Grogga adjusted the position of his bag, now quite heavy with magic crystals. "Grrrh... Orcs. Big monsters with thick skin. Hard to kill with ordinary weapons, yes-yes-yes."
"That's why we're here," Kazuma smiled slightly.
The 10th floor had a darker, damper atmosphere compared to the previous floors. The walls were mossy, and the floor was uneven, with many large rocks and gaps that could catch adventurers off guard. Fog occasionally appeared, reducing visibility. The natural lighting from the glowing stones on the walls was dimmer.
"Is adventurer sure about fighting Orcs?" Grogga asked after a moment. "They are not opponents for beginners."
"I've already told you," Kazuma answered without turning, "I'm not an ordinary adventurer."
Not long after they began walking, a low growling sound was heard from a distance. Kazuma raised his hand, signaling Grogga to stop.
"They're ahead," whispered Kazuma. "One... no, two Orcs are watching this area."
"How does adventurer know?" Grogga asked in wonder.
"I can smell them," Kazuma replied. "And their breathing is too heavy for small monsters."
Kazuma peered from behind a large rock and saw two Orcs standing in the middle of the spacious room ahead of them. Humanoid monsters about two meters tall with thick grayish-green skin, muscular bodies with bulging muscles in their arms and chests. One carried a large wooden club, while the other appeared weaponless, relying only on its large hands ending in sharp claws.
"Grogga, stay here," Kazuma ordered. "I'll handle them."
"Two at once?" Grogga sounded worried. "That's dangerous, yes-yes-yes, very dangerous!"
Kazuma just smiled. "Just watch."
With that, Kazuma stepped into the room, his spear ready in hand. Both Orcs immediately noticed his presence, roaring angrily and preparing to attack. The Orc with the wooden club advanced first, swinging its weapon with tremendous force.
Kazuma dodged smoothly, letting the club hit the floor and create a large crack in the stone. He counterattacked with his spear, thrusting toward the Orc's chest, but the spear tip only scratched the monster's thick skin.
"As I expected," Kazuma muttered. "Their skin is too thick to be pierced carelessly."
The second Orc attacked from the side, its claws sweeping through the air toward Kazuma. With a backward leap, Kazuma avoided the attack, but the first Orc had already returned to attack with its wooden club. This time Kazuma blocked with his spear, but the force of the blow pushed him several steps backward.
"Hrrrm..." Grogga mumbled from his hiding place. "Even with adventurer's abilities, Orcs remain formidable opponents."
Kazuma quickly evaluated the situation. His spear couldn't easily penetrate the Orcs' skin, and if he continued to defend, he might run out of stamina first. He needed a different strategy.
With a quick decision, Kazuma leaped forward toward the Orc carrying the club. Instead of attacking directly, he used his spear as a lever, jumping over the Orc and landing behind it. Before the monster could turn around, Kazuma's spear was already aimed at the back of its knee—one of the weak points in an Orc's body.
"GRAAAH!" The Orc screamed in pain as the spear penetrated its knee joint, making it fall to its knees.
Without wasting time, Kazuma jumped and swung his spear at the Orc's neck—another area less protected by thick skin. Dark green blood spurted as Kazuma's spear sliced through the monster's main artery. The Orc staggered a few steps before finally collapsing and disappearing into dust, leaving behind a fairly large magic stone.
The second Orc roared angrily seeing its companion defeated. With burning rage, it charged toward Kazuma. The monster's movements were faster and more wild than before, driven by primitive anger.
Its sharp claws nearly hit Kazuma's shoulder, missing by just a few centimeters as Kazuma shifted to the side. However, the next attack managed to graze Kazuma's left arm, tearing a small part of his clothes and leaving a red line on his skin.
"Tch," Kazuma clicked his tongue, feeling the sting in his arm. "You managed to hit me. Now it's my turn."
Kazuma changed his fighting posture, now gripping his spear with both hands. He focused his attention, carefully observing the Orc's movements. The monster attacked again brutally, but this time Kazuma didn't dodge. He waited until the last second before tilting his body slightly, letting the Orc's claws sweep through empty air beside his head.
At such close range, Kazuma's eyes met directly with the Orc's small, wildly gleaming eyes. Without hesitation, Kazuma thrust his spear right into the Orc's left eye, penetrating into the skull and directly damaging its brain.
The Orc's scream echoed throughout the room before its body collapsed and disappeared into dust, leaving behind a second magic stone.
Kazuma regulated his breathing, checking the scratch on his arm which fortunately wasn't too deep. Grogga emerged from his hiding place, the eyes behind his wooden mask widened in amazement.
"Amazing," Grogga muttered. "Adventurer found Orcs' weak points very quickly. Knees and eyes... not many know those weaknesses, kukuku~"
"All living creatures have their weak points," replied Kazuma as he collected both Orc magic stones and gave them to Grogga. "You just need to know where to look."
"And adventurer is very clever at finding them, yes-yes-yes," Grogga nodded. "Too clever for a new adventurer, psssst..."
Kazuma only smiled slightly in response to the hidden suspicion in Grogga's comment. "Let's continue. Many more Orcs are waiting."
---
Two hours had passed since they arrived on the tenth floor. During that time, Kazuma had defeated six other Orcs, each with slightly different strategies but always targeting the monster's weak points. His left arm was now wrapped with cloth torn from the bottom of his shirt, covering several scratches he had received during the battles. There was also a bruise on his stomach from being kicked by one of the Orcs, but no serious life-threatening injuries.
The reason he didn't use his Kyokushin stance skill to heal himself was because his supporter kept watching him. Somehow, Kazuma considered life-saving skills like healing should not be shown in front of others except Bell and goddess Hestia.
"Is adventurer tired?" Grogga asked as they rested in one of the safe recesses on the tenth floor.
Kazuma shook his head. "Not yet. But we've collected enough magic stones for today." He pointed to Grogga's bag, now filled with magic crystals from various monsters, with the Orc crystals being the most valuable.
"Grrrh..." Grogga nodded. "Grogga agrees. Bag is full, and adventurer has fought much. Right time to return to the surface."
"How about you?" asked Kazuma, for the first time showing concern for his supporter's condition. "That bag must be heavy."
"Grogga strong!" Grogga answered with an artificially proud voice. "Though ugly and smelly, Grogga has a strong back, kukuku~"
Kazuma smiled a little.
"Alright," Kazuma stood up, brushing dust from his clothes. "Let's head back up."
The journey back felt easier even though they had to climb nine floors. Monsters encountered along the way were not as numerous as when they descended, and with experience from previous battles, Kazuma handled them all efficiently.
As they crossed the fifth floor, Grogga finally broke the silence with a question that seemed to have been held back for a long time.
"Adventurer is not what he seems, yes?"
Kazuma glanced at Grogga momentarily before focusing back on the road ahead. "What do you mean?"
"Psssst..." Grogga hissed softly. "Adventurer's movements too smooth, too trained. Knowledge about monsters too deep. Adventurer not ordinary beginner."
"Maybe I'm just talented," replied Kazuma, trying to change the subject.
"Not talent," Grogga shook his head firmly. "Talent doesn't give knowledge about monster weaknesses. That's experience."
Kazuma fell silent for a moment, his pace slowing slightly. His blue eyes swept the corridor ahead, alert for the presence of monsters, but also as if searching for the right answer.
"Why do you care?" he finally asked, his voice flat but with a hint of curiosity. "You're paid to carry things, not to ask questions about your adventurer."
Grogga laughed oddly—a sound like dry leaves being rubbed against rotting wood. "Grogga just curious. Not many adventurers have movements like adventurer. Like... psssst... has fought monsters much stronger than Orcs."
Kazuma stopped suddenly, making Grogga nearly bump into him from behind. He turned around, looking directly into the eyeholes of the wooden mask. There was something different in his gaze now—sharper, more scrutinizing.
"What do you really know, Grogga?" he asked in a low voice.
Grogga tilted his head, his wooden mask creaking softly. "Grogga knows many things, kukuku~. Grogga knows Dungeon floors up to the 20th. Grogga knows great adventurer when seeing one."
For a moment, they both stood in awkward silence in the middle of the cold Dungeon corridor. Only the sound of dripping water could be faintly heard from the distance.
"I..." Kazuma finally spoke, but stopped when the sound of footsteps was heard from the bend ahead.
"Monster coming," whispered Grogga, quickly moving behind rocks to hide.
From around the corner emerged three Killer Ants—large insect-bodied monsters with pincers that could cut through steel. Kazuma took a fighting stance, Grogga's question momentarily forgotten.
"We'll discuss this later," he muttered before darting forward to face the monsters.
---
They reached the first floor without significant problems. Kazuma handled each monster with undoubted efficiency, while Grogga continued to collect crystals obediently.
When they finally stepped out of the Dungeon into the blinding afternoon light, Kazuma breathed a sigh of relief. The difference in air was very noticeable—from stuffy and heavy inside the Dungeon to fresh and light outside.
"Let's go to the Guild to exchange the magic stones," said Kazuma as he began walking.
"Yes-yes-yes," Grogga nodded, following behind with a bag full of crystals on his back.
The journey to the Guild was filled with silence that was only occasionally broken by Grogga's strange mutterings or Kazuma's brief comments about the path they were taking. The city of Orario looked as busy as usual, the afternoon sun coloring the buildings with golden orange hues.
At the Guild, they exchanged the magic stones for valis in a surprisingly large amount. Crystals from the tenth floor, especially from Orcs, were worth far more than monsters from the upper floors. Kazuma divided the proceeds according to the agreement, giving Grogga a fair share as per Guild standards for supporters.
"Grrrh... So much!" Grogga's eyes widened behind his mask upon receiving his coins. "Adventurer is very generous, kukuku~"
"You worked well," Kazuma replied briefly, putting his share in the pouch at his waist. "Deserve to get the appropriate portion."
They stood outside the Guild as the sun began to set, coloring the sky with an amazing mixture of purple and orange. The moment felt like the end of their journey together.
"So..." Grogga moved awkwardly, his hands playing with his new coin pouch. "Grogga take leave now, yes-yes-yes?"
But before the supporter could leave, Kazuma spoke, his voice calm yet clear. "Tomorrow I will return to the Dungeon. Tenth floor again."
Grogga stopped, turning back to Kazuma. Although the wooden mask hid his expression, there was surprise evident in his posture.
"And I want to hire you again," Kazuma continued. "You're a competent supporter."
Kazuma lied without blinking, clearly he was too lazy to find another supporter.
"Ohh~" Grogga tilted his head, his tone a mixture of surprise and pleasure. "Adventurer wants to hire Grogga again? Not afraid of Grogga who brings bad luck?"
Kazuma smiled slightly. "Lucky or not, we got plenty of crystals today. I don't mind that kind of luck."
Grogga was silent for a moment, as if digesting Kazuma's words. Finally, he nodded, his wooden mask creaking softly with the movement.
"Alright! Grogga will be ready tomorrow morning at Babel gate, yes-yes-yes!"
Kazuma nodded with satisfaction. "Until tomorrow then."
They parted at the crossroads, each heading in different directions. But as Kazuma had walked only a few steps, Grogga's voice was heard again from behind him.
"Adventurer hasn't told name," said Grogga. "What is name of adventurer brave enough to invite unlucky Grogga?"
Kazuma stopped, but didn't turn around. The cool evening breeze blew a few strands of his black hair, making his shadow appear longer on the ground illuminated by orange light.
"Kazuma," he answered. "Kazuma Shinrai."
Grogga nodded slowly. "Kazuma... Kazuma Shinrai," he repeated, as if trying to remember the name well. "Strong name, kukuku~"
Kazuma continued his steps without looking back, his figure slowly disappearing into the city crowd that was beginning to light its lamps. Grogga remained standing in the same place for a few moments, the eyes behind his mask not leaving the back of the adventurer who was slowly moving away.
Under that wooden mask, there was a slight smile that no one could see.
"Kazuma Shinrai," Grogga whispered to the evening breeze, his voice softer than usual. "Interesting adventurer... very interesting."
With that, the strange supporter turned around and disappeared in the opposite direction, his wooden mask gleaming momentarily struck by the setting sunlight, before sinking into the shadows of Orario's buildings.
---
Far in a dark corner of the city, in a narrow alley rarely traversed by people, Grogga stopped walking. After making sure no one was following or watching, his long-fingered hand slowly raised to his face.
With one careful movement, the wooden mask was removed.
It wasn't a rough face or strange creature that was revealed, but the face of a young girl—no more than fifteen years old in appearance—with smooth pale skin that seemed to shimmer faintly under the alley's torch light. Her hair, which initially appeared dreadlocked and dirty, now flowed slowly, transforming into long blue-purple strands like the night mist that shrouds silent mountains.
A pair of bright golden eyes with vertical pupils stared through the darkness, narrowing slightly as she gazed at the distant towering Babel tower.
"Kazuma Shinrai," she whispered, her voice no longer Grogga's hoarse voice, but a soft and seductive voice that flowed like sweet poison. "You... are not an ordinary adventurer."
She stored the wooden mask in her bag, then took out a clean cloak that was tightly tucked inside. When worn, the shabby clothes of the old supporter disappeared as if they had never existed. With a few quick movements, she tidied her hair, revealing a beautiful face with naturally red lips and a sharp gaze, too mature for a girl her age.
"Tomorrow will be interesting..." she muttered, a crooked smile appearing at the corner of her lips—a smile that held many things no one could guess.
She stepped out of the alley, blending into Orario's night life that was slowly stretching. Behind her back, from the gap in the open bag, Grogga's wooden mask peeked out.