Orario, first floor of The Babel.
Several slender figures crossed the hall and walked all the way down the stairs into the Dungeon.
"Miss Ais, which floor are we going to this time?"
"The thirty-seventh floor."
"Eh? Going that deep?"
Lefia let out a cry of surprise.
According to the danger level of the Dungeon, the Adventurers Guild has divided the Dungeon into four levels.
Floors 1-12 are the Upper Floors, suitable for Level 1 lower-class adventurers, with a low danger coefficient.
Floors 13-24 are the Middle Floors, requiring a team of several Level 2 adventurers or one Level 3 adventurer to lead; the danger coefficient is medium-high.
Floors 25-36 are the Lower Floors; if there is no Level 3 adventurer leading the team, the survival probability for low-level adventurers here is zero.
As for the 37th floor, that is the starting point of the Deep Floors of the Dungeon, where a large number of skeleton monsters exist; with one mistake, even a Level 4 adventurer could lose their life.
As an ordinary Level 3 adventurer, the 37th Floor was extremely dangerous for Lefia.
"Miss Ais is a Level 5 adventurer. She probably won't gain much in stats on the 37th Floor, so why go so deep?"
"To earn money for weapon maintenance."
Ais replied succinctly.
Because her fighting style was too rough, she had to spend a large amount of money on weapon maintenance after every expedition.
As the starting point of the deep floors, the magic stones and materials dropped by monsters on the 37th Floor are very valuable.
With some luck and a few quests, one could earn hundreds of thousands to a million currency in one trip.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Sensing Lefia's worry, Ais added another sentence.
"That's right, Lefia. You just need to point your staff at those skeletons and blast away. If any enemies get close, I'll handle them for you!"
"Relax, no monster on the 37th Floor can break through the defense of the three of us at once."
Tiona and Tione, following behind the two, chimed in together, their faces full of confidence.
The 37th Floor might be dangerous for a new Level 4 adventurer.
But for Level 5 adventurers with maxed-out stats, it was no different from a back garden.
"Then I'll leave it to you all."
Hearing her teammates' comfort, the pressure in Lefia's heart lessened significantly, and her expression relaxed slightly.
Just then, a familiar figure crossed her line of sight.
"Eh?"
Lefia stopped in her tracks.
"What's wrong?"
Tiona stopped as well, looking in the direction Lefia was staring.
What came into view was a black-haired youth clad in silver armor, slaughtering Goblins.
"Ooh~ that guy looks pretty handsome. Is he a friend of yours, Lefia?"
"A semi-acquaintance, I guess. He's the one who made the fried rice I've been eating lately."
"Eh? It's him?"
Tiona was suddenly fully alert.
She had heard that Lefia hadn't been eating at the cafeteria lately and was going out every day to buy fried rice.
She had originally thought the cook was an older man or woman, but she didn't expect him to be so young.
"Hmm?"
Cain also noticed people watching.
Finishing off the Goblin in front of him with one strike, he turned to look not far away.
"Good morning, Lefia, and everyone from the Loki Familia."
"Cain, what are you doing here?"
Lefia asked, somewhat puzzled.
"As you can see, training."
Cain picked up a magic stone from the ground: "And earning some money to support myself."
Lefia frowned: "But didn't you say yesterday that setting up a stall on the surface was safer and that fighting didn't suit you?"
Cain sighed and sheathed his sword: "Lefia, there's a limit to running a stall."
"In my short career as a street vendor, I realized one thing. The harder you try to earn money, the more you find the limits of a stall... unless you transcend the stall itself."
Lefia tilted her head: "I don't understand. Can you be more direct?"
"I'm giving up the stall, Lefia!"
Cain pressed his right hand to his forehead, leaned back, and pointed his left index finger at the group of four.
"I'm going to be an adventurer! Reach Level 100, form the strongest Familia, and dominate the world!"
"Pfft—"
Tiona suddenly clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.
"Lefia, this friend of yours is so funny!"
"No wonder you often go to see him; he really is an interesting man," Tione agreed.
Ais thought for a moment: "Level 100."
Lefia: "..."
She shouldn't have stopped to say hello to Cain.
Crack... crack... crack...
Just then, a crisp sound rang out.
Lefia and the others stopped talking and looked toward the nearby Dungeon wall.
Like a dam bursting, numerous cracks appeared on the wall, and over twenty Goblins poked their heads out and landed one after another.
"That's quite a lot."
Lefia instinctively raised her staff.
"What are you doing?"
Tione glanced at her, puzzled.
"Cain only recently received his blessing. He can't handle these monsters alone," Lefia replied.
"Really? But he looks quite confident and doesn't seem to need help," Tiona pointed nearby.
Lefia followed her gaze and saw Cain gripping his sword with his left hand and the hilt with his right, leaning forward and taking a step.
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!
Boom—!
A footprint was stamped into the ground. Cain's figure instantly tore through the air, appearing beside the Goblin horde like a bolt of lightning.
A cold flash passed, and several Goblins at the very front collapsed on the spot, their heads flying into the air.
Then, before the remaining monsters could react, Cain vanished again as a flash of lightning.
There was no struggle or even a fair fight; what unfolded before Lefia was a one-sided slaughter.
In just a few breaths, all twenty-plus Goblins had fallen.
"Actually, there aren't many complicated reasons."
Picking up the dropped magic stones and materials, Cain walked back to the group of four and met Lefia's eyes.
"Seeking power is human instinct. I came to the Dungeon just to get stronger."
"I see..."
Snapping out of her shock, Lefia asked almost subconsciously.
"Will you still set up your stall?"
"Unless I'm really short on money, I probably won't anymore."
After learning the Breathing Technique, Cain now had the ability to protect himself in the Dungeon.
Compared to earning money through a stall, he now prioritized grinding monsters in the Dungeon to increase his strength.
The more his strength increased, the stronger Demon Slayer Cain would become.
The stronger Demon Slayer Cain became, the stronger the demons he could kill.
Then, by sharing and gaining the other's demon-slaying experience, he could update his blessing to become even stronger.
The strong leading the strong; as long as it's handled properly, everyone can achieve a Happy Ending of getting stronger together.
Of course, such things couldn't be said out loud.
Seeing Lefia's suddenly disappointed look, Cain thought for a moment and spoke.
"I live under the Abandoned Church in the Northwest District. If you want to eat my cooking, you can come find me."
"Eh? Is that okay?"
"Of course, if you don't mind the somewhat dilapidated environment."
"Me, me, me! Can I come too?"
Tiona suddenly raised her hand and asked.
Cain nodded: "Of course. The other two can come as well if you're free."
"Hehe~ then I won't be polite!"
A look of anticipation appeared on Tiona's face.
She was truly curious about the fried rice the Elf Maiden couldn't stop thinking about.
...