Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"Phew."

After clearing out the tenth and eleventh floors, Bell finally stopped and let out a breath.

After facing two full floors of Orcs, Bell had confirmed one thing—Kuji Kanesada was truly absurd. The Orcs' spiked clubs felt like they were made of butter; they posed no threat whatsoever.

'It's about time to think about heading to the next floor.'

The tenth and eleventh floors no longer posed any challenge to Bell. Whether it was Orcs, Kobolds, or the occasional Infant Dragon, none of them could pressure him in the slightest.

Truth be told, he hadn't felt any real pressure from the monsters on those floors in a long time.

With that in mind, Bell knew it was time to stop lingering and begin pushing deeper.

He stood at the boundary between the eleventh and twelfth floors, still hesitating.

Cautious by nature, Bell preferred to manage himself carefully and only take on challenges within his comfort zone. Pushing too far beyond that wasn't a challenge—it was suicide.

What he hated most were reckless actions driven by a lack of self-awareness.

Do what your strength allows, and don't stick your neck into things beyond your reach—that's how you grow steadily.

Pushing yourself within reasonable limits is how you break through.

But once you cross a certain line, you're just being irresponsible.

Still, after nearly a week of preparation and reflection, Bell judged that he was ready to move forward.

He didn't plan to head straight to the Safety Point on the eighteenth floor. Instead, he'd spend half a day exploring the twelfth floor, then start preparing for the thirteenth—the gateway to the Middle Floors.

Of course, Bell wasn't planning to dive into the Middle Floors today.

At Level 2, heading into the Middle Floors alone required solid preparation.

This was a critical phase for any Adventurer—the monsters down there weren't as forgiving as those in the Upper Floors.

In fact, the thirteenth floor was considered the second major trial for Adventurers moving forward.

Only those who passed that second trial could be truly deemed worthy of continuing deeper.

That's why Bell was being extra cautious.

After a steadying breath, he began walking toward the twelfth floor.

Following a long descent down a winding staircase, he finally reached it.

The eleventh floor had looked like a small, self-contained world, but the twelfth reverted to the feel of a cavern.

Starting from the tenth floor, Magic Stone lamps had stopped appearing in the dungeon.

Although the tenth and eleventh floors were covered in thick mist, they were still surprisingly bright—the ambient light made it easy enough to see without artificial illumination. But the twelfth floor was pitch black.

Without Magic Stone lamps to light the way, navigating the twelfth floor in complete darkness became far more difficult.

A torch would've helped, but in a place like this, lighting one was basically the same as painting a target on yourself.

So Bell opted not to use a torch. Instead, he let himself melt into the darkness, allowing his eyes to slowly adjust so he could take in his surroundings.

"!?"

As his vision cleared, Bell's expression shifted slightly.

Aside from the entrance, the entire floor was littered with bones—dense and scattered everywhere.

Of course, these weren't human remains. They belonged to the monsters of the twelfth floor—the Spartoi, otherwise known as Skeleton Monsters.

'That's an astonishing number of Spartoi.'

What really caught Bell's attention was how the Spartoi were all lying in disorganized heaps, nothing more than lifeless skeletons. Their harmless appearance could easily fool someone.

And with no Magic Stone lamps to help, the poor lighting made it easy to miss what was scattered right at your feet...

'Yeah... this really is Hidetaka Miyazaki.'

The setup instantly reminded Bell of Dark Souls. That infamous old trickster loved pulling stunts like this—scaring players out of nowhere, spiking their heart rate, and subtly shifting their mindset mid-game.

'I didn't think these Spartoi would have the potential to play dirty like that.'

Bell sighed silently. Reversing his grip, he drove his blade straight through a skull lying on the ground.

Crack!

The blade struck clean, shattering the Magic Stone hidden within the Spartoi's skull.

The sound of the stone breaking echoed loudly, and immediately, the entire floor responded with a chorus of clack clack clack.

...

With his eyes already adjusted to the darkness, Bell clearly saw the scattered skeletons—once lying still like harmless decoys—suddenly snap together and begin to move. Their response time was frighteningly fast.

Sensing danger, Bell took a few steps back, watching as the Spartoi turned toward the source of the sound. Only then did he realize how sensitive they truly were—just the faint sound of a Magic Stone shattering had drawn their full attention.

'These things are really sensitive to sound.'

In this pitch-black environment, they weren't hindered by the darkness at all. They had sharp hearing and an uncanny ability to locate movement.

Fighting enemies like this in such a setting was going to be a real pain.

But beyond their traits, something else had caught Bell's attention.

'Just now... Kuji Kanesada got blocked when I stabbed down on that skull.'

That's right—Kuji Kanesada, a weapon capable of "cutting through all things," had lost the sharp edge that sliced through Orc clubs like nothing. This time, it only pierced the skull thanks to its inherent sharpness.

'It was cutting through Orc weapons like butter. So how did it lose momentum against a simple skull?'

Bell didn't quite get it, but he'd already found his next target.

Silently, he crept up behind another Spartoi and drove his blade straight into its skull.

Crack!

Once again, the strike hit true, and the Spartoi instantly crumbled into a heap of bones.

Bell quickly retreated after landing the blow.

Once he was back in a safe position, his doubts only deepened.

'That strike felt off.'

He had focused during the attack but hadn't deliberately aimed for the Magic Stone—yet somehow still struck it perfectly.

And more than that, the sharpness of the blade had returned—it felt just like when he was cleaving through Orcs. Like slicing through butter.

It was as if he instinctively knew where to land a critical hit.

That eerie sensation made Bell increasingly uneasy.

'What's going on?'

'This should be my first time fighting Spartoi... so why does it feel so familiar?'