Time flowed by imperceptibly.
As the sky began to turn a deep crimson and the twilight known as the "Hour of Monsters" quietly arrived, a different kind of crowd began to gather at the central plaza where the Tower of Babel stood.
During the day, the adventurers seen here were mostly heading into the tower. At dusk, however, they were emerging from it, making their way out of the plaza.
Some were covered in wounds, some were exhausted, some looked grim, and others were highly exhilarated. It was clear to see exactly what they had all experienced during their day of adventuring.
Leon also emerged from the dungeon shortly after dusk fell, returning to the surface.
"Finally back..."
Taking a deep breath of the fresh surface air, Leon felt his exhausted spirit rejuvenate significantly.
There was no helping it; in the dungeon, one's nerves had to be taut at every moment. You had to remain vigilant and never dared to relax. Furthermore, staying in an underground environment for too long became oppressive and heavy. The moment he returned to the surface, he naturally fell into an indescribable state of relaxation, allowing that sense of oppression to quietly dissipate.
Recalling the day's adventure, Leon gave himself an evaluation.
"It was a fairly productive day."
Although he had encountered unexpected danger that disrupted his original plans and forced him down to the 5th floor, Leon still felt the day had been meaningful.
At the very least, he had finally experienced firsthand what combat and adventure truly meant. He had also used magic and wielded supernatural power—all of which were incredibly precious experiences.
"I just didn't expect the 5th floor to be easier to handle than I imagined," Leon murmured to himself.
He had indeed followed through on his idea, roaming the area near the entrance and exit of the 5th floor to test the difficulty level.
The result was quite positive.
On the 5th floor, Leon encountered monsters that didn't appear in the first four floors and felt a pressure much higher than those levels. Ultimately, however, he managed to dispatch those monsters without further incident, successfully adapting to the difficulty of the 5th floor.
For a rookie adventurer to descend all the way to the 5th floor and successfully adapt to its environment on their very first day in the dungeon—if word of this got out, it would certainly cause quite a stir.
Leon hadn't expected to achieve such a result himself, but upon reflection, it wasn't that hard to understand.
After all, he had successfully broken through a desperate situation where he was besieged by dozens of monsters. In the end, he had not only survived but wiped out the enemy. How could the mere 5th floor of the dungeon possibly hold him back?
The difficulty of the 5th floor was indeed significantly higher than the first four, but compared to the crisis Leon had faced on the 4th floor, it was nothing.
Generally speaking, it was rare to encounter such a large group of monsters in the Upper Floors (Levels 1–12). Leon had been particularly unlucky to run into such a horde on the 4th floor.
One could only say that this was the nature of the dungeon; it would occasionally spring surprises on adventurers.
Of course, no adventurer—Leon included—actually wanted to encounter those kinds of lethal surprises.
"My personal strength isn't quite enough to roam the 5th floor yet, but having magic makes it a completely different story."
Leon understood the reason perfectly.
In the Guild's official recommendations, it was generally believed that Level 1 adventurers should only roam between the 1st and 12th floors.
Based on an adventurer's status values, the Guild's guidelines were roughly as follows: Floors 1–4 are suitable for adventurers with basic abilities between I and H. Floors 5–7 are suitable for those between G and F. Floors 8–10 are suitable for those between E and C. Floors 11–12 are suitable for those between B and S.
These standards were based on the concept of "safe exploration." In other words, if you met these standards, you should be able to handle all dangers on those floors—excluding irregular incidents—keeping the casualty rate to a minimum.
Therefore, according to this standard, to adventure on the 5th floor, an adventurer should ideally have at least one or more basic abilities reach the G rank to be considered relatively safe.
If one didn't even meet that standard, the danger would increase significantly, and the probability of death would rise sharply.
Records in the Loki Familia's library also mentioned that rookie adventurers should spend at least two weeks on Floors 1–4 to accumulate experience and raise their basic ability proficiencies before it was considered appropriate to enter the 5th floor.
After two weeks, as long as a rookie wasn't exceptionally cowardly or incompetent, at least one of the four basic abilities—Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, or Agility—should reach the H rank. It was even possible for several to reach that level.
Entering the 5th floor at that point would be relatively safer and less prone to danger.
However, setting aside the Guild's recommendations, there was an additional note in the Loki Familia's library archives regarding this section.
The note stated that if one possessed magic, the above suggestions were for reference only and had no practical bearing.
Leaving aside magic unsuitable for combat, as long as an adventurer possessed a combat-oriented spell, the situation changed entirely.
With a combat spell, even if the adventurer's Magic stat was at the lowest I rank, it was enough to safely navigate most of the floors between the 1st and 12th.
At the very least, before the 8th floor, there were no particularly powerful monsters that could withstand a single magic attack—even if that spell was a super-short chant with minimal power.
In other words, as long as one had combat magic, even a brand-new rookie could navigate not just the 5th floor, but even the 7th floor with ease.
That was the sheer value of magic.
"It seems I was a bit too cautious before."
Leon summarized his experience for the day.
"Since I have plenty of elixirs on hand, as long as I'm careful and don't get carried away to the point of mental exhaustion, I should be able to explore a bit deeper."
Ordinary rookie adventurers didn't have the advantages Leon did. He possessed weapons and armor each worth nearly 100,000 Valis and carried a large supply of elixirs. This equipment wasn't just "fully geared"—it was total overkill.
Rookies were usually reluctant to even buy a single stamina-restoring potion, let alone High Elixirs, Magic Elixirs, or even Elixirs of Life. Their weapons and armor were typically cheap gear, rarely worth more than 10,000 Valis.
And Leon?
His weapon was a small straight sword worth 80,000 Valis, and his small shield was worth roughly the same. He had over a dozen potions in his bag that rookies would never dream of buying, a High Elixir, a Magic Elixir, and even two Elixirs of Life. The loadout was absurdly lavish.
Especially those two Elixirs of Life—what rookie could afford those?
Not to mention Level 1 rookies; even many upper-class adventurers at Level 2 or Level 3 couldn't afford to use them. They simply shouldn't have been in the bag of an adventurer of Leon's level.
With those two Elixirs of Life, it was as if he had two extra lives.
Combined with weapons, armor, and other potions that were far too extravagant for a rookie, Leon could actually afford to be much bolder in his exploration.
"That's enough for today. Tomorrow I'll try the 5th floor again and go a bit further. If everything goes smoothly, I'll explore even more boldly."
With this thought in mind, Leon didn't leave the Tower of Babel. Instead, he headed up the stairs to the upper floors.
The Tower of Babel didn't just serve as the oversight and management hub for the dungeon; its interior was also a public facility built for adventurers.
The lower floors of Babel contained simple restaurants, medical facilities, and currency exchanges, as well as showers and clothing stores for the convenience of adventurers leaving the dungeon.
Leon's current clothes were tattered, covered in bloodstains and dust. He looked a mess. If he returned to the Familia headquarters looking like this, people might think something terrible had happened.
Thus, Leon went upstairs instead of leaving directly.
He first went to the currency exchange, the place where the Guild purchased monster stones.
The Guild headquarters on Adventurer's Street also had an exchange, and they had more appraisers there so the lines were shorter. Babel's exchange had fewer staff, so a long line had already formed by the time Leon arrived.
Leon wasn't deterred. He waited patiently for about half an hour before reaching the window.
"Please appraise these stones."
He untied the pouch at his waist used for collecting monster stones and poured out a large pile of fragments.
"Please wait a moment."
The appraiser took the fragments and quickly provided a price.
"This batch of monster stone fragments is worth a total of 13,000 Valis. Would you like to exchange them?"
Hearing this, Leon raised an eyebrow.
"That's quite a lot."
13,000 Valis might not sound like much, but it depended on who you compared it to.
It couldn't compare to upper-class adventurers who dove deep into the dungeon, but compared to other Level 1 rookies, earning that much in a single day was considered very impressive.
Leon vaguely recalled the seniors in the Familia telling him that a typical five-person Level 1 party spending a day in the Upper Floors would usually earn around 20,000 to 30,000 Valis.
Leon had only roamed the first five floors alone, yet he had earned over 10,000 Valis in a day. This was a result that would surely make many Level 1s green with envy.
And that was only from selling monster stones.
Don't forget, Leon also had some item drops on him.
"A pity. Even if I sell all the item drops, it might not even cover the cost of the High Elixir I used today..."
Leon shook his head, took the cloth bag filled with gold coins, and left the currency exchange.
Drop items could also be sold to the Guild, but the prices they offered were much lower than outside. Very few people chose to sell drops to the Guild; it was simply a bad deal.
Leon headed to a higher floor of Babel, where many shops were leased to merchants. All these shops were specialty stores designed for adventurers, including shops that specifically purchased drop items.
Consequently, Leon sold his drops at a shop recommended by his Familia seniors, earning 8,100 Valis.
Adding that to the rest, Leon had earned a total of 21,100 Valis from his first day of adventuring.
This already matched the earning efficiency of a five-person Level 1 party.
"Thanks to that horde's ambush and thanks to magic, I was able to earn this much," Leon remarked.
With money in his pocket, Leon could finally spend.
He first went to a clothing store to buy a new set of clothes, then to the shower facilities in Babel to thoroughly wash himself. Once he was clean, he changed into his new clothes, restoring his tidy appearance.
By the time Leon stepped out of the Tower of Babel, the sky outside was dark.
Orario, the Labyrinth City, was incredibly lively after dark.
Adventurers who had spent the day adventuring would usually hit the streets at this time, finding a small shop to have a drink and relieve the fatigue and psychological stress accumulated from a day of combat.
As he walked, Leon passed several groups of adventurers. Some were walking down the street drinking directly from barrels, laughing and playing, while others were draped over each other's shoulders as they ducked into taverns, shouting for the staff to bring food and wine.
Bards from who-knows-where were playing and singing on street corners, drawing large crowds of citizens. Monster stone lamps glowed along the streets, creating a bustling, fantasy-like, and restless nocturnal cityscape. Leon found himself mesmerized by the sight.
Walking along like this, Leon followed North Main Street all the way to the familiar large manor.
He had arrived at Twilight Manor.
"Leon!"
"You brat, you're finally back!"
At the sides of the main gate, the two Familia members on guard duty cried out in surprise when they saw Leon slowly walking back.
"Yeah, I'm back." Leon greeted them with a smile. "I'm not too late, am I?"
The two guards looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
"Asking us won't do you any good."
"Yeah, you'd better go explain yourself to the person who's been waiting for you."
The two spoke with a mix of envy, jealousy, and teasing that left Leon feeling completely bewildered.
But as he walked through the gate into the courtyard and saw the familiar figure standing there, Leon finally understood why they had said that.
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