Chapter 28: Middle Floors, Hidden Passage
The next morning, Ryuu proposed to join the Hestia Familia. She had thought deeply about it the previous night, if the shadows under her eyes were to be trusted. Still, Ad told her to wait for a while. He said he wanted to be at least level three before she joined, his reason being quite simple.
Once he became a level three he would, most likely, fight with Ryuu as equals. After all, his Shadow Trigger could double his stats. If as a level one with max stats he became a level two with maxed stats, as a level three he would reach at least level four, even if he had no stats gained yet.
Thinking of his cheat as an unfair advantage over everyone, and being happy about it, Ad waved Ryuu goodbye. After that, they made plans to visit the Dungeon and stay for at least two days.
The plan was thought out and perfected by Keeva, whose mind was perfect for these tasks. She proposed to go straight to the Middle Floors and go towards the fifteenth. Once they had spent a good amount of time in said floor, they would go to the Under Resort and spend the night in Rivira.
At this point Natsuki proposed to make the most of it and avoid spending money on lodging. She said that camping was just as possible, as Rivira was a safe zone. Ad agreed with her, so the other members simply took it as an order from their Captain.
Lastly, they would make their way back from Rivira, going through the floors again. In their eyes, doing this would give them enough gains to at least reach G in their stats. The reason they were so confident in carrying out this "suicidal" plan, was because Ad could go from the entrance of the Dungeon to Rivira by himself without receiving much harm.
After all, he had never used his Shadow Trigger's second stage in the times they had gone to the Dungeon.
Before they left though, they had to Level Up. Their stats looked, after their previous training, looked like this.
[Name: Natsuki Kishimoto
Level: 2
Strength: I - 0 (S - 950)
Endurance: I - 0 (S - 900
Dexterity: I - 0 (S - 999
Agility: I - 0 (S - 968
Magic: I - 0 (S - 972)
Development Skills: <Sharpshooter (I)>]
[Name: Iman Gupta
Level: 2
Strength: I - 0 (S - 987)
Endurance: I - 0 (S - 912)
Dexterity: I - 0 (S - 900)
Agility: I - 0 (S - 934)
Magic: I - 0 (S – 999)
Development Skills: <Healer (I)>]
[Name: Eoghan Shannon
Level: 2
Strength: I - 0 (S - 976)
Endurance: I - 0 (S – 999)
Dexterity: I - 0 (S - 951)
Agility: I - 0 (S - 901)
Magic: I - 0 (A – 891)
Development Skills: <Protector (I)>]
[Name: Keeva Shannon
Level: 2
Strength: I - 0 (A – 891)
Endurance: I - 0 (S - 901)
Dexterity: I - 0 (S - 951)
Agility: I - 0 (S - 976)
Magic: I - 0 (S – 999)
Development Skills: <Mage (I)>]
Adalwulf: I'm very proud of you guys. I can say with total confidence that if any other Level Two Party tried to fight us, we would win.
Hestia: I am so happy to have such good Familia, after so long of being alone!
Everyone just smiled at their Goddess. After saying goodbye and asking her to please take care, the Party left for the Dungeon.
*
It was when they reached the Middle Floors that they finally got serious. The Monsters from there on would be stronger, sturdier and overall harder to kill.
Once they got in their usual formation, they began going through the many corridors of the Fifteenth Floor. Ad had a weird and tingly feeling most of the time, as if there was something calling for him.
Without saying much, he directed his Party in the direction were the feeling grew stronger.
They encountered many monters in the way, and even some stray Minotaurs. Still, they didn't have much trouble getting rid of them. They had already reached the Sixteenth Floor when Ad could finally spot the reason of the feeling.
It looked like a secret passage, hidden between rocks and the wall of the Dungeon. Unfortunately, only he could go inside, as only a Pallum would be able to fit. He, on the other hand, could enter through the shadows.
Adalwulf: Wait here, I'll go check what is inside.
Once inside the passage, Ad found a statue of a man with an animal by his side. It was an animal he didn't think existed in the world of DanMachi, a Black Panther. The man had short hair and a trimmed beard. His head held high, chin raised, looking proudly at everything before him.
After searching all around the statue, Ad found an amulet of sorts. It was a necklace with a "totem" of a panther in it. He reckoned that the totem was the source of the feeling he got, and decided to later on check its origins with Hestia and Hephaestus.
Once he took the amulet, the feeling stopped. Ad left the passage and told his Party what he had found. He knew that the place wasn't explored before, as the amulet wouldn't have been there if it had been. Having information of an unexplored place in the Sixteenth Floor of the Dungeon, Ad decided to try something new.
Since he was already in his Shadow Trigger, he concentrated on his Party and the shadows. He willed them to allow his Party to go through. Slowly, they began to be swallowed by the darkness.
Once they recovered their vision, they were on the inside of the passage.
Adalwulf: I reckon this area of the floor is unexplored, as I had found this amulet here.
Keeva: What kind of animal is this one? I haven't seen it in any monster related book.
Natsuki: And this statue... it looks like the statue of a king.
Eoghan: I think it is... he just lacks a crown.
Iman: Darling! Can we make a statue of you in the Hearth Manor?
After everyone sighed at Iman's comment, they decided to keep exploring this new area of the Sixteenth Floor. Ad had a feeling that huge rewards were awaiting them in this place, and he would make his Familia get every single one of them.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ice_Wielding_Ronin
Ice_Wielding_Ronin I'll be making this a "mini-arc" in honour of Chadwick Boseman. Rest in peace, I know you are watching over all of us in between the stars, were you always belonged.
We'll miss seeing you in the big screen, Panther.
Weekly Power Status
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