Arthas unknowingly found himself on the second floor of the Dungeon again. The first floor had become crowded, so he'd moved to the less populated second floor.
He still remembered the route he'd taken yesterday; he could easily reach the fifth floor if he wanted to.
However, remembering Eina's warnings, he decided against it for now.
Oh well, let's explore the second floor some more. Perhaps there were simply too few monsters on the first floor, which is why he hadn't encountered any.
Thinking this, Arthas wandered the second floor. Time passed, and by almost dusk, he still hadn't found anything.
Even the slowest person would realize something was wrong.
This wasn't about luck; there was some reason why he wasn't encountering any monsters.
Arthas frowned, troubled.
So why wasn't he encountering any monsters?
Touching the Dungeon's walls, Arthas suddenly thought of a possibility.
If the Dungeon was alive, and the monsters' appearance was controlled by the Dungeon, was it possible that the Dungeon was afraid of something, and that's why it wasn't spawning monsters near him?
Was the Dungeon… afraid of him?
Arthas touched his nose, feeling his hypothesis was overly arrogant. He was just an ordinary person. Why would this Dungeon, which even the Gods cared about, be afraid of him?
Unknowingly, Arthas reached the stairs leading to the third floor. Looking down at the deeper levels, he fell into thought.
Should… he continue down?
Although Eina had warned him, it was frustrating not encountering any monsters.
Sighing softly, Arthas chose to continue descending. Returning empty-handed would be too frustrating.
With this in mind, Arthas explored the third floor, still finding no monsters.
"This is… interesting."
Muttering to himself, Arthas looked at the stairs leading to the fourth floor, which he'd passed for the fourth time.
Just like yesterday, he hadn't encountered a single monster on the third floor.
"Dungeon, if you are truly alive, can you tell me what you fear? I don't seem to have anything that would frighten you…"
Sighing softly, Arthas unhesitatingly descended to the fourth floor, then quickly to the fifth.
If you won't spawn monsters near me, then I'll keep going down until you do!
If others knew Arthas's current thoughts, they'd think he was insane. But no one in the Dungeon would kindly warn him about the dangers of his actions.
After all, in the Dungeon, blindly trusting others could easily cost you your life. A stranger could easily become a backstabbing enemy.
Soon after the fifth floor, Arthas found the stairs to the sixth. On the sixth floor, his pace slowed.
The sixth floor was completely unfamiliar; he didn't know the layout.
But there were clues. The Dungeon had existed for countless years, with countless adventurers passing through. Frequently used routes to lower levels would differ from others.
For example, inconspicuous scratches on corners, relatively smooth pillars, less dusty paths—these could easily indicate the correct route.
Soon, the seventh, eighth, and ninth floors. In less than an hour, Arthas was nearing the tenth floor. Even veteran adventurers with maps of the first ten floors wouldn't have been this fast.
They had to constantly watch out for monsters emerging from the walls, but Arthas didn't.
This notoriously dangerous Dungeon remained calm before Arthas, like his own backyard.
"If I go down further… it'll be the tenth floor, right?"
Looking at the stairs leading down, Arthas sighed, troubled.
He still hadn't encountered a single monster.
"This isn't just luck anymore… What's going on?"
As Arthas stood at the stairs, contemplating whether to continue, a roar came from below.
Like a bull, but not a docile one.
A… monster?
Arthas was stunned, finally realizing he'd encountered a monster.
The ground shook. The monster was charging, seemingly towards him.
His joy at finding a monster vanished instantly. Arthas suddenly remembered something: this monster should be from below the tenth floor, right?
No… that bull-like roar… according to Eina, wasn't that the Minotaur, unique to the fifteenth floor?
Eina's lessons had been tedious, but Arthas remembered key points, including the Minotaur.
Eina had only briefly mentioned this monster, found around the fifteenth floor, but Arthas knew it was a Level 2 creature.
Though only one level difference, a Level 2 monster was far stronger than a Level 1.
"So… now… should I run?"
Recalling Eina's words, Arthas muttered to himself.
The ground continued to shake, the terrifying beast's roar close at hand, yet Arthas showed no sense of crisis. Perhaps it was the frustration of finally finding a monster, only to have to run away.
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