Norton

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Norton (诺顿)
Alias(es)	Boss Norton; Captain Norton 23 36
Gender	Male 36
Affiliation	Norton Squad — captain 48 97
Occupation/Role	Adventurer captain; professional “rookie killer”; Iron Guard 35 36
Status	Active; survived the Sixth-Layer ruins and reached the Seventh Layer 96 97
First Appearance	Chapter 23

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Formal Professional — Iron Guard	36	Described as an Iron Guard specializing in physical strength and defense; he holds back monsters at the front of his expedition. 36
Peak Formal Professional	48	Recruits adventurers while publicly presented as the “peak Formal Professional” captain of Norton Squad. 48
Intermediate-rank warrior	97	Identified by Ghost as an intermediate-rank warrior after leading his squad through the Sixth-Layer ruins. 97

Background

Norton made his fortune by recruiting inexperienced adventurers for newly discovered dungeon layers, using their deaths to identify monsters, terrain, and hazards. He then sold both the intelligence and the dead recruits’ equipment. When his reputation became too ruined in one place, he moved elsewhere and repeated the practice. 35

By the time the Fourth Layer opens, his methods are widely recognized by experienced adventurers. They understand that his enthusiastic followers are being used as expendable scouts, while Norton disguises the arrangement with promises of rewards, entertainment, and fraternity. 23 35 36

Appearance

Norton is a burly man standing nearly two meters tall. He projects the image of a reliable, battle-tested captain through his size, black armor, and deliberately honest expression. 23 36 48

• Nearly two meters tall. 23
• Broad, heavily built frame. 36
• Wears black armor and a raised-visor helmet. 48
• Commonly fights with a shield and large bladed weapons, including a broadsword or greatsword. 52 93 94

Personality

Norton is charismatic, calculating, and acutely aware of what desperate adventurers want to hear. He motivates recruits with promises of wealth, skill scrolls, food, entertainment, and social advancement; even after his expeditions suffer heavy casualties, many followers remain loyal because he reliably pays survivors what he promises. 23 48 91

His public persona is that of a protective and dependable captain. He personally fights at the front, accepts healing from newcomers, and tells them that protecting them is his duty. Behind this image, he uses recruits as “meat shields,” keeps escapees under watch, and treats the weak as resources whose value ends when they can no longer advance his plans. 36 52 55 62

Norton is not reckless. He avoids dangers that stronger adventurers have deliberately ignored, preserves trusted Professionals over novices, and changes plans when survival demands it. His long-term ambition is to stop being merely a rookie killer and build an independent expeditionary force capable of competing with nobles and major factions for the Dungeon’s deeper resources. 52 55 91

Abilities & Skills

Iron Guard Physique

As an Iron Guard, Norton specializes in physical strength and defense. He acts as the expedition’s frontline anchor when facing monsters. 36

• Holds back Goblins, Gnomes, Wolf Beasts, Death Iron Skeletons, and Steel Slimes alongside Norton Squad’s other Professionals. 36
• Leads charges from the front while shield guards establish defensive lines. 93
• Continues directing his forces while injured during the Fifth- and Sixth-Layer expeditions. 53 94

Battle Aura and Swordsmanship

Norton can infuse his weapon techniques with battle aura and fire-attributed power. 94 96

• Uses a flame-wreathed greatsword and holy water to force a breakthrough against an undead encirclement in the Death Mountains. 94
• Uses Berserk Whirlwind Slash to cut through rows of Skeleton Warriors in the Sixth-Layer ruins. 96
• Kills several infighting adventurers himself to reassert control after the Nature Flower Fairies’ theft operation. 55

Recruitment and Expedition Management

Norton’s most dangerous skill is organizing large groups of adventurers around incentives, fear, and carefully controlled information. 23 35 91

• Bribes volunteers with silver coins to scout the Venomous Swamp. 23 24
• Uses professional skill scrolls as recruitment bait, gathering more than three hundred adventurers for a Fourth-Layer expedition. 48
• Tracks the escape route of Aik and Ghost to locate the Sixth Layer. 91 93
• Maintains authority through reward distribution, intimidation, and selective generosity toward trusted followers. 52 55 96

Dungeon Intelligence and Preparation

Norton recognizes that maps, routes, and casualty-derived information can be more valuable than immediate treasure. 62 91

• Brings over one hundred bottles of holy water to counter undead threats on the Sixth Layer. 93
• Uses the cleared route left by the Ironblood Thorns Squad to push rapidly toward the Sixth Layer’s ruins. 94
• Publishes the route from the Fourth to Fifth Layer for free, intending to profit later from more detailed Fifth-Layer intelligence. 62 63
• Limits his Seventh-Layer exploration after reaching it with a severely depleted force, recognizing that further progress would be suicidal. 96

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black armor and shield — supports his public image as a dependable frontline captain. 36 48
• Broadsword / greatsword — used in direct combat and during the Death Mountains breakthrough. 52 94
• Alchemy Expansion Bag — used to carry wealth, materials, skill scrolls, and supplies; one was stolen by Nature Flower Fairies during the Fifth-Layer battle. 54 93
• Holy water — carries more than one hundred bottles for healing, purification, and fighting undead. 93
• Professional skill scrolls — uses scrolls both as recruitment bait and as expedition rewards. 48 52 96

Relationships

• Luo Ao — Luo Ao secretly places a mental mark on Norton after recognizing his talent for drawing adventurers into the Dungeon. Luo Ao later views him as a useful “workhorse” who should receive enough profit to keep organizing expeditions. 36 37 92
• Norton Squad’s trusted Professionals — Norton rewards loyal assassins, thieves, and veteran followers generously, treating them as his real confidants rather than expendable recruits. 52 93
• Novice adventurers — recruits them with promises of wealth and advancement, then uses them as scouts, shields, bait, and sources of equipment and intelligence. 35 52 94
• The two-handed swordsman — a squad member who secretly plots to murder Norton and steal his swordsman skill scroll; Norton notices the hostility but waits to see whose methods prevail. 53
• Aik and Ghost — Norton does not directly cooperate with them, but uses the trail from their Fifth-Layer escape to find the Sixth-Layer entrance. Their disastrous expedition also convinces him that the Dungeon is at least medium-sized. 91

Story Role / Major Arcs

Fourth-Layer Recruitment

Norton gathers a large, poorly prepared force at the Venomous Swamp and offers silver to obtain scouts. After several scouts die to sinkholes, Swamp Giant Crocodiles, and Purple Poison Giant Mosquitoes, he keeps the remaining adventurers together by arranging for a mage to create a massive stone boat. 23 24

He is exposed as a rookie killer who deliberately preserves novices through the first three layers so they can die gathering Fourth-Layer intelligence. Despite this, he cultivates a heroic image by personally defending the group and acting warmly toward vulnerable recruits. 35 36

Mass Recruitment and Fifth-Layer Disaster

Norton expands Norton Squad to more than three hundred adventurers by displaying a professional skill scroll and promising it to the most useful newcomer. He follows the Ironblood Thorns Squad’s trail toward the Fifth Layer while using novices as disposable “meat shields.” 48 52

On the Fifth Layer, his group is devastated by Treant Elders, Nature Flower Fairies, stolen supplies, Water Slimes, and collapsing morale. Norton restores order through executions, then ultimately abandons wounded and slower members when the camp is overrun. Fewer than twenty of the original force escape. 54 55 62

Return Through Information

After the Fifth-Layer disaster, Norton chooses not to disappear. Instead, he gives the Adventurers’ Guild a free, certified map to the Fifth Layer, using public information to attract future adventurers and create a new market for intelligence. 62 63

Sixth-Layer Expedition

Realizing that the Dungeon’s scale will soon attract noble and military expeditionary forces, Norton gathers nearly one hundred adventurers and leads them toward the Sixth Layer. He promises them a chance to rise above their status and eventually form a faction capable of competing with established powers. 91

His force survives the initial undead battles with preparation and coordinated Professional support, but Norton later orders his assassins to cripple more than a dozen rookies and leave them as bait during an undead encirclement. 93 94

Ruins and Seventh-Layer Discovery

Inside the Sixth-Layer ruins, Norton refuses to retreat despite random teleportation, Ghost traps, Molten Iron Golems, undead ambushes, and severe casualties. He maintains control through threats, controls treasure distribution, reunites scattered survivors, and reaches the entrance to the Seventh Layer. 95 96

The expedition’s success is verified by Ghost through investigation and truth potions. Fewer than ten members ultimately leave the Dungeon alive, and Norton admits that he deliberately sacrificed teammates and took their treasures. 97

Notable Quotes

“A map? Isn't it right in front of us?” 91

“I don't want to be just a bottom-rung adventurer either!” 91

“From now on, be more careful. Without my permission, no one touches anything.” 96

Trivia

• Norton’s reputation among experienced adventurers is so poor that many can identify his recruits as cannon fodder immediately. 23 35
• Luo Ao considers Norton's talent too useful to let die easily and actively intends to preserve him for the Dungeon’s benefit. 36 92
• Although Norton’s methods are ruthless, he avoids needlessly approaching the giant tree on the Fourth Layer after observing that the stronger Ironblood Thorns Squad left it untouched. 52