After walking steadily for some time, Bell kept a constant watch on his surroundings.
"The consumption isn't excessive. Only a small amount of magic power has been used, and the recovery rate exceeds the expenditure."
"Advancing the strategy to the 80th floor shouldn't be a problem."
Adventurers typically need to rest during their campaign because the demands of advancing through the floors deplete their abilities too rapidly, forcing them to proceed incrementally. Yet this wasn't particularly evident in Bell's case. After all, the disparity in strength between him and the monsters was stark. Facing them never drained his physical stamina excessively; the only real issue was the mental toll.
"Therefore, what I need to conserve now isn't physical stamina, but mental energy."
Having resolved to confront two four-digit monsters within a single day, proper preparation was essential. For Bell, restoring physical and magic power was practically a matter of a few breaths. He paid meticulous attention to managing his physical strength, magic power reserves, and mental focus. When he first crossed into the four-digit tier, attributes like stamina, endurance, speed, and agility weren't his strongest suits—but recovery speed absolutely was!
From the day he became an adventurer, Bell had prioritized conserving his stamina and mental energy. In dungeons, failing to maintain peak condition at all times often led to trouble. Thus, since becoming an adventurer, Bell constantly monitored his stamina and mental energy, along with methods to restore them.
Breathing promotes bodily oxidation, serving as the most fundamental method for restoring physical and mental energy. Thus, Bell began his journey from this very foundation. This relentless focus on recovery enabled Bell to consistently maintain peak condition within the Dungeon, ensuring his stamina and energy never became his weakest link.
Consequently, after completing his promotion ceremony, Bell achieved remarkable self-sufficiency in restoring both physical and mental resources. "Adaptability" built upon this foundation, enabling him to acclimate to any environment—whether one demanding immense physical exertion or draining mental energy. Consequently, "Adaptability" significantly amplified Bell's recovery capabilities for both physical stamina and mental energy. However, compared to physical stamina, mental energy recovered at a slightly slower pace. Roughly a one-third gap.
Consequently, rather than recklessly expending his mental energy, Bell preferred to exhaust his physical stamina without restraint. In terms of recovery speed, the physical stamina depleted during the recent battle was nearly fully restored by now, while his mental energy still lagged behind. Thus, Bell opted for physical exertion.
"Yaaaaaah!"
Just as Bell finalized his battle strategy, the monsters from the jungle surged forth en masse. A swarming horde of monsters—from afar, the sight would be unbearable for anyone with a fear of crowds. The entire mob radiated an overwhelming aura, especially that palpable, almost tangible killing intent.
Yet at this moment, Bell gently closed his eyes. Having resolved to conserve energy, he abandoned visual means, instead relying on his sixth and seventh senses as his vision. This saved mental energy while allowing his physical stamina and recovery to reach their absolute peak. No need for so-called "seeing" or "observing"—merely feeling with his heart was sufficient. Shutting down his sight, Bell unleashed his strength and speed to their fullest extent. Alone, he slowly stepped into the midst of the monster horde.
"BOOM!"
In an instant, countless monsters were blasted skyward.
"Ssssh!"
Those still airborne instantly turned to ash, save for a single Magic Stone that continued its flight until it slammed into the floor's wall, becoming a permanent decoration.
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
Countless Magic Stones embedded themselves into the floor's walls. Only when the killing intent within the floor had dissipated did the sound cease. The ashes of countless monsters still swirled in the air, yet on the ground, only one figure walked amidst this rain of ashes. All the ashes seemed to gain consciousness, swirling around the youth of their own accord.
Thus, amidst the countless ashes in the sky, a path formed on the ground, wide enough for one person to walk. This scene was even more breathtaking than the battle itself. The youth swept away the ashes as casually as dust, each strike utterly shattering the monsters. Yet he did not stop there, deliberately preserving the fragile Magic Stone within their bodies. A single strike could have been lethal, yet he held back. His speed was terrifyingly swift, his power meticulously controlled. But this awe-inspiring spectacle left all who witnessed it with a sense of strangeness and incongruity. Only one girl among Loki Familia understood.
"Master, you're not holding back your power."
Hearing this, all eyes turned to the one who spoke—Ais.
"Ais, so Bell has been controlling his power all along?"
"Yes."
Facing Finn's question, Ais nodded slightly.
"Master said that in the dungeon, one must conserve physical and mental energy. Because anything can happen at any moment in the dungeon. To avoid dying there, the first thing you must learn is to preserve your strength.
"When facing monsters, the teacher conserves energy. Once he knows each monster's damage threshold, he only uses enough force to kill it. Beyond that, he never wastes excessive strength on monsters."
Everyone turned to watch the projection of the youth effortlessly dispatching a group of monsters. Deep down, each person had a few words they wanted to say.
"Freak…"
Bete stared at the projection with a blank expression, the words slipping out involuntarily from the depths of his soul. In Bete's eyes, the person on the screen was no longer a normal human being. 313 Because normal people simply didn't have such bizarre thought processes. However, Ais seemed deeply dissatisfied with this assessment, her adorable face twisting into a displeased scowl.
"He's not a freak! The teacher just obsesses over details!"
Seeing Ais genuinely about to lose her temper, Riveria quickly tugged at her sleeve.
"Come on, Ais. You know Bete's mouth is just naturally sharp. Sometimes he can say things that aren't very pleasant."
Ais blinked her eyes, but her pouting expression gradually smoothed back into its usual self. At least she conceded Riveria's point—Bete often spoke without thinking.
"So, what exactly do you mean by 'details'?"
Since Riveria wanted to know, Ais saw no reason to hide anything.
"The teacher said daily life is the best training ground. Sometimes it's not about exerting maximum force, but figuring out how to apply the most appropriate force. That's why our dungeon training includes exercises to improve situational awareness and force control."
"The teacher said that mastering every ounce of your strength allows you to venture deeper into the Dungeon. Once this becomes second nature through practice, you can better control the energy wasted unconsciously, minimizing stamina loss during combat."
"Achieving this—accurately gauging the effort required for each monster—is the key to ascending to a higher dimension."