In Danmachi with My System

―You have completed the Apotheosis main mission objective "Reach the 10th Floor of the dungeon"!

―Rewards: +2000 XP, +2000 Soul essence

As soon as we stepped onto the 10th floor, I heard the system's voice in my head as a screen scrolled in front of my face.

―Mission―

Title: Apotheosis

Type: Main mission

Reward: +10000 EXP, +10000 Soul Essence

---

―Mission Description―

Objective: Reach the 18th floor of the Dungeon

...

It's been a while since I last saw this notification. It's a real shame that the EXP is locked for now and I can't level up. However, they will accumulate, so it's not like I'm losing them.

On the other hand, Soul Essences are always useful. I was considering buying something valuable from the Store once I accumulate enough of them.

―Clink!

The tenth floor had its own peculiarities. It was not as claustrophobic as the upper floors. Here, the walls were covered with brown moss, and the floor had a layer of short grass that crunched under my boots.

The ceiling was high, about ten meters, and the light coming down from above was strange, like morning mist trapped in a bottle. I couldn't tell if it was cozy or just creepy.

"Eithan-sama, pay more attention."

I was bored at the time and had started fiddling with my Ravenous Mandible. As a result, Lili would intervene with this line whenever she thought I was about to do something foolish.

"I know."

I had gotten used to keeping an eye on Lili, but that didn't mean I trusted her completely. Would she steal from me? Maybe she'd try... I liked Lili, but in this life, even allies can stab you in the back.

"Something wrong?" she asked with a smile when she noticed my gaze, although she was hiding a bit behind her hood.

"Just thinking about something." I reached a hand up and stroked her head through her hood. "I think you look cute without it."

An unintelligible sound came from her throat as her cheeks tinged pink. She pulled her hood down further and scolded me. "Eithan-sama is too casual! Lili is not a pet!"

***

―Thud!

―Gruuuuh!

The moisture from the white mist clung to my face as I focused my senses on the strange sounds echoing between the walls.

In such a disturbing environment, Lili didn't seem to mind. She folded her arms as if she wanted me to take it more seriously. "Lili doesn't know if Eithan-sama has been warned yet, but orcs are starting to appear from this floor."

―Thud!

"Orcs, huh?"

That explained the heavy, grunting footsteps echoing in the fog ahead of us. A silhouette began to appear: tall, wide, and clearly not intending to invite us in for tea.

I stopped. If it got any closer, I could attack it before it reacted. But the orc did something strange: it began to slow down until it came to a complete stop.

"What is it doing?"

Lili didn't have time to answer either. A hiss cut through the air, followed by a shout from her.

"Eithan-sama, look out!"

I turned just in time to see a log the size of a pillar flying straight at my face. I didn't think. My body reacted on its own, taking a step to the left as I felt the air cut by the log brush against me. The impact against the wall behind me was like thunder, and the ground shook.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"The orc threw it!"

A very surprised Lili shouted as she flashed a mini-crossbow she wore around her wrist. It seemed that her surprise came from seeing something out of the ordinary. It was not unusual for an Orc to be able to wield a tree trunk, but to throw it with such speed and force was.

"Great." I dusted off my clothes and readied the chainsword.

The orc finally emerged from the mist, revealing its monstrous form. It had the head of a giant pig, with yellowish fangs protruding from its lower jaw. The creature was easily three meters tall, and its torso was as wide as a double door. Its only clothing was an old tanned skin tied at the waist, barely covering its thick legs.

One move from it would be enough to crush a level 1 adventurer, and one blow from it would be enough to immobilize a level 2 adventurer.

The orc lunged at me with a roar that made the air vibrate, lifting another tree trunk as if it were a bat. The speed with which it swung was nothing to envy an experienced adventurer wielding a sword. I barely had time to jump aside before the impact shattered the ground I was standing on, sending debris flying in all directions.

Contrary to what one would expect from its massive muscle mass, it was quite fast.

I barely landed and somehow the Ravenous Mandible was already spinning in my hand. I drew it, and the blade split the air with a whoosh. The orc used its incredible agility to twist its torso and strike again. I dodged in my haste and, taking advantage of its imbalance for a moment, lunged at its right flank, aiming for the tendon of its leg.

The blade cut flesh, but not as easily as I had hoped. I had thought that with my new Chain Sword, a vast improvement over the previous model, I could cut through anything that came my way. It seemed that thought was rather naive. The blade stuck and I could feel the orc's skin like hardened leather.

Ravenous Mandible cut only superficially, and the orc, a bit annoyed, responded with a swipe that caught me in the stomach. First, the air left my lungs through my mouth; a second later, my feet left the safety of the ground, and my body was thrown backward at breakneck speed.

-100 HP

-75 HP

"Ugh!" I hit the wall hard. Pain spread across my back, and I forced myself to look up to see that I had lost 100 HP from the orc's blow and another 75 HP from hitting the wall. I had actually expected the cost to be much higher, perhaps 300 HP.

I patted my invisible Killer Gauntlet, thanking it for its help, and quickly stood up.

+55 HP

...

As I activated my Advanced Regeneration skill, I heard Lili's worried voice.

"Eïthan-sama, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. Just... a little harder than it looks," I replied, rolling my shoulder to ease the impact.

The orc approached with slow but insistent steps―wasn't it assumed that with my current strength I wouldn't have any problems with them? It was easy to check if my assumption was correct. I gestured to Lili.

"So, is this normal or...?"

"It's just as Eithan-sama thinks," Lili said as she ran towards me, shooting small arrows with her mini-crossbow to distract the enemy. "The orcs have become stronger! Before, Lili could pierce their skin with this weapon, but now they're much tougher, it's like the dungeon has improved them too!"

It seemed that in addition to the Killer Ants, the Orcs had also been buffed. However, other monsters such as the War Shadows on floor 6, the Goblins, the Kobolds, or the Blue Papilio on floor 7 had not undergone any changes or improvements. This made me wonder: does the dungeon only select certain types of monsters for buffing?

Buffed Orcs.

I should feel uneasy about this mysterious change in the dungeon, but all I felt was a strange excitement in my chest. Wasn't this exactly what I needed? Monsters in the advanced version.

Because that meant one thing... more experience and better drops!

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