Middle floors are here!

Danmachi owner? No, nope, nada. Not me

I stare into the silence.

There was no response, not that I expected one. The only thing past these stairs is monsters. They might be different to the ones I've fought before, like the ones whose ashes litter the 12th floor on my way here. But at the end of the day, they are still monsters.

I've only been to the 12th floor 3 times alone and once with the Astrea Familia. I haven't started mapping it out as I've just finished the 11th floor.

The Astrea Familia say I shouldn't. Brant said I shouldn't. I know what Maria would say. Even by my own standards of descending the dungeon, I should only be thinking of touching the middle floors. So why am I here, ready to go down the steps?

'I'm not going down... I'm going forward.'

That was it. The simple reason. They all said how impressive it was for me to level up in 9 months, I even listened to that praise for a few days, enjoying it. But then I was reminded.

'It's like a mix between the Zeus and Hera Familia.'

I hadn't let those words go. They didn't allow me to sleep. How could I? I was reminded that it wasn't enough. I was still weak, way too weak. If the easiest level-up took 9 months, how long would the others take?

I've wasted too much time recovering, time I can't afford. I can already provide enough money now for Maria and my siblings. With my deeper ventures into the dungeon, I will surely earn money just by fighting normally. That means I can focus all my time on getting stronger.

'That's right. Getting money was always a secondary goal. Getting stronger, beating them, that was the main goal.'

I clasp my fists tightly in frustration at my selfishness. Putting myself before everyone else, how could I even consider being a hero?

Maybe one day... maybe. But now, today. I'm not a hero. Not while I'm still so weak. Not with such a long way to go until I catch them. However, I will reach them and I'll do it without their magic or any other help.

So for now, I'm all right not being a hero. Because right now I'm something else. I'm an adventurer. And adventurers go on adventures.

I take a final breath before taking my first steps onto the middle floors.

Each step felt different, like a pound of weight was added to my body with every step of progress. There was also more than usual. The longest stairway was the pathway between the 9th and 10th, almost as if you were jumping down a cliff. But this was even longer.

It took me over a minute of walking to finally see the floor. As soon as it came into view, I felt it. The aura had changed. Those small bits of weight added to my body were suddenly doubled as I felt my entire being pushed down under the pressure.

I try to calm myself, taking calm breaths to stop my mind from panicking. That was something Brant had told me was necessary if I wanted to go further. Keeping a level head and a calm mind was essential to surviving.

Even though it's only another floor down, the atmosphere is completely different. Similar to the distance between floors 1-9 and 10-12, I could tell this was a different area of the dungeon, even if I wasn't pre-warned by the Astrea Familia.

'This is floor 13. The Loki Familia made it to floor 47. I can't get scared here, this far up.'

If I wanted to reach my goal, of beating the Loki Familia in the dungeon, then tensing up at only floor 13, not even halfway compared to them, was unacceptable. Though, I wouldn't get ahead of myself. I was still in the dungeon and in an area I was completely unfamiliar with. I had no memory or experience to help me here.

As I finally reach the bottom step, all thoughts of who I'm trying to beat or where I want to be vanish. My mind solely focused on the here and now, the dungeon demanded it. A wave of musty air smashes into me, signalling a change in the atmosphere.

I squint my eyes in the darkness. Like the floors above, there is some natural light from a few glowing rocks, moss and minerals but they are a lot dimmer than before. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made out of solid stone. A few were jagged while others remained smooth with the rest somewhere in between.

I could tell already that this would be harder to traverse than the top floors. The dim light coupled with the same interior throughout would make everything look the same. I will have to spot certain landmarks to help with exploration but if there is one thing I'm allowed to be over-confident in, it's my memory.

I clench my fists, activating my Galva-Knuckles as my leather gloves make a scrunching noise. I give a quick look over my light armour, only light scratches and very minor dents were enough for me to know that my armour was more than ready to protect me.

As I take one more deep breath, I can't help but get excited. It was a similar feeling to when I go onto a new level but this time the excitement was a lot more prominent. Not even when I entered the dungeon for the first time did I feel this?

For the first time, I understood. Like all those in the Dungeon Oratoria who explored the unexplored. They were the ones I admired the most. I wasn't bothered by the ones who could swing their sword the hardest or the ones who could rally a group of people together with their voice. I liked them but the ones that I was interested in the most were the ones who dared brave the unknown. Theseus, Odysseus, the ones who were the original adventurers.

For the first time, I felt like an adventurer.

And so, with my fists clenched, my armour attached and my eyes looking forward, I advanced into the middle floors.

'I wonder what kind of monster's spawn here?' I think as I slowly move down the stone hallway. With its cramped walls and narrow sections, I can't imagine anything big like an Orc would spawn here. This would suit monsters like the ants or those black, shadowy things with sharp claws on floor 6.

I notice the eerie silence of the dungeon encroach on me. It had been a while since I felt this, having mastered the upper floors, allowing my mind to think of things while I fought and scavenged. But now, I was right back to where I was when I first started.

If had done what I was told to do and had my first experience be with the Astrea Familia, then I'm sure Alise and Neze would have filled that silence but I had decided against that future. I am happy to have adventurer friends but if I rely on them too much I won't get stronger. I am a solo diver and with that comes silence, something I had gotten used to.

'I wonder if there are rooms like on the floors above?' I wonder as I've yet to see or even hear a monster spawn. Maybe it's like floors 3-5, where monsters will only spawn in certain places. It had only taken 5 minutes into my first dungeon experience to see my first monster, that Goblin. I had been going, all be it slowly, for almost 10 minutes. Well, that's what it felt like. I've always been decent at keeping a mental note of the time while in the dungeon but Brant warned me the deeper you go; the loss of time becomes more evident.

'Losing yer sense of time is one of the biggest killers in the dungeon. If ya go for t' long, you will get hungry and thirsty and then you lose your energy. When that happens, ya as good as dead.'

I had made sure to pack some bread and biscuits, coupled with an extra pouch of water that I had sewn together out of some torn leather I'd found. They were neatly stored in a bag strapped around my shoulders. On my belt that Reg gave me was my magic stone bag on my right, my knife on the back and a bag full of pebbles and dirt on my left.

I had started carrying around the bag of dirt, gravel and pebbles ever since my encounter with the killer ants that almost resulted in me dying. Brant had asked why I hadn't run away but I couldn't, they had surrounded me. I had no means to escape, so I made one.

There was one thing every monster I've encountered has in common. Eyes. If I need to escape, instead of trying to run away hoping I'm faster, or throwing my knife at the monster, either hoping for a lucky hit or losing it forever, I thought of a way to deal with it.

By simply grabbing a handful of dirt and pebbles and throwing it at the monster's eyes, it gives me time to act. If I blind it effectively, I can easily take it out. If it blocks them, then I use that split-second to hide and activate my Stealth skill or simply get a head start in escaping.

And unlike using a knife, I won't run out of dirt any time soon, considering where I live. I simply have to walk out of my building and get a couple of handfuls off the floor and my bag is already full.

After inspecting my gear, I continue forward. The gloomy light keeps me on edge as I anxiously anticipate my first middle-floor encounter. However, I started to become confused. I'd heard from Brant, Astrea Familia and some passing adventurers that the middle floors were meant to be more active than the ones above. So why hadn't I even seen a single monster?

'Is it my stealth skill?' I thought. I mean, there wasn't a trigger for it and I never purposely switched it on or off, meaning it was active at all times. Maybe it worked too well and even the dungeon didn't see me. But that wouldn't make sense as I had no problem finding monsters elsewhere.

I eventually made my way to the end of the passage. I had quickly diverged from the main route when I could but I tried not to stray too far. The tunnel I was walking down came to an end at a large open area.

As I peered into it, I saw something I hadn't seen before in the dungeon. A giant hole was centred in the room. I wasn't tall enough or close enough to be able to tell how far it went down but I couldn't see the floor and I was only about 20 metres away.

Surrounding the hole was a single pathway that circled the hole fully. I saw three separate tunnels branch off from the perimeter. However, I only spared them a fleeting glance as my eyes narrowed.

On the left side of the pathway, just in front of one of the tunnels, three monsters prowled together. They were all the same. A dog-like monster with sleek black fur. But my eyes were glued to their mouths.

The memory of the last time I fought this monster surfaced in my mind. When I chose to help Sarah's Familia, that golden-haired man and the dwarf. The feeling of the dog's teeth sinking into my right thigh and left arm. My body shudders slightly at the memory. But I knew I hadn't even experienced their deadliest weapon.

They haven't spotted me yet due to my stealth skill keeping me hidden. I stay at the mouth of my tunnel as the three monsters patrolled around the edge of the drop. I try and remember what it was like to hit them. How I killed them last time?

The first was already injured and I managed to beat it with a strong punch to its stomach, but that other adventurer had to finish it off for me. The second took two punches to the skull before it died, with the third one forcing me to press my foot through its body, making a hole where its stomach used to be.

All of them were probably tired of chasing the adventurers and might've sustained injuries prior to facing me. Maybe that's why I managed to win against them. But this time there is no advantage like that now.

I look down at my fists and force myself to remain calm. I've gotten a lot stronger since then. I've levelled up, gained magic and have new weapons that allow me to deal more damage with my punches on top of my increased strength. And I won't have to worry about fighting other monsters at the same time as I did before.

'Let's do this,' I think as I sike myself up for my first encounter on the middle floors. I clench my fists, sliding the metal plates of my Galva-Knuckles into position and I step out of the darkness.

The dog monsters must've heard the metal of my Knuckles clunking into place as their heads had swivelled to where I was, the sound alerting them of a new arrival.

As soon as they spot me, they seem to waste no time in attacking me. One starts to run towards me. Even though it seemed to be at least 100 metres away, it cleared the distance in no time. At first, I want to defend but in the corner of my eye, I see fire.

While the first monster charged me, the other two stayed behind and charged their main attack. This was the difference between the middle floors and the ones above, monsters using magic.

Just as they were about to release their fireballs from their fangs, the one rushing me leapt into the air, baring its claws at my neck. Unfortunately for it, this wasn't my first time dealing with its kind.

As the dog was airborne, the two fireballs streaked towards me. They were, like before, fast and direct. Hurtling towards me in a straight line. If it hit me, it would do serious damage. Thankfully, my level-up granted me more than just extra strength.

The monster just above me snarled as saliva dripped across its sharp row of teeth. I looked at it and couldn't help but smile. I could never understand why monsters or even some adventurers choose to jump like this. This kind of attack commits you to one attack and for me, I read it with ease.

I jump upwards and to the left just before the monster lands on me. I manage to get out of reach of its paws. Seemingly ignorant of what its friend did behind it, it didn't dodge the two fireballs rocketing towards it.

The two projectiles slam into its body, sending it hurtling backwards. I don't waste this opportunity. Grabbing the wall I jumped towards, I immediately pushed off it and reached the monster lying on the ground. It seems its thick layer of fur was enough to stop any major injury, or perhaps it has immunity to its own attack. That would make sense. But I don't think it has immunity to gravity.

Before the black-furred beast even had time to process me landing next to it, I drop down low and perform a swift kick to its back, sending it plummeting down the giant hole. The howl of the monster quickly disappears as I register that the drop is deeper than I initially thought.

I don't get a chance to hear the body hit the floor before the two other monsters are on me. They've closed the distance before I have a chance to prepare a proper defensive position. The quicker one jumps at me and all I can do is throw my arms up in a block. It snaps its jaws around my wrist, encasing my right Knuckle in its mouth. The second goes for my ankle as it darts underneath its partner. However, I've already become attuned to the way this monster fights now. I've never lost a re-match.

I swivel out of the way, letting the dog crash into the ground. Using my momentum, I pin the monster gripping my wrist that's twice the size of me against the stone wall, slamming it with all my strength. It lets go of my wrist as air rushes out of its body. It manages a squeak of pain before I deliver a swift knee to its stomach, causing it to fold in on itself. As its head lowers in anguish, I slam my elbow onto its skull. I hear a sickening crunch as blood rushes out of its ears. The paws that had been scrapping against me go slack as the body evaporates into ash, leaving a purple stone on the floor.

The final monster is staring at me. I see fire begin to bubble in its throat. I have to make sure I avoid that attack. I remember what it did to that elf on floor 12.

I sprint at the monster, not giving it time to fire its magic and punch with my left hand, a hook across the side of its face. Without even a whimper, the monster dies and turns into another pile of ash. It seems my level up plus my new weapons might be enough to handle the middle floors as a solo.

I quickly catch my breath before picking up the stones out of the piles of ash. I prefer when monsters turn to ash instead of having to dig through their bodies. I look around, my eyes having adjusted to the dim lighting. I pick the closest exit to the room that wasn't the one I came from and continue my adventure.

I grit my teeth as I narrowly dodge another fireball thrown at me. I don't get a second to breathe as a half dozen bats dart towards me. I kick off the stone ground backwards, avoiding the attack. However, as if they were coordinating, two other monsters are ready behind me.

They look like the needle rabbits from the floors above but are much bigger. As I swivel mid-air, I stare into the blood-red eyes. Just like the dog monsters, I'd already encountered both bats and large needle rabbits when I tried to help that pass parade. Though I never fought the bats, only watching that adventurer take them out, I did fight these rabbit monsters.

The feeling of the axe lodging itself in my back was seared into my memory and just looking at them makes my back burn slightly. I swiftly land and without taking a breath, I slam my leg into one of the rabbits before it has a chance to attack. I then punch the second with my Knuckles, killing it in an instant.

I've found out over these last 15 minutes that the monsters down here, while a bit quicker and deadly, they are not as durable as the Orcs. However, the thing that scares me the most is their intelligence.

Different monsters work together to crowd around me and take it in turns to attack me. I've had to change my fighting style completely. Instead of jumping in and taking the first step, I'm forced to wait for one of them to attack.

I can see why Brant forbid me to go any further as a level one, I wouldn' have lasted 10 minutes down here. It's my level two strength, speed and defence that is keeping me in contention.

Since dealing with the rabbits, I quickly turn to face the single dog monster, and the bats. I'd already taken out the other dog early on in the fight. It growls at me, annoyed that its fireball attack was evaded. Snarling its teeth at me, it begins to sprint towards me. The bats trail after it, staying high in the air.

I decide to take the fight to the monsters. Pressing off my left boot, I dash at the hound. With both of us running at each other, the gap is closed in an instant. It snaps its jaws at me, an attack I easily read. I sweep underneath it, a perk of being small, and punch it in its throat.

Before it falls to the ground I grab it by its legs and hurl it towards the flying bats. Only two manage to dodge the large body. The four other bats along with the hound smash into the roof, all of them turning into ash upon impact.

As 5 purple magic stones fall to the floor, the other two bats make a retreat. Just another thing that surprising me in the middle floors. Monsters retreating from a fight, that is something I have yet to see.

I finally take a gulp of air, signalling to my body that the fight is over for the time being. My initial judgement of the 13th floor has faded away. Since beating those three dogs next to that giant hole, it's been a non-stop barrage of attacks.

I flick my Galva-Knuckles clean of blood, unclenching my fists as I do so. I wipe the flecks of blood away from my right eye, wiping the mess on my hoodie. I begin to pick up the monster crystals scattered around the small room.

When I first tried out Reg's new weapons, I thought the most useful thing would be that it'd help me pack more of a punch. But I couldn't imagine how much help it gives. I've barely had to use my knife to dig out monster crystals as I'm one-shotting most monsters, turning them to ash. I only have to blow the small piles of dust away and then I can quickly pocket the drops. Speaking of drops.

"hmm, must've come from the dog monster," I mumble to myself as I pocket what looks like a fang. I've had a few encounters with drop items before. When I first saw one, a claw dropped by a Kobold, I left it, thinking it was worthless. After telling Brant, the man quickly made sure I'd never make such a costly mistake again. I remember feeling the blood drain from my face after finding out how much I had left behind.

Now that much isn't that hard to get, but back then it was half my weekly earnings. I don't know how much money this fang will get me but I assume it will get me more money. With the magic stones, the further down you go, the more profitable the monster crystals are. Surely it's the same with drop items.

I don't have much time to think about money as the next wave of monsters appears. Alice really wasn't joking when she said that monsters were more frequent in the middle floors. As I stand back up, I see 3 needle rabbits, with their horns on their foreheads. Alongside them were the bigger version, all 5 of them carrying a stone axe. Behind them were 4 monsters I had yet to see.

They looked like goblins but they were clearly bigger and stronger. If I remember correctly, I heard some adventurers mention a monster called a hobgoblin, and the monster alongside the rabbit monsters fit the description perfectly. Tall, muscly but still pudgy. Dark green skin. Two of them were carrying dungeon weapons while the other two just flexed their sharp claws.

I clenched my fists, the sound of the metal plate slipping over my knuckles coinciding with my body moving into a defensive position, ready to take on the attack. I was relieved to see no hound monsters or bats, so there would be no range attacks. And close-up fighting was my speciality.

The needle rabbits flew at me at a speed that was no longer intimidating. I smiled, knowing that even though I still had a mountain to climb, I had gotten off the bottom and begun the climb.

I think I've been down here now for almost an hour. Well, that's what my internal body clock is telling me. If I had to guess, the surface would be just passing midnight now. Normally I would still go till sunrise, at least another six or so hours. However, whenever I descend to a new floor I always go slower when exploring and head back home earlier. I plan to treat this trip no differently.

My crystal bag is already half full, the stones dropped by middle-floor monsters being bigger and chunky than the top-floor monsters. If I wanted to properly adventure down here, I'd need to get a bigger bag or destroy the crystals I leave behind. Brant has already warned me about leaving crystals behind, saying that it could lead to a monster getting stronger. He and Reg had deduced that the irregular ape I fought to level up most likely had transformed this way. It only made me scared of the dungeon even more. The deeper I go, the more I realise that the dungeon is more than just a way for mortals to make money and get stronger. It is a living entity, with its own creatures that fight each other. We are just invaders and the dungeon just wants to get rid of us. When thinking like this, I can't hate the monsters for attacking me, knowing I'd probably want to do the same if someone came and attacked my home or my family.

I'm currently walking down a narrow tunnel, thin enough to force parties of adults to go single file, but it was easy for a solo, child adventurer to walk through. I'm trying to stay out of fighting for the next couple of minutes, the last fight I had resulted in a needle rabbit getting behind me and stabbing me through my arm.

It hurt for a few minutes, and having to continue the fight with a small hole in one arm was painful but after I won, the pain faded slightly. I still didn't want to engage so I decided to branch off what I thought was one of the main routes to explore a little.

It seems that the dungeon floors still hold similar patterns even in different sections as I've only come across a lone hobgoblin and a pair of large rabbit monsters since coming down this way. While I find some weird sort of satisfaction in fighting monsters, I get a sense of solace and peace when exploring the dungeon. I small part of me really wants to find an undiscovered part of the dungeon and be the first to explore it.

'Mapping this floor is going to take a while,' I think to myself as I see tunnels branch off in various directions. Some seem to go on forever into the darkness and some require even me to crouch down to see down it.

However, the most difficult part about mapping this floor will be the numerous holes scattered around the place. None were as big as the first one I came across just after the entrance but small ones barely wide enough for me to fit through are a common site.

Each time I see one, I wonder how far they go down. I reach into my bag full of dirt and pebbles, get a few stones and chuck them down, waiting for it to hit the bottom. Some only take a few seconds, while some never make contact with the bottom within my hearing range.

I note some down in my mind as possible fast travel routes in the future, and the other, more cynical part of my mind will remember them as possible getaway escape holes if I'm ever in danger.

I hope never to have to resort to that but I don't admonish myself for thinking that way, knowing that it has helped me survive numerous times. I simply note the location of each one and move on. I focus back on the dungeon as I begin to hear movement up ahead.

'Another monster encounters on the back route, it shouldn't be too hard to handle,' I think as I crouch down. However, I'm quickly proven wrong when I make my way over to what I thought was a single monster turns out to be the opposite.

I peek around the corner and my eyes go wide in astonishment. I almost can't believe what I'm seeing. It was an expansive room that could easily have a few hundred people in it. The stoney texture held the same smooth grey tone across the floor, walls and ceiling. However, the main attractions were what the room held.

Four giant pillars stuck up from the ground and reached the ceiling. Out of each of them sprouted a milky white mineral or was it a crystal? I wasn't sure but the most interesting part was the monsters eating it.

Small bats perched on the ones at the top while Hobgoblins and the dog-like monsters tore bits off with their claws and teeth. The rabbits were picking up the bits that had fallen off the tops from the floor, nibbling away at the rock.

If providing a source of food for the monsters wasn't amazing enough, the room also held a lake in which some of them were drinking. I couldn't believe it. For all my life I had thought monsters were just mindless creatures whose only goal was to kill people. But they aren't. They group with each other, eat, drink. There were some even sleeping in a corner. They really were just living things like me.

The sound of a wall cracking made me instinctively duck down. I know the sound of a monster spawning in. The red hue glowed out of the wall as a couple of hounds were pushed out. I watched as they woke up, looked around and went straight to taking a drink.

'All this time, I've been killing living things.'

The thought unsettled me. For almost a year I've been killing these monsters without even bothering to think about what they really are. I looked down at my hands, the ones that had blood on them every day. The same coloured blood that I have.

'What's the difference between me and them?'

But then I remember. Even if I had killed loads of monsters, they've also killed many people too. They have attacked me, like those ants or the irregular ape I fought. That showed intelligence and enjoyed killing adventurers. But I've also enjoyed killing monsters.

I squeeze my fingers. I can't think like that. I'm in the most dangerous place in the world. It's kill or be killed. Brant called it survival of the fittest, I can't show kindness to these monsters when I know they won't show the same to me.

As if to prove my point, I heard a howl from behind me. Before the hound even had time to bite me, I dived out of the way. While having evaded the monster's attack, I couldn't focus on it. Because now I had a much bigger issue on my hands.

The room had fallen silent. The lapping sound of tongues on the water had stopped. The crunching of that white crystal had paused. Every single monster in the room had stopped what it was doing as all of their eyes were now on me. Forced to jump out of the way of the dog monster, I was now in the open.

I only had a few seconds to register the trouble I was in before the encompassing roar of a massive hoard of monsters signalled my incoming death.

I waste no time. I jumped over the dog monster that had alerted my presence to begin with and didn't look back. The bag on my back slaps against my clothes as I sprint away as fast as I can go.

The sound of the feet beating against the ground echoes close behind, it only forces me to pump my arms harder.

'Left!'

I push off my right foot, scrambling to stay upright as I bound down the bleak stone corridor. I hear the noise of bodies slamming colliding into stone. I sneak a quick glance behind me. A couple of the faster monsters, like the hounds, had got to the corner first before being shoved into the wall by the ones behind them. There was no remorse by the monsters, all of them thinking of one thing. To kill me.

'Faster!' I scream at myself as I swivel my head around as the hoard begins the chase once more. I can be confident in my strength against the monsters down here but my speed is a different story. Apart from my magic, it was my weakest stat when levelling up, even when I tried to focus on it. If I hadn't spent those weeks doing my agility, I might've already been caught by now.

There's no point in thinking about that for now. I can train my agility after I make it back alive. All I need to do now is survive. But the dungeon is making sure to make that as difficult as possible.

Just as I feel the breath of some of the large rabbits and the squeaking of bats gets ever closer, the cracking of the dungeon wall starts up ahead.

'no... that's not fair!' I think in despair as the dungeon pushes five black-furred hounds out of the wall. I don't stand a chance of hopping over them. By the time I get to them, they'd have already gained sentience and would be forming a blockade.

Before I give them a chance to charge a single fireball, I swiftly dart off to the right a mere couple of metres away from the freshly spawned monsters. I remembered that turn when coming down this way but I didn't explore it. I'm now having to go into uncharted territory. Most of the time, I get excited thinking of exploring a new area but right now I want nothing more than to be back on the main route.

"UUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!"

The almighty roar from behind is deafening but I can't waste energy covering my ears, my arms are too busy pushing the air behind me in hopes of scraping even an extra centimetre. I notice movement up ahead. My naïve mind hoped it could be an adventurer strong enough to help me, but the green skin illuminated by the dim moss on the walls ended that hope.

The Hobgoblin is too wide to avoid. It has noticed me as well. Maybe it was its monster's instinct to sense an incoming adventurer or it was the rattling noise of the monster's chasing me. It doesn't matter as it swings its club in my direction.

I narrowly dodge under it, clenching my fists as I sweep across the floor. With all my strength, I punch right into its groin. The monster crumbles in pain, letting out a screech that was muffled by the onslaught of feet smashing into the stone.

I don't bother looking back to see if I managed to kill the hobgoblin or just disoriented it. I've got past and that's all that mattered. I now need to grow the gap I had lost in the second it took to deal with the overgrown goblin. The monster's behind me tackle the green-skinned monster to the floor as they trample it to death, not wanting to waste any time to kill me.

My lungs are now on fire, my muscles screaming at me to stop and give them a rest. I don't listen. I can practically feel the heat coming from one of the dog's breaths. In that simple second, I wasted dealing with the hobgoblin, it had allowed a couple of the monsters to be right on my back.

I assume for most adventurers these dog monsters would be biting at their legs but for me, these monsters stood the same height on all fours. If one got close enough and took a bite, it would be my neck that would be caught.

I pump my arms harder at the image. Suddenly, I feel my body get even hotter. Then the sound of a monster gurgling behind me. I already know what that means. I don't need to turn around to know that one of the hounds behind me is conjuring a fireball. It can't miss.

I don't know what to do. The corridor I'm sprinting down seems endless, only the dim glow showing me that the darkness only continues. The sounds of the dungeon's walls shattering are still constant, only adding to the hoard chasing me. How badly does the dungeon want to kill me?

I can hear the crackling of the fire in the monster's mouth, ready to be fired. I can only think of one thing to do.

'Fight.'

Just before the monster shoots its magic out, I quickly spin around, kicking the monster in the mouth. I snap its neck but the fireball still goes off, causing a quick explosion. I go flying back due to the fireball, hitting the ground a few metres backwards. I'm given no time to see the damage as the bats had flown over the blast and were descending towards me.

Even though I manage to get one or two, the other dozen dig into my skin with their claws. I shield my eyes, only to glimpse a stone axe hurtling towards me. I manage to duck under it just in time, only to receive a club to the back from a Hobgoblin. I fly forward, my arms scraping against the rough stone surface as they protect my head, the air rushing out of my body from the impact.

I'm given enough distance to see the situation. My eyes go wide in fear. Whatever damage my initial attack had caused, it had done nothing to deplete the swarm rushing towards me.

I can't count all of them. Squished together was a quagmire of white, green, black and brown. Rabbits, big and small, Hounds, Goblins, Bats. All of them vying for my flesh.

I use my small time frame to assess my surroundings. It didn't take long to spot something that brought a sense of dread over me. A hole about 2 metres in diameter, just big enough for me to squeeze down. I don't know how far down it goes or if it even has an ending.

I look back at the monsters. There is a finite number of them but there is only one ending if I decide to fight. Death.

I scramble upwards, my boots struggling to gain any grip on the stone floor. I don't have time to throw any pebbles down the hole to check how deep. However, I can't help but hesitate. And in that second of hesitation, a needle rabbit digs its horn into my left shoulder while a hound's jaws snap around my right leg. The momentum they bring is enough to send us three hurtling down into the abyss.

That's the introduction to the middle floors. Remember what Bell went through... Percy wished he had that experience after the next one or two chapters (depending on how much I write)

Fun themes I'm playing with.

- Immeninet danger, always fun.

- Percy seeing them as more than monsters but knowing he still needs to fight and kill.

- Smarter ways to fight such as the dirt and pebbles, though they weren't seen much in this one.

Please tell me what you think of the chapter and as always, the reviews:

Jose Blas - Perseus vs Alfia... who knows.

korakovroman9 - I want to try and show parrells to Percy and Bell's life in Orario and how Percy acts when put in a similar situation, sort of like this chapter.

calderoneric758 - The spell will stay the same, he will have to come to terms with it at some point if he wants to get stronger.

fireofargentis - We go again!

Roland Tepes - Alfia will be in for a shock when she see's her nephew in the destruction she caused. And I'm looking forward to writing in the time period we know little about.

004 - Alfia will be interesting that's for sure

cloudman3011 - Glad ou liked it. Seems to be a lot of Alifa hype.

wardak - Thanks for the praise. I'm glad you are enjoying it. I've read a few that did start before Canon and they always either rush it or spend 20 chapters on a single month or even arc which is bad pacing. I want to show different points in between, so I can focus on the main parts such as the dark ages, destruction of the Astrea Familia (Percy may change that) and then get to canon start. But I don't want to just get there in like5 chapters as I want to build my character as OC's are either self-inserts, really OP isekai or basically Bell reskinned. While he is his twin, I want Perseus to feel unique and for the readers to understand who is, along with Brant, Reg and Penia. It really is true, the journey is just as important as the destination.

Guest - Yes it is too early for Alfia and Zald to be in Orario but to begin their plan, I'd say that takes more than a few days to build up. Also, I wanted to show Alfia cause it makes interesting. DW, I aint deviating from Omori's amazing timeline.

As always, thanks for reading and I'll see ya next time. Peace!