Chapter 9 – First group exploration.
We walked to the portal as we talked. Bell was talking a lot, and the thing he talked about the most was Ais. He was telling me how beautiful she was and how strong she was. Yes, I already know about all this.
I didn't remember Bell being so obsessed with her.
We arrived at the gate and got in line. We stayed there for a few minutes until it was our turn. We used the portal along with a few other unknown men. Again that glow enveloped me.
After a few seconds, my vision changed.
The other men moved on, and Bell and I walked side by side the stairs until we reached the first floor.
"What do you intend to do? Do you want to split up or stay together?" I asked Bell. He bowed his head.
"Isn't it normal for us to be together?"
"..." He is not wrong. "Alright, let's go." So I put my hands in my pockets and started walking through the maze. Bell had shorter legs, so he struggled to keep up with my steps.
"How do you fight when you don't have a sword or some kind of blade? Do you use magic?" Bell was holding his knife.
"Yes, I can use magic. But I also use my fists or feet."
"A martial artist... That's cool." Bell looked excited.
Then we continued walking through the first floor towards the second. We found other adventurers, but we didn't find any monsters we could kill. It was very calm.
But things changed when we got to the second floor.
We found a couple of goblins walking together in the first steps we took. The two ran towards us as soon as they saw us, making strange sounds. I looked at Bell and saw that his gaze had changed.
He then ran towards the goblins. He cut the first goblin's throat and plunged his knife into the second goblin's chest. This was all done in a few seconds.
The goblins turned to dust and dropped two crystals. Bell took the two crystals and placed them in the small cloth bag he had brought.
"Let's continue?" He put his knife away and smiled at me.
"Clear." So we continued walking. On the way, we met some more adventurers. They were fighting a group of goblins.
They had the upper hand, so we decided not to interfere.
We didn't know them either; it would be risky. There are dangerous adventurers out there.
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We reached the fourth floor after some more time. The number of enemies had increased, so our bag of crystals gradually increased in size.
About our battles... I confess I didn't do much. Bell killed almost all of them before I could do anything. Of course, I also killed some, but most of them were killed by Bell.
And during one of those battles, I was able to experience the skill called [Hell kaios]
A blade-like red shock wave sliced the [ Dungeon Lizard ] in half with ease, killing him instantly. Bell was impressed.
And about my body strengthening skill.
I didn't have many opportunities to use it, but when I activated it, Bell was surprised by my movements, mainly because of my speed.
And after several battles against Kobolds, Goblins, and Dungeon Lizards, we had reached the present moment. We were very close to the fifth floor.
"I think we should go back now."
"Why?"
"From the fifth floor onwards War Shadows and Killer Ants start to appear. Monster spawn is also faster, it would be a little dangerous to go in there now."
"I don't think it's a big problem." I smiled at Bell, looking confident. He then sighed.
"Okay, but if it gets too dangerous, let's go back."
"Right." I smiled again, and we went to the fifth floor. The dungeon walls changed colour as soon as we reached the fifth floor. The walls were now a beautiful light green colour.
I looked around, quite impressed. The dungeon's structure had also changed a bit. The hallways looked a little bigger.
Walking for a few minutes until we find the first enemies—a large group.
"War Shadows... Several of them." Bell's face paled, and I could imagine why. War Shadows, a monster known as "Newbie Killer" I don't think I need to explain the meaning of this.
I looked at the group of entirely black humanoid monsters a few meters ahead. They had long arms and three large claws on each. Getting hit by that would certainly be deadly.
"Luan, they haven't noticed us yet. Let's leave in silence." Bell was sweating. Is he that scared? But it makes sense since he's still weak.
He hasn't increased his skills much, and his training with Ais hasn't happened yet.
"Don't worry, I can beat them. Support me, all right?"
"It's not a good idea." Bell shook his head and took a few steps back, walking away. I then sighed and looked at him. At the same time, I kicked a small rock, making a sound.
Then, all five War Shadows looked at us at the same time.
After that, I smiled and watched Bell panic.
"Don't worry." Bell walked a few meters away but I stayed in the same place. So I activated my ability and faced them. Two monsters that were in front were hit by my skill [Hell Kaios]
It was much more powerful than I imagined.
The War Shadows turned to dust and dropped crystals to the ground.
Behind me, I could see Bell saying "Wow" as if he was impressed. But this is not the time to be distracted. The other three monsters were close. Analyzing their movements, I managed to avoid their attacks, and then I punched the first one.
Its body flew away and turned to dust.
I then punched the other two, they slammed against the wall so hard the hallway shook. The two also died instantly... It was incredible.