Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

Bell didn't immediately go searching for more wolves—he could already hear faint hopping sounds drawing closer. They must have been drawn by the noise just now.

He quickly concealed his presence again and stepped back a few paces.

Soon, the sound of hopping grew louder, and a pair of long white ears peeked out from behind a stalactite, followed by a head.

Seven or eight rabbits appeared, each with a deceptively cute appearance.

Of course, their size was anything but cute.

Each rabbit was about a third the size of the wolf from earlier, which was already unnaturally large for a rabbit. What made them even stranger were the axes strapped to their backs—axes nearly as big as the rabbits themselves.

One swing from such a weapon could easily take off a human head, and the contrast between their cuddly appearance and deadly gear made them all the more unsettling.

Dong!

A sudden chime echoed, and every rabbit instantly perked up, standing on tiptoe and scanning their surroundings for the source.

Dong!

The chime grew heavier, yet the rabbits still couldn't locate where it was coming from.

Dong!

In an instant, the entire floor was engulfed in the reverberating bell tolls. Nearly all the wolves and rabbits across the level began searching for the source.

But in a spot where the eight rabbits couldn't sense a thing, Bell's right hand began to glow with faint white specks of light.

The shimmering points of light spread across the blade of Kuji Kanesada in his grip, coating it in a radiant glow.

He slashed horizontally.

A flash of white light shot forth, space distorting slightly from the swing. The rabbits' heads slid cleanly from their necks as if sliced by space itself, falling slowly to the floor.

Bell was stunned. It was his first time using the charged strike skill.

'So even five seconds of charge holds this much power.'

He was captivated by the result. Even with just a brief buildup, the effect was far more impressive than he had expected.

As for the cost in stamina or energy, it was minimal—probably because of the short charge time.

'The only downside is the noise.'

'It's tough to use on even slightly intelligent monsters, and that was with me deliberately masking my presence.' The bell-like resonance that spread through space was hard to suppress. If the sound had been localized, he might have been able to contain it, but not this type.

Just as he was thinking that, his dominant right hand began to glow again, faint specks twinkling like stars—as if answering his thoughts. The starlight pulsed quietly, emitting no sound, like a gentle breathing light.

'Wait, I can control this skill like that?'

The realization caught Bell off guard, and he started timing the charge.

With the energy under control, the starlight once again flowed into Kuji Kanesada, just like before.

Bell swung the sword with another charged strike.

The spatial distortion was visible again—but this time, the power was noticeably weaker, down by about a third.

Still, this didn't lower Bell's opinion of the skill. In fact, he was now certain—this move would become his ultimate technique.

'A silent charge that still packs more force than an ordinary swing… and it's only a third weaker than the loud version. This skill is incredibly powerful.'

'A divine move for ambushes.'

As long as he maintained his presence concealment, almost no one would notice the buildup.

Used in stealth, this charged attack could very well land a fatal blow.

For someone like him who favored ambushes, this skill was absolutely perfect.

Bell was genuinely thrilled by the discovery.

He hadn't tried it before simply because he'd never needed to—monsters on the upper floors rarely called for charged attacks.

But now that he was advancing into the middle floors, this kind of skill would definitely see more use. Testing it early had been the right call.

And this test had turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.

'Using a high-impact charged attack during combat—if combined with Presence Concealment—can disrupt the enemy's perception within a certain range.'

'Also, I need to figure out the maximum charge time and how much stamina it consumes at its limit.'

These are all critical variables in battle. Only by mastering these details can he deploy the technique at the most opportune moment.

That said, this kind of testing really wasn't suited for the Middle Floors.

Bell reined in his thoughts and turned to the eight headless Almiraj. Eight blades of wind shot out from his side, slicing the bodies cleanly open and revealing the magic stones at their core.

An invisible force extracted the stones from the surrounding flesh.

The moment the magic stones were removed, all the rabbits' bodies turned to white ash.

The stones floated in the air before Bell, allowing him to inspect them.

'They're a bit larger than the ones from the Upper Floors, and they're brimming with more energy.'

'The stronger the monster, the larger and higher quality its magic stone. They're basically like power cores—magic stones as an energy source, with different machines needing different outputs.'

'Of course, monsters are a lot more complex than machines.'

Bell stored the stones in his four-dimensional space and resumed moving forward.

The thirteenth floor looked like a massive limestone cavern, but the number of walkable paths was limited. The routes ahead were flanked by steep cliffs, and below them stretched a chasm so deep that the bottom was completely out of sight.

Bell glanced down. With his night vision ability, he estimated a drop of thirty to forty meters. At the very bottom were clusters of sharp, conical stone spikes. A single misstep without preparation would mean being impaled for sure.

'Narrow pathways and monsters that spawn at high speed—this place forces adventurers to either run or fight head-on.'

'No wonder Miss Eina always says the Middle Floors aren't a place one should tackle alone.'

Monsters held a natural edge over adventurers. Even those of the same level tier were generally stronger than their human counterparts.

That's why most adventurers had no choice but to team up, so they could handle wave after wave of monsters more effectively.

However, an adventurer who pushed their Status to the limit and mastered a wide array of skills and magic—including support, assistance, healing, exploration, and combat—wouldn't be as restricted.

And without question, Bell was exactly that kind of adventurer now: well-rounded in Status, skills, and magic.

That's what made it possible for him to break into the Middle Floors alone—and even aim for the eighteenth floor.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

p@treon com / PinkSnake