"Thanks for the food."
Ronan used his knife and fork neatly. He finished his breakfast at an unhurried pace, washed his wooden dishes, and began to get ready.
Because of the gods and the use of magic stones, life in Orario was already close to that of a modern city. The house he rented had running water, which made daily life much easier.
After finishing his morning routine, he carefully checked his backpack and belongings. He made sure he had everything: various potions, rope, a magic stone lamp, food, supplies, a whetstone, and oilcloth.
He changed into a black combat shirt and pants, put on his leather boots, and started putting on his gear.
His black light armor had cost 49,900 valis. He had spent a lot on it after finding it at a bargain price in a Hephaestus Familia shop.
The armor set included a neck guard, chest plate, shoulder guards, arm guards, gloves, and leg guards. He wore it over a leather vest to protect his vital areas. This light armor was made to resist slashing attacks. It had been crafted by a first-rate smith in Orario as a practice piece using leftover materials. It was light, breathable, and did not slow him down at all.
Next, he put on his adventurer belt and pouches. They were made from tough leather processed from monster drop items and were very durable.
He checked his main and spare weapons, a short sword and a knife, and hung them at his waist.
He put on his gloves and finally threw on a black hooded cloak to hide himself. After making sure everything fit properly, he stepped out of the house.
"Today is another day full of hope!"
"Morning, Ronan. Heading out?"
"Yeah, Uncle Lita. I'm heading out. See you later."
"What's the rush? Here, your aunt made some fried potato balls. Take them!"
"Fried potato balls? Cream-flavored? I'll take them, thanks!"
He greeted his neighbors as he walked. He turned onto the main road and headed toward Babel in the center of the city.
He did not need to buy supplies today, so he skipped the market streets adventurers usually used and arrived earlier than usual.
The main streets were already crowded at this hour. Many adventurers and supporters were getting ready for work.
He saw dwarf warriors in heavy armor carrying shields and axes. There were Amazons dressed like dancers. Beastmen and Prums wore light armor or leather gear. Elves wore elegant robes and carried staves. Supporters had huge backpacks on their backs, with crossbows or bows hanging at their waists. People of every race filled the street.
Ronan walked quietly with the crowd and soon reached the plaza.
"Hmm?"
Two figures moved quickly through the crowd.
Their golden and silver hair stood out even in Orario. They were tall, slim, and moved with smooth steps. Ronan could not help glancing at them.
"Elves? I wouldn't forget beautiful women like that. A swordswoman and a mage... wait, they look familiar."
Ronan thought about it as he walked. He stopped dwelling on it once he reached the plaza on the first basement level by the stairs.
He glanced at several adventurer teams waiting there, laughed to himself, pulled his hood lower, and quickly entered the deep tunnels.
The 1-million-valis prize for Jack's Lucky Golden Egg? You idiots are never going to find it.
With Ronan's current stats, he could easily fight on the 5th floor.
He would only feel pressure if he had to fight more than ten monsters at once. To stay safe, his plan was simple: if more than five monsters appeared at the same time, he would retreat. He would kite them, break up their formation, and kill them one by one.
For a solo adventurer, this reduced the risk of getting injured or damaging his gear. It also left him room to deal with surprises.
"The Dungeon is alive." Ronan always reminded himself of that saying.
He knew that any mistake could lead to a brutal counterattack from the "Mother" Dungeon. If an adventurer got careless, the Dungeon would show them what real despair looked like.
"Waaaghhhhhhhhhh!"
As soon as he reached the 5th floor, he received a loud "welcome."
Several green Goblins screamed as they crawled out of the walls. Their eyes glowed red. Waving crude weapons, they charged straight at him.
"The new me doesn't need to deal with weak little things like these with a blade," Ronan said with a faint smile. "A mage should fight like a mage."
He took a firm stance. His short sword stayed in his left hand in front of him, while his right hand stretched forward. The magic inside his body began to move.
A blue light flickered at the corners of his eyes. He clearly spoke the spell's name:
"Burn!"
The short chant acted like a trigger. In the next instant, flames burst over one of the Goblins!
"Wagigigigigi!" The heat engulfed the monster, but Ronan's expression remained calm.
"Burn!"
He cast the spell a second time. Another Goblin's head was covered in flames. It screamed and rolled on the ground.
Two monsters were still moving and had not died yet. Ronan now had a basic grasp of Burn's power.
After thinking for a moment, he immediately changed his approach.
"Burn!"
After setting a third Goblin on fire, he jumped back twice to widen the distance.
Demon King Emblem, activate!
Endurance and Magic are doubled. Mind capacity increases a hundredfold and recovers continuously, greatly improving recovery speed and efficiency.
Sharp Mind, activate!
Enhances control and analysis. It also improves the functional quality of magic, techniques, and equipment.
Truth of All Magic, activate!
Super Magic: allows charged casting. The better the preparation, the stronger the effect.
"Burn!"
With a low shout, Ronan released a charged final cast!
Boom!
Wild flames exploded like an open furnace and instantly swallowed the target. The screaming stopped.
The only sound left was the weak groaning of the other three Goblins.
Ronan stepped forward, gripped his short sword, and quickly finished them off.
He looked at the four charred bodies and frowned.
"The power of Burn... is still a bit too low."
He knelt down and poked the corpses with his sword, analyzing the fight.
"The damage comes in too slowly. The flames look good, but the burn damage takes time to build up. There's too much delay before the kill."
"Luckily, Goblins are weak..."
He remembered the information he had read at the Guild, and his expression turned serious. "If it were a large monster with high endurance and defense, like an Orc or a Silverback, Burn wouldn't stop it right away. The pain might even drive it into a frenzy and make the fight more dangerous."
"Even against a Goblin, I still need to cast it twice or finish it with my sword."
He quickly judged his own current strength:
"Right now, my base Magic is 489. Even with Demon King Emblem boosting it, Burn still doesn't hit hard enough on its own."
He guessed that Burn's direct damage was simply not that high.
Based on the test, this magic worked more like a way to apply a burn effect. It was meant to support other fire magic, not to serve as the main attack.
He sighed. "Unless my Magic rises even further, or I fully charge the spell, I can't kill them in one hit."
Of course, if other mages saw Ronan using Burn as his main attack, they would probably laugh at him.
He quickly dug out the magic stones. After finishing his first real combat test, he made a plan:
"Charging for a third of a second is enough. Since it's a long-range attack, I have room to move. If I run into a group again, I'll move while attacking. It would be stupid to stand still and charge when I have Truth of All Magic."
Looking back at the fight, Ronan felt there was still a lot to improve.
Because of Truth of All Magic, he did not need something like Concurrent Chanting. He did not have to worry about a magic misfire if he got distracted. Moving while casting was easy for him.
He took out his notebook and pen. He quickly wrote down his thoughts and the results of the fight.
Then he prepared to begin the next test.
"Hey, did you guys hear those screams just now?"
"There's something wrong with that person. Who tortures monsters like that on the 5th floor? Why not just kill them quickly?"
"Who knows? Orario is a big place. There are all kinds of people. Maybe that guy just has a weird hobby."
"..."
Two adventurers passed by, talking loudly. Ronan's face twitched.
Did they think he wanted to drag it out? He just had not finished working out the spell yet.
No, the 5th floor is too small. The tunnels are narrow, monsters appear too slowly, and there are people everywhere. There aren't enough targets here. On top of that, too many teams pass through. If they notice how fast I cast, it'll attract too much attention.
Since he was still getting stronger, Ronan thought for a moment.
In that case, should I go down one more floor?
After only a brief pause, Ronan decided to go down farther.
Even though the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors were all part of the Upper Floors, the difference between them was obvious. The monster types, spawn speed, and chance of accidents all increased. Even the cave environment changed.
More importantly, many adventurers saw the 7th floor as a graveyard for beginners.
People even called it the first real dead line.