At this moment, deep in the Dungeon, a young man dressed in a white trench coat stood before a towering stone door. His hand rested gently on the stone surface as he murmured softly.
"Soon, we shall meet again."
"The most crucial step for me remains. You've waited so long; you wouldn't mind waiting a little longer for me, would you?"
The only response to the young man was a dragon's roar—neither loud nor soft—followed by a low, guttural snarl.
"Don't keep me waiting too long."
Hearing this, the young man's lips curved into a faint smile. Without a trace of lingering, he turned and walked away.
"Ah, it won't be long. I'm already standing at the threshold. You won't have to wait much longer."
"The debts between us must be settled by our own hands."
The youth spoke with hidden meaning before vanishing from the doorway.
The aura behind the stone gate began to fluctuate, though it was still suppressed by the stone. It wasn't yet time to open it.
The colossal dragon imprisoned behind the gate couldn't be released—the Braver wasn't prepared enough yet.
Emerging from the deepest depths of the lower levels, the youth looked up at the starry cosmos above, filled with starlight, and sighed in wonder.
"Who would have thought that the lowest level of the Dungeon actually connects to a planet in the corner of the cosmic sky? If the gods and adventurers outside ever learned of this, they'd be utterly astonished."
The youth, named Bell, chuckled and shook his head.
Perhaps by then, gods and adventurers would have more pressing matters to focus on than this starry expanse.
The two-month deadline had passed, and Bell had completed his final preparations for his transformation.
What remained was to relinquish the power he had painstakingly acquired, and then use his own essence to forge an entirely new strength.
The final step was undoubtedly the most agonizing decision. The slightest deviation from the path ahead would prevent him from reaching the end.
But without that final sacrifice, true metamorphosis would remain out of reach. What would the true ending be?
Bell didn't know. And he didn't want to know.
Playing a game meant winning—just like in an RPG, anything less than a perfect ending was a bad ending.
Bell never expected a so-called bad ending. He was determined to walk his own path to the best possible conclusion.
"Then, it's time to enter the final stage."
"I can sense it now... no, it's Him."
Though separated by a door, Bell could distinctly feel the creature on the other side, just as excited, and waiting to tear him apart completely.
Every time he thought about it, Bell felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.
He wasn't planning on dying.
But the current stage still wasn't feasible. The gap was too obvious, even without feeling it. Yet, the gap no longer felt as unreachable as it did during their first meeting. Now, the distance was clearly visible.
The level of a god.
Yes, a level nearly on par with a god.
It sounded close, but the difference was as vast as the heavens and the earth.
An adventurer reaching Lv.10 essentially attains demigod status. Only by acquiring divine authority can one ascend to godhood. The gap between demigod and god is essentially a chasm of divine authority. Yet, despite being just one step away from divine authority, the difference between a demigod and a god was still vast.
This disparity in divine authority made the difference between demigod and god even wider than the gap between an ant and a Lv.9 adventurer.
For Bell, though, it wasn't much of a problem. The level of a god was just within reach.
Moreover, Bell always had this strange feeling inside him.
'I will become stronger.'
He couldn't tell if it was intuition or a deep-seated hope.
The closer he got to the critical moment of ascension, the stronger this feeling became.
Shaking his head, Bell dismissed the strange sensation. The specifics would only be clear after the ascension.
But Bell's footsteps suddenly paused.
"Already at the 64th floor?"
This naturally referred to the developments within Loki Familia.
Loki had announced Ais's promotion, followed by news of the expedition—such announcements were clearly aimed at something. Bell had learned of this directly from Loki herself.
So, while training, Bell had also been keeping track of Loki Familia's movements.
"So, they're testing the waters on the 64th floor first? That really fits Finn and the others' personalities."
Once you have a familia, the issues you need to think about multiply. You can't just focus on yourself anymore; you have to think about your familia's needs too.
Bell understood this from the start. That's why he abandoned teammates he couldn't trust and familia members who would only cause trouble or slow him down, choosing instead to act alone.
In truth, this approach had far more advantages than disadvantages for Bell.
Especially when he could handle most things on his own, forming his own familia seemed unnecessary. Particularly when weak, familia members often became more of a burden than a help.
Though Bell didn't like the idea of forming his own familia, he still respected the familias that others belonged to.
Especially the captains of those familias—the ones who could guide their familia in a positive direction. He truly admired them.
"The 64th floor should be fine."
Indeed, the 64th floor had already undergone repeated testing by Bell, confirming that no matter how the 'Monster Feast' was triggered, it wouldn't summon Juggernaut.
Given Loki Familia's current state, as long as they didn't run into Juggernaut in the deeper levels, they wouldn't face too much pressure.
But to say he wasn't concerned at all? That wasn't the case. Bell was still a bit uneasy, after all, Loki Familia was essentially taking the fall for him on this expedition.
"Well, whatever. Let's go take a look."
Bell didn't mind wasting a little time.
His training was complete, but he still had some extra time left over. It was all thanks to Ais saving him time during the previous phase.
Originally, after finishing his training, he should have immediately completed the ceremony to leave the sect and then proceed to his promotion ceremony. But because Ais saved him some time in the previous phase, Bell now had a bit more free time.
Bell wouldn't use this time to train or consolidate his current level.
If he continued training at this stage, the moment the 'Falna System's' influence became more intense, it would truly be counterproductive.
So, at this stage, Bell could afford to waste a little time.