Ah, the homeless.
We stride past them, eyes averted, noses wrinkled, as if their very existence is an affront to us.
Why do we do it?
Perhaps it's easier to pretend they're not human. After all, acknowledging their humanity would mean confronting the glaring disparities in our oh-so-civilized society.
We've crafted narratives to justify our indifference: they're lazy, they chose this life, they're fucking drug addicts, aren't they?
It's a comforting story that allows people to sleep at night, convinced that their plight is their own doing.
Empathy? Too messy. It demands action, change, and God forbid, redistribution of wealth.
Scorn is simpler, disgust even easier.
On earth, people were conditioned to see cleanliness as morality and poverty as a moral failing.
Society drummed into us that success was synonymous with virtue.
So, the homeless, by this logic, must be the dregs, the useless remnants unfit for anything other than wallowing in dysentery and poverty.
This point of view was of course, somewhat correct, but in the end, ignoring the homeless was, for the majority, solely about preserving their comfort, both physically and morally.
This topic wasn't something I cared overly much about, but the same rules seemed to apply to this world as well.
Many an adventurer turned around, be they humans, elves, beastmen, or whatever the fuck else.
Some were indifferent and others had scorn coloring their features, whenever they caught a glimpse of an almost naked man, caked in blood from head to toe, huddled against a wall on Babel's bottom floor.
'I might not even need an invisibility skill at this point' I thought, struggling to keep a smile on my face lest I look even more insane than I already did.
I had just woken up from a wonderful sleep, not having felt the biting cold during the night nor having back pains due to my stone mattress.
"Endurance really be working overtime..." I muttered as I brought up part of my basic attributes.
Power: 95-144 (H)
Endurance: 111-158 (H)
Dexterity: 104-172 (H)
Agility: 102-112 (H)
Magic: 231-270 (G)
No matter how many times I saw it, it still felt a bit surreal to see my progress so...quantified.
Still, this didn't distract me from the increases in my basic Abilities.
This was the single highest jump in power I have made so far, almost double compared to what I gained when I slaughtered and ate more than 20 kobolds.
'My theory seems to be right... eating stronger monsters will indeed accelerate my own growth proportionally'
After all, the only notable thing I did in between killing the Kob/Gob horde and coming back to the surface was fighting and eating 5 Frog Shooters.
This couldn't have been due to physical exertion alone, though my new fighting style relying on dexterity certainly contributed to the stat being more than halfway through H-grade.
Only one explanation remained throughout the process of elimination.
"I wonder if this is enough for a War Shadow...or was it a Wall Shadow? Eh, who gives a fuck" I whispered to myself as I rose to my feet, starting my morning stretching routine.
I sighed, feeling a satisfying series of pops resonate through my back as I arched it, stretching muscles I had forgotten the names of.
I rolled my head in a slow circle, loosening the knots in my neck.
Reaching my not-clawed fingers towards the cavern ceiling, I extended my arms and legs, feeling a pleasant pull in my back and the backs of my thighs.
With a final deep breath, I twisted my torso, feeling my sides tighten and release.
'This might just be my only type of relaxation besides sleep...just as it should be...'
I took deep breaths, shaking off any vestiges of sleep, and thankfully, the only smell I could feel from myself as I did was that of blood.
Not my own blood, of course, but...well...were you ever forced to shower using bottled water like people used to do in the past?
I had a similar idea before climbing out of the dungeon last night, so, I found a goblin-shaped "water bottle" and a kobold-shaped "sponge" and...took a shower...by a certain meaning of the word.
The good news was that blood was useful in getting rid of sweat and grime clinging to my body due to my activities in the past few days.
The bad news was that I ended up looking like a used tampon since due to some black wizardry, the blood on me didn't dissipate into dust like the rest of the monster's body when I crunched their magic stones...
'A necessary sacrifice, overall, as I was more likely to be beaten by someone for smelling like shit rather than just looking like shit...maybe' I thought as I made my way towards the gaping hole/entrance.
As for the muffled laughs and weirded-out glances I got from those happening to see me, well...
'As a wise man once said, reputation is merely bullshit people spew about you.'
So, with a smile on my blood-stained face, I descended into the Dungeon once more.
∞
∞
∞
I was growing tired of these stairs.
They were beautiful, don't get me wrong, with their smooth, moss-green marble that shimmered in the torchlight.
Clearly, someone had worked hard to give them such an aesthetic feel, but having to waste time going up and down (even though I was running) was a net loss in my opinion.
'Can't wait to be durable enough to just sleep on the first floor and not care about puny kobolds or goblins...or maybe not having sleep at all...' I fantasized, muttering between breaths as I continued to descend 6 stairs at a time, startling some newbs as I did so.
'No signs of a white-haired kid though, though I am decently sure that he should already be part of the Hestia Familia...'
I put these thoughts on the back burner as I continued to jump from stair to stair.
Even with my speed, it would take me a few minutes to reach the bottom, and then I would have to run all the way to the 5-th floor in order to continue my grind.
So, to avoid wasting precious moments, I made a small recap of what happened to me so far, ever since I've been ROBbed.
'Ignoring the fact that people here most likely name things differently, let's pretend that the day I spawned in this world was a Monday since it was quite the shitty day.
I remembered it being around noon, and I entered the dungeon immediately, killed a goblin, got out, and then slept.
When I woke up, it was after sunset, and I dived again until Tuesday morning. That time I killed a dozen goblins and a few kobolds.
Tuesday morning was also when the Loki Familia began their expedition... which should take them...maybe 10 days?'
I couldn't remember with certainty, but it was better to be ready to run from minotaurs at any moment, rather than being caught unaware.
'Either way, on Tuesday I slept till sunset, dived again till midnight, and killed 50-60 goblins, 20 or so kobolds, and 5 Frog Shooters...then ran away from a War Shadow like a little bitch, heh'
By that logic, now it was "Wednesday" morning, or the local equivalent...the third day of my new life.
'Not bad, not bad at all... extraordinarily fast progress even...but in such a malleable world, how can I resist pushing my limits even further beyond?'
As I approached the final stretch of the grand staircase, my muscles coiled with anticipation.
With a powerful thrust of my enhanced legs, I launched myself into the air, soaring over a cluster of slow-moving adventurers.
My body sliced through the torchlit air, weightless and free in a way that an unenhanced body would never be.
I landed with a graceless thump, absorbing the impact with a bend of my knees before exploding into a full sprint.
My footsteps echoed through the Road of Beginnings, a rhythmic beat that drowned out the startled shouts rising from behind me.
I raced towards the depths, eager for challenges to further my growth.
Ready or not, It was time for round 2 against a certain shadow.