It was strangely similar.

The feeling I got while studying with 0 points and leveling up while eating was strangely similar.

Although my bodies were different and existed in two different dimensions, they felt eerily similar.

"Keeer."

The feeling of improving every second was unlike a drug.

No matter how many times I did it, I didn't get tired of it. That was the thing pushing me.

"Krrrrrrr."

Finally, I achieved my goal.

[Karmon - 1st floor - Rank 2.]

Of all of the billions of creatures on the first floor, I became number two.

Except for Uz, I was the strongest and most superior creature around.

It was indeed a tremendous achievement.

Just last night, I had been no different from any of the creatures crawling around here.

-Oh, Great One.

As I had predicted, the creature had returned around the time I had achieved rank 2.

Since the creature had to stop to eat along the way, I knew that it wouldn't come back quickly.

-Did you gain any information?

"Kkuraak!"

The creature yelled out in surprise after recognizing that it was me.

-Are you truly the one that I pledged myself?

-I am. You should be able to tell by the scent of my pheromones even without looking at my ranking.

-Yes, you're right. That was how I found you. But barely. If it weren't for that, I would have never imagined that rank 2 would be in a place like this. I still can't fathom it at all...

-Just think of it like this. I was hiding my original strength.

-Ah! Of course! It wasn't a simple rank ascension! You were great to begin with, and were slowly letting your abilities show. So that's how!

100 couldn't hold back its shock and awe.

To appease its shock without telling it about the Mobius Superstring, I gave it an explanation that it could comprehend.

-Report.

-Forgive me. This is how the Rich Pit is organized.

The rank 100 creature hurriedly explained that the creatures ranked from 30 to 50 went around the pit to keep an eye on the lower-ranked creatures.

The creatures ranked above them would spend their time resting and frolicking in the center of the pit.

Uz and its cronies, ranked 5 till 1, would sometimes make their rounds around the Pit to show off their strength.

"Kkuerek."

-Good Job. Name the subjects of your revenge.

-Please devour the current 99 and 97.

-Consider it done. I will go ahead. Follow slowly.

-Are you going now?

-Today is Uz's last day.

-Wow! To think you're going to fight Uz. Surely you are the greatest creature!

100 never expected that I would rise to rank 2 so quickly.

It had only thought of me as a means to get its revenge.

However, I could never be satisfied with such a trivial goal.

[Activate Power 2 - Awakening.]

I used Awakening to increase my speed.

I left 100 behind me soon.

I was able to reach the Rich Pit under the waterfall of filth in no time.

[Deactivate Power 2 - Awakening.]

I looked around. I couldn't find the former 45.

Perhaps the poison had reached his brain.

"Kreake."

-Wh... What brings you here, sir? I didn't know you had left.

Unless you were in the top ten ranks, it was unlikely that you would meet the rank 2 creature that often.

So the creatures of the Rich Pit could not recognize me.

-Have you seen Uz?

-Oh, he has just passed by the inner area. He commended those that were eating diligently and devoured the one that was being lazy!

-Okay.

There was no creature brave enough to question rank 2.

Nobody asked me where I had been and why I was coming from outside the Pit.

"Kkurek?"

-Hmm?

Some of the creatures who recognized the scent of my pheromones were confused about my large size.

I flashed them my maw and glared at them. They halted their curiosity and kept their distance.

While they recognized who I had been, their curiosity was abated seeing that my rank was 2.

The creature they remembered had been ranked 78.

This was inconceivable in their minds.

-Uz.

I found Uz and crawled up closer to it.

-Who calls?

-It is I. The rookie with the ability to expand.

-What? You?

Even the great Uz was startled by my sudden transformation.

It turned its body towards me and stared at me.

-Hmmm. No wonder. I thought it was weird that my number two suddenly became number 3. So, you've been hiding your strength. I wouldn't have expected you to be this strong. I suppose there is no stronger creature than you here, other than myself.

Why wouldn't there be one?

I was not thinking solely about the first floor.

My vision was different from Uz's limited one.

I had countless floors to ascend.

-Yes. I will do my best to serve you.

-Good. To think that you grew to this level in the fringes. Why didn't you show your full strength from the beginning?

Uz looked wary.

Number 2 meant that it could aim to become number 1 at any moment.

It must be confident about its poison stinger ability.

Luckily it seemed that the former rank 45 had died before telling anyone about it.

-I hid my power because I was curious about you, Uz, and about the Rich Pit.

-Amazing. To think you have two abilities.

-I had heard that you yourself had a special ability.

-Yes. And that's why I can reign over you. Serve me. I will allow you to take 55 seconds of break time!

-Thank you.

[Mirror Quest - Enter the 2nd floor. Reward: 100 Superiority Points]

This was great. I had a need for a lot of Superiority Points in the day. As a brother.

"Kkurung."

I decided to follow Uz around and wait for the right opportunity.

Right now, there were too many of its acolytes around.

-I will show the new number two around the Rich Pit. Ranks 3,4 and 5 follow behind.

"Kkreup."

I followed Uz around the Pit. I could finally feel it.

The other creatures in the Pit were looking at me with respect and jealousy as they let us through.

-By the way, Uz.                                                                                                               

-What is it?

-You do know about the existence of the second floor, right?                                                      

-Of course I do! Do you think I'm an idiot?

Unlike before, when Uz had looked down on me, it was acting defensively at my questions now that I was ranked 2nd.

-Can rank 1 of the first floor go up to the second floor?

Uz let out a stream of unpleasant pheromones at my question.

-Yes. But why would you need to know that? It won't matter to you, ever!                                           

-I apologize. I was just curious about the upper floors.

-I rest for 58 seconds! Every being on this floor is under the mercy of my stomach. Why would I give that up to go to the second floor? It's obvious that I would be the lowest creature there. I would rather live like a king on this floor than a nobody on the second floor.

I could understand Uz's decision. Although, I thought it was a foolish one.                                     

-I see.

I continued to look for an opportunity to kill Uz.

The dungeon was growing colder again, and the night was surely coming to an end.

-Uz.                                                                                                                               

-What now?

Even though I was number 2, it would be dangerous if I continued to pester Uz with questions.

It was getting increasingly bothered by my presence.

I would need to take care of it before it tried something.

-I want to tell you something. I want to share my secret of expansion with you.     

-What?

-I will tell you how to attain this ability.                                                        

-Really? Yes, that would be great!

Uz followed me outside of the Rich Pit at the mention of learning a new ability.

-We should go somewhere no one can hear us.                                                               

-Of course! This should be our secret. I will take care of you.

Uz was very excited, perhaps touched by my loyalty.

I focused on the antenna tucked within my body.

I could understand what Uz was feeling.

He had been reigning as the sole ruler of this floor when a rookie had suddenly appeared with the ability to expand.

It was an ability that could rival its poison stinger.

Moreover, this rookie had  suddenly returned as a rank 2 creature.

It was natural that it would be bothered and threatened by me.

*

"KRRRAAAAAAA!"                                                                                    

There was no way that Uz would have expected me to have my own poison stinger in addition to my Awakening ability.

I swung my stinger at Uz's eye.

-What are you doing!?

-It's nothing personal. I just need to go to the second floor!

-Stop! Please! I'll do anything! Stop!

Uz cried out as it swung it's stinger around wildly.

However, it couldn't see, so none of its strikes hit me.

I slipped behind Uz and bit down on its tail.

"KRRRAAAAAAA!"

Uz had become completely helpless.

[Activate Power 2 - Awakening.]

I expanded my body and increased my strength.

Uz put away its poison stinger and began to beg.

-Please. I beg you. I only gained this ability after eating filth for hundreds of years! I barely made it to Number 1. I didn't realize how superior you were. How could you have my ability and also the ability to expand!?

-I told you. I have to get to the second floor. It's nothing personal.

-Please! Aren't you already in the first place? Just don't kill me.

"Kkurek."

I checked to see if what Uz was saying was true.

[Karmon - 1st floor - Rank 2.]

I was still only the second strongest.

If it weren't for the abilities granted to me by the Mobius Superstring, I would be weaker than Uz.

However, thanks to the powers such as Awakening and Ability Absorption, I was way more powerful than Uz. I was a living contradiction.

-As sad as it may be, you need to die.

"KRAAAAAAAGH!"

The arrogant Uz was screaming in the face of death.

[Time left to survive: 14s]

I had eaten something a few seconds before I had attacked Uz.

Therefore, I had a few more seconds to live than him.

"Kkrup! Kkrup!"

Uz's body began to shrivel slowly.

Even while using Awakening, Uz was far too large for me to consume.

I was also unsure if I could digest the poison stinger so I decided to play it safe and starve it to death.

-Is this my end? Must you starve me to death? What an embarrassing death! I am the ruler of the Rich Pit!

-Unfortunately.

-I should have killed you as soon as I saw you for the first time! I should have devoured you! Why did I let you live just because I thought the way you grew was interesting!?

-Yeah, you should have.

"Krrrrrrrrr."

Spitting out curses until the very end, Uz shriveled up and turned into dust.

I looked down blankly at what had been previously Uz and turned around.

Then I leisurely went around consuming excrement.

No matter how important Uz had been on this floor, it was still an insignificant first-floor low-class monster. Nobody made a fuss.

[Success! Mirror Quest Complete! The rewards will be available during the daytime!]

[Karmon - 1st floor - Rank 1.]

"Kkurururu!"

How long had I been waiting to hear that phrase?

Finally, I had become the most powerful being on the first floor.

I had leveled up exponentially but I hadn't been thorough in my ascension.

I was already at the top of this floor.

It didn't matter anymore.

-What? No way!                                                                                              

-Did Uz really die?

-The rookie... No, the new number one is here!                                                          

-Oh, Great One! What is your name?

-My name is Karmon. Bring me rank 99 and 97.                                                       

-Right away, Oh Great One.

When I returned to the Rich Pit, the other creatures bowed down in front of me.

Their instincts had informed them of Uz's death.

They weren't as stupid as bugs.

Perhaps it was because they could communicate using pheromones.

At times like this, I found the Rank Instinct extremely convenient.

I didn't have to go out of my way to show them my might.

-We have brought the ones you have requested.

-Oh, new Great One, what is the reason for summoning us?

-Is it perhaps because we goaded you into fighting with the former 100? Please forgive us.

-We didn't know. You were ranked lower than us at the time!

-There is no need to explain. I am only keeping my promise.

I looked around to see that 100 watching me.

In front of its eyes, I swallowed both 99 and 97.

Indeed, all of the creatures on the first floor were smaller and weaker than me.

"Krrueu."

-Let that be a warning for all of you. From now on, everyone in the Rich Pit will take thirty-second breaks. If everyone consumes equally, then the pit will not overflow.

-What?

-Why? Do you have a problem with that?

Since I was going to ascend anyway, I decided to conduct an experiment.

I wanted to dismantle the feeding system which was built on an unfair hierarchy, so that everyone could rest for the same amount of time.

I knew that it would change again when I left, but I wanted to spruce things up, even if only for a short bit.

I knew I couldn't do anything about the ranking.

It was truly abominable. Perhaps I felt so because I had been the target of oppression for a long time.

-We shall do as you command.

"Kurrrrrrr."

The creatures of the Rich Pit obediently followed my orders and fed and rested equally.

The atmosphere of the Rich Pit changed quickly.

Everyone looked awkward, and the mood wasn't very bright.

However, there was no hierarchy like before.

"Kkeurup."

I ate leisurely, feeling at peace.

[Congratulations on becoming number one. Will you Ascend to the second floor? Or choose to stay in the comfort of the first floor?]

I saw a message pop up in front of me in a different color than the ones Mobius Superstring would show me.

Maybe it was a message from the dungeon itself.

Judging from the Rank Instinct, among other things, it looked like the dungeon wasn't some wild, disorderly place. It had a structured system in place.

"Krrrrr."

I looked around the Rich Pit.

I had stayed in this hole for two grueling weeks.

Obviously, I wasn't attached to this hellscape.

The message floated continually in my periphery.

Had Uz been seeing this message his entire life and ignored it?

It must have loved being Number One. However, I was not weak like Uz.

-Choose Ascension.

Detecting my intention, the message acted on my behalf.

I saw a bright, blinding light.

I didn't even have the time to say goodbye to the creatures on the first floor.

Not like I wanted to, anyway.

[Congratulations. You have ascended to the second floor.]

I lost my consciousness for a while.

*

It was my first time.

Closing my eyes in the dungeon and waking up still here, that is.

It didn't feel as unpleasant or claustrophobic, seeing as I had ascended to the second floor.

[Welcome to the second floor. Survive.]

I received the final message from the dungeon.

It described the ambiance of this place perfectly.

Survive.

Of course, I had an advantage, thanks to the Mobius Superstring.

"Sssssss."

I got a completely new body.

I had expected as much after seeing the beings from the 130th floor.

If the body and status changed on every floor, it was safe to say that the environment would also change.

"SSsssss."

If you could compare the creatures of the first floor to a worm, this new body was similar to a snake.

I had a brain, a digestive tract, eyes, and a translucent and elastic body.

-Come on, that bastard was the one who tied me up like this.

-Oh, shut up. You're lower in rank. You should untangle yourself.

-How unfair. I'm only two places lower. I wish there was a way to increase my rank quickly.

-Tell me about it. All we can do is wait to grow.

I assumed that I had woken up near the Rich Pit, but I was wrong.

I looked around to see that all creatures were talking to one another.

"Ssssss."

It seemed that every creature on the second floor could use pheromones.

-What I would give to be able to eat diluted waste!                                                   

-It would be so convenient.

-I wonder how one gets the ability to dilute waste.                                                       

-Give up. Low-ranked creatures like us could never do that.

The conversations of the lowest-ranked monsters were always similar.

And repetitive.

However, the fact that everyone here could talk gave the entire floor a different feeling to the first floor.

It was much more lively.

The act of speaking made the creatures appear smarter than they were.

[Time left to survive: 2mins 33s]                                                                   

"SSSsss!"

I was blown away by how much survival time I had.

Uz would have been equally shocked.

Not only was my body much sturdier and more  powerful on this floor, but it also had thrice the survival time as well.

Not knowing all this, Uz had spent all of his life rejecting to ascend for a measly 58 seconds.

[Lv.1 / Power: 0.001]

As I had expected, all of my stats had been reset.

I didn't need to test it out to know that the weakest creature on the second floor could easily consume the number one from the first floor, even if it didn't have a poison stinger.

"SSssss."

In other words, the stats were proportional to the floor.

Even in this state, I would be able to easily ascend a thousand levels on the first floor.

My current body was that much more superior.

I was about eight centimetres long.

Of course, I would go on to grow exponentially.

[Consume 1L of Waste in 2 Hours. Reward: Level Up.]

The Mobius Superstring gave me a new mission to tell me to get a move on.

I couldn't be lazing about just because my survival time had increased.

[Time left to survive: 1min 3s]

It did feel a little strange.

My nights were always spent consuming food every second because of how afraid I was of dying.

But now, even though it had already been two minutes since I last ate, my body wasn't shriveling up.

I could move and crawl around more comfortably than when I was in my awakened state on the first floor.

-Look where you're going. I'll bite you if you get in the way.

-Sorry.

Everywhere I went somebody would snipe at me.

It was definitely different.

[Activate Power 1 - Learning Rate 1000%.]

"SssssS."

I wriggled my tiny body around and began to feed again.

While I would have never been able to do it before, I knew I would be able to eat 1 liter of food within two hours.

-How long do I have to eat this filth!?

-Shut up! We don't have the right to complain.

-We don't even have the ability to dilute this waste.

-I really don't want to eat this. I wish we had more than three minutes!

-Damn it! I don't want to eat this crap anymore.

It wasn't all that great that everyone on the floor could talk.

In a crude environment when everything was repetitive, there was only so much to talk about.

The whining became unbearable.

"Ssssss."                                                                                                     

[Level Up!] [Lv.45 / Power: 0.045]

For creatures who hadn't even experienced the first floor, they sure did whine a lot.

Facing the fear of death every minute, and not being able to speak until one reached the top hundred.

They couldn't fathom how that felt.

-I want to live in the Rich Pit too.                                                                                                

-I want to be able to dilute the filth too.

-Ugh! I have to eat again soon.                                                                             

-Shut up. Me too.

The creatures of the second floor continued to whine. They didn't know how good they had it.

[Level Up!] [Lv.67 / Power: 0.067]