Inside a passage that spanned more than five meters, El strode leisurely, as if unaffected by the surroundings.
The dimly lit maze signaled the lack of illumination, though one could still see without the aid of torches.
A special mineral called Green Glowstone was scattered along the walls, emitting a faint green glow that was just enough to illuminate the path without losing its gloomy feel.
However, for El, the limited light was not a problem.
With Rinnegan, Keen Smell, and Spiritual Perception, plus a physique far beyond that of an ordinary human, El could easily see, feel, and detect her surroundings perfectly.
As the minutes passed, the narrow hallways began to widen, while the ceiling above towered higher, reaching seven to eight meters.
Stepping down the hallway, El was greeted by a terrifying sight, red eyes glowing in the darkness, as if peering out from behind shadows.
Their gaze was sharp, full of bloodthirsty instincts, watching his every move from the dimly lit hallway.
Ratman.
These red-eyed creatures are named after their forms, large, muscular rats that stand on two legs.
Their entire body is covered in coarse fur, except for the chest which is more exposed.
Their long tails are still not fully covered in fur, giving a strange and disgusting impression to those who see them.
From the posture and body structure of the creatures, El could immediately conclude that these eight Ratman belonged to the category of speed-type monsters, creatures that relied on agility in battle.
"Uwaah... disgusting. Even the monsters in the Reincarnation Tower aren't like them which is really unaesthetic," El muttered, while the six Tomoe on his Rinnegan rotated slowly.
The look in those mystical eyes made the Ratmen hesitate. Their instincts screamed not to come any closer, the pressure emanating from the Rinnegan creating an overwhelming sense of fear, as if dealing with a God.
"Why are they silent?" murmured El with some wonder. "I've already suppressed my Dou Qi. Is it because of Rinnegan? Come to think of it, in the forest I rarely get attacked by monsters... is this the cause?"
Realizing something, El sighed softly and deactivated the Rinnegan. His gaze returned to calm, like the surface of water without ripples.
'Creatures that rely solely on instinct... usually fear these eyes,' she thought.
'That's only natural. My Rinnegan now contains the essence of Samsara, as my body is filled with Dou Qi that permeates the existential level.'
Not wanting to cause premature fear, El decided to act tactically.
El pulled out a strand of his hair, channeling a combination of Dou Qi, Spiritual Strength, and Heavenly Fire, in a freezing form, piercing to the core.
Then, with a single jerk, the hair shot out like a projectile, transforming into a reddish-purple energy sword with a blade clad in Ash Flame.
Zzt!
A strand pierced through Ratman's pseudo-bodies hidden in various corners of the room with absolute precision, one by one very quickly freezing them instantly.
A moment later, the temperature changed drastically, the ice that froze their bodies turned into flames that burned them to nothing.
El utilized the cold attribute of the Ash Flame to form an attack, then instantly turned it back into extreme heat when it hit the target.
Within seconds, the bodies of the Ratmen disintegrated, leaving behind a dimly glowing Mana Core, rolling on the floor of the dimly lit hallway.
"They're too weak," El said casually, without a hint of interest.
As the words came out, the reddish-purple sword flew back and hovered near El, ready to launch at any moment.
Without moving his body, El let the Spritual Strength spread around him. In an instant, the space around him subtly shook.
The scattered Mana Cores began to float on their own, as if pulled by an invisible force.
With one intention in mind, all those Mana Cores slid towards him, spinning in the air before being seamlessly absorbed into the Sky Pearl Poison.
Meanwhile, one remaining Mana Core remained in the air, subtly vibrating in front of his palm.
El stared at it, then slowly channeled Divine Perception, letting his eyes glow purple as Dou Qi glowed like stars in the night sky.
This technique is one of the wills left behind by Yuri, which has been adjusted to be compatible with El's body.
The method of use is simple, flowing a small amount of Spiritual Strength and Dou Qi into both eyeballs.
The effect allows El to increase his sense of perception to the point of being able to see various types of special energy in an object, as well as observe its flow path with perfect precision.
After realizing that Rinnegan could potentially cause trouble due to the intimidating aura he emitted, El chose to use Divine Perception instead for the moment.
"The magic energy in this Mana Core is too low, much weaker than the Magic Core of the Magic Beast. It doesn't seem worth keeping too much," El said with a sigh.
Just as he stepped out to continue exploring the Dungeon, suddenly one by one Ratman began to appear. There were more and more of them, until finally it became a large horde.
Some of them appeared from behind the dimly lit corners of the hallway, while others suddenly appeared through the glowing red magic circles on the floor.
El guessed that it was some kind of summoning or teleportation magic.
Suddenly, the swarm of Ratman charged at an impressive speed. They leapt at El, revealing the sharp fangs and claws growing on both arms.
Without hesitation, with a single thought, the reddish-purple energy sword shot out like a high-speed projectile, piercing the Ratmen's bodies one by one with deadly precision.
Within seconds, their bodies froze, ice crystals radiating from the wound points and encasing them completely. But that was not the end.
White flames ignited from within, burning the frozen bodies into silent oblivion.
There was no remnant, even the Mana Core hidden inside their bodies was also destroyed, vaporized like dust swallowed by nothingness.
After thinking for a while, El decided not to store the Mana Core in large quantities. These monsters were too weak, and the energy contained within them was not valuable enough.
Instead of bothering to collect them, El chose to destroy the Mana Cores at once along with the bodies of the monsters, making sure they were completely wiped out.
After slaughtering the Ratman, El continued on his way, exploring the Upper Level of the Orcus Labyrinth on the first floor.
Along the hallway, he encountered several other Ratman groups and killed them without any difficulty.
El continued to move forward, easily passing each floor without the slightest wound or sign of fatigue on his body.
The battle so far was so one-sided, none of the monsters were able to put up a fight, let alone counter his attacks.
As he continued his exploration, El began to design a picture of each floor of the Maze, which stretched for kilometers in all directions.
The complexity of the maze's structure made exploration a huge challenge, with each floor having seemingly endless winding paths.
For a team of dozens of adventurers, it can take anywhere from 15 days to a month just to map one new floor.
To date, exploration has reached Floor 47, which is the deepest floor mapped so far.
With a map at hand, the danger of getting lost or being hit by a sudden deadly trap is minimized.
However, El doesn't need any maps.
With his keen senses, especially his sense of smell, he could easily find the stairs leading to the next floor just by tracking the faint scent scattered in the air.
His performance of striding without hesitation was completely beyond reason.
Even the faint scent of ill will emanating from inanimate objects, such as traps, could be easily identified by El.
It was all because El's Enchanted Smell Ability had developed greatly.
Thanks to that, in no time at all, he managed to reach the Upper Level of Oscar's Labyrinth, Floor 20.
The deepest room on Floor 20 resembled a limestone cave, but was formed entirely of ice.
Some parts of the ice walls protruded, while others had melted, creating an intricate topography. A short distance away, the stairs to the next floor were waiting.
Because of the protrusions of ice sticking out of the walls, El was forced to walk down a narrow passage.
However, his gaze remained fixed on the figure trying to hide among the ice boulders.
"Come out, or do you want to stay hidden?" His voice sounded cold, echoing in the silence of the room.