###Chapter 7: Into The Depths 

By the time Arie woke up, the morning sun was already streaming through his small window. 

He stretched and rubbed his eyes, feeling well-rested after yesterday's adventure in the dungeon. The thought of the academy came to his mind—he needed enough money to pay for his tuition if he wanted to enroll. 

"Maybe doing some quests will help me earn enough," he thought as he swung his feet off the bed and got ready for the day.

But as soon as he sat up, his stomach growled loudly. Arie realized he hadn't eaten since he first entered Astraven. 

He searched his pockets, but of course, they were empty. With no coins to his name, he knew he had no choice but to sell the spider's skin he had collected as a trophy from his last dungeon fight.

With the spider skin carefully tucked under his arm, he made his way to the marketplace. The air was filled with the lively sounds of merchants shouting their wares, buyers haggling, and children laughing as they darted through the crowded square. 

After a bit of searching, Arie found a merchant who seemed interested in his unusual find.

The merchant, a burly man with a sharp eye for quality, examined the skin carefully, tracing his fingers over the rough, fire-resistant texture. "I'll give you 2,000 coins for this," he offered. Arie refused, thinking it was too low. "Fine how about 3,000?" the merchant's final offer. 

Arie considered the offer. It was fair, and without much more haggling, he handed over the skin and walked away with a small pouch of coins. 

It felt good to have some money in his pocket, and his first thought was food. While walkinh, he first thing that came to minf was the scent of freshly baked bread and sizzling meat wafted through the air, making his mouth water.

The smell of fresh bread and grilled meat filled the air as he walked through the bustling market square. 

His stomach growled again, even louder this time. Arie chuckled and stopped by a small food stall, buying a meat skewer, some fresh bread, and a small apple. He took his time eating, savoring every bite as he explored the area. 

The city was full of life—merchants shouted their wares, children ran around playing, and adventurers shared stories of their quests.

Once he was full, Arie thought about his next steps. He had planned to buy some armor to better protect himself in the dungeon, but after browsing through a few shops, he found that nothing really caught his eye. 

Most of the armor was either too expensive or didn't seem sturdy enough for his needs. In the end, he settled for some tough, sturdy clothes that would at least provide a little more protection than what he was wearing.

Feeling ready for another adventure, Arie returned to the guild to check out the quest board. He looked over the many options—each quest written on a piece of parchment with different rewards listed below. 

Some quests involved rescuing adventurers who had gotten stuck in the dungeon, while others required taking down specific monsters. One quest caught his attention: retrieving a rare monster drop from a creature called Grimshale.

"Grimshale…" Arie murmured, reading the quest details. The creature was known to dwell on the 18th floor of the dungeon, and only experienced adventurers usually dared to go that deep. 

Arie felt a thrill at the challenge, The 18th floor was deeper than he'd ever gone before, but he wasn't one to shy away from a test of his abilities, and without hesitation, he took the quest and brought it to the guild receptionist.

The guild lady didn't seem surprised to see him choosing such a high-level quest. She raised an eyebrow but simply handed him the quest details and said, "Good luck." After all, he had already defeated a floor boss on his own, so it wasn't shocking to her anymore that he'd take on tougher challenges.

With the quest in hand, Arie made his way back to the dungeon. As he descended, he made quick work of the monsters on the first few floors, barely breaking a sweat. 

The floors below the tenth, however, were more of a challenge. Stronger monsters lurked in the shadows, each one seeming a bit more powerful and tricky than the last. One particularly fierce creature, a wolf-like beast with gleaming fangs and a thick, spiked coat, lunged at him with ferocious speed. 

Arie barely dodged its attack, countering with a well-timed strike that sent the creature sprawling. By the time he reached the 15th floor, he was facing creatures almost as strong as the floor 10 boss he had fought earlier.

Arie's focus remained sharp, his mind set on reaching the 18th floor. Step by step, he worked his way through each encounter, keeping his energy in check. 

Arie made his way deeper into the dungeon, he paused to catch his breath. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, and the oppressive silence of the deeper floors weighed heavily on him. He leaned against the cool stone wall, closing his eyes for a moment to steady his heartbeat.

But just as he was about to push forward, a sudden rustling broke the stillness.

Before he could react, a monster from the darkness—a creature with glowing eyes lunged at him. Arie barely managed to leap aside, the creature's claws grazing his side. His heart pounded in his chest as he quickly rolled to his feet, drawing his weapon.

A mob, a vicious, spiked creature, snarled, ready to attack again. Arie's instincts kicked in, and with a swift slash from his slime, he dispatched the creature, its body crumpling to the ground with a dull thud.

He took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. The encounter had been closer than he'd liked, but he wasn't about to let such surprises slow him down. With the creature dead, Arie continued on, his focus sharpening. The 18th floor awaited, and he wasn't about to turn back.

But then suddenly, as he reached a narrow hallway, he suddenly heard a sound—a scream echoing through the dungeon halls. 

It was a girl's voice, sharp with fear, and it made him stop in his tracks. He looked around, his senses heightened. The scream sounded again, coming from somewhere deeper within the dungeon.

Without a second thought, Arie dashed toward the sound. He moved swiftly but carefully, his footsteps light as he made his way through the winding corridors. 

"Help!... Anyone!... Pleasee!" The screams grew louder, guiding him to a large, open chamber. He finally reached the chamber where the scream had come from, his breath catching as he stepped inside. But as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, and what he saw, made his blood ran cold.