Chapter 8: Chain of Destruction!
Within the third floor of the Dungeon, the originally silent cave suddenly became agitated.
The stone walls on both sides rolled violently like liquid, continuously delivering monsters one after another into the cave.
And the newly born monsters, upon landing, let out furious roars, then frantically converged in one direction.
Amidst the encirclement of monsters, a cold black sword shadow flickered back and forth non-stop.
Each time the shadow swept past, it would bring up large splashes of blood, simultaneously sending several monsters back into the Dungeon's embrace.
Since stepping onto the third floor, Luke had been continuously swinging his sword for over an hour.
Even with his ten points in Endurance and Constitution, plus the attribute bonus from the [One-Handed Sword] skill, he felt somewhat fatigued now.
The moments when the blade tore through monster bodies had clearly become much slower, no longer as fluid as before.
However, contrary to Luke's state, the Dungeon seemed eternally tireless, still rapidly producing various low-tier monsters and throwing them into this battlefield filled with flesh and blood.
If members of other Familias saw this scene at this moment, they would surely be astonished with mouths agape.
Not because of how strong Luke's combat power was, but because of the Dungeon's uncharacteristic behavior.
Although the Dungeon's malice towards adventurers was unquestionable, typically, there would be a certain amount of free time before each monster attack, allowing people to catch their breath and rest, preventing them from being worn down to death by endless waves.
But Luke was an exception.
Ever since he killed that Goblin on the second floor, the Dungeon had given him absolutely no breathing room, ceaselessly sending monsters to his side.
Even if he killed one wave, the next wave of monsters would surge forth in the blink of an eye.
The dense swarm of monsters brought higher killing efficiency.
If judging purely by the number of kills, in just one short hour, he had already killed a quantity of monsters that other adventurers might not reach in a week.
And even though he was starting to feel fatigued now, as the black blade danced, each time the sword light flashed, this number would jump up slightly more.
Under such frenzied slaughter, Luke's entire body was soaked in monster blood.
That black wind coat could no longer be distinguished—was it the original black fabric, or the dark, somber black dyed by blood?
"Huff... huff..."
A straight thrust pierced through the head of a spider-shaped monster.
Then, the blade flicked upwards, splitting the monster's head in half.
Luke gasped for breath, raising his head.
The third floor of the Dungeon had once again been cleared by him from end to end.
If it were a typical adventurer team, after clearing a floor, that floor section wouldn't continue to spawn monsters for a short period.
Yet, Luke had barely taken a few breaths before several cracks had already opened on the cave walls at the end of his sight.
In no time, he would once again be surrounded by monsters.
"Hey hey, even for a monster party, isn't this a bit excessive..."
Staring at the monsters continuously being born from the Dungeon, Luke's sword-wielding right hand trembled slightly.
Prolonged high-intensity combat had made it almost difficult for him to hold the sword steady.
But even so, he silently charged forward again, mustering all his strength, and swung the ink-black longsword.
...
At the same time, on the second floor of the Dungeon.
A team of well-equipped adventurers was methodically hunting the monsters that occasionally emerged from the walls.
Behind them, a petite figure entirely enveloped in a loose, milky-white robe held a small knife, skillfully collecting magic stones from the monster corpses with considerable proficiency.
"Hey, Pallum brat, if your movements get any slower, I'm going to dock your share later!"
Plunging the short dagger in his hand into the heart of a Goblin restrained by his comrade, a young man with short orange hair turned his head and glared discontentedly at the girl collecting magic stones, his tone quite dismissive.
"Just a mere Pallum supporter, I heard she's from that Soma Familia... Want a share of the Valis we earned hunting monsters? Then show some damn effort!"
"Y-yes, Adventurer-sama!"
Startled by the young man's unfriendly tone, the girl shrank back, hiding her entire body beneath the wide robe, while the movements of her hands quickened slightly.
But no matter how much she sped up, being just one person, it was still somewhat insufficient to keep up with this team's monster hunting pace.
Ignoring the Pallum girl's struggle, the adventurer team advanced rapidly, soon reaching the end of the second floor.
"Boss, are we really going to... later?"
The young man who had berated the Pallum girl earlier, now wiping his dagger, glanced distantly at the girl still collecting magic stones, then spoke to the middle-aged man in the center of the team, "She's just a supporter anyway, and from that drunkard Familia. Even if we don't pay her Valis, it should be fine, right?"
"Eric, bullying a child like this isn't quite right, is it?"
Before the middle-aged man could speak, the only girl in the team, carrying a bow, spoke up first, "Captain, you should say something to him. Trying to stiff a kid's wages, I feel embarrassed for him!"
"You...!"
Losing face from the female archer's words, the young man glared, about to erupt, but was stopped by the middle-aged man.
"Alright, Eric, Rei, stop arguing. A mere supporter isn't worth us fighting amongst ourselves."
Halting the conflict between team members, the middle-aged man continued with a serious expression, "Besides, haven't you felt it? The Dungeon today seems somewhat different from usual."
"Different?"
"That's right."
Amidst the puzzled gazes of the team members, the middle-aged man continued, "Although the first few floors of the Dungeon naturally have fewer monsters and relatively lower spawn rates, haven't you noticed? Today, the spawn speed of these monsters is even slower than usual."
Hearing their captain's words, the team members exchanged glances, then turned back to look at the passage they had traversed.
Indeed, although the monster spawn rate on the second floor was slow, normally, after coming this far, they would have killed at least twenty to thirty monsters.
But today, they had killed at most a dozen or so.
So, where did the remaining monsters go?
This question crossed the minds of everyone in the adventurer team.
Then, the middle-aged man looked towards the staircase leading to the third floor and said gravely, "Let's go down a few more floors and see. If I'm not mistaken, something should have happened below."
No one in the team objected to the middle-aged man's decision.
Firstly, based on their strength, they could already be considered top-tier among Lv.1 adventurers.
Their deepest descent had even reached the eleventh floor of the Dungeon once, so they weren't worried about potential dangers.
Secondly, they were indeed curious about what changes had occurred in the Dungeon to slow down the monster spawn rate so much.
"Hey, Pallum, we're heading to the lower floors now! If you don't hurry up, you'll be left here alone!"
"C-coming! Please don't leave Liliruca alone here!"
The Pallum girl collecting magic stones heard this, quickly tied up the bag containing the stones, and hurried to catch up with the adventurer team's pace.
The stairs from the second to the third floor weren't too long.
Soon, the adventurer team reached the entrance of the third floor.
However, just as they entered, an intensely nauseating stench hit them, causing several faces to change.
And the middle-aged man, standing at the forefront of the team, witnessed the tragic sight before him, his gaze somewhat blank.
Dungeon third floor.
He had been here countless times.
It should have been an incredibly familiar place, but at this moment, he couldn't recognize its original appearance at all.
Monsters, swarming in droves, countless monsters.
The ground was littered with various monster corpses.
Blood plasma had accumulated into a thick layer on the ground.
On the cave walls, on the stone pillars, everywhere one could see radially splattered bloodstains, and fresh, steaming pieces of internal organs.
Almost instantly, a few words popped into the middle-aged man's mind.
Slaughterhouse!
Who on earth turned this Dungeon floor into a monster meat grinder?
His gaze moved through the dense mass of monsters, and he quickly found the figure he was looking for.
It was a young man who looked about the same age as Eric in the team...
No, he should be slightly younger than Eric, probably only around twenty years old.
The man was bathed in blood, possessing rare black hair, his pupils also deep black.
He wore a pitch-black coat, wielded a pitch-black longsword, moving like a gale through the monster horde.
Each time he swung his blade, he could either bisect, decapitate, disembowel, or tear out the hearts and lungs of several monsters, ending their lives very directly.
Staring blankly at this man who was frantically slaughtering monsters, he suddenly understood.
So the Dungeon's monster production speed slowed down all because of this person?
The man's speed was fast.
One swing could cut a monster's body in half, so one could imagine his strength wasn't weak either.
But what was most astonishing was his sword technique.
There were no flashy moves, no superfluous formalities.
From drawing the sword to sheathing it, the process was condensed to the extreme.
It seemed like ordinary straight thrusts, diagonal upward slashes, vertical cuts, horizontal sweeps, yet it contained exquisite follow-up variations.
Every strike aimed straight for vital points—an absolutely pure sword technique existing solely for slaughter.
How many trials of life and death, how many lives sharpening the blade, does it take to forge such a cruel sword technique?
However, while surprised by the sword technique mastered by this young man, what made the middle-aged man more uneasy was his gaze while swinging the sword—an emotionless, faint, matter-of-fact gaze.
Just meeting his eyes for an instant, one could feel his indifference towards life.
This young man, a certain part deep inside him is definitely broken!
Following behind the middle-aged man, the others in the adventurer team also saw the hellish, blood-soaked third floor of the Dungeon, and the black-clad man slaughtering his way through the monster horde.
"Captain, what... should we do now?"
"Don't panic, let me handle this."
Being watched by his team members, the middle-aged man took a deep breath and stepped forward, preparing to speak.
However, before he could speak, the man amidst the monster horde actually spoke first, "Everyone else leave. The Pallum stays."
Luke had, of course, noticed this team of adventurers intruding upon his hunting ground from the beginning.
After all, a Spirit attribute of ten wasn't just for show; it was enough for him to hunt monsters while simultaneously keeping an eye on these adventurers.
And while noticing the adventurers, he had also noticed the Pallum girl trailing behind them like a little tail.
Liliruca Arde...
Didn't expect to meet her at a time like this.
But that's fine. Luke currently needed a supporter.
Isn't this like receiving a pillow just when you're feeling sleepy?
---