Bang! Bang!

  A thunderous sound echoed through the cavernous 11th floor, as Draco tested the durability of his neon against a 'Hard Armored' adversary.

  This monstrous armadillo-like creature stood at an imposing 1.5 meters tall, its body covered in overpping ptes of hardened armor on its head, back, and tail.

  This denizen of the upper floors was renowned for its exceptional defensive capabilities, making it a daunting challenge for most level 1 adventurers.

  However, the beast also possessed several fatal weaknesses - its poor eyesight and soft underbelly.

  Despite these vulnerabilities, the Hard Armored was no simple foe.

  It could curl into an almost imperable ball, its armored shell shielding its vulnerable belly, and then unleash its crushi and speed, capable of pulverizing bones with its mass and momentum.

  Draco's purpose here went beyond merely testing his neon.

  He sought to gather valuable intelligen the monsters of the 11th and 12th floors, crucial information that would aid his familia members in f strategies when they began to farm these regions.

  While he had initially beeant to waste his time on these upper levels, he had decided that the opportunity was too valuable to pass up, especially as it y directly on his path to the 13th floor and beyond.

  After an hour of intense bat and rigorous testing, Draco soon found himself standing at the threshold of the 13th floor, also known as the first line of the famed 'Cave Labyrinth'.

  This marked a signifit transition, as the enviro and challenges presented a stark trast to the retively straightforward upper floors.

  A faint hint of frustration crossed his features as he realized that his search for an infant dragon had been in vain oh floor.

  However, he quickly dismissed the thought, unwilling to squander any more time or energy on such a frivolous pursuit.

  The 13th to 17th floors, collectively known as the 'Cave Labyrinth,' were known for their plex and treacherous nature.

  The moment Draco stepped onto the 13th floor, the ndscape transformed dramatically.

  The o and circur maze gave way to a byrinthiwork of iwining upper and lower tunnels, all carved into solid bedrock - a tightly solidated, hard-as-stoerial.

  The lighting grew dimmer, the air grew moist, and the presence of random vertical holes and unstable ground leading deeper into the deeper floors became increasingly on.

  Monsters spaw a much faster rate, making even solo exploration a harrowing endeavor for all but the most experienced level 2 and above adventurers.

  While the individual strength of the monsters oh and 14th floors did not differ signifitly from those of the upper levels, their sheer volume and the deadliness of their natural ons more than pensated for any ck of raw power.

  Draco, however, was unfazed by the prospect of fag these obstacles, as he was strong enough to ha.

  He po do some light warm ups to sharpen his instincts while als for valuable experience, or 'excelia,' oh and 14th floors before delving deeper into the 15th floor and beyond, where the true mohat could aid in his level-up aspirations awaited.

  It was oh to 17th floors, that Draco's true test would begin.

  Here, individually categorized level 2 monsters emerged, eae a hard adversary capable of posing a signifit threat even to seasoned level 2 adventurers.

  Draco, however, was undaunted, for he had a trump card up his sleeve – the "Rageful Assion" skill.

  This potent ability, while fraught with risks, recisely what Draeeded to front the challehat y ahead.

  Draew he had to master it, for he was well aware that there would e a time when he would have no choice but to utilize it.

  In the past, Draco had attempted to master the power of this skill, with a some success in freely trolling the stage one and two transformations.

  But, with the addition of Bahamut's falna which made him stronger.

  This had somehow slightly altered its nature, making it both stronger and more uable.

  This left Dracertain about the extent of his experien wielding this enhanced version of the skill.

  …………………………………………………………………

  After about 2-3 hours of farming monsters oh and 14th floors, Draco suddenly began feeling spasms of pain all around his body.

  "Aaaaaah!" Draco screamed, clutg his chest in pain as he struggled to breathe.

  Huff! Huff!

  With bored breaths, he tried killing the few monsters around him, but he soon came to the realization that with eae he killed, the pain intensified.

  Somehow, he mao clear all the monsters around him, and the pain began reg.

  After a few mihe pain was pletely gone, but Draco was left feeling a weird sense of fullness.

  It was strange because his belly wasn't filled with food - it was something hard for him to describe in words.

  "What is happening to me?" Drauttered in , but there was no one around to answer his question.

  He pted returning to the surface to ask Bahamut, but soon a theory formed in his mind.

  "Is my vessel perhaps full," Draco questioned, as this made a lot of sense.

  Thinking back, he remembered that whenever he updated his status sheet, Bahamut always asked if he was feeling any pain.

  The pain he was feeling was a warning from his body, telling him that he had hit a limit.

  ‘Does this mean that I now only he high-quality excelia to break the limit and level up, or do I not need high-quality excelia?’ Draco pondered seriously.

  It was a difficult dilemma that he now faced.

  The pain from abs any more excelia was too mud too distrag during bat.

  This could potentially cost him his life if he remaiubborn and farmed anymore. But for some reason, Draco found himself elevated.

  ‘This could also potentially mean that if I overe the pain and absorb more excelia, then I could potentially go past my limit,’ he pondered.

  ‘No, don’t do anything stupid Draco. You are the captain of a familia’ Draediately scolded himself.

  “But I ’t just leave after making it down here for nothing, perhaps it’s time go test that skill” he muttered.

  With his deade, Draco picked up all the magic stones from the sin monsters and began his dest into the 15th floor.

  Upoering the 15th floor, Draco didn't waste any time activating his 'Rageful Assion' skill.

  The trigger for the skill was simply thinking of a memory that would enrage him.

  The reason the skill was difficult to trol was that ohe fme e was lit, any additional ive emotions were basically more fuel for the fire.

  The scary part was that it was very easy to add fuel bit difficult to put it out, and when the embers of his rage bur a certain iy, his body underwent a sed transformation, then a third and beyond.

  He hadn't ever gotten past the 3rd transformation, but it was a transformation, if possible, he never wao experience again.

  The boost from the first transformation was enough and very much trolble.

  He had to surrender 30% of his reason for a 50% boost to all stats for an hour, which was more than enough for him to survive oh floor and beyond.

  As soon as the skill was activated, the first stage transformation immediately began.

  Draco's body began to morph and ge, his elveures slowly giving way to a more draic appearanbsp;

  His skiough and scaly, with a deep, dark hue that shimmered in the dim light of the dungeon.

  His fingers and toes elohe nails sharpening into razor-sharp cws and talons, his face elongated forward and sharp rows of teeth grew, being fangs capable of tearing through flesh with ease.

  The transformation tinued, his body growing in size and mass, the muscles ripplih his scales as he felt a surge of power c through him.

  His silver hair parted, and his magnifit horns became thicker, more pronounced and elongated.

  His back arced as his spine elongated further, making his tail longer, firm and whip like.

  As the transformation reached its climax, Draco felt a surge of energy c through his veins.

  His senses were heightened, his reflexes were sharper, his mind capacity expanded and he could feel the power thrumming within him.

  Eveer, though surprising, the weird feeling of fullhat he had been experieng earlier disappeared.

  Flexing his cwed hands, Draco couldn’t help but let out a mighty roar that echoed through the floor, the sound of his voice a mixture of his inal void draies.

  He was ready to go on a rampage, his body and mind united in a single, unstoppable force.