"Roar!"
The remaining four or five Werewolves let out a low growl and frantically lunged at Roy. Their sharp fangs and claws were their weapons, aiming to tear the intruder to shreds.
At this sight, Roy's face showed no fear.
His adrenaline surged rapidly. Roy licked the blood from the wound on his arm. The rich scent of blood filled his mouth, rushing straight to his head. The stimulation brought by the pain made his mind exceptionally clear.
His excitement continued to soar.
Only in this life-or-death struggle did Roy feel that everything around him was so real.
He had acquired extraordinary power!
In front of him were the monsters of the Dungeon! He was fighting, staking his life on it!
A look of insane delight spread across Roy's lips, and fierce blood vessels webbed his eyeballs. If anyone else had seen Roy at that moment, they would most likely have taken him for one of the mad terrorists of the Evils. A certain frenzied quality lurked in his bones; his desire for power had virtually become an obsession.
Surprisingly, Roy quickly began to adapt to the Dungeon's fighting style, becoming familiar with the power of the Grace. The Werewolves' attacks—the positions of their sharp claws, wooden clubs, and fangs—were all clearly mapped out in his mind.
Bang!
Roy stopped retreating. Instead, he took the initiative, lunging forward. He plunged the long sword, held in both hands, into the chest of the foremost Werewolf, and the monster's body exploded.
Even the Werewolves were caught off guard by the sudden change. Their instincts sensed that something had happened to this supposedly weak human.
But they were not Xenos, after all.
After a brief moment of surprise, the Werewolves lunged at Roy, who was now in their midst, from all directions.
Roy spun in a wide arc. The cold, sharp blade easily sliced off the heads of the three surrounding Werewolves. Their bodies immediately burst apart, and Magic Stone fragments fell.
Only the last Werewolf remained. It seized the opportunity to rush behind Roy. Swinging the sword to strike was already too late.
Treading on the Wind!
Roy's mind stirred, activating the effect of the Wind Chasing Boots, increasing his Agility by 30%.
A gust of wind swirled around his calves. Roy shifted his ankle, faced the Werewolf, instantly exerted force, and lunged forward. His near-A-Class Agility was displayed perfectly.
Boom!
Roy endured the Werewolf's club strike, absorbing the blow, and then smashed into the monster with an Iron Mountain Lean (Tessan Kou), slamming it into the wall with a dull thud.
The last Werewolf's body convulsed and then exploded. Floor Five, the entire pack of Werewolves was annihilated!
Roy exhaled a puff of stale air. He pulled out a bottle of low-grade Life Potion, flicked off the stopper with his thumb, and gulped it down noisily.
The potion did not restore Stamina but only treated injuries. A burst of emerald green light emanated from Roy's body, and a tingling sensation spread across the wound on his forearm.
The effect was immediate and pronounced. Seven or eight seconds later, the wound on Roy's forearm began to scab over.
[Strength: 5 → 18 (I)][Endurance: 8 → 36 (I)][Dexterity: 0 → 9 (I)]
Roy looked at the pop-up panels. Aside from Agility, which was far beyond the floor's standard, all his other attributes had received some boost.
[Magic: 0 (I)]
The Magic attribute, needless to say, hadn't budged. Roy estimated that it would only increase after he acquired magic and continuously used it. Or, through "cheating," he could invest the attribute points gained from clearing instances, skipping the training process entirely.
Roy stretched. He had achieved half the goal of his trip to the Dungeon—the exhilarating slaughter of monsters. As for his other purpose...
Before engaging in the War Game with the Rudra Familia, he needed to confirm whether his cheat system could allow him to transfer to other worlds while inside the Dungeon.
[Giant Instance: Wall Maria is about to be breached. For every Titan killed, depending on the Titan's physical ability, 30–100 Attribute Points will be awarded. Kill count reaching thirty triggers a special reward!]
[Warp immediately?]
Roy reached out his hand towards the "Yes" option.
Just as he was about to touch it, a shiver ran through Roy. A profound sense of danger welled up in his heart, as if he had been targeted by a ferocious beast. Invisible eyes were watching him everywhere.
A fine layer of cold sweat broke out on Roy's forehead. His finger stopped. His keen intuition told him that if he pressed that button, something terrible would definitely happen!
Although he had been aggressive while killing the Werewolves, that was because he knew they were manageable opponents. Charging headlong into an utterly insurmountable foe was just suicide! Even if the 'red-eyed rabbit' (Bell Cranel) had an ultimate Hero's Desire, he wouldn't dare challenge Ota the Juggernaut at Level 2.
Suddenly, a madness that even high-level adventurers would fear flickered in the depths of Roy's bloodshot eyes. He reached out his finger again towards the "Yes" option.
"ONGH!"
An earth-shaking roar echoed from the depths of the Dungeon, filled with intense rage, and it traveled upward floor by floor. The eyes of the monsters that heard this sound instantly turned blood red, and they became incredibly savage.
The adventurers remaining in the Dungeon were miserable. The monsters before them had berserked, suddenly gaining a level of boosted stats, making their fights agonizing. The Loki Familia, currently on an expedition, experienced the same thing.
The earth shook, and the entire Dungeon vibrated violently. Even the surface could feel it.
This roar was like a bucket of icy water dumped on Roy's head. He instantly calmed down, quietly withdrew his finger, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.
Was the Dungeon warning him?!
Roy's interest in the Dungeon grew stronger. Information about the Dungeon surfaced in his mind.
The Dungeon was a giant hole that appeared three thousand years ago, the
"womb"
of the monsters. Humanity's knowledge of the Dungeon ended there; they knew nothing about why this vast underground world existed. The only certainty was that this underground labyrinth, like humans and monsters, was
"alive."
Even if a wall was destroyed, the Dungeon would eventually repair the damaged section and restore its original structure.
Why was there light underground? Why were monsters born? Why did the labyrinth's structure revert to its original state? From ancient times until now, none of the mysteries surrounding the Dungeon have been solved.
The Gods, who descended to the Lower World and should have been omniscient, were either playing dumb or were genuinely ignorant, refusing to reveal even a hint of the truth to mortals.
"The Dungeon is the Dungeon,"
the Gods would often say with a smile, brushing off the questions.
Roy's eyes were feverish. He looked at the dark and deep passage to the Sixth Floor. He vowed to conquer the Dungeon and explore the secrets hidden within.
Bang!
As if sensing Roy's resolve, the Dungeon responded. Over a dozen Werewolves burst through the walls, their eyes flashing crimson, surrounding him.
"Come on!"
Roy felt a surge of heroic passion. His first step toward conquering the Dungeon would be turning these Werewolves into his experience points.
A mutual charge began, leading to a fierce fight.