Chapter 87: There Are Many Like That in the Dungeon

This time, Bell kept Presence Concealment active the entire time he was in the Dungeon.

His earlier tests had already given him a clear understanding of its traits.

As long as he didn't make direct contact with anyone, no one could detect his location.

The technique might have some flaws, but even if it did, they weren't anything major.

Besides, there was an advanced version of Presence Concealment—but it required seven Runes instead of just one, which was still beyond his current capabilities.

For now, the one-rune version worked just fine for daily use. There was no need to push for the higher variant yet.

As he moved deeper into the Dungeon, Bell continued to observe how Presence Concealment functioned in different conditions.

'Yeah, both my breath and sound are completely suppressed.'

Several Scorpions crawled right past him, completely unaware of his presence as they moved along the walls and ground.

'Unless I approach them directly, it's almost impossible for monsters to locate me.'

'I need to test a few more things.'

Focusing on the last Scorpion in the group, Bell stepped down on its shell and slashed off its tail with the Kuji Kanesada in his hand.

Before the others could react, he reactivated Presence Concealment.

The other Scorpions, startled by the sudden kill, turned back toward the fallen Magic Stone and severed tail. All four of them began searching frantically, but they couldn't locate the enemy.

From this, Bell confirmed something critical.

'As long as I break line of sight, I can reapply Presence Concealment and hide.'

'Even after killing one, the rest can't track me down.'

'Looks like this technique isn't just essential for assassins—it's also effective during an actual assassination.'

Satisfied with his test, Bell didn't linger on the fourth floor and continued heading deeper.

Level 1 Adventurers weren't suited for the Middle Floors, but the Upper Floors offered good training grounds.

The first ten floors were considered upper levels, though the monsters in the first five weren't ideal for direct combat.

Some didn't even have physical bodies. Others naturally carried sharp weapons.

Endurance training required sustained contact. Fighting monsters with bladed weapons wasn't ideal for that.

Shadows used spiritual attacks, which weren't suitable either. Frog Shooters dealt more psychological trauma than physical damage. As for Scorpions, you needed high resistance to status effects to deal with them effectively.

So while the first five floors served as an introduction to the Dungeon, real adventuring often started on the twelfth floor.

However, most Level 1 Adventurers looking to improve their Status would head to the seventh or eighth floor, where Ogres and Infant Dragons roamed. Not only were these monsters strong, but they also respawned quickly.

The only catch was that both floors had Imps acting as advance scouts for the Ogres—and when Ogres spawned, they came in groups. Unless you were confident in your strength, entering alone was a bad idea.

Still, the seventh and eighth floors were prime farming grounds for Adventurers.

By tossing down a few chunks of meat, you could quickly lure out Ogres. In a way, it was a form of "monster bait."

It was a specific tactic used to lure monsters and use other Adventurers as bait.

In simpler terms, it was a common "kill-without-lifting-a-finger" tactic among Orario's Lv. 1s.

You didn't have to risk yourself, and the success rate was high. What could be better?

Of course, this only worked if your target wasn't stronger than you. If they were, it could backfire—hard.

As soon as Bell stepped onto the seventh floor, he immediately noticed the difference.

The first six floors felt like narrow cave tunnels, but the seventh had moved beyond that—it actually started to resemble a true dungeon.

It wasn't a cave anymore. This floor had a dome-like ceiling, and the entire space was covered in a white mist, making visibility poor and giving monsters plenty of natural cover.

'Not a bad environment. The dome above is a sea of white, almost like a sky of its own.'

Bell looked up at the ceiling and could tell right away it was all an illusion. The dome wasn't that high, and the so-called "sunlight" wasn't real either. It was just light emanating from the walls, as if the Dungeon were deliberately trying to create a particular atmosphere.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

A scream from not far away drew Bell's attention.

He casually walked toward the source of the sound and saw a young Pallum girl—barely taller than the large bag she carried—firing a volley of bolts from a hidden sleeve weapon, taking down a group of Adventurers that had been surrounded by Ogres.

Bell didn't spare a glance for the unlucky Adventurers. His eyes were fixed on the Pallum girl.

Her expression showed nothing but numbness to killing—no shame, no hesitation.

Adventurers like her were a dime a dozen in Orario. One more or less made no difference.

And Bell recognized her immediately.

'Liliruca Arde.'

'A Pallum girl enslaved by Soma Wine, and a long-persecuted member of the Soma Familia.'

Bell felt no sympathy for her.

Maybe she still had a sliver of hope to change—but Bell had no intention of reaching out to save her.

She had chosen her path. The corpses she left behind would be her only companions.

Without help, she'd never escape the suffocating grip of Soma Familia.

But again, Bell felt nothing for her.

So, he spared her only a glance and turned away.

He had no desire to expand his Familia, especially not for someone like her—someone entirely replaceable. Whether she joined or not simply didn't matter.

Bell didn't linger on the seventh floor. Instead, he continued downward to the eighth.

While the monsters on the seventh and eighth floors were similar in type, the number and scale of them increased significantly on the eighth.