ALL NOVEL Chapter 40 – Reaching New Floors
Chapter 40 - Reaching New Floors
Holding the Hestia Sword tightly in his hand, a purple light began to envelop Bell's body.
A lightning bolt moved rapidly on the first floor, cutting down the goblins along the way.
This wasn't magic—it was Bell's way of releasing thunder, or maybe the electro-elemental power of Raiden Shogun.
Bell didn't linger on the first floor this time.
His goal was to keep advancing.
Bell's eyes scanned his surroundings. As he reached the second floor, he stopped.
A thin, humanoid shadow silently slipped from the wall behind him.
The War Shadow raised its blade-like arms—sharp extensions capable of cutting through flesh with ease.
Without making a sound, it slashed its arm toward Bell's back.
Just as the blade was about to strike, Bell swiftly dodged. Before the War Shadow could react, a purple lightning bolt shot down on its body, killing it on the spot.
Bell collected the blade-like drop item and the magic stone that fell to the ground.
War Shadow Blades were rare drops from War Shadows and could fetch a good price.
War Shadows were tricky monsters. They launched silent sneak attacks, and they were fast and deadly. Because of this, many low-class adventurers didn't go deeper into the dungeon, since War Shadows were always waiting to ambush.
Most adventurers formed parties when exploring the dungeon, making it harder to be attacked by these monsters. Except for reckless individuals who ignored caution, adventurers generally avoided trouble if they were in groups of two or more.
It was well-known that on the eleventh floor, multiple War Shadows could appear at once and attack without a sound.
The monsters on the first two floors were limited, and even the guides mentioned that the first ten floors were mostly like this. The real challenges only started after reaching the eleventh floor.
Realizing this, Bell understood why most adventurers in Orario were still Level 1.
"The first ten floors are so easy. These floors must be perfect for those who just want to make a living," he thought.
Maybe that was a bit presumptuous.
But Bell really felt that way.
The monsters on the first ten floors didn't have tough defenses, and even an ordinary sword could take them down.
If someone was just looking to make a living, forming a team of two or three people and fighting monsters on the upper floors would be enough.
In such a comfortable environment, it made sense that Orario attracted a lot of adventurers.
Even if someone wasn't particularly talented, as long as they received a falna, making a living in Orario wasn't a problem.
And in such circumstances, how many adventurers would be willing to take real risks?
Not many.
It almost felt like the dungeon was designed to hold back future adventurers, preventing them from progressing too quickly to the deeper, more dangerous floors. If that were true, it would be a real problem.
Bell continued to the next floor.
The third floor was similar to the first two, with many passages stretching out in every direction. However, starting from the fifth floor, the structure of the dungeon began to change.
By the time he reached the eighth floor, the layout had become a maze.
Out of the darkness, something black and slimy flew toward him.
With his sharp vision, Bell quickly recognized it—a long, pink tongue covered in disgusting mucus.
Just as the tongue was about to wrap around him, Bell dodged swiftly.
Even with only 1.24% of the Raiden Shogun template unlocked, Bell's power had reached a terrifying level. It seemed like gods really were on another level.
The tongue retracted.
But Bell had already moved toward the source of the attack.
The monster that appeared on the eighth floor was a Frog Shooter. Its green body was about half a meter tall and a meter long—a huge frog.
Frog Shooters used their long, sticky tongues to target adventurers from a distance. Their main attack involved shooting their tongue to grab prey and pull them into their mouths, where they were quickly engulfed in acidic mucus.
The mucus melted the victim within seconds.
However, they had a fatal weakness.
When they started secreting mucus while swallowing an adventurer, Frog Shooters couldn't move.
This meant that, as long as multiple adventurers worked together and avoided being eaten, the Frog Shooter would be defenseless.
Bell struck forward with his hand.
Rumble!
With a flash of purple lightning, the Frog Shooter was reduced to black ash.
At that moment, Bell heard five more distinct sounds.
The Hestia Sword in his hand was quickly replaced by Kuji Kanesada.
With his incredible dynamic vision, he spotted five long tongues shooting toward him.
His body reacted instantly.
Boom!
With a crackle of lightning, all five Frog Shooters were reduced to black ash.
He had been testing this new mid-range attack, and now he had his answer.
Even with just 1.24% of the Raiden Shogun template unlocked, this lightning attack was powerful—like a divine judgment.
While it wasn't overwhelmingly strong, it was still a major upgrade from the Royal thunder he had before.
As expected of a 5-star item.
But Bell couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The system he had was supposed to give him items from the Type-Moon universe. But Raiden Shogun was clearly from Genshin Impact.
"System, if I'm not mistaken, you're a Type-Moon system. So why did you give me an item from Genshin Impact?" Bell asked cautiously.
[Honkai Star Rail has a crossover with Fate/Stay Night from the Type-Moon universe. Since Genshin Impact is in the same universe as Honkai Star Rail, it is included in the system's items.]
"I see." Bell still felt a bit weird about it, but this 5-star item was easily the best one he had ever gotten.
