Ying Ping finally arrived in front of the Dungeon, looking up at the magnificent dome of Babel Tower.
"Alright, let's begin my first adventure and defeat some monsters!"
Ying Ping cheered himself on, then walked alone towards the entrance of the Dungeon.
Floors 0 to 1 were called the Starting Path by adventurers; this was an absolutely safe zone.
The height from the ground to the ceiling was a full 10 meters.
The spiral staircase descending was very wide, almost capable of accommodating thousands of people at once, moving in both directions.
Glowing moss grew on the ten-meter high rock walls, illuminating the entire Starting Path in a hazy, somewhat beautiful glow.
Upon arriving here, Ying Ping somehow suddenly thought of the Spiral Abyss in Genshin Impact.
Based on the memories in his mind, Ying Ping knew that the entire Dungeon was actually 'alive,' with a conical structure.
The deeper the floor, the larger its area, with some floors even larger than all of Orario.
It was filled with countless powerful monsters.
Even the Black Dragon, one of the world's three great commissioned adventurers, whose strength was above LV10.
Was a monster that had escaped from one of the Dungeon's floors.
The Black Dragon wasn't even the strongest existence in the Dungeon.
And no one knew what kind of monsters were hidden in the deepest parts of the Dungeon.
Furthermore, if adventurers caused extensive damage to the Dungeon's floors, leading to severe destruction of the Dungeon.
It would trigger the Dungeon's counterattack mechanism.
At that time, the Dungeon would give birth to a special monster specifically created to exterminate invaders—the Juggernaut.
The strength of this monster would depend on the floor it was born on.
Even if born on the 27th floor, its destructive power far exceeded most monsters from deeper levels.
A Juggernaut born on the 27th floor possessed astonishing strength.
Its claws could easily destroy armor made of super-hard alloys, and its entire body, encased in armor, could repel magic attacks.
Even more astonishing was its incredibly powerful, high-speed mobility.
Its speed and strength were comparable to a first-class adventurer, which was rare for a large monster.
The Juggernaut was created specifically to eliminate adventurers who caused large-scale damage to the Dungeon.
It did not possess typical monster characteristics like magic stones or drop items.
To grant it super-strong killing abilities, the Dungeon crafted the Juggernaut's entire body from magic stones.
If adventurers wished to kill it, there was no other way but to completely destroy its entire body.
It is also worth noting that the Juggernaut's lifespan is extremely short; it will self-destruct shortly after completing its slaughter of adventurers.
In the past, some dark factions conducted multiple experiments in the Dungeon, inspecting the sites hundreds of times, before finally determining the precise conditions for the Juggernaut's birth.
That is, the destruction of the labyrinth structure of that floor, with the scale of destruction reaching approximately 20% of the floor.
Upon meeting this condition, a Juggernaut would be born on that floor.
Juggernauts only appear in the middle, lower, and deep levels.
As for the upper levels (1-12) near the surface, no matter how much destruction occurs, it will not trigger a violent reaction from the Dungeon.
This is because in the upper levels near the surface, the 'Divine Authority' of Ouranos, the Guild Master's chief god, is extremely powerful, and the Dungeon simply does not dare to resist.
"Whew—"
Ying Ping took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset.
To say he wasn't nervous or excited would certainly be impossible.
Before the battle began, adrenaline was already flowing.
Ying Ping held a round shield in his left hand and a long spear in his right, maintaining the standard posture Eina had taught him, and steadily walked down the steps.
The passage on the first floor was wider than expected, with honeycomb-like holes covering the rock walls.
Soon after Ying Ping arrived, a 'clack' sound came from a hole on the right.
"Are they here?"
Ying Ping stopped, ready for battle.
A green-skinned goblin slid to the ground like squeezed mud, its murky eyes gleaming with madness.
[Encountered Goblin x 1]
[Level: LV1]
[Traits: Irrational, Unarmed]
The goblin let out a piercing shriek and pounced on him on all fours.
Ying Ping instinctively stepped back half a pace, raising his round shield to block the impact with a 'thump'.
"Holy cow, this thing is like a puppy, its charge has more force than I expected!"
"Good thing I strengthened my power today!"
Ying Ping's spear darted out from the edge of his shield like a venomous snake, accurately piercing the goblin's body.
"Pfft!!"
The goblin's body instantly stiffened, then dissolved into black ashes, leaving behind only a fingernail-sized magic stone on the ground.
"Dead in one hit? Feels even simpler than killing a chicken."
Ying Ping bent down to pick up the magic stone, feeling a faint magical fluctuation within it.
[Killed Goblin (1/10)]
[Reward: 5 experience points]
[Obtained Magic Stone Shard x 1]
As he continued forward, Ying Ping remained highly vigilant.
Every few dozen meters, he would encounter a lone goblin, all of them exhibiting the same attack pattern—
That is, a chaotic pounce and bite.
Relying on the enhanced attributes granted by the system, Ying Ping always handled them with ease, whether thrusting or parrying, each strike clean and precise.
"Haha, choosing a spear and shield was indeed the right decision."
Ying Ping felt his blood boiling.
This kind of real combat, in the past, was an excitement no game could compare to!
As he dealt with the seventh goblin, an unusual sound suddenly came from deeper within the passage.
A slightly larger goblin staggered into view, its skin an unhealthy grayish-green, its claws unusually sharp.
[Encountered Mutated Goblin x 1]
[Level: LV1+]
[Traits: Poisonous Claw Attack]
"Oh, finally something decent?"
Ying Ping narrowed his eyes slightly, adjusting his grip on the spear.
When the monster lunged, he first blocked with his round shield, then followed with a thrust straight to the heart.
One trick, rule them all.
The mutated goblin let out a final wail, also dissolving into ashes, leaving behind a slightly larger magic stone.
[Killed Goblin (8/10)]
[Obtained Complete Magic Stone x 1]
[Hidden Mechanism Triggered: Reward for Killing Above Level]
[Strength +1, Agility +1]
Feeling the surge of new power within him, Ying Ping's lips curved into a slight smile.
"Hestia, thank you for giving me courage."
He looked at the blue ribbon Hestia had given him on his wrist and gently stroked it.
As he delved deeper, Ying Ping maintained a steady pace.
Every goblin he encountered was calmly dealt with, and magic stones were collected one after another.
Unfortunately, the frequency of goblins appearing on the first floor of the dungeon was low; sometimes, he wouldn't encounter one for ten minutes.
However, what Ying Ping lacked least now was patience.
When the tenth goblin turned to ashes, the system prompt arrived as expected:
[First Day Quest Completed]
[Reward: Skill "Shadow Step" Unlocked]
[Shadow Step: Enter stealth, increase movement speed by 50% for 5 seconds, cooldown 30 seconds]
"Ha, I finally got my first skill, that's great."
Ying Ping felt the newly acquired ability and nodded in satisfaction.
Even with the new skill, he didn't rush to the second floor, but continued to cautiously roam the first floor.
Ying Ping walked slowly along the winding passage, shield raised, the tip of his spear always in a combat stance.
From time to time, he killed some lone goblins.
Magic stones jingled in the small cloth bag at his waist, already accumulating more than twenty.
"I'll kill a few more and then head back. I can't let Hestia worry too much, and it's important not to be overambitious."
Ying Ping murmured to himself, the blue ribbon on his wrist faintly glowing in the dim light.
Turning a corner, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Ten meters ahead, two goblins were squatting on the ground, gnawing on something.
This was the first time he had encountered multiple enemies since entering the dungeon.
[Discovered Goblin x 2]
[Suggested Tactic: Use Shadow Step for a surprise attack]
"Exactly, this is how I should fight."
Ying Ping's lips curved into a smile; this was a good opportunity to test his new skill.
He took a deep breath and activated Shadow Step.
A strange energy enveloped his entire body, and Ying Ping felt his body become light and transparent.
He quickly approached silently, his spear aimed at the back of the left goblin's heart.
"Pfft!"
The spear tip accurately pierced the target, and the goblin dissolved into ashes before it could even let out a scream.
But the moment after the attack, Ying Ping's figure reappeared.
"Gah!"
The other goblin let out a piercing shriek and lunged with its sharp claws.
Ying Ping was prepared; his round shield steadily blocked the attack.
He used the recoil to step back half a pace, and his spear again darted out like a snake's tongue, pinning the monster to the rock wall.
[Killed Goblin x 2]
[Current Kills: 22]
[Experience full]
[Level increased to LV2]
Ying Ping looked at the system prompt in surprise, a warm current suddenly flowing through his entire body.
His muscles became firmer, and his five senses became sharper.
He tried swinging his spear and found his movements much smoother than before.
"Is this what leveling up feels like?"
"It seems I can get stronger in real-time without Hestia needing to update my blessing!"
Ying Ping eagerly brought up his attribute panel:
[Shadow Monarch Leveling System]
[Level]: LV2
[Strength]: 16 → 21
[Agility]: 6 → 11
[Stamina]: 14 → 19
[Intelligence]: 5 → 10
[Magic Power]: 0 → 5
[HP]: 110 / 110
[MP]: 5 / 5
[Skills]:
Shadow Step (Cooldown)
[Free Attribute Points]: 10
Ying Ping unhesitatingly allocated the 10 attribute points, adding 5 to Strength and 5 to Agility.
As the numbers changed, he felt the muscles throughout his body subtly firm up, and his spear and shield felt as light as nothing.
The light armor he wore also felt much lighter.
"It seems that killing monsters to level up gives me 5 points to each stat."
"After leveling up, I also get an additional 10 ability points to distribute."
"Combined with the 10 points from the daily training quest... my speed of getting stronger is increasing rapidly."
"Haha, very good, but I should head back now."
"I need to tell Hestia this good news soon."
Ying Ping glanced into the depths of the dungeon, then saw a few other adventurers nearby, and decisively chose to leave.
As he turned to depart, his steps were much steadier than when he arrived.
Shadow Step's cooldown had just ended, and Ying Ping, on a whim, activated the skill, transforming into a blurry shadow and rushing towards the exit at an astonishing speed.
The adventurers on the first floor only felt a gentle breeze pass by.
They vaguely saw a figure holding a spear flash past, thinking it was some high-level adventurer in a hurry.