After setting off once more, Kitahara continued his descent. He didn't linger in the Upper Floors. It took him only half an hour to breeze through the eleventh and twelfth floors, arriving finally at the 13th Floor.
Crossing those two floors meant inevitable encounters with monsters. Kitahara handled them with ease. Not a single creature managed to touch a hair on his head.
His strength was already comparable to a Level 2. These Level 1 weaklings in the Upper Floors posed no threat, regardless of their numbers.
His Divine Protection experience increased slightly. It wasn't much... barely five percent.
The monsters on the eleventh and twelfth floors were stronger and more numerous than those above, yet the returns were diminishing. The Divine Protection Panel required significantly more Exilia now that its Experience Level had risen.
Kitahara couldn't be certain of the exact scaling. He estimated the requirement had jumped by at least one or two tiers. This was why, despite slaying a significant number of stronger monsters, the percentage barely budged.
After clearing the twelfth floor, the final stage of the Upper Floors, Kitahara officially stepped into the 13th Floor.
The first twelve floors were the domain of Level 1 adventurers. Beyond that, the 13th Floor belonged to those at Level 2. Anyone without the strength of a Level 2 would be nothing but a liability here.
That didn't concern Kitahara. Though his rank was technically Level 1, his actual combat power far exceeded it. If he pushed himself to the limit, he could even trade blows with a Level 4 adventurer.
Of course, he wasn't looking for unnecessary trouble.
In the Middle Floors, he was essentially invincible. The only exceptions were the first Monster Rex, Goliath, and the Wood Dragon guarding the Jewel Tree on the 24th floor.
Both the Monster Rex on the 17th Floor and the guardian of the 24th floor possessed Level 4 strength. In his current state, Kitahara knew he couldn't win. He would likely need to reach Level 2 before he could truly challenge those two.
Upon entering the 13th Floor, the Dungeon offered its own welcoming ceremony. A pack of hounds with glowing iridescent eyes and bodies the size of calves lunged forward.
Hellhounds.
They were fast, capable of breathing fire, and possessed lethal claws. They posed a slight threat even to him.
Or rather, they were a threat only if he insisted on coming out completely unscathed. If he fought recklessly, he could wipe them out in minutes. Kitahara wasn't about to do that.
'Finally, monsters that can actually put a bit of pressure on me,' Kitahara thought, his grip tightening on his dagger as the black Hellhounds circled him with predatory speed. 'I can't just one-shot them like before, or my Falna won't improve.'
The Falna grew through the heat of battle. Instant kills provided no room for growth or training.
Since the Hellhounds were numerous enough to be dangerous, he wouldn't use his full power. He needed them to be his whetstone. Without hesitation, Kitahara blurred forward. He didn't retreat; he met them head-on.
The battle erupted instantly.
Despite his expectations, the reality was disappointing. The first wave was too small. With only seven or eight of them, there was no sense of crisis. He couldn't even force himself to go all out.
Even when he tried to hold back, the fight was over in less than a minute. The pack of Hellhounds lay dead at his feet.
System notifications chimed repeatedly in his mind.
[๐๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ]
[๐๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ]
"Haa... I guess I need to keep moving down," he muttered. "This is the Middle Floors, but Hellhounds aren't quite Level 2 yet. I need Level 2 monsters if I want real training."
From the 13th Floor to the 17th Floor where the Monster Rex lived, only the Minotaur reached Level 2.
"Looks like I'm heading to the 15th Floor."
"Still, these guys weren't completely useless. At least I got my first magic," Kitahara whispered while gathering the Magic Stones.
He didn't want to waste time here if the training wasn't effective. However, the Hellhounds had provided one benefit: they allowed him to master his first spell, Fire Magic.
[๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ]
Thanks to the Divine Protection of the Spirit Goddess, he had easily grasped the fire-breathing technique of the hounds.
Unlike the monsters, Kitahara released the magic from his hands. Fire condensed in his palm before erupting outward. The power was impressive; a single blast had incinerated a Hellhound instantly.
He finished collecting the Magic Stones and pressed on, searching for the path to the next floor. He didn't have a map of the Middle Floors, but finding a cave leading down wasn't difficult.
These paths were known as vertical holes, special shortcuts connecting the 13th Floor directly to the 17th Floor. Daring adventurers used them to reach their destination floors as quickly as possible.
However, the Middle Floors were vast, far larger than the Upper Floors. Even searching for a vertical hole took time. It was half an hour before he found one.
Kitahara stared into the pitch-black abyss of the passage. Without a hint of fear, he leaped.
Kitahara didn't know what horrors waited in the depths of the vertical shaft.
It didn't matter.
With the [๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ ] at his back, fear was a foreign concept.
They say skill makes a man bold. Kitahara was the living proof of that proverb.
*Tap.*
The sound was barely a whisper.
His silhouette descended through the gloom, landing lightly on the cold floor.
He stared down the yawning expanse of the wide corridor.
'Alright then... don't you dare disappoint me, Minotaur.'