Morning began like the previous ones in the new house. Hachiman woke early, feeling the echoes of exhaustion from the preceding weeks, but overlaid with a palpable sense of power. Aqua was clinging to him, a fact he registered with the resignation of an established habit. He knew he was at the absolute peak of Level 1. Basic stats firmly in Rank S, ranging between 950 and 990. Magic at Rank SSS, apparently having stagnated at 1100 points.
'The limit is here,' he thought as he carefully got up. 'Magic barely moved yesterday, and the gains in basics must be drastically diminishing now that they're in Rank S. Leveling up is the logical progression.' But a final spark of stubbornness, the need to be absolutely sure he had squeezed out every drop of potential, urged him on. 'Just one more day. One last hunt on the twelfth floor to see if there's any difference, any last point to be gained before making the jump to Level 2.'
With this final determination, he equipped himself. The growth armor seemed to settle on him with comforting familiarity. Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands with a fleeting thought, the power of his SSS Magic making the projection almost effortless. He left Aqua sleeping and set out for the Dungeon, ready for the last push as an overpowered Level 1.
Midway through the still-quiet morning streets, he spotted two familiar figures coming in the opposite direction, carrying baskets full of fresh bread and other groceries, likely for the Hostess of Fertility. It was Syr Flover and Ryuu Lion.
Syr flashed a radiant smile upon seeing him, a smile Hachiman found... enigmatic. There was something behind the usual sweetness, an intensity or knowledge that made him uncomfortable. Ryuu, on the other hand, merely shot him a cold glance and turned her face away, though he noted the open hostility from before seemed to have lessened somewhat, perhaps replaced by studied indifference.
"Well now, Hachiman-san! Off to the Dungeon so early?" Syr asked with her usual cheerfulness.
"Yeah. Work to do," he replied concisely.
"Such a hard worker!" Syr laughed. She then took a bright red apple from her basket. "Here, take this. For energy on your hunt!" She held the fruit out to him.
Hachiman hesitated. The gesture was simple, friendly on the surface. But Syr's smile, the intensity in her eyes... it made him doubt. He remembered his suspicions about Freya. Was this a sign? A mark? Or was he just being paranoid after recent events? 'It's just an apple...' he tried to rationalize. Accepting was easier than refusing and causing awkwardness. He took the apple. "Thanks, Syr-san."
"Good hunting!" she wished him.
As Hachiman bid them farewell with a nod and began to walk away, continuing his path to Babel, he heard a low voice behind him, almost a whisper carried on the morning breeze.
"...don't die."
He stopped and looked back instinctively. Syr and Ryuu were already moving away, continuing on their way. Syr waved cheerfully. Ryuu didn't look back. But Hachiman was sure. The voice wasn't Syr's. It was Ryuu's. 'Did she... tell me not to die?' He frowned, confused. 'Why would she care?' He quickly dismissed any connection to Freya; Ryuu seemed genuine in her aversion to him and likely to divine machinations. 'Maybe... maybe it was just a weird, elven way of apologizing for her rudeness the other day? Or a generic adventurer-to-adventurer warning?' He shook his head, filed away the strangeness, and continued on his way to the Dungeon, the apple still in his hand.
Inside the Dungeon, he descended quickly, ignoring the floors that no longer offered him a challenge. He reached the twelfth floor, the luminous mist and grayish walls greeting him like an old (and dangerous) acquaintance. He unsheathed Kanshou and Bakuya and began to hunt.
As expected, the experience was almost monotonous now. Groups of Orcs were decimated before they could organize a coordinated attack. Silverbacks were stopped in their charges and felled with precise blows. Imps were eliminated with projected dagger explosions almost as a reflex. His Rank S strength, agility, and endurance, combined with Rank SSS magic and the growth armor, made him a force of nature on this level. He moved through the corridors with cold efficiency, defeating monsters with an ease bordering on boredom. He had already learned their patterns, their weak points. There was no more surprise, no real danger. The excelia he gained was minimal, almost imperceptible.
'Yeah, it's definitely over,' Hachiman concluded after clearing another chamber without even breaking a sweat. 'There's nothing more to gain here at Level 1. Pushing further would be a waste of time.' He was convinced. It was time to leave, get the final update, and finally, level up.
He was about to sheathe his blades and begin the ascent when two distinct, powerful sounds echoed through the corridors ahead, sounds that made the air vibrate and the hairs on his neck stand on end. One was a deep, furious roar, like an enraged bull amplified a thousand times. The other was a sharp, piercing screech, even fiercer and wilder. They were sounds of raw power, far beyond the common monsters of this floor.
Hachiman tensed instantly, Kanshou and Bakuya held firm. He moved cautiously towards the roars, using the shadows and mist to his advantage. Upon reaching a large intersection of corridors, he saw the sources of the sound. And his blood ran cold.
Two creatures. Both... wrong. Irregular.
One was a Minotaur, but unlike any he had ever seen or heard of on the upper floors. Its skin was a vibrant blood-red, contrasting with a deep, matte black chest and belly. Its eyes shone with a malevolent intelligence lacking in common Minotaurs. And, most shockingly, it carried not a rustic axe, but a massive, serrated black blade that seemed to pulse with dark energy.
Beside it stood a Wyvern. But it too was abnormal. Its scales were a deep black, almost absorbing the ambient light, but intricate lines of venomous, glowing green ran all over its body, like unholy circuits. Its eyes were green slits radiating pure malice.
Hachiman instinctively shrank back into the shadows, his heart pounding. 'They're not normal Dungeon monsters. They're... different. Stronger. Irregulars.' And then, the memory of Syr's enigmatic smile, the apple in his hand, Ryuu's warning. 'Freya!' The thought hit him with the force of a physical blow. This had to be her work. Was she interfering, testing him? Or testing someone else and he was just in the way?
Before he could analyze further, the black and green Wyvern let out a sharp screech and shot towards him with stunning speed, claws extended. It was incredibly fast, much faster than the Infant Dragon.
Hachiman reacted on pure instinct, raising Kanshou and Bakuya in a cross block, reinforcing them with a massive wave of his Rank SSS mana. The impact was brutal. He managed to block the claw attack, but the force behind it was immense, pushing him back several meters, his feet skidding on the stone floor. 'Strong! Very strong!' he realized, his arms trembling with the effort. This was far beyond a common Level 2 monster.
While Hachiman was fully focused on resisting the Wyvern's initial attack, which now hovered in the air before him with powerfully beating wings, he saw the red and black Minotaur move out of the corner of his eye. But the beast didn't join the attack. With a final disdainful glance in Hachiman's direction, the Minotaur turned and began running at high speed... towards the upper floors.
'What?! It's going up?!' Hachiman realized with horror. A monster of that strength loose on the upper floors would be a massacre. He had to stop it! But the black and green Wyvern shrieked again and dove for another attack, pinning Hachiman's full attention in an immediate fight for survival right there on the twelfth floor.