The next day—Dungeon, Floor 1.
Bell, dressed head-to-toe in beginner gear, gripped a dagger and clashed with a goblin up ahead.
From behind, Gude offered timely guidance.
"Goblins are low across the board—stats, intelligence, everything. Keep your own rhythm, wait for the opening, and land a lethal strike."
"Yes!"
Bell didn't look back—his eyes stayed locked on the monster—but he listened closely, absorbing every word.
After several exchanges, he cut the goblin down again. He didn't get cocky—he stayed alert.
And sure enough, another goblin burst from a dark corner. Already prepared, Bell rolled to its side and drove his dagger into its heart, ending the fight cleanly.
"How is it? Now that you've experienced what adventurers do every day firsthand—what do you think?" Gude asked.
After Bell cleaned up the battlefield, Gude handed him a leather water flask.
Bell thanked him, tipped his head back, and gulped it down. His face lit up with excitement.
"Yeah! Fighting monsters is dangerous, but… it isn't as terrifying as I thought. And the feeling of gaining something is amazing!"
Then he looked at Gude as if stars might spill out of his eyes—excited, earnest, almost reverent.
"But! That's only because of your teaching, Mister Gude. That's why I was able to get the hang of it so quickly!"
"I see. Sounds like you're adapting to the adventurer's life."
Gude nodded.
"Then, since you've grasped the fundamentals, you stay on Floor 1 and keep sharpening yourself. I'm going deeper to build my strength. Good luck."
"Yes!"
Gude turned and headed for the passage to the next floor. Behind him, Bell bowed deeply.
Yesterday, after Gude took Bell to "The Hostess of Fertility" and fed him until he was full, the boy's wariness had dropped dramatically.
Bell's longing to become an adventurer wasn't hidden at all, and Gude wanted to expand the Familia—so naturally, he brought Bell to meet their patron deity, Hestia.
Just like that, the Hestia Familia gained a new member.
Because their home base was tiny, Gude and Bell spent the night at a cheap inn.
This morning, after helping Bell register as an adventurer, Gude brought him into the Dungeon for practical combat while supplementing him with essential knowledge. Now Bell was capable of surviving on Floor 1, so Gude didn't need to worry about him anymore.
Gude himself had only been an adventurer for a handful of days—but his combat talent was excellent, and his real-world experience far surpassed Bell's. Teaching him wasn't a problem.
Gude's teaching style leaned toward explaining principles, then letting the student grow on their own.
The advantage was that it didn't crush individuality.
And judging by results so far, it worked well.
Also—since the Hestia Familia had reached the grand total of two members, they assigned roles.
Gude became the captain; Bell became vice-captain.
…Which was only natural. With just two people, there was nothing to argue about.
After parting with Bell, Gude went straight down to Floor 5.
From this point, the Dungeon walls shifted to a pale green. Monster spawn frequency increased—and with it, the danger.
Floors 5 through 7 were classified by the Guild as zones where a Level 1 adventurer should ideally be in the G-rank range to clear safely, even with caution.
But because Observation Haki's effects meant Floor 4 wasn't giving him much growth anymore, Gude came here to grind stats.
He moved forward, and the moment he left the "no-spawn" section, monsters began generating in dense clusters—exactly what he wanted.
At that very moment, Loki Familia's second expedition was already in full swing. At their pace, they were probably entering the Middle Floors by now.
Gude knew the gap between himself and the Sword Princess was enormous.
Which was exactly why he had to push forward, harder than ever.
A spare sword was strapped to his back. Healing potions were tied inside his clothing. With that, he had what he needed.
So he charged straight into the monster swarm.
Days blurred into one another—endless exploration inside the maze, the monotony of routine, and a Familia life that wasn't exactly wealthy.
That was simply the price of becoming strong.
Eight days passed since Bell joined.
Now the sun had just risen, the first light spilling across the distant horizon and washing over Orario's walls, announcing a new day.
And if a careful bird happened to look down through the gaps between the battlements, it could see two figures—one black-haired young man and one white-haired boy—crossing and recrossing their positions.
Sword and dagger rang out in constant clink-clank impacts, sparks occasionally flying.
Their clothes were dark with sweat—they'd started training long before sunrise.
Even the birds seemed surprised, chirping loudly.
Maybe it was that call, or maybe the touch of morning light—but after one final exchange, the two of them wordlessly put away their weapons and sat down with their backs against the wall to recover.
Gude took a deep breath, savoring the cool dampness of the morning air as it slid into his lungs. After warm-up combat, the sensation was refreshingly clear.
Bell watched him, nodded quietly, then leaned back and copied the motion.
Gude saw it and almost laughed. It was just a personal habit—not part of training.
But Bell's pure sincerity wasn't something worth pointing out.
Over the past week, Gude had learned a lot about him.
Bell had lost his family young. Alone, he clung to heroic stories and came to the "Dungeon City Orario," the place his grandfather called "a city that has everything," determined to make it on his own.
But with zero social experience, he got scammed out of his money by a crooked inn owner. And because he was too young and not taken seriously, he was rejected everywhere he tried to find work.
And yet—even after all that—he hadn't grown bitter. He still had passion for life, high motivation, and a serious attitude toward everything he did.
That was why he was improving so quickly.
Gude genuinely admired that.
Though… Bell also carried some not-so-pure fantasies about the Dungeon—getting stronger and "meeting cute girls," that kind of thing.
But he was only fourteen. If anything, that made Gude feel relieved.
At least it meant Bell's childhood hadn't been entirely miserable.
"Bell, your growth rate is solid. Your stats should all be around D now, right? (500–599)"
"Yes—thanks to your teaching, Mister Gude."
As always, Bell was humble and polite.
"But… it feels like the distance between us is getting bigger."
That was how it truly felt.
Their first spar had been seven days ago. Back then, Bell already felt the gap was huge.
But after improving so much, the pressure he felt when sparring Gude had only gotten worse—day by day.
He didn't fully understand why, but instinct told him the truth:
Mister Gude's growth was even faster than his.
If they dueled seriously, Bell felt like he'd lose within a single exchange.
And that was only imagining it. If he were really shoved into an arena—just him and Gude…
Bell suspected his legs would go weak the moment he met Gude's eyes, and whether he could even fight would be questionable.
…Yeah. If Mister Gude got serious, it would be better to throw in the towel immediately. He wasn't good at fighting people to begin with—let alone someone who was half his teacher.
"You've got good instincts. Sharp, too. My stats really are a little higher than yours."
—System.
Name: Gude
Divinity (unreadable): None
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
Strength: S900
Endurance: S900
Agility: S900
Dexterity: S900
Magic: I0
Skills:
Three-Color Haki — Observation (Unlocked) / Armament (Unlocks at Lv.2) / Conqueror's (Unlocks at Lv.3)
The Fallen Who Improves (Greatly increased stat growth rate)
Magic: None
Yesterday's fight on Floor 12—plus the sparring session with Bell just now—pushed all four physical attributes into the S tier.
People said the higher your stats got, the slower they rose.
For Gude, he only started feeling that "slowdown" after reaching B.
Overall growth speed had dropped by about 33%. Now even if he grinded until absolute exhaustion, he could only add about 80 points per day to each of the four stats.
But that was all.
Eighty points a day meant that tomorrow, he could cap them out.
And that created a problem he couldn't ignore:
The usual stat cap was 999—because once an adventurer hit 999, growth stalled for a long time and they were forced to pursue a "Great Feat" and level up instead.
For people with poor talent—or weak ambition—progress often slowed dramatically once their averages hit around 500.
But that wasn't Gude. At 500, he hadn't even felt a speed bump.
Still… this world had phenomena that even gods couldn't fully explain. A small number of adventurers could break past the limit.
Like Bell, sitting right beside him.
In the original story, Bell's stats could grow all the way until he hit SSS, only then slowing down.
So the question was—
At what point would Gude finally hit a wall?
But worrying too much only bred agitation, and agitation was poison for an adventurer.
Tomorrow would tell him the answer.
Gude pushed the system panel away and pulled out sandwiches from the bag at his side, handing one to Bell.
"Anyway—don't overthink it, Bell. If you keep moving one step at a time, you'll definitely become a first-rate adventurer."
"Huh? Me? Ehehe… I'm still really far from that. I'll need you to keep teaching me from here on out, Mister Gude."
Bell scratched his head, embarrassed.
Taking the sandwich, he said in practiced fashion, "Mister Gude, this is enough for me. I can't eat much in the morning."
Gude nodded—then immediately stuffed the remaining dozen-plus sandwiches into his mouth, one after another.
As his stats rose, his mastery of Observation Haki had become extremely refined. If he activated it fully, he could already glimpse about one second into the future.
But maybe because he used Haki so often, his hunger had become more and more absurd.
He needed to eat over ten times a normal person's portion just to feel "seventy percent full."
The upside was that if he ate enough—and fast enough—his stamina and focus recovered faster as well.
With that balance in place, he didn't care about the "side effect" of eating ridiculous amounts.
"Mmm—don't… undersher… yourself," Gude said, cheeks puffed full, his pronunciation mangled. "You're my vice-cap… captain. At your growth rate, you'll stand out soon."
After swallowing, he finished properly:
"Don't sweat the small stuff. Let's head into the Dungeon—for a stronger self, and a better life."
"Yes!"
Gude stepped forward, leaving only his back in the morning light.
Bell hurried after him.
Dungeon, Floor 12.
Gude had just finished off a rare monster—an infant dragon.
On the Upper Floors, where there was no floor boss, this kind of creature was considered the closest thing to an actual boss.
It was four meters long, covered in still-immature, fine dragon scales—but even so, its defense was beyond what ordinary weapons could pierce.
Dragon-types also tended to possess monstrous strength, and with its large body, even Gude had to work hard to bring it down.
Still—his luck paid out.
A drop item: a piece of dragon spine bone, about the length of a forearm.
For forging a sword, it was unquestionably top-tier for Level 1—and would remain excellent well into early Level 2.
If he tossed it to the Hephaistos Familia, he could probably trade it for 500,000 valis.
Gude stowed the spine bone in his pack. Before he could even savor the win, an unpleasant voice came from a nearby corridor.
"Hey! You little Pallum midget! You're that slow just carrying things and cleaning up? Do you know how much time you're wasting!?"
"Yes… I'm sorry."
Through Observation Haki, Gude had already seen several adult adventurers—men and women—surrounding a hooded girl who stood barely half a person tall, but carried a backpack five times her own size.
The girl didn't say a word. She just sped up her collection work—then panic made her lose balance, and she fell.
The adventurers didn't help.
Instead, they grinned more viciously and used it as an excuse to pile on.
"Getting stuck with a slow supporter like you is the worst. If you keep this up, don't expect a single valis from me!"
As they said it, they exchanged looks behind her back, smiling like predators.
It was obvious—they hadn't planned to pay her from the very beginning.
That was why they'd deliberately chosen a supporter who wasn't from their Familia, and who traveled alone.
"Yes… I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Please don't reduce my pay—I'll work faster…"
"Hmph. You'd better!"
At that point, Gude lost interest and walked toward a different corridor.
It wasn't that he was so kind-hearted—but he wasn't the type to ignore something that ugly if it was within his power to address.
He didn't intervene for one reason:
The bullied supporter girl wasn't exactly innocent either.
The insignia hidden beneath her clothes was a goblet against a crescent-moon backdrop—
The Soma Familia.
A Familia whose god didn't manage affairs, but which had many members and a small degree of notoriety.
On the surface, they ran a liquor business.
In reality, the people in control used an extremely addictive "divine wine" to steer the Familia.
Every member was a slave to that wine.
To earn money and buy more, they'd do anything—absolutely anything.
So sure, right now it looked like a group of nasty adventurers were bullying a girl.
But once they returned to the city, a few expensive items and pieces of gear would mysteriously be missing.
Because the girl had a "third hand."
A thief.
In a sense, that was also a kind of "payment."
Since it was a dog-eat-dog situation, Gude had no reason to stick his neck into it.
Better to grind a few more big monsters and earn real stat gains.
…
-------
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