Inside a cave, whether located underground or elsewhere, Ritsuka began to look for a way out. The caves here were far too winding.
Furthermore, the walls had a built-in effect that shielded perception. If there was a near-180-degree corner, even if there was a Minotaur on the other side of the wall, she wouldn't be able to sense it until she reached the turn.
This cave was simply too bizarre.
After wandering around in such a place for a long time, Ritsuka finally found a staircase leading upward.
She didn't rashly head up from there; after all, she didn't know what the situation was like above. If she left this floor prematurely, she might encounter monsters she couldn't handle.
If it were just mere Minotaurs, she could deal with one in a strike or two.
"Hey, have you heard?"
Suddenly, just as Ritsuka split a Minotaur with a sword and was about to pick up the crystal on the ground, a voice appeared behind her.
Ritsuka's eyes sharpened. She immediately stepped off the wall and leaped up, hooking her hand onto the ceiling area.
She hung in a blind spot... "What are you muttering about?"
"It's the Loki Familia. They're said to be starting an expedition soon. This time the goal is the deeper floors."
Two men and a woman walked past below, discussing something intensely.
Compared to the more cheerful and extroverted males, the girl carrying a pack with the team noticed the material dropped by the Minotaur Ritsuka had defeated—a section of hard bull horn.
Picking it up without hesitation, the girl murmured softly, "This is a Minotaur horn. Did someone forget to pick it up after killing the monster?"
Because it was a rare material, its value was much higher than the crystals dropped by Minotaurs. So, the girl directly took the item for Ritsuka and put it into the large bag on her back, completely unaware that the person who had slain the Minotaur was right above her head.
"Hey, Reiko, hurry up and keep up. This floor is still very dangerous for you."
"Okay, coming right now."
The trio gradually moved away, and their chattering voices faded. However, Ritsuka still heard plenty of useful information and memorized it all.
For example: Loki, Familia, Minotaur, Floor Boss Goliath, Lv. 3, the 18th floor safety zone, and so on.
Releasing her grip, Ritsuka dropped to the ground and landed smoothly. Her gaze followed the direction where the trio had disappeared, and with her decent brain, she analyzed a few things.
Killing monsters to level up. This world was simply too interesting.
"God of Trickery and Fire, organization-like Familias, bull monsters from mythology, game-boss-like Floor Bosses..."
"But I've already killed dozens of Minotaurs. These things look like elite mobs and should provide a lot of experience. But how do I level up? Where is it?"
Muttering to herself, Ritsuka was a bit confused.
She increasingly felt that this world was like an RPG game, an adventure-leveling style of gameplay. Maybe she could even find some pay-to-win elements; after all, how can one get stronger without paying?
If it were an idle game for old people, that would be great. It would be even better if it were a bit more fanservice-heavy; then she might have more interest in playing.
The only problem was she didn't know where to press to level up... "Below is the safety floor, the 18th floor." Ritsuka looked at her feet, then toward the rising stairs at the end of the passage. "Then without a doubt, the way out should be up there."
If the first floor turned out to be the bottom floor instead, she'd take it back—the game designer would have to be a real piece of work.
Real-life monster hunting and leveling. Before starting to grind, she definitely had to understand the game mode first, even if Ritsuka currently didn't have any goals she wanted to achieve, or even knew what she was going to do next.
After all, she had nothing right now.
Aside from her unremarkable strength, she truly had nothing.
"Phew, let's take it one step at a time... Because I have nothing, I have everything."
While comforting herself, she punched an ant that had just crawled out back into its hole. Her terrifying strength left passersby stunned.
Coupled with Ritsuka's outfit, which was in a clearly different style from everyone else, she became exceptionally conspicuous for a while.
As she gradually moved toward the upper floors, more and more people appeared in her sight. Their clothing styles also changed from various armors to more cloth-like attire. The situation was quite clear.
The stronger the person, the better their equipment would definitely be.
And as she moved toward the upper floors, the people appearing in her sight seemed to have increasingly poorer outfits. It was obvious she had arrived at a beginner-level area.
Then, the human settlement should be close... Fifth floor, fourth floor, third floor, second floor, first floor.
Applying a suggestion magecraft to herself, Ritsuka stepped out of the underground cave where she had stayed for perhaps half a day, and the dark night sky met her eyes.
Following that was a city with lights everywhere and a retro-leaning style.
The bustling and noisy streets were filled with all kinds of upright creatures. Looking around, they could be divided into two types: the human race and humanoid creatures.
Countless people carrying swords, spears, and axes, wearing leather armor and iron plate, walked past her, looking exactly like otherworldly Adventurers. Many people also had features different from ordinary humans.
For example, animal ears and the like, which were fluffy and somewhat cute.
Walking in the plaza outside the cave, Ritsuka looked around like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city.
Soon, the most prominent high tower located in the center of the city entered her sight.
"Wow..."
Ritsuka let out a gasp of wonder.
Even though she had never seen it and had no similar things in her memory, she could still say it was impressive.
Suddenly, Ritsuka felt a blatant gaze land on her.
The intensity of the gaze was chilling. Ritsuka, whose skin crawled from being stared at, alertly observed her surroundings but didn't find the voyeur.
Immediately after, her gaze moved toward that high tower.
"It's not peeping, but looking openly? I'm not exactly a natural beauty; could a male god have taken a fancy to me?"
Ritsuka touched her cheek, then turned and ran into the crowd.
After walking a distance, that burning gaze finally disappeared. Ritsuka, relieved, walked toward the edge of the city and arrived at a place that looked like a commercial street.
Quietly slipping into a clothing store, Ritsuka, who hadn't prepared extra clothes in her crystal head, could only thick-headedly steal a set.
A black and blue short skirt, plus matching shoes and leggings. Ritsuka also took a few pairs of safety shorts—divine items that provide great protection for girls.
Upon leaving, she left behind two crystals dropped by Minotaurs.
She didn't quite understand the specific value of these things, but judging from the reaction of that Lv. 3 female Adventurer, they should be quite valuable.
More than enough to pay for two sets of clothes.
Leaving the clothing store, Ritsuka found a corner, deactivated her combat attire, and changed into clean clothes.
With the clothing problem solved, next was the situation regarding this world.
Turning off the suggestion magecraft she used to interfere with others' perception, Ritsuka blended into the crowd and walked toward a relatively remote and dilapidated library. Such a place would likely have many historical records about this world.
Before that, however, she could ask the old man in the library about some surface-level questions.
Using suggestion magecraft, Ritsuka took out a Minotaur crystal and stuffed it into the old man's hand, then began to ask about the basic settings of this world.