After a while calming the adorable mermaid, Kael watched her smiling face with a pensive gaze. The little mermaid lay on his lap after she had "politely asked" to use it as compensation for being ignored a second time.
She still wore that innocent smile, almost as if she were always happy. As if she didn't know pain or sadness. Silence wrapped the cave in a tranquil atmosphere, broken only by the distant murmur of water dripping from the ceiling.
Gently, Kael stroked her damp, silky hair. It was hard to leave this moment behind. But he had to.
He needed to move forward. Improve. Become stronger.
The weight of everything he had lived through, what he had discovered within himself, and what he had promised Marie... pushed him to keep going.
With a final caress to her cheek, he spoke softly.
"Marie…" he murmured, his voice barely a whisper.
The siren's blue eyes blinked, slowly waking from the semi-dream she seemed to have fallen into. She looked up, and her eyes met his, shining with curiosity.
"Kael…?"
He smiled gently.
"Can you take me somewhere with lots of monsters?"
Marie's eyes widened.
"Kael wants… to fight?"
He nodded.
"I want to test a few things. What I did earlier was useful, but not enough. I need to understand what I can do… in a real battle. I need to feel it."
Marie seemed to think about it. Her fingers twisted the fabric of his shirt, playing with it in silence.
After a few seconds, she spoke, her voice somewhat uncertain.
"In this part of the Dungeon there are many monsters… but they are very strong. Marie can help Kael. She can sing. Control them. Enchant them so Kael can kill them."
Kael looked at her for a few seconds in silence.
It was a tempting offer. Too tempting.
The offer was real. And dangerous.
Kael felt a moment of doubt. That ability of hers was incredible. She could manipulate even monsters from floor 27. And with her by his side… well, he could progress much faster.
But...
He slowly shook his head.
"No," he replied, sure of himself. "I don't want to fight like that. I can't get used to depending on your charm. It wouldn't be real. I wouldn't learn anything. If you're ever in danger and can't sing… I have to be able to protect you. On my own."
Kael noticed the way Marie looked at him. Her big eyes shone with palpable worry, a mix of doubt and fear. She didn't need to say anything — he could read it all in her expression. And he didn't blame her. He knew it himself.
Although his body had strengthened considerably after drinking her blood, that power hadn't been an astronomical leap. It hadn't suddenly turned him into an unstoppable warrior. It was an improvement, yes, but not a divine transformation. He could feel it clearly — his body was more agile, more resistant, more responsive… but not invincible.
'I'm somewhere in the middle of level 2… maybe halfway, maybe a little more,' he thought, coldly evaluating his situation.
But the monsters on floor 25 were something completely different. Bigger, fiercer, and above all… more intelligent. Creatures that didn't just attack with brute force, but with instinct and savage brutality. Any mistake, any failed test with a new skill, could cost him a limb… or his life.
Kael looked away for a moment, lost in thought. If he fought here, with those monsters, he wouldn't have room to experiment, to fail, to test the limits of his powers. He'd be too busy trying not to die.
And Marie… she knew it too. It was obvious.
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
But then, like a spark in the dark, an idea crossed his mind.
Slowly, carefully, he looked at her again.
"…What if you take me to floor 18?" he proposed in a calm but firm voice.
Marie blinked.
"From there I can go down to floor 17 and face the monsters there. They're not as dangerous as the ones here, but still a good challenge. They'll help me test my skills without risking getting split in two."
He paused briefly, then added with a faint smile—
—"Besides, I need to stop by the city."
He didn't explain further. He didn't need to. His words had been measured, calculated, chosen not to alarm her… but also to show her that he had thought everything through. This wasn't just a random impulse. It was strategy.
Marie didn't respond right away. Her fingers clung tighter to his shirt, as if trying to hold onto him through it. Her gaze slowly dropped to the ground, hidden beneath her damp hair.
But Kael had already made his decision.
And he wasn't going to back down.
"…Are you abandoning Marie? Kael doesn't love Marie anymore?" she murmured suddenly, her voice so low Kael barely heard it.
A chill ran down his spine. Something in her tone… in the way she said it… triggered every alarm in his body.
"No, no, no—" Kael said quickly. "It'll only be a little while. I won't be long. As soon as I'm done, I'll come back to you. I promise."
Marie remained silent.
"Besides," he continued, desperately trying to calm her, "I want to get magic stones for you. They can help you get stronger. I want you to be safe… even when I'm not around."
For a second, silence reigned.
Kael was about to keep talking.
But then, Marie suddenly looked up and clapped with a big smile.
"Marie understands now! Kael is just going for a little while."
Her smile spread like a flower under the sun.
Perfect. Bright. Impeccable.
But for some reason…
'That smile scares me a little,' Kael thought, swallowing hard. There was something in the intensity of her gaze that gave him goosebumps.
A mix of affection and… obsession?
Still, he said nothing. He just picked up a bag Marie had given him earlier, put on the cloak she had gifted him, and prepared to leave.
Marie led him through a network of underground tunnels Kael would never have found on his own. Secret passages, dark and damp, where light didn't touch the walls. The journey was long, but Marie guided him without hesitation, as if every corner were familiar to her.
Finally, they emerged beside the pond on floor 18, right next to the waterfall where Kael had stayed previously.
"This place… is it connected to floor 25?" he asked, still surprised. He knew the one who had spied on him before had been Marie, but the trip had been so surreal he couldn't help but ask.
Marie nodded with a knowing smile.
"It's Marie's secret."
He smiled back. "Then I'll keep it as a treasure."
He lay on a rock under the "sun" to dry off. His clothes hung to the side, soaked. The warm environment was pleasant, comforting. It felt almost like a distant beach, forgotten by time.
When he was ready, he stood up, kissed Marie's forehead tenderly, and headed for floor 17.
The transition was silent. The path from floor 18 posed no major challenges… but upon reaching 17, the atmosphere changed.
The temperature was colder, the air denser, charged with magical energy. Sounds were distorted by the twisted hallways.
And then, the battle began.
Five minotaurs appeared out of nowhere. Five towers of muscle, roaring and charging at him like rampaging bulls.
Kael took a deep breath, preparing himself, and extended his hand.
He stretched out his arm, and the blood in his veins vibrated with wild energy. His right arm was covered by a dark claw, with red edges pulsing like embers. It felt different from the first time… lighter, more his own.
The two-meter monsters attacked mercilessly.
The first minotaur reached him. Kael spun and drove the claw into its neck.
It vanished into magic particles.
The second charged. Kael dodged with a backward leap and formed a blood blade in the air. He threw it spinning, and it pierced the monster's skull with a single strike.
The third tried to pounce with outstretched hands, but Kael was already on top of him. His claw ripped open its abdomen, then...
Intestines. Snorts. Silence.
The fourth attacked from behind, but Kael hardened the blood on his back like armor. The impact was strong… but bearable.
No hesitation. He turned, his claw pierced the fourth monster's skull like butter.
The last one tried to flee.
Kael let it run a few steps, then extended his hand and formed a blood spear. He threw it without looking.
Shlak.
Dead.
Kael, though unharmed, panted from the effort.
'I'm definitely stronger than before… but it's still not enough.'
A swarm of Needle Wasps appeared ahead. Small, fast, weaker than the minotaurs. But there were many, at least a dozen of them.
Kael activated a spinning field of blades made of hardened blood around him. Every movement left a trail of death. The wasps fell by the second.
They tried to sting him, but his energy surrounded his body, as if forming a second skin.
They barely touched him.
And when they did, they bounced off harmlessly.
He fought for over an hour. Hunting, testing, analyzing. He avoided using
He stored them one by one in the bag Marie had given him.
Each time he placed one inside, he thought of her.
He wanted to bring Marie as many magic stones as possible. Even though the mermaid didn't know she could grow stronger by eating them…
'She really is a bit dumb sometimes…' he thought with a smile, 'but if I can get her to eat them, she'll become stronger… and she won't be so defenseless against a monster she can't charm.'
But another thought crossed his mind.
'…Though I wouldn't mind protecting her forever.'
His face warmed. He shook his head hard.
'Stop thinking nonsense! It's for her safety, that's all.'
He tried to shake off the blush by shaking his head.
After calming down, he remembered something he hadn't yet tested.
In a wide, quiet cave, he decided to try again what he had felt before with his shadow. He extended his hand and focused his energy on the darkness beneath him.
The ground beneath his shadow vibrated.
His hand sank again, as if passing through a liquid mirror. He placed a small stone inside to see what would happen.
It disappeared.
Kael's eyes widened in awe.
'Storage? Portable? Weightless?'
He put another in. And another. They worked the same. But when he tried to go beyond his arm or submerge himself, he felt a sharp pain in his head.
'Argh... shit!'
He fell to his knees. The shadows trembled. The access closed.
'Seems like… that's my limit for now.' Still, he wasn't entirely disappointed. Having his shadow as a portable storage was extremely useful.
Then he tried with another nearby shadow and it also became a small portal to that space where the stones he had dropped earlier were stored.
He tried again to control the shadow or pass through it but got the same result. A sharp headache hit him before the shadow returned to normal.
Finishing testing his abilities, and with the bag full of magic stones, he made his way back to floor 18.
When he passed the place where the Goliath would appear, in the Great Wall of Lamentation… nothing happened, as it shouldn't. Lefiya had defeated it less than a week ago, and it would take another before it reappeared. But something inside Kael remembered. How they had fought that monster, with courage, with coordination, with purpose.
Something inside him resonated. Something almost… competitive.
He turned around, and before leaving, cast a long look at the immense gate.
'...Next time I'll be the one to bring you down,' with that promise, Kael vanished into the long corridor, officially stepping into floor 18.