The first battle was easier than I thought, but that didn't mean I could let my guard down.

My data on the enemies had increased largely, but taking on two still didn't seem feasible, which was precisely what would happen from the floor above.

People in full gear with fairly balanced parties had failed to go past the fourth floor, I didn't need to, but the stronger the enemy the rarer the drop. One bar of gold was better than a thousand plastic bottles.

I slowly climbed up the circular stairs, one hand on the walls lit up by the dim torches.

As I saw the next floor, a strange sensation spread in my head, and my instincts called out to me.

I immediately jumped a few steps down and saw a sharp arrow sticking out of the wall right next to where my foot was.

Hoh.

Was this perception, or was it just my instinct?

Skipping the step, I finally went up to the second floor. There was no stairwell leading up to the third; I had to find it myself.

Two passageways extended both sides, the stairs leading up were on both places, while the next floor would have a single stairwell at this spot again. From the fourth to the fifth floor was uncharted territory.

I gripped my spear and decided to go on the left path.

Walking along the passage with brick walls and torches, mechanical laughter filled the air. A small hole in the narrow wall revealed a spacious room.

Like a small rat, I shrank my presence and peeked inside the room. Around a table, three more Heart Soldiers were playing cards with a pack that only had the cards of hearts.

On each head, they wore strange hats, and their mustaches were different as if to set them apart. One had a handlebar, while another styled its mustache like giant curls.

"HoHoHo."

"HiHiHi."

Like dolls, the enormous keys in their backs spun, and their shallow, soulless laughter continued.

Ignoring them was not an option. I was almost drooling at the sight of loot.

That said, fighting them inside was going to be tough. What I wanted was for them to come here in the passage. It was too narrow for those cylinder soldiers, and it gave me a much greater advantage.

Attracting attention was going to be the better strategy for now.

I stood in front of the door and coughed.

The soldiers stopped slamming their hearts on the table and looked toward me.

"All of your mustaches..." I said, even though I tried to be loud, it was pretty challenging. "Makes you look like idiots."

I could sense the animosity in the air. It was palpable. The three heart soldiers jumped up and turned toward me. All of them loaded their guns and—

—RATATATATTA

They shot off their bullets at once. I hid next to the entrance, but the wall on the other side was brutalized with their three shots.

Not ready to lose aggro, I peeked inside and stuck my tongue out. The heart soldiers' tin faces scrunched in real time as they came rushing toward me, their bayonets in hand.

Hiding my spear behind was worth it.

I thumped my feet and acted as if I had taken a few steps behind in the passageway while sticking as close to the entrance as possible. As soon as the first of the cylinders came out of the narrow gate, I stabbed it straight through its ugly mustache.

The first one turned into dust, and the second was startled in its spot. Of course, this was already enough for me.

I swung the spear again and turned toward the entrance, getting the second in the chest.

Going too far worked in two ways. In normal circumstances, it could have been disadvantageous for me since that would have let the third one get an opening. But it was different here.

As soon as a mob died.

"KR!?"

It turned to dust.

Right in front of the third heart soldier, I lunged ahead and stabbed it in the head.

[You have slain Heart Soldier (Lv 21)]

[You have slain...]

[You...]

The three this time only gave me one level, all of which went into luck.

The drops.

[<<Heart Knife>> (Uncommon)]

[<<Heart Coat>> (Common)]

[<<Heart Pants>> (Common)]

The coat and the pants didn't sell, but another knife was not bad. Though all of this was still at about 15 bucks, I could see it being useful soon.

I continued onward down the passageway, passing by another room with soldiers. This time, there were four, so I had to lure them further out than before.

In the next, there were five, and the best way to handle them was to have a clear space for myself and not for them, a bridge tactic of sorts, which I managed by luring them all the way out to the stairs.

I also considered collecting more by going on the other side, so I did just that.

To my dismay, killing all of them only raised me by one more level, getting me to 10.

The drops had increased the number of wasteful coats and pants but left me with 7 Heart Knives, and also...

[<<Heart Hat>>

(Rare)

(Durability - 100%)

Hat.

]

A rare item...

But it only said Hat and had no effects.

Well, what mattered was being able to go up. After an hour of clearing the mob here, it was time to climb to the third floor.