Dungeon – 13th Floor
"Huff~ huff~"
Within the labyrinth corridors, Renjiro, faced off against no fewer than ten hellhounds.
Not far away, Diona and Xiangling were fending off a sudden ambush by a swarm of Almiraj.
Each of these creatures wielded a small axe-like natural weapon, directly supplied by the dungeon. They were part of the maze's arsenal—break the surrounding rocks, and you could obtain one.
Normally, as an advanced species of the upper-floor Needle Rabbit, the Almiraj could, with a single swing, maim an unprepared adventurer—sever a limb, or leave a massive bloodied gash.
The problem? Their speed was astonishing, and they excelled at jumping—three-dimensional mobility was no joke.
From what Renjiro knew, countless adventurers who first entered the 13th floor had their heads crushed by these seemingly adorable monsters.
He remembered clearly that, in the original timeline of this world, a girl named Hitachi Chigusa from the Takemikazuchi Familia had nearly been killed by one.
Because of incidents like that, later, Kashima Ouka, in a rush to withdraw and heal her comrades, accidentally "gifted" these monsters to Bell's team, nearly causing their entire party to be wiped out.
Honestly, if Renjiro had been in the same position, it would have been a grudge that wouldn't die.
Yet, the kind-hearted white rabbit boy chose forgiveness.
And in return, the Takemikazuchi familia helped him countless times afterward.
Even nearby, during the hunt for the Black Goliath, Kashima Ouka had taken a killing blow for Bell.
His forgiveness had been repaid.
Those truly unworthy, however, all met untimely ends in various ways.
In this sense, Bell Cranel was undeniably lucky.
Right now…
"Pfft~"
Diona, with her six-second group shield, was almost impervious to the Almiraj.
As for Xiangling, trained in the spear techniques, handling these monsters was effortless.
Even if the rabbits swarmed in large numbers, facing Lv. 40 Diona and a near-level Xiangling, they were nothing more than easy prey.
At this moment, the two manifested Genshin characters acted as Renjiro's personal bodyguards.
With them around, even if he encountered a "monster feast" or "terrain collapse" on this floor, Renjiro could retreat calmly.
It was under these extremely favorable leveling conditions that…
"Bam~ bam~ bam~"
Flames erupted as a ranged attack struck.
Hellhounds launched fireballs, but as soon as they entered a seven-meter radius around Renjiro, the attacks were instantly decomposed and absorbed entirely by his Ten Rings of the Human King.
The mana stored within the Ten Rings of the Human King increased slightly.
Seeing their ranged attacks futile, the hellhounds roared and swarmed directly toward him.
Facing this…
"Whoa~ look fierce."
Renjiro quipped casually while taking a combat stance.
The Ten Rings of the Human King skill had an even more brutal use…
"Bam~ bam~ bam~"
Elbow strikes, straight punches, side kicks… even lifting the hounds by their tails for a full-on Hulk vs. Loki style beatdown.
Even surrounded by multiple hellhounds, Renjiro handled them with ease.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, these "doggos" were far slower than the Scorpio.
Even as a Lv. 2 adventurer, his overall strength was just a drop in the ocean compared to the "strongest Valkyrie"—but the hellhounds' intelligence was still far lower than the Scorpio.
Their attacks were predictable.
During this process…
"Hehe~"
Any hellhound coming too close to Renjiro had its mana absorbed starting from seven meters out.
The closer they got, the faster it happened.
Once his hands touched them directly, these monsters almost instantly turned to ashes—leaving not even a single mana stone behind.
At the same time, the Ten Rings of the Human King mana reserves increased slightly more.
"This skill's kinda broken."
Even Renjiro felt like he was cheating.
Moreover…
"I can absorb mana, the Archon can move objects at a distance… other Genshin characters each have their own strengths and can share senses in real time… plus revival meals…"
Renjiro twitched. "This is basically the 'high-spec version' of Pain's Six Paths, isn't it?"
It really had that feel.
Ahem, seriously now…
"The monsters on this floor aren't much of a threat."
"Although the 'grind for magic stones' task could be delegated to the Twin Stars, there's no need for me (the main body) to constantly fight these 'tutorial-level' mobs."
"Time to go deeper."
After draining another hellhound, Renjiro proceeded along the "normal route" toward the 14th floor.
Step by step…