Affection (4)

That black blade of the sword swings through. Magic Sword Crow. True to its name meaning crow, this pitch-black sword is so hard to track that even the wielder struggles to follow its trajectory.

The black blade cuts across the darkness. And then, it sinks into the monster's skin.

Kkagagak-!

Even after slicing through the monster's rock-hard skin, not a single scratch marred the blade. Unbelievably sturdy durability. And sharpness so keen it could cut even the hand of its own master.

'A magic sword through and through.'

Woooong-.

Even now in my grip, I can feel the sword humming. It must like being in my hand.

I was that confident in my swordsmanship. If the sword had a soul, it would be marveling at my feats right about now.

I glanced back. The monsters I'd deliberately let slip were targeting the party. Eunha was blocking the front, Orion was picking off vitals with arrows, plink plink, and Raize was blasting magic into the openings they'd exposed.

It was too easy. Way too easy.

'This won't do.'

What they were doing was hunting. Training, work.

That wasn't right. The dungeon called Leveling System was humanity's trial. Miracles as rewards were only given to those who'd pushed through adversity.

Leveling up from something this easy was impossible.

'I get it now.'

Only then did I grasp the true purpose of this dungeon. I understood why it got harder the higher you went. Because easy hardships don't exist.

At the same time, I realized why fewer people reached higher levels the higher they got.

The Leveling System unleashed power worthy of being called a miracle. A knight who'd trained their whole life getting one-shot by a fresh Level-up Adventurer was just par for the course.

To make those people face trials, it had no choice but to ramp up the difficulty.

'In that case.'

I looked back at the party. They'd finished hunting and were catching their breath. I watched them, then carefully extinguished the torch.

And then darkness descends. Complete blackness engulfs everything. The suffocating darkness presses in so hard that Raize felt like her lungs were being crushed.

It wasn't just a feeling. Something was actually squeezing her body.

'Ugh-!'

Shadow Monster. Parasites of the dark. In other words, this situation was their home turf.

'Magic—!'

Magic was a profoundly advanced study, and all phenomena called magic were its byproducts.

Naturally, casting magic required intense concentration, and in extreme situations like this, even simple spells were hard to pull off.

'B-breath...'

Raize felt her breath choking off under the tightening pressure. Her mouth wouldn't open. Her body wouldn't move.

She couldn't use magic. She'd die.

'No.'

At her limit, she channeled her magic power. Sensing its master's will, the magic power awakened her ability.

And then, lightning struck the dungeon.

Kururung-!

Light and sound so intense it momentarily banished the dungeon's dark curtain that devoured all light and noise exploded outward.

That shook off the Shadow Monsters binding her. Freed, Raize quickly raised her staff and chanted.

"Fire!"

A massive fireball erupted from the tip of her staff. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At the same time, the darkness receded, revealing dozens of Shadow Monsters that had been hiding within.

'The others?'

When Raize turned to check, everyone except Orion was already fighting.

She quickly summoned fire arrows and shot them at the Shadow Monster holding Orion. Heat and light—both anathema to Shadow Monsters.

Kkieaek-! The monster let out an ear-grating screech as it retreated. Freed from the restraint, Orion immediately expressed thanks and unleashed a barrage of arrows.

Kung! Kung!

Heavy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠footsteps echoed from afar. So loud it penetrated even the dark curtain. Meaning it was one massive monster.

Soon, a gigantic golem burst through the darkness.

"Dojin!"

"Leader!"

Raize and Orion called out to Dojin in unison. With their abilities, they couldn't handle that huge rock monster.

Dojin, who was busy slicing up Shadow Monsters, heard them and charged at the golem.

The moment he slipped out of the party's sight, he leaped at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠golem and brought his sword down. Magic Sword Crow's edge was excessively sharp.

Mere stone couldn't withstand it. The golem shattered in half in an instant, lost balance, and was fully destroyed. Dojin returned to the party.

In the meantime, they'd mopped up the Shadow Monsters. Raize, still maintaining the light, looked at Dojin and asked.

"What was that? What happened? Why'd you suddenly put out the fire?"

Raize imagined a monster ambush or Dojin's carelessness. That would make sense.

But what came out of Dojin's mouth was absurd.

"I just did."

"...What? Why?"

"I just did."

"—What the hell!"

Raize freaked out and lectured him on why you never extinguish lights in a dungeon. It was funny seeing her, with way less adventurer experience than Dojin, schooling him—but when it came to dungeon knowledge, she knew far more.

Dojin nodded along to info he already knew. But that wasn't the point.

"That wasn't dangerous enough."

Adventurers climb dungeons for one simple reason. To level up.

To put it more deeply, it was about shattering yourself against adversity and spreading your wings even wider.

"What kinda bullshit is that!"

"At this rate, we'll never make it past the 30th Floor in our lives."

"We can once the guild finishes investigating!"

"Nope. We can't."

Dojin shook his head. The guild had formed an investigation team for the anomaly on the 30th Floor, but they'd learn nothing.

The anomaly was caused by the Ruler of the 30th Floor reacting to Dojin and awakening. As long as the Ruler lived, it'd keep happening.

Even more tenaciously and viciously now that they'd failed once, blocking the old escape routes.

So they couldn't go up to the 30th Floor where the Ruler still lurked. Not until they were sure they could beat it.

'I dunno how strong it is, though.'

The 10th Floor's ruler took nearly ten Skill Holders pooling their power to fell. So the 30th Floor's? Simple math said at least three times that.

And this world had no such Skill Holders. So what to do? Raise them. Raise adventurers who could take it on.

"...This stays between us, but the thing on the 30th Floor probably happened because of me. So if I go up there, it'll happen again."

"...Why do you think that?"

"Can't say."

"...Can't say? Not won't, can't?"

"Yeah."

Based on the conclusion he'd mulled over with Eunha overnight, Dojin revealed a bit of info. Nothing problematic if others knew right away.

Raize and Orion were dying to know the reasoning, but if Dojin clammed up, they had no way to find out.

"...Fine, whatever. If you say so, there must be good reasons."

"Thanks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for understanding."

"Leader, that reason... you absolutely can't tell us?"

"Not absolutely. When you hit Level 3... then I'll tell you."

He couldn't hide it forever anyway. He planned to do the boss raid with them. But not now.

"If you dodge it then too, I'll shove this staff up your ass."

"Eek, scary."

"If you get it, explain why you put out the fire."

"To level up, you need adversity."

"Adversity?"

"Yeah, adversity."

Adversity meant brutal trials that couldn't be easily solved, ones that could even mean death. That was the secret to leveling up.

He'd told Deokgu, who teased him about being a Saiyan. But his instincts hadn't been wrong yet.

"No visibility, barely any sound. Brutal for humans or elves alike... and yet monsters crawl around the dark like it's their backyard."

A horrific space. A horrific situation, brutally difficult.

"So wouldn't overcoming that bring equal growth?"

Raize didn't like Dojin's words. Illogical, a leap, flimsy evidence.

But she also thought it was worth testing. She felt it too—you couldn't grow just from mindlessly slaying monsters.

Same as magic. Wring your brain, burn your life force on research. Hundreds of failures for one success.

"...Warn us next time before you do it. I hate surprise magic."

"Haha, got it. I will."

Hearing Dojin's words, Orion thought they'd sounded familiar. Elves had good memory, but decades of life meant too many memories to pinpoint right away.

Soon, she recalled: words from her instructor during trainee days.

—This training will be hellishly tough, but you won't die.

—And everything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Who would've thought it'd apply here too. Or maybe Dojin had heard something similar.

From who?

No need to ask.

Orion's eyes gleamed. She stared intently at Dojin.

Dojin's instincts were spot on. Danger brought commensurate growth. Watching Raize and Eunha who'd gotten stronger in that short time, he thought so.

'The problem... is Orion.'

She didn't fall into danger easily. Paradoxically, she was so strong she was robbed of growth opportunities.

That was why high-level adventurers from the Adventurer Guild and kingdom armies' leveled soldiers were similar.

'This ain't some game penalizing veterans...'

Orion was strong. So she rarely faced danger. Hard to meet adversity, so she had to seek harder trials.

Naturally, the stronger the foe, the more daunting surpassing them became. An elementary kid might beat a middle schooler, but a high schooler beating a pro amateur? Tough.

'Can't do much about it now... moving on.'

Dojin looked at Raize and Eunha. Normally they'd be casually vigilant, but they were already panting.

Real combat's effect. Never know when enemies pop up, so constant tension. Muscles stay taut.

Keeping muscles tense is exhausting. Doing it unconsciously nonstop drains stamina fast.

"That's it for today."

"Hueee... Tired. Carry me."

"A mage with stamina that pathetic? Get up now. Or I'll leave you here."

"Fucking asshole bastard..."

Raize groaned as she hauled herself up. But Dojin was firm here. She could still move, in his eyes.

"You okay, Eunha?"

"...Yeah, no problem."

"Wait, cold to me but Eunha gets that treatment?"

"Eunha's the type who won't speak up till she collapses from exhaustion, and you, Raize, claim to be rational but wanna get carried."

"...Can't deny it."

For all his talk, Dojin ended up carrying the midway-collapsed Raize out of the dungeon. By the time they descended and her legs recovered, Raize walked back to the Magic Tower on her own...

"Eunha, you go ahead to the mansion."

"...Okay."

Sending Eunha to the mansion first, Dojin was left alone with Orion and stared at her intently.

"What's up, Leader? Something to say?"

"Yeah, question for you."

"Ask away. If you're curious, even my three sizes..."

"Then I will."

"Oh my... from the top."

"What's the punishment for betraying the Great Forest?"

"One hu..."

Orion froze mid-size. Her eyes turned as cold as the moonlight glaring at Dojin.