Bane exited the Guild Hall happier than usual but still dreaded his trip into the dungeon. Imagining the hellish monsters he would encounter next made him fearful. However, opening his status and gazing at the large sum he'd acquired since starting gave him a sense of resolve.
'Guess I have no choice.' There were only a few things that motivated him enough to enter the dungeon every day: Sol, Winter, and money. Strength, love, and greed were the forces pushing him forward.
Just as he entered the stairs to descend—he usually would have fast-traveled to the last spot in the dungeon—a nuisance was waiting in the stairwell. Bane sneered at the brown-haired cat lady, causing her ears to fold back.
Bane shoulder-checked Luna, causing her to falter slightly as he passed her and descended further down. He didn't look back, but thanks to his skill, Danger Sense, and Luna's obnoxiously loud footsteps, he knew she was right behind him.
Bane heaved an angered sigh as Luna continued to trail him. 'Why is she doing this?' he questioned, hoping she would have lost interest by now.
'Just ignore her, and maybe she'll go away.' And so, Bane led the way through the first floor of the dungeon with Luna right behind him.
'Does this girl have a death wish? I almost killed her three days ago. What is she doing?' Bane thought as he retrieved the energy crystals from the slimes he'd slain. She eyed the expensive void sack at his waist and opened her mouth to comment.
"You're really weird," Luna said.
"What?" Bane snapped at the young cat lady's comment. At this show of aggression, Luna had no reaction and calmly repeated herself.
"I said you're really weird."
"Well, so are you," Bane retorted. Surprisingly, Luna giggled at this, causing his hand to twitch with rage.
"I know I'm not, but you're on a whole other level. You know, I haven't seen you enter the dungeon in forever, but I always see you leaving, and you've gotten so much stronger," Luna commented, noting his odd behavior and unrealistic growth.
"Is someone jealous?" Bane asked curtly, teasing.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I just want to figure out what you're doing. When I first crossed you, you were so weak—practically like taking candy from a baby. But a week later, you were about to kill me." Luna shuddered as she said the last part.
"Can you stop following me?" Bane asked as nicely as he could. He knew this constant anger wasn't healthy for him.
"No," Luna said with a teasing smile. "I will not."
"If you don't, I'll—"
"Nope, I don't think you have the ability to kill me," Luna interrupted, an overly confident smile on her face.
"What?" Bane glared at her as he clutched the hilt of his sword.
"When you had me on the ground and were about to end me, you hesitated. You had this look in your eyes. So, you were just going to threaten me with death if I kept following you, but I don't think you can. You're stronger, but mentally, you don't have the fortitude to take the life of another sentient being," Luna said, her words only fueling Bane's anger.
"Really?" Bane said, laughing maniacally. "You think you know everything." He shook his head. She was partially right. He just wanted to get away from her and be alone, but killing was off the table.
Bane withdrew his sword and knelt, preparing to strike. "I will not fight back. Do all that you will."
Bane lunged and took a sweeping strike where Luna stood. The blow landed on her upper chest and continued down to her abdomen. Thankfully, it wasn't very deep.
"Guh!" Luna fell to her knees, clutching the large wound.
"You don't know anything!" Bane shouted, taking the opportunity to run further into the dungeon. When he was out of sight, he used fast travel and found himself at the entrance to the sixth floor.
Back where Luna sat, she noticed something odd. "He was crying," she muttered as she began stitching herself back together. Luna possessed incredible strength and a healing skill called Healing Needle. She could use a needle and thread to sew wounds together, allowing them to heal incredibly fast. Eventually, she stood with a pained expression and shuffled back to the dungeon entrance.
"He really is weird," she muttered as she hobbled away.
Back with Bane, he wiped his eyes. He was a ticking time bomb of emotions.
"Stop!" he shouted, willing his tears to cease. To his surprise, it worked, and only a few more tears fell as he forced himself to descend further.
Soon, he was greeted with the usual quest text box:
Floor 6 Completion:
Slay all enemy types on the first floor of the dungeon:
Unknown – Incomplete
Unknown – Incomplete
Unknown – Incomplete
Unknown – Incomplete
Unknown – Incomplete
Rewards: 25,000 Shill, two Skill Points
Bane was surprised to see the large number of enemies—five in total. As he descended, he came upon a vastly different floor compared to the others. Large patches of greenery, water, and even sections of fire divided the floor.
Bane was also surprised to see people on this floor. Unlike the previous floors, this one was teeming with life as individuals and small groups fought hordes of elementals. Enemies a few feet tall attacked, hurling different elemental strikes at the adventurers.
Bane used his Threat Analysis on the wide range of enemies he could see:
Water Elemental: An inhabitant of floor six, made entirely of water and given shape by it. The water elemental uses magic attacks to sling water at foes. Known for strong attacks and weak defense.
Bane gazed from one section of the floor to another, where fire elementals were in fierce combat with a few adventurers.
Fire Elemental: Like the water elemental, but uses fire magic to attack enemies. Another elemental with attacking prowess and little to no defensive capabilities.
Moving away from the fire elementals, he turned to the last section.
Grass Elemental: The support elemental, using magic and support abilities to empower the other elementals. It has very little attack and defensive power.
Bane noticed a few grass elementals scattered around, chanting in a language hard for him to understand. Also spread across the floor were rocky, golem-like creatures:
Earth Elemental: The tank elemental. Known for its strong defense and decent attack power. Usually takes a spot at the front of the battlefield.
Bane nodded, trying to quickly digest the information. It was like an all-out war between the elementals and adventurers.
Overwhelmed, he looked for a way out, not wanting to deal with the ongoing war zone. Bane noticed, to his left, just beyond a few water elementals, there was a hallway.
'Okay, let's go,' Bane thought as he heaved a sigh and started toward the few elementals blocking his way. Narrowly avoiding their piercing water bolts, Bane was able to slice them up. The system was correct in its analysis once again—they had incredibly weak defenses.
Managing to escape the chaos at the entrance to the sixth floor, he found himself in a lit hallway. He addressed the textbox he received:
[Title Acquired]
[Elemental Extinguisher]
Bane nodded and closed the title acquisition screen. He began walking, preferring the quiet of the hallway, but soon, the peace was interrupted.
"Help!" The scream of a woman or young boy pierced Bane's ears as he walked. It was coming from further down the tunnel. Without thinking, he activated his skill, Feared Hunt, and followed the sound until he came upon its source.
A man knelt, covering his head as he was surrounded by a few elementals—an earth and a fire elemental, to be precise.
"Hey!" Bane shouted, catching their attention. He withdrew his sword and engaged in combat with the earth elemental.
Aside from the occasional fireball sent his way, the fight was one-sided. Bane's strikes were too much for the earth elemental. However, his sword's age was showing. Each strike caused a chip to fly off, but before it got out of hand, Bane finished off the earth elemental.
Quickly, he turned his focus to the fire elemental, who tried shuffling away, but Bane's speed was on another level. With a slice and a quiet sizzle, both elementals were defeated.
Bane could see better now. It was indeed a young man, gazing up at him in admiration. His large blue eyes drew Bane in as he extended his hand out.
[Bane of the Slums]: LV 32 (6,150/6,200)
[Titles]: Slimy Slayer LV 1 (72/100), Goblin Dispatcher LV 2 (56/1,000), Arachnid Assassin LV 2 (155/1,000), Angel Assassin LV 1 (5/100), Mimic Murderer LV 1 (12/100), Elemental Extinguisher LV 1 (6/100)
[Strength]: LV 13
[Dexterity]: LV 3
[Mind]: LV 2
[Agility]: LV 13
[Fortitude]: LV 5
[Magic]: LV 1
[Skills]: Appraisal LV 1, Threat Analysis LV 1, Danger Sense LV 2, Passive Healing LV 1, Magnetize LV 1, Night Vision, Feared Hunt, Proficient Reader LV 1