
"…Don't tell me there's some kind of boss camping the entrance?"
Knowing full well the nasty nature of Souls-style soul travel—
Coupled with the fact that the DanMachi world had a living "Dungeon," the corner of Ron's mouth could not help but twitch. He reached out and drew the short sword hanging at his waist.
Under the faint illumination of the lantern-like growths, the cold gleam flowing along the blade provided one of the few sources of reassurance.
He was already here!
There was no way he could turn back before even getting started.
He took a deep breath to steady himself, advanced while enduring the Dungeon's hatred, and after passing through the starting floor, what came into view was the stairway passage leading to the first floor.
"I hope it goes smoothly."
Nothing unusual happened on the way to the first floor.
The environment before Ron's eyes did not change much either. It was just that, compared to the spaciousness of the starting floor, the passage was clearly much narrower.
The short sword Hestia had prepared for him happened to be well suited to showing its advantages here.
But before he could even catch his breath, a monster was already waiting for him around a bend in the cave—a special goblin creature.
Compared with the introduction given by the Guild staff member Eina:
Normal goblins were only forty to fifty centimeters tall—ordinary monsters that even a roadside stray dog could kick to death. The one before him was clearly much larger.
Nearly a meter in height.
Among goblins, it could even be considered an athletic specimen.
Not only that.
The greatest difference lay in its appearance. Unlike goblins clad in rags and wielding wooden clubs or stone axes, this goblin was extremely distinctive.
Compared to low-level monsters that knew only slaughter, its crimson eyes were clearly much calmer.
It wore a light brown, strangely styled outer garment, with a necklace made of teeth and bone fragments wrapped around its forehead, and it gripped a curved blade in its hand.
The curved blade, however, was poorly maintained, with obvious chips visible along the edge.
"Seriously, man…"
"What kind of Dungeon exploration starts out by running straight into an elite mob blocking the way?"
If this fully armed goblin monster were placed among "Souls-type game" enemies, Ron estimated it would be about on the level of a roadside stray dog.
But compared to its own kind, it was undeniably an elite monster.
He even felt somewhat fortunate that it was not a goblin wielding a bow, lying in wait like a sneaky ambusher in the darkness near the stairway passage.
Otherwise, he would have had to expend a precious use of "Revival" right here!
Following the guidance of Takemikazuchi, Ron gripped the short sword with both hands and assumed a combat stance. He did his best to steady his emotions and did not rashly launch an attack.
Instead, it was the elite goblin that seemed unable to hold back.
Driven by intense hatred, it moved as if it possessed combat technique. With a physique comparable to a "giant" among its kind, it was the first to initiate the attack.
"Then let's test your substance first!!"