Vol 4 Chapter 15: The First Floor

We made our way to Victoria's room first, knocking at the door, yelling at her to wake up.

She's a light sleeper, right? This should be quick.

"Coming!"

Yep, sure enough, in just ten seconds or so, she opened the door… revealing her nightgown-clad figure in the process.

Uohhhh!

Ignoring the large breasts that became even larger now that they weren't underneath an armor, there was nothing particularly lewd about her dress. It was a cream-colored silk gown that went down to her ankles. Only, the image she gave now was considerably different than her usual, fully-armored self. Using RPG terms, her charisma had been doubled, in exchange for zero defense.

"Get dressed. We're going to the Observatorium, remember?"

"Right! Don't worry! I can wear my armor in a flash!"

After Felicia gave her order, the elf turned around and walked to the table where she had put her armor and skirt on. Reaching behind her, she unbuttoned her gown, before letting it fall down to the floor on its own… all while not closing the door, allowing me to see her naked body in all its glory.

Uwooooohhrghh! Those massive breasts and their perky nipples! Those killer hips and ass and the striped panties covering them! She fits the busty elf archetype perfectly!

Felicia, realizing her blunder, slammed the door as quick as lightning could strike. Looking at me with a displeased expression, she said, "You saw it, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah, I did."

"That idiot." She huffed, glancing to the door. "Now you get to see her naked. I should've bared my body to you before her!"

"Well, it's not like I haven't seen your bare breasts multiple times. That flimsy dress of yours couldn't hide them that well in bed."

"That's completely different! You never saw my bare butt before! And you just saw hers!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh. You can give the show later. But not when we're inside the dungeon. If there's a monster attack, I don't want you to have to dress up first before fighting them."

“I could just fight them naked.”

“No! That would be too distracting!”

“Umm, excuse me, but I’m ready now.”

The door opened up once more, revealing Victoria was there in her usual attire.

“R-right! Let’s go then!”

Exchanging a glance with Felicia, we both agreed without a word to drop the subject.

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After we had our breakfast downstairs, we made our way to the north gate. The Observatorium was located shortly northwest of the story. We could already see the building from right outside the walls, as it was only a short fifteen minute walk or so from said gate. It looked like a dome of some sort, pitch-black in its paint.

Walking there, I noticed that unlike the west and south side of the city, there wasn’t any agriculture going on in this side. The ground was as barren and lifeless as ever. Perhaps they didn’t want their farms to be so close to a World Dungeon.

As we got closer, I realized just how gigantic the structure was. It was easily the size of one of those Olympic football stadiums back in my old world. No, even bigger. It's seriously eerie looking to the max, as if it's some alien structure.

Under the base of the megastructure, a small building stood. It was the "gate" leading to the dungeon proper. You'd need permission from the Guild first before you'd be allowed to pass.

Inside the outpost, we were greeted by the sight of numerous adventurer parties, all standing in line to be checked for their eligibility to enter the dungeon. It's almost like it's an entrance to a theme park. Taking our place at the shortest line, we began our wait.

Hmm? That's… that's the catgirl I groped, isn't it? Same black tail and ears—same outfit as well. And there's the guy with her—the so-called weakest adventurer. Should I come over and greet them?

Nah, I don't think they'd want to see my face, let alone chat with me. I was a terrible sexual harasser after all.

Suddenly, a figure entered the hall we were waiting in, running straight to where the two were.

Huh? That's—

The first thing that grabbed my attention was her ears. She was an elf. A silver-haired elf. Correction. A silver-haired loli elf. And she was wearing a maid outfit. The short skirt kind.

Quickly, I stepped out of the line, wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Haa… haa… haa… thank goodness I'm not too late…"

"Tira, what are you doing there? Shouldn't you be working at the mansion?"

"I-I am… but I just have to go here and give you this. Here! A lunchbox, just for you!"

Holy hell, that kid has a loli elf that cute making him bentos? He might be the weakest adventurer but he sure is one lucky son of a gun!

"Please, be careful, alright? If you came back all hurt again like last time—"

"Yeah yeah, I know. You really are one nosy little sister, you know."

That bastard! How dare he speak to her like that?! I would kill to get a bento from Erika! Do you know how lucky you are to have a cute little sister who likes you?!

"Please, take care of him for me, Tama. Do not let him do anything reckless."

"Of course! Leave it to me!"

After bowing to the catgirl, the loli elf left. I guess she works as a maid in that mansion he spoke of.

A hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

"Milord, it's not nice to eavesdrop like that, you know."

"R-right. Just… checking on them, you know."

"Or ogling more girls. You like younger girls too, I see."

"A-ah. Look. I can appreciate all kinds of girls, alright? Cute ones like that elf, or sexy ones like you. Why limit myself to just one type?"

"...Oh Milord. I'm starting to worry you'll get even more wives in the future."

"D-don't worry about that! It's not like I'm some casanova who can easily pick up any chick I want! Most girls will be disgusted by me once they know just how perverted I am."

"I doubt that. You don't know your own charms, Milord."

"M-my charms? What do you mean?"

"I'm not telling. You'd ruin it if you know."

We returned back to our line, with Felicia smirking through the process. Damn it! She didn't have to leave me hanging like this!

My charms? Other than my good looks, I don't see what other charms I have. And girls only like me either because I saved them, like with Felicia and Sherry, or because they're weirdos in the first place, like Fiora.

"Hey, Victoria." I asked the knightess standing behind me. "Do you think I'm charming?"

"E-eh?"

"Felicia said I have a charm that can easily attract women. Do you think that's true?"

"I-I… I wouldn't—"

"I mean, you know how perverted I am, right? Aren't you at least wary of me?"

"N-not necessarily. I-I think… I think you're an amazing person, Sir Hugo, despite your… womanizer tendencies…"

In a way that radiates a surprising amount of cuteness, the knightess looked away, blushing in the process.

...N-no, Hugo! Don't fool yourself! She's part of the weirdos! A normal girl will never want to be with a man as perverted as you are!

As I stood there in the line, my brain went into overdrive, trying to figure out what this "charm" of mine was.

No dice. When our turn came, I still couldn't figure it out.

Ah, it's probably Felicia just being Felicia again. She too is kind of a weirdo in her own right.

I dismissed the thought. We were about to enter the dungeon after all.

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After passing through the checking process, we walked through a short corridor before arriving at the building's other exit. And there, just a few steps away, was the entrance to the Observatorium—a massive hole on the front of the giant half-sphere where a giant could easily pass through.

The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted dramatically. No longer could I feel the demonic mana permeating the air. That's right. The inside of a World Dungeon is akin to a separate dimension after all.

We were now in the Atrium, a large room with black walls that pulsated with blue runic lines. They were ancient runes, barely decipherable to the people of the current era. Though we already knew that it made said walls practically invulnerable. Not even the greatest swordsmen and mages could leave a scratch on it.

Hmm, I want to try, but there are other adventurers here. What if my spell ended up bouncing back instead of just dissipating away? I can end up killing somebody.

To the left was the stratum teleporter room. One could use it to jump to different stratum, but only if they already got there the normal way. It's a checkpoint basically.

To the front was the entrance to the dungeon proper. It was another teleporter. In all the World Dungeons, teleporters are used liberally, a showing on just how advanced the Progenitors’ civilization was.

As we walked there, however, I noticed catgirl and co. going this direction as well. Guess they haven't even reached the second stratum. Makes sense, if there are only two of them, with one being the "weakest adventurer".

Sorry, but we're going to blaze through the early floors.

The teleporter room was small and round, with a floor that glowed with a dim blue light. That was what the books called the teleporter floors. The runes inscribed on them facilitated the transfer of body and soul to another place entirely, or so the scholars theorized, as the actual workings behind them were barely understood. Just like the Dream Orb, it was another magic technology that the people of the current era could not duplicate.

The way they work is simple. You stand on top of them, remain perfectly still, and let the blue light envelop you completely. When the light recedes, you will already be on the other end of the teleporter.

As we stood there, however, I felt Victoria’s hand grabbing my own. Glancing at the knightness, it was clear as day that her nerves had betrayed her.

I chuckled. Time to tease the adorable chuuni elf.

“Afraid you’re going to be sent to a different place than me and Felicia?”

“W-what?! That can happen?!”

“I don’t know~ Any device can malfunction after all, even the ones made by ancient civilizations.”

“P-please don’t say that! I-I’m really bad with directions! I don’t think I can survive on my own if we get separated!”

Heh, so much of being the knight of justice.

The moment the blue light died down, my jaws dropped to oblivion.

Whoa! This is even more impressive than I had imagined!

The Forest of Amber Glass. That was the name given to the first stratum.

And it perfectly described the sight I was seeing right now.

Tall, thin trees made out of yellow glass reached upwards to the heavens, covering the ceiling in its entirety. A dry, lifeless soil masqueraded as the floor. A sterile, almost hospital-like scent filled the air. The trees were thick enough together to act as walls, forming the labyrinth we had to traverse.

"Please stop holding Milord's hand."

"A-ah, right!"

A tiny smirk decorated my lips. Oh, Felicia. Never change. Jealous girls can be really cute, you know.

"So, we just have to find the teleporter to the next floor, right?"

"Yes, Milord. We continue doing so until we reach the 100th floor where we would have to fight the stratum guardian. Then, we get to the 101th floor where we can go back to town."

The Stratum Guardian is basically a boss monster that you'd have to fight before you could go to the next stratum. For the first stratum, it should be a relatively easy task, as the monsters here were only around B-rank at best in strength.

Oh, by the way, we don't have a teleporter floor under us now. The one back at the entrance was a one-way teleporter, just like all other floor teleporters. Only the stratum teleporters are two-way. So, once you're in, you have to go all the way to the next stratum to escape. That, or be lucky enough to find an emergency teleporter that will kick you out of the dungeon, colored yellow to distinguish itself from the floor teleporters.

"These trees… they don't look that strong, do they?"

"Hmm? Wait, are you thinking to—"

"That's exactly what I think. Felicia. Ready your shadow barrier thing."

"Yes, Milord!"

Seeing Felicia's excitement, I couldn't help but smirk.

I aimed my wand to the nearby trees. Closing my eyes, I began concentrating the air in front of me into one singularity.

"S-Sir Hugo! I-is that—"

"Yes, it is! Now shut up and stay close to me!"

I was, of course, charging my Super Boom Cannon. Using its blast, I will create a path through the forest instead of following the given path.

Felicia, being the clever woman she was, already realized this. That's why she told Victoria to stay close to her as there was now a giant superdense ball of air in front of me.

Thankfully, the teleporter always separated each adventurer group to their own floors, meaning, there was no risk of me accidentally killing another party with this stunt. Only on some certain floors that different groups might start meeting with each other, and the first floor wasn't amongst them.

Glancing back, I saw Felicia erecting her shadow barrier to protect her and Victoria from any splinters that might come in our direction. Me? Don't need it. I can slice or dodge any splinters before they come with ease.

After charging it up for a good 30 seconds, my current limit, I fired.

The glass trees never stood a chance.

It turned out the barrier wasn't needed at all as my spell eradicated the glass trees the moment it connected with them. After all, it was moving five times the speed of sound with a mass that was as heavy as if it was a giant steel ball.

The sound of trees being destroyed continued to serenade our ears even when we could no longer see the end of the line of destruction it had created. The forest seemed to be far bigger than I thought. Still, the spell should lose its steam eventually. Perhaps it would reach the walls of the Observatorium itself, if there was such a thing. This place could go on forever, or loop around like the Lost Forest from the Zelda games. I sure hope it isn't the latter though, since it means the spell will come back from the other side to hit us.

The sound of shattered glass finally died down. Looking behind us, the trees there were thankfully still intact.

Now, to do it a dozen more times until we—

A howl echoed through the air. Followed by another. And another. And another. A cacophony of roars and screeches filled the air as well.

"Welp, I think I might have just made the monsters here angry. All the loud crashing noise angers them, I guess."

"They're coming, Milord!"

From a distance, through the express lane I just created, a horde of wolves were charging right to our location. Their fur shone from the light coming down from the ceiling. Being made out of glass, it could reflect light very well.

Glass wolves. A monster species that existed only inside this dungeon. They were only a C-rank monster but they would always hunt in a pack.

And then, barreling through the remaining trees, gigantic bears closed in to where we were from every direction. Ruby Bears. B-rank monsters.

From the skies, the aerial force came. Sapphire Eagles. Another B-rank monsters.

Their numbers combined together? More than a hundred.

Thinking about it, that book had said you shouldn't disturb the trees in the first stratum since it would enrage the surrounding monsters. I had completely forgotten about it.

Felicia should've known as well. But since she didn't say anything, she must be confident that I could handle these monsters with ease.

Well, she's right.

"Felicia, keep Victoria safe. I'll handle them."

"Of course, Milord!"

First, the eagles.

"Thunderstorm!"

Stormclouds gathered in the sky, or rather, the very tall ceiling, I wasn't sure which. The eagles had a weakness to thunder, so a single lightning strike should be enough to take down the monsters.

Next, the bears. For them, since they willingly entered into my melee range, I just cut them down one by one with my sword. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the black shadow dome Felicia had erected. Good. No fear of these bears going after them.

After the two dozen or so bears fell down, it was time for the wolves to arrive.

For them, I'll just use this.

"Air Sunder!"

I lifted all the wolves to the air with my cyclone. As Felicia and Victoria were protected under the dome, and I was standing in the eye of the storm, there was no need to be concerned about using such a spell in close range.

I spun them around and around and around before ending the spell, scattering them in the air and letting them rain down to the ground like raindrops. As they were weak monsters, only a handful survived the impact, and I finished them easily.

And just like that, the fight was over.

Or so I naively thought.

A powerful earthquake shook the ground I was standing on, enough to force me to my knees. Quickly, I put up Wind Step to recover.

W-what? What is this?

And then, I saw it—the glass trees uprooting themselves one by one before they entwined themselves together into one giant mass of glass tree.

Oh no, this is—this is just like back then! With the treant!

I immediately moved into position, dispelling by Wind Step as I charged my Super Boom Cannon. The ground was still shaking but I could decently maintain my balance.

The moment it finishes combining, I'll blast it with this spell. It should hopefully take it down in one hit.

Soon enough, a treant the size of a skyscraper loomed over me. I just hope this is the floor's last-ditch attempt to punish us from cheesing its labyrinth, and afterwards, it will be smooth sailing to the floor teleporter.

"Super Boom Cannon!"

I fired the spell, angling it in such a way that it would go through its crotch all the way to its head. I was lucky the treant was dumb enough to form itself right in front of me.

The spell tore through the glass-like wood in a flash, practically splitting the big tree monster into two. It then hit the far ceiling, where it shattered into nothingness. Heh, this tower really is sturdy.

I wasn't finished, however, as I still needed to put the finishing blow. I ran forwards and jumped, using Wind Step to rise right between the two halves of the treant. As I had predicted, the tree was trying to link itself back together.

Not on my watch.

Dispelling my Wind Step, I pointed my wand to one side of the tree as I fell down. What was I doing, I might ask? Disturbing the flow of the treant's mana, of course.

Before I hit the ground, I activated Wind Step again—I could do it in my sleep at this point. I dashed away from the treant before erecting a Wind Wall on top of Felicia's sphere, just in case the treant decided to fall in this direction.

Oh yes, it fell. With me messing up its rejoining, the two halves fell to the ground with a boom, sending one last tremor as their final assault.

Done and done!

Heh, I remember when this thing gave me quite the trouble!

I really have to thank Ilymhyrra. She doesn't know it but she's the best magic teacher I've ever had.

...Okay, second best. I mustn't forget about my dear big sister Marina after all.

"Alright! It's okay now! You two can withdraw that barrier!"

The black sphere vanished, revealing Felicia's smiling face. Oh, and Victoria was also there, of course, hugging the ex-necromancer like a scared child. What,she has a phobia of earthquakes now? Or is it just the monsters she's afraid of?

"Well done, Milord. I knew they're no match for you."

"Yeah. Still, that was unexpected. None of those books talked about this, right?"

"None of them, Milord. Perhaps anyone who tried this stunt before died in the hands of the monsters."

"Wow, so we just discovered something new about the World Dungeons." That's awesome! If we can get this info to a scholar, we can get our names entered into the pages of history! Even if it's just a footnote.

"So, umm, now that we've beaten all the monsters, we just… go find the teleport thing?"

"Yes, Victoria, now please, would you let go of me? Really, where did that idiotic bravery of yours go?"

Felicia dragged away Victoria's hands from her abdomen with a sour expression. Heh, not fond of other women hugging her, huh? Guess she can't appreciate the soft boobs pressing on her back. A pure heterosexual woman.

I'm not sure if I'd like to see some action between her and Sherry to be honest. I'm somewhat fond of yuri but on the other hand, I don't want them having fun without me. I'm just too insecure of a man for that.

"I… thanks to you both, I now know I can't really be the knight of justice I want to be… Still! I want to be part of your amazing adventure nonetheless! This is my final wish! Please! Indulge my selfishness just a little bit longer!"

"Final wish? You mean you're going back to your family after this?"

She bit her lip and looked away, unable to answer my question.

"Of course she is. She'll need to fulfill her promise. The Dream Orb you want is in the fifth stratum. The flower, on the other hand, is right before that, at the 500th floor. We’ll beat the Stratum Guardian there, go look for the flower, and then go to the next floor where we’ll go back to town and meet up with her parents. She’ll give us the good word she promised, and then, we’ll be free to spend months searching for that orb afterwards. To be honest, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten some soldiers demanding us to hand her over.”

Felicia laying down the law mercilessly as usual.

I guess there’s nothing we can do to solve a family problem like that. A runaway princess who can’t compete with a much more talented sibling, deluding herself with storybook fantasies in the process.

Though on the other hand, if her family keeps saying she’s useless, that’s a horrible thing for sure. Ideally, she’ll go off on her own, standing proud with her own strength, proving to her family that she’s not a useless existence. But, knowing how noble families tend to be, she’ll probably be married off eventually, and she won’t have any say in the process. I can only hope she’ll get a decent husband.

...No, I can’t bring her with us. The Demon Continent is too rough for her. This northwestern, human-dominated region is still the easy part. Going further south, it will only get tougher and tougher, not just the monsters, but the terrains as well. She might like adventuring, but she doesn't have the fortitude of an adventurer.

“Y-you’re right. As the weakest squire of the holy knight, at the very least, I can fulfill my promises.”

And she now adds “weakest’ to her title.

“Well, Milord, let’s go. Please blast away the rest of the forest and then we can begin our search.”

I nodded. With a couple more Super Boom Cannons, I cleared out the forest in its entirety, or at least, a large part of it that’s centered around us. No other monsters popped out. Seems like the floor has given up entirely to kill us.

I followed the bold move by flying upwards, scanning the now bald ground underneath.

There!

In the distance, I saw a familiar blue light coming off from a small patch of land.

No doubt about it, that’s the teleporter!

I arrived back down and told Victoria and Felicia what I saw.

“To that direction, yes?”

“Yes. We should just walk there in a straight line and we’ll get there in no time.”

“Very good, Milord. Now that we’ve proven that we can use this method of exploration safely, we can climb through the first stratum significantly quicker than normal.”

I nodded, letting Felicia take the lead.