The Dungeon, Tenth Floor.
Unlike the gloomy, cramped First Floor, this place was filled with mist, a hazy gray expanse that seemed capable of swallowing all light and sound.
Yet amid that boundless gray fog, brilliant golden light flashed like a meteor, then vanished. With every flicker, a fat orc silently toppled to the ground.
Kashu darted freely through the horde of monsters, his expression relaxed, with even enough leisure to think about other things.
Strength, endurance, dexterity, agility, and magic—these were the five most obvious indicators of growth among an adventurer's abilities.
Depending on their proficiency, each was divided into ten ranks, from I to S.
To improve a particular ability, adventurers had to train in ways related to it.
To improve strength, they had to attack.
To improve endurance, they had to take damage.
To improve magic, they had to cast spells.
And so on. The more frequently they performed a certain kind of action, the more growth they gained in the corresponding ability.
"That's how it works in theory."
Kashu spun and swung his sword, instantly blasting apart two charging orcs. He lightly tapped his toes against the ground and drifted backward, putting distance between himself and the remaining monsters.
"But you lot are such small fry you're not even fit to warm me up."
Wind King's Hammer (Strike Air)!
The wind pressure coiling around his sword abruptly gathered. With a sweep of his arm, it transformed into an invisible yet violent wave of magical energy and erupted!
The sluggish orcs were as helpless as if they'd run into an invisible meat grinder. Before they could even scream, they crumbled into ash and were swept away by the shock wave.
Kashu shook the remaining storm of magic from his sword, then looked at the magic stones and dropped materials scattered across the ground and scratched his head in annoyance.
"I've got monsters to fight, levels to gain, and materials to loot, but there's no automatic pickup after a battle? This system is so inconvenient."
"Fou?"
Fou, perched on his shoulder, tilted his head.
"Yes, yes, I know it's not a game. I just feel like gathering materials wastes a bit of time."
Kashu bent down and began searching carefully, making sure not to leave behind any spoils.
According to the general handbook, adventurers weren't allowed to casually discard magic stones or dropped materials. If they were caught doing so, their entire Familia would be punished.
He could understand the Guild's good intentions. After all, these materials could all be exchanged for money.
Even the scraps carelessly discarded by a high-level adventurer could become the spark that set lower-level adventurers at each other's throats.
After checking once more to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Kashu turned and headed back toward the entrance to the Ninth Floor.
There was no helping it. The map the Guild provided to Level 1 adventurers only went as far as the Tenth Floor, so that was where his first Dungeon exploration had to end.
As the sun went down, the plaza beneath Babel Tower was bustling with noise.
Adventurers finishing their day's explorations streamed toward the Guild windows, exchanging their magic stones and materials for clinking Valis.
"Hey, Old Bill? What brought you back up to the surface?"
"Why else? He must've swindled some sucker on the Eighteenth Floor and come back to the home base to lie low!"
"Go to hell! I'm known as an honest merchant on the Eighteenth Floor."
"You rotten old bastard. Since when do 'the Eighteenth Floor' and 'honest' belong in the same sentence?"
Kashu stood quietly in the queue, listening to the adventurers around him talk about what they'd seen and gained that day, picking out any useful information.
From what they were saying, adventurers had shops on the Eighteenth Floor?
That was interesting.
They actually dared to trade in a Dungeon crawling with monsters. Did some high-level adventurers stand guard there?
As for honesty?
It was a shop set up right on the front lines. Taking advantage of people in a crisis seemed more likely.
"Hm!?"
Just then, a prickling chill crawled up Kashu's spine, as though a bone-devouring beast had set its sights on him!
He casually glanced around. The crowd was bustling, but no one was looking at him with any obvious hostility.
Fou, who had been quietly resting on his shoulder, suddenly raised its head, its ears twitching alertly.
Its gaze pierced through layer upon layer of obstacles and shot straight to the top of Babel Tower.
Up there, a god who didn't know what was good for him had set his sights on something he absolutely must not touch!
A priceless wineglass slipped from someone's hand and shattered, its crimson contents instantly staining the pristine white carpet.
Freya, the silver-haired goddess renowned for her beauty and charm, had lost all color in her face. She stumbled backward and collapsed onto the cold floor, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably.
"J-just now... what was that?"
Her voice was full of uncontrollable fear, cold sweat beading on her brow and running down her temples.
As a goddess, she possessed a pair of special eyes that could see beyond the surface of things and perceive the radiance of the souls belonging to the children below.
Just as usual, Freya had been picking out the children who caught her interest. But the moment she spotted a boy whose soul shone like a star—
What she saw in an instant was no longer a boy, but the terrifying shadow of a beast powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth.
With only that fleeting glimpse, her divine instincts had begun shrieking madly!
Freya was afraid. The shudder that rose from the depths of her soul made one thing clear to her at once.
If she dared lay a hand on that boy, there was only one possible outcome—death!
Even though she commanded one of the strongest Familias in Orario, even though she was a goddess high above the mortal world, she couldn't resist that power in the slightest.
"How cruel..."
Freya murmured bitterly. The usual bewitching charm was gone from her face, leaving only the pallor of someone who'd narrowly escaped death.
"Such a dazzling soul, unlike any I've ever seen—and yet even a goddess has no right to covet him?"
She took several deep breaths, barely managing to calm her pounding heart, then went to the table and pressed a button.
Soon, a burly boarman with short, ocher-colored hair strode into the room.
Ottar the Behemoth bowed respectfully and spoke in a low voice.
"Lady Freya, please give me your orders."
"Ottar."
Freya's voice still carried a faint, barely perceptible tremor.
"Go investigate a child's background. Remember, the most important thing is..."
"Your instructions?"
"Absolutely! Absolutely do not provoke that child in any way!"
Twilight Manor.
Kashu stared helplessly at the closed door. He wondered whether the frenzied goddess had calmed down yet.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come on in, kid. I didn't lock the door."
Kashu pushed his way inside, and the sight before him made the corner of his mouth twitch.
Loki had a wild, nest-like mess of hair and clutched two bamboo skewers in her hands. Her eyes were unfocused, and she looked like a patient who'd just escaped from an asylum.
"Uh... did you really have to make yourself look like that?"
Loki jolted, raised the skewers high, and shouted as though she were brandishing holy swords.
"What the hell do you know?"
"I'm a god who sealed away my powers and descended to the lower world for entertainment. And now a once-in-a-lifetime chance to cross over to another world has fallen right into my lap! How am I supposed to stay calm?"
Kashu spread his hands helplessly and explained yet again, growing tired of repeating himself.
"I already told you. Brilliant Journey can't be activated. There's no point obsessing over it."
"I don't believe you!"
Loki slammed her hand on the table, making a deafening bang.
"You got here somehow, didn't you? You've got to know a way to reach another world!"
Kashu exchanged a glance with Fou on his shoulder, then shrugged with all the resignation in the world.
"If you went through an explosion, you might actually have a chance of crossing over to another world."
At that, Loki gave him a look that said she'd read plenty of books and he wasn't going to fool her, then curled her lip.
"An explosion? Don't people usually cross over to another world with a truck's help?"
Kashu put a hand to his forehead, at a loss for words.
"That's just a stereotype! Go apologize to all the authors who rack their brains coming up with ways to send people to other worlds!"
Loki gave a disdainful snort, tossed aside the skewers marked "Go" and "Stay," and crooked a finger at Kashu.
"Enough of your nonsense. Get over here, sit down, and take your clothes off! Let's get a good look at what this otherworlder is made of."
Before you continue