The path to the Dungeon was... surprisingly normal.
I mean, sure, the excitement was there, the nerves were jangling in my stomach, but the way to get to the place was just like walking through any busy indoor marketplace, except they were selling weapons, armors, and consumables. All inside the Babel Tower that stood tall in the center of Orario like a giant spear stabbed into the earth, its base bustling with adventurers and merchants alike.
And beneath it—hidden from regular civilians—was the entrance to the Dungeon, watched by guards who looked like they're probably active adventurers or ex-adventurers themselves.
Mikoto walked beside me, her hand resting casually on the hilt of her katana. Her presence was calm, steady, and I tried to mirror that even as my heart threatened to punch a hole through my ribs as I approached closer to the place. The closer we got to the dungeon, the more the excitement died down, and the nervousness started rising up.
In a large room at the center, a massive, grand doorway led down into a wide spiral staircase. It was wide enough for a whole platoon to march down if they wanted to, and the stone steps seemed to disappear into darkness below.
"Stay close. And away from the edges."
Mikoto said as she began her descent, not looking back.
I nodded, following her down the long, rounded staircase that led into the den of the monsters.
To think there will come a day when I'd willingly go towards blatant life-threatening danger… all my instincts from watching countless movies and stories told me this was dumb, but the possibility of unveiling my cheat's truth was simply too tempting for me to not risk it.
The air grew cooler with every step downwards, the sounds of the city and the indoor marketplace fading behind us until there was only the echo of our boots tapping stone, mixing with occasional taps and voices from a few others who were climbing up or down the stairs alongside her. I noticed everyone maintained a healthy distance from each other, excluding their own groups, and people seemed to be on edge. It wasn't limited to me, I guess. Everyone seemed to have a level of wariness when entering or even existing the dungeon.
-x-
Finally, we were here.
The first floor of the Dungeon.
It was a wide, open space with ceilings higher than I'd expected, illuminated by a strange, artificial light that had no clear and singular source. The walls were uneven, rugged, and stretched far into twisting passages and sections, all made of that eerie and unique stone that made this place. I wondered if the walls were made of something special. From what I'd learned, they were self-repairing and inside the outer layer, there was something that allowed monsters to be born and come out.
I hadn't heard too much about the walls, even though they seemed curious to me. I might ask about it later from my acquaintances. Now wasn't the time to wonder about such things, after all.
Even without supernatural instincts, my whole body was growing tense. I knew what this place was. I'd seen the anime, read the wiki pages. And now heard real-life tales about it. I knew what could happen here if I let my guard down.
"First rule of the Dungeon."
Mikoto said, breaking the silence between us.
"Always assume the next second could be the one where monsters come out to kill you."
She glanced back at me, her purple eyes serious. They seemed to glimmer slightly in the dungeon's light.
"Second rule: don't blindly trust anyone. Monsters aren't the only danger inside the dungeon."
I nodded stiffly, knowing full well where that sentiment came from. The anime glanced over the fact, but it was clear to me, from watching various sources (which mostly included Anime and Manhwa, ironically) that inside the dungeon, you shouldn't blindly trust others, unless they're your long-term partners. Heck, sometimes not even them as circumstances sometimes forced people to forsake their friends and loved ones to get a chance to save their own lives.
Fear of imminent death often blinded people, reducing them to their base animalistic instincts. Not many were capable of retaining their senses and reasoning under that pressure.
In the end, most people wanted to live. Survive. And sometimes, it came to choosing your life over the others— and for many, the decision eventually landed in their own favor.
"Third rule…"
She continued, ignorant of my monologue.
"Don't chase after drops or crystals until you're sure the area is safe. Greed has killed many. It tends to blind people to lurking danger. That is why, always check your surroundings for any stragglers or hidden monsters and even during drop gathering, pay attention to your surroundings."
Greed kills. Noted.
"Fourth rule: Monsters can spawn from anywhere, so always make sure to look not just your front, left and right, but also at your up, down, and back. You never know where the next monster could spawn from. You must not be blindsided. That's how you get taken by surprise by a monster. It's especially true if you're alone and have no help or support. That's why it's recommended to form a party with others so you can watch each other's backs and help in case one of you get in trouble."
We moved forward slowly, Mikoto setting an easy pace for me. I followed her, eyes darting around, heart slowly hammering in my ears.
Let me just go ahead and state that this was the dumbest shit I'd done till date. And yet, this was what was expected of people in this world. This was normal. Something people did willingly due to the various allures of this place.
Truly, greed made people do so many questionable things in life.
It wasn't long before I encountered my first monster. Or rather, two. We were now in a secluded section of the first floor with no other adventurer around us.
In the eerie quiet, with a sound like tearing fabric and falling stones, two shapes crawled out of the dungeon walls. Tiny, green-skinned monsters with crude stone knives clutched in their hands, their ugly faces twisted into hatred and fury-filled snarls.
"Take the one on the right. Two might be too much for your first time."
Mikoto said calmly, already stepping toward the other.
Right, okay. Right.
My short sword already in hand, I turned toward the goblin charging at me. It wasn't fast, not really, but at that moment, it felt like a small visible blur as it rushed towards me like a rabid two-legged animal, probably realizing I was the weaker target. My muscles tensed as I braced for an attack, trying to predict its movements in the heat of my first battle. That was useless, I already knew in a brief second as there was no way I could predict it without taking risk.
As it reached closer, I instead swung—somewhat wildly—and missed. Shit. The goblin slashed, and I stumbled back, narrowly dodging by sheer luck and adrenaline surge.
"Woah! Shit!"
My nerves were on fire and my heartbeat was now clearly audible as my heart pumped more and more blood, faster.
This was it, my first taste of a life-and-death battle. With a real monster to boot.
"Focus!"
Mikoto's voice cut across the noise, clearing the forming battle haze in my head.
"Short, tight movements! You're wasting energy!"
I gritted my teeth and tried again, this time stepping into the goblin's charge rather than flailing backward. My sword connected with a wet thud, but not cleanly—more like a clumsy bash than a smooth, precise cut.
The goblin shrieked in response, and I winced from the shrill sound. It was grating to the ears. I swung again, overcompensating for my skills and finesse with sheer brute strength—I was after all stronger than the goblin due to my size and body mass—foregoing Mikoto's advice in the heat of the battle.
The goblin dodged to the side with a snarl, slashing at me with its crude knife. The tip grazed my chest plate but thankfully didn't cut through—I had just avoided a dangerous blow thanks to the armor I was wearing. Had I not been wearing that I could have been harmed lethally.
Heart pounding, I lashed out again, this time driving the point of the sword forward in a simple and fast (to my senses anyway) stab.
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't graceful. But it worked.
The sword jabbed into the goblin's chest, more by luck and sheer probability of hitting that wide area than actual skill and accuracy, and the creature let out a choked gurgle before finally collapsing onto the ground.
Breathing hard, I stood there like an idiot, staring down at the small, crumpled body, my mind catching up to what just happened.
Mikoto must have already finished off her goblin since she was standing there silently, my mind offhandedly noted. She didn't look a single bit affected; meanwhile, I was feeling like my heartbeat was loud enough to be heard from miles.
"You overextended your swings."
She said bluntly, sheathing her blade.
"You wasted too much energy on big, clumsy movements."
I frowned, feeling the truth of her words. I clenched, then unclenched my palms, feeling the residue from holding my short sword. I couldn't tell how it felt to have killed a monster in real life. I think it still hadn't fully settled in yet. The one prominent emotion I felt at the time was: Relief. Relief that I had managed to defeat the Goblin and was safe.
"Fighting isn't about flailing harder. It's about precision. Economy of movement. You won't survive long if you don't learn that."
Her calm and steady words brought me out of my funk, and I nodded.
"Yeah, got it."
I spoke, sounding curter than I wanted to, but it couldn't be helped as I was still trying to calm my nerves. I was quickly learning that I was not built for this type of action. Not even close. This was the first time I had seriously gotten into a fight where actual stakes were present. Not to mention it was a battle to death while using pointed, sharp medieval weapons.
The victory over that goblin tasted bitter.
Feeling satisfaction over killing someone—it didn't sit right. But it wasn't someone, was it? Just a monster. A soulless construct of malice, born from the Dungeon itself. Why? No one really knew. Not even the anime ever got that far before I ended up isekai'd into the real thing.
Mikoto knelt beside the goblin I had killed and pulled out a thin dagger from her belt. She gestured for me to come closer.
"Come on. It's not over yet. You have to collect the drop item."
I knelt beside her.
"Right... so, how do you do it?"
I ask, not enjoying the vivisection I—or rather I—was about to perform on it. It stunk. I had to hold myself to not gag, looking at it up close.
"Stab the chest, just under the sternum. Twist slightly, then pull. The magic stone's usually embedded near the heart."
I followed her instructions, feeling a little nauseous as my dagger—another thing I had gotten in my guild kit for this exact purpose— squelched into the goblin's cold flesh, just an inch above where I had pierced it before to land the killing blow. After a bit of awkward fumbling and half-gagging at the sounds and smell, I found it—a small, faintly glowing purple crystal the size of a grape.
As soon as my knife touched it, the goblin's body immediately disintegrated into black dust, swirling away into nothingness and making me jerk out of surprise.
Okay, even though I knew something like that happened, that was too sudden.
"That's how it works. Once the stone is damaged, even a little, the monster turns into dust, leaving the stone. Sometimes, dops too, but those are rare."
Mikoto said simply.
"If you don't remove the stone, the body stays until decomposed by the dungeon. It's a rule to pick up any crystals from monsters you kill. Leaving them can cause other monsters to stumble upon them and grow stronger by consuming them, thus causing problems for any other adventurers that come after you. So, the Guild strongly advices you to pick up all the Monster Crystals you can, even ones that you find in the wild from other people's kills if they're not currently being picked."
I nodded as I stared at the little purple crystal in my hand, the faint shine reflecting the light inside the dungeon. This tiny thing was worth money.
It was also going to be my first earnings as an adventurer.
I paused as I felt something stir inside me.
It was subtle, but somehow, I could sense it subconsciously. Like a container that had been non-existent until now and always been empty was now holding the first few drops of… something. The feeling was foreign yet oddly satisfying.
I said nothing about it to Mikoto, simply slipping the crystal into my pouch and getting back to my feet. I'd have to tell Hestia later. This... this had to be linked to my Skill somehow. Did I grow from this experience? Was that what it was? I didn't know and was curious.
We continued roaming on the first floor for an hour or two to get me acquainted to the dungeon and fighting monsters on first floor. Mikoto, like a good escort and teacher, kept a sharp eye out while I fumbled along, doing my best not to look too pathetic as I killed single goblins. I wish I could say I had learned from my first fight and was much better on my second, third or even seventh. But truth be told, my growth was way slower than I'd have liked. It took time and getting into hairy situations to actually drill lessons into my head. I learned from the experience, certainly, but I also knew one thing: I had a long, long way to go to be actually good at it.
Eventually, we returned to the surface.
I couldn't help but feel a bit downtrodden at the result—we'd only been on the first floor, barely scratched the surface of the Dungeon, and I already felt wrecked. I had accumulated scratches and bruises on me and had to consume one of my Health Potions because I ended up taking some bad hits from those nasty little fuckers. I didn't want to, but the cut looked bad to me, despite Mikoto's assurance that it was only surface wound and will heal in a few days.
Yet again, the difference in my perspective from people of this world was clear. They treated wounds like this as insignificant. Yet for me, this was the most harmed I'd been in the recent years.
Honestly, those green little things were revolting. I could only wish I had the powers of the Goblin Slayer to exact my revenge on them. Sigh. At least I did manage to kill them, so that was that.
But knowing they were just basic level 1 mobs that were produced infinitely by the dungeon, the so-called 'victory' over them and successful first dive felt hollow at best.
I was already tired and just wanted to go home and rest.
-x-
After making our way out of the Dungeon, Mikoto led me to the Guild without much ceremony. It wasn't far—just a few blocks over from the Babel Tower, on the main road. I already knew the way from my previous visits.
The building was as usual busy, adventurers coming and going, some looking battered like me, others laughing and flashing handfuls of crystals like they'd just won the lottery.
The Exchange Counter was tucked to one side, a line of tired-looking workers sitting behind small windows.
Mikoto stepped up to one, her movements smooth and practiced, and handed over her pouch. A soft clinking sound followed as she emptied it onto the metal tray. The amount was probably over 3 times what I had.
I couldn't help but internally laugh wryly. That's an experienced adventurer for you. In fact, I knew for a fact that she could have earned a lot more had she not been babysitting me inside the dungeon.
"Jeez... I have a long way to go."
I muttered under my breath, glancing down at my modest 7 crystals. It felt... kind of pathetic in comparison.
Mikoto must've noticed, because she offered a small smile and spoke.
"Don't worry. Everyone starts somewhere."
Her tone wasn't mocking—just matter-of-fact. That somehow made it land better.
And she was right. This was just the beginning. I could grow from here.
What was that quote again? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single, lonely step. Or something like that.
I probably butchered it, but… you get the idea.
The Guild worker quickly assessed her haul, exchanged it for a few coins, and then it was my turn.
I handed over my seven crystals, feeling oddly sheepish as they clinked into the tray. The worker didn't react, however—probably used to newbies like me—and passed over a few coins in return.
I pocketed them after counting. 740 Valis. Earned by a complete newbie in less than 2 hours inside the dungeon on his first run into the dungeon. Even though I was assisted by Mikoto, allowing me to kill Goblins one at a time, this was still a substantial amount compared to my daily earnings at Miach's Pharmacy.
Yeah, I could see now why people wanted to be adventurers.
It paid damn well to risk your life inside the dungeon.
Mikoto took her leave soon after that, politely refusing my offer to treat her for her help stating familia business. I still thanked her for her help and sheepishly asked if it was possible to do it again, if she was free.
As much experience as I had gotten from my first dive, which wasn't insignificant but definitely nowhere near enough to single dive into the dungeon, I still thought having someone like Mikoto as my guide and escort would help me get more familiar with it and avoid danger I couldn't handle.
Mikoto had her own life and regular dungeon diving to do alongside her familia, but she was nice enough to agree to another unofficial escort mission with me in the coming week.
She also gave me advice to start practising and get familiar with my weapon and body. I tried my best to not focus on the double meaning conclusion my brain tried to cook up from the latter and kept a straight, serious face as I nodded in affirmative. After thanking her one last time, we separated, her heading towards her familia home and I to the Abandoned Church, which I supposed was my familia home for the time being.
Hestia was probably still at her stall, so I would get some much needed rest and process my first dive into the dungeon.
-x-
Interlude: Freya
From the highest balcony of Babel Tower, Freya watched the city below with bored, half-lidded eyes, her silver hair flowing lightly in the breeze. Orario teemed with life as always—adventurers, merchants, gods, and regular people going about their day, their souls shining like tiny embers in her divine sight.
Some were lit with desires, emotions and ambition, others dimmed by their realities and the despair from their unending struggles. A few had the rare glimmer of potential that always caught her interest, but none recently had seemed extraordinary so far. That is, none until now.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
In the corner of her vision, among the sea of colorful souls, she spotted something… odd.
A soul, but unlike any she had ever seen among the mortals walking around in Orario.
It was pitch black, like thick tar, absorbing the light around it rather than producing it. Freya straightened a little, her gaze sharpening instantly to it. As a Goddess with dominion related to Souls, she knew that a soul turned black from malice, from deep, festering evil. But this one she was seeing… this was not that. There was no sense of murderous hatred or vileness leaking from it.
No, it was something else entirely.
Something deeper, something… hidden and locked. Locked from her sight. She couldn't sense anything from it.
Intrigued, Freya leaned over, peering closer. The blackness seemed almost like a cloak—thick and suffocating—but beneath it, when she focused enough, going as far as to stretch her divine-mandated bounds and thus gaining Ouranos's undivided attention on her, she could get a fleeting glimpse of something startling.
White.
A hidden purity, buried deep under layers of suffocating darkness.
Her lips parted slightly in surprise and wonder, silver eyes reflecting the soul's strange contradiction. How…curious. It was rare—so very rare—that something unknown presented itself to her senses so suddenly and unexpectedly. Souls were her domain, her expertise, and yet here was one she could not fully comprehend at a glance.
Without taking her eyes off the figure moving through the crowded plaza below, she called out in a soft, commanding voice.
"Allen."
From the shadows behind her, a slim figure stepped forward—a member of her Familia. Quiet, competent, and efficient. Not one of her well-known elites like Ottar, but still reliable. Normally, Ottar would've been her first choice for a task like this. But one, he wasn't here—off in the Dungeon training. And two, this job needed a subtler touch. Ottar tried, gods knew he did, but subtlety was hard to manage when you were built like a siege engine.
"You called, My Lady?"
She pointed her delicate finger towards the black-cloaked soul.
"Find out about that one. The young man with that eastern girl, wearing low grade equipment."
Allen followed her gaze, memorizing the features of the young man, and gave a short nod, not questioning her command.
"Your wish shall be done."
He said simply before melting back into the room's interior to begin his work.
Freya remained where she was, still staring after the figure of the black soul, walking towards the tower.
Seeing it leaving her sight, she wondered if there was any substantial emotion she felt for that one, but upon introspecting, she came to a simple conclusion: No.
The only thing she felt for it was, simply, curiosity. Nothing else. While the hidden and fleeting white core intrigued her, the tar-like blackness frustrated her due to its ability to hide things from her vision. A strange mixture of opposites that just ended up making her wonder…
A possibly beautiful mystery wrapped in disgusting black tar, hiding something utterly radiant within.
And Freya had always loved uncovering beautiful things.
Her smile, small and secretive, curved at the corners of her lips as she whispered to herself:
"Just what are you hiding, I wonder?"
Could it be something that finally catches her undivided attention after so long. Perhaps, if that fleeting white core was what she thought it was, even gain her interest… and possibly more.
-x-