"Hey, look over there. It's the Sword Princess and the Crusher!"
"So beautiful. If only I could go on a date with one of them..."
"Just you? Know your place! Don't daydream, you've been a Level 1 adventurer for ten years, you're not worthy of standing beside them."
"No need to state that harsh truth in front of me, I know it even without you saying it. At least let me dream, okay?"
The two low-level adventurers spoke in hushed voices, their eyes fixed on the two girls walking by.
Aiz Wallenstein and Tiona Hiryute.
Every step they took drew glances from passersby. It was a natural reaction; not only were they beautiful women, but they were also First-Class Adventurers.
"Aiz, you even skipped breakfast together. Are you that eager to meet Charlie Avalon? But you don't know where he lives, do you?"
Walking beside the expressionless Aiz, Tiona ignored the gossip about them, as she was already used to being the center of attention.
In Loki Familia, there was a tradition that required all members to have breakfast together to strengthen their bonds.
As she was heading to the dining hall, Tiona happened to see Aiz sneaking out of Twilight Manor. Then, she quietly followed her. Unfortunately, Aiz noticed her shortly afterward.
"Charlie is a new adventurer. His first destination must be the Guild. So, we just need to wait for him at the Guild." Aiz answered flatly.
"So that's it. No wonder you left so early. Just how obsessed are you with that guy? You've only met him once!"
"..."
Aiz couldn't answer Tiona's question. To be honest, she didn't understand why her mind was filled with thoughts of Charlie. That's why she wanted to meet him and discover the reason for the Dungeon within herself.
"Isn't that Charlie? We're lucky!"
Tiona's excited voice snapped Aiz out of her reverie. In the distance, she saw Charlie exiting the Guild headquarters and heading towards Babel Tower.
"Let's go meet him!"
"Wait."
"Huh, what's the matter, Aiz? Isn't your goal to meet him?"
"Let's watch from a distance."
"Alright, since Charlie wants to go to the Dungeon, I also want to see how strong he is."
Not knowing why Aiz's initial intention had changed, Tiona didn't object to the suggestion. Then, the two of them kept their distance and discreetly tailed Charlie.
On the other hand, Charlie had no idea that two First-Class Adventurers from the famous Loki Familia were tailing him. After all, too many adventurers were staring at him. Unless someone had ill intentions, his senses wouldn't detect anything.
"So, this is Babel Tower... It's so tall."
Babel Tower had a magnificent structure. From afar, the tower appeared to be made of gleaming white stone, with intricate carvings and reliefs all around it. From a distance, Babel Tower looked like a giant pillar reaching into the sky, towering over all the surrounding buildings.
Babel Tower was built to prevent the monsters in the Dungeon from escaping to the surface.
In fact, Babel Tower was a facility owned by the Guild.
To provide convenience for adventurers, the Guild had built many public facilities here.
There were hundreds of bathrooms scattered around the lobby on the first floor, allowing adventurers covered in blood to take a bath.
The second floor was a simple restaurant and maintenance office, and the third floor had several exchange offices identical to those in the Guild headquarters, used for trading magic stones and drop items.
Up to the fourth floor were shops rented by the Guild to other Familias. Hephaestus Familia had shops on the 4th to 8th floors.
Above that were the residential areas for the most prominent gods in Orario, known as Private Chambers.
"I heard Babel Tower has 50 floors. I wonder which is taller, Babel Tower or Burj Khalifa."
Shaking his head, Charlie entered Babel Tower.
The first thing he saw was a large white hall, with the faint sound of flowing water coming from within the hall. Many adventurers entered with bloodstains all over their bodies, then left fresh and clean.
After looking around, Charlie quickly walked to the center of the hall, where there was a large hole with a diameter of over ten meters.
That hole was the entrance to the Dungeon.
Following the other adventurers, he slowly descended underground along a spiral staircase.
"So, this is the Dungeon."
The environment of the 1st Floor was just dark blue walls and ceilings stretching in every direction in this skyless labyrinth.
There were many intersections, and even some slopes. Before Charlie could fully observe the Dungeon environment, a monster rushed to attack him.
"Gyshaaaa!"
It was a humanoid monster with green skin, pointed ears, an ugly face, and a height similar to that of a child.
Goblin!
The weakest monster in the Dungeon!
The Goblin rushed towards Charlie with incredible speed.
*Pu-chi*
Charlie unsheathed the Sword of Damocles, swung it casually, and cut the Goblin in front of him vertically. Then, the Goblin's body split in two and fell to the ground.
"So this is a magic stone. It's the first time I've seen one."
The Goblin's body began to change as Charlie pulled out a magic stone the size of a shard of glass. Then, without warning, the entire Goblin's body turned to ash and disappeared without a trace.
All monsters disappear after their magic stone is removed. After all, the magic stone is the monster's core and the source of its power. The energy in the magic stone gives them life.
Magic stones are crystals with magical power; all monsters in the Dungeon have them.
The Guild buys magic stones because of their magical properties. This is how adventurers make money, by collecting magic stones for trade.
Magic stones are used for many things through human engineering, such as the lights in the rooms of houses in Orario. Moreover, magic stones can be used to power stoves for cooking or even to freeze food to keep it fresh.
In short, magic stones are a valuable resource.
Orario sells magic stones to other cities and countries at high prices.
"In simple terms, magic stones are an energy resource, similar to petroleum on Earth. Since magic stones are only produced by monsters in the Dungeon, the Guild monopolizes the energy source in this world."
"Even though it's still early, there are already many adventurers entering the Dungeon. If Goliath is killed by another adventurer, I have to wait two more weeks for it to respawn. No, I can't let anyone else get to it first. Goliath is mine!"
Not interested in fighting weak monsters like Goblins, Kobolds, and others.
There is an unwritten rule among adventurers that whoever claims to defeat a monster in the Dungeon first, other adventurers must not interfere in that battle. Not until the previous adventurer can't win and dies, or decides to flee and leave it to someone else.
So, if Charlie finds other adventurers fighting Goliath, he can only watch them.
Not wanting that situation to happen, he decided to hurry. In his calculation, defeating Goliath would provide high-quality Excelia, enough to raise his stats to EX rank.
In the end, Charlie was only Level 1, while Goliath was equivalent to a Level 4 adventurer. The Excelia he would receive after defeating Goliath would be very unexpected.
"Physical Enchant."
Charlie used Spirit Art to enhance his physical strength.
"Wind Divine Protection."
Not stopping there, he manipulated the wind with Spirit Art, a gust of wind surrounding his body, which would increase his speed.
Taking out a map from his backpack, he memorized the route from the 1st Floor to the 17th Floor.
*WHOOSH*
After that, his foot hit the ground, and his figure accelerated at high speed, producing a sonic boom in the air.
Not long after, two female figures emerged from behind a wall.
"Is Charlie really a Level 1 adventurer? The speed he's showing isn't something someone at his level could achieve!" Tiona exclaimed in amazement.
"Tempest."
Aiz only said one word, then a green wind gust surrounded her beautiful figure. Without saying anything, she chased after Charlie.
"Oi, Aiz, wait for me!"
Seeing her leaving her behind, Tiona realized something important.
"Charlie's wind magic is somewhat similar to Aiz's Ariel magic. No wonder Aiz couldn't stay calm. Ah, whatever, I'll get there myself."
Tiona and Aiz heard Charlie's murmuring, so they knew where to go.
Although Tiona was also Level 5 like Aiz, speed wasn't her forte, so she lagged far behind.