Level-2.

It wasn't just a number. It was a fundamental shift, like her consciousness had been running on an outdated operating system that had just received a massive, silent update.

The world seemed sharper, the flow of mana more visible, and the creative part of her mind, usually a well, now felt like a rushing river.

Even though a while had passed since her glorious level-up, she was still not used to the new her.

'Rose, what just happened? This feels… different from what I expected. It's more than just a stat boost, right?'

Aria wanted answers, and the one who was going to have the best explanations had been silent for a while now.

Rosaviel's voice, once again, was a calm, clear stream in her mind.

[ "The leveling mechanism is not uniform across classes." ]

She started with a line Aria had read in the Black guide a while ago.

[ "A warrior's level may manifest as increased physical strength or vitality. A mage may expand their mana pool or gain a new magic skill. Your class, Dungeon Architect, is integrated." ]

To the dumb fool from a different world, this assistance skill was truly better than any overpowered SSS-rank she could have asked for.

[ "Your growth is not in a single facet, but in the core attributes that define your profession: Intellect, Domain, Stability, and most critically, Creativity. One level for you represents a holistic refinement that would take multiple levels for a more specialized class to achieve." ]

'So I get a bigger boost, but it's harder to come by?' Aria mused, watching Borin's back as he led them down a new, wider tunnel.

She knew he was a much higher level than her current self. And, she also knew each level was more significant than the other.

A level-15 alchemist may not be as strong as a level-30 swordmaster, but the swordmaster will never be able to produce potions like an alchemist, and an alchemist will never have sword skills like a devotee of weapons.

[ "Precisely. Mundane acts like slaying creatures grant minimal returns to someone who is meant to architect dungeons." ]

[ "Your experience is earned through the practice of architecture itself: shaping the dungeon, creating stable structures, understanding its fundamental laws, and overcoming its challenges through design, not just brute force." ]

[ "The five points of experience you earned came from the strategic application and reclamation of your creations during the battle, not the battle itself." ]

The implications were staggering yet obvious. She was playing a completely different game from everyone else.

While they grinded monsters, she needed to… architect.

'Haaaaa. It's not going to be easy.'

Curiosity itching at her, she waited until Kaela's attention was forward, then subtly drove her fist into the dungeon wall beside her, punching the hard stone walls with everything she had.

-Thump!

She was expecting cracks on the walls and was going to shift the blame to Cass, but...

-Creeek!

A sharp, familiar pain shot through her knuckles.

"Fuck...!"

The dark, veined stone didn't even chip. The "increase in physical strength" she had been feeling was relative; she was still a far cry from being able to punch through solid rock.

'That's not what I wanted...!'

She could feel the potential to unmake the wall with her skills, like with the power she'd used during the association exam, but that was a sledgehammer, not a scalpel, and definitely not something to try with an audience.

"Huh."

She caught Kaela's sharp glance from the corner of her eye.

The archer she thought wasn't paying attention to her had seen the foolish, abortive punch, as well as the attempted self-harm.

'Don't look at me...!'

Aria offered a weak, embarrassed smile and shook her stinging hand. She knew she shouldn't have done this... not with people watching.

Kaela's lips twitched in what might have been amusement before she returned to scanning the tunnels, but the message was clear: I'm watching you, rookie.

Chastened, Aria turned her focus inward. She didn't need to punch walls. She needed to understand her real tools.

As they walked, she focused on a [Spike Trap]. Not to create it, but to feel the idea of it.

Before, it was a rigid blueprint. Now, however, she could feel variables.

She could intuitively sense how to adjust the density of the wood, the sharpness of the points, even the trigger mechanism. It was no longer a single spell; it was a formula she could now tweak.

'Let's try something.'

When they encountered a small nest of crystalline scorpions, she used {Material Appraisal} on them.

The data flooded her mind not as a jumble of text, but as an organized, instantly comprehensible report.

The scorpions' weak points, the mana saturation of their carapaces... it was all clear.

When she used {Material Collection} after Kaela and Borin made quick work of them, the process was seamless, almost effortless.

The materials neatly gathered where the corpses used to be, without the slight mental strain she'd felt before. Her skills were not just stronger; they were more obedient to her will now.

"Everyone."

During a brief rest in a secure alcove, the conversation finally turned to their goal.

"So, the plan is to clear this section of the first floor," Aria stated, more to confirm her understanding than anything.

"Aye," Borin grunted, taking a swig from his waterskin. "But 'clearing' a floor in a tower dungeon has a specific meaning."

Finn piped up, eager to explain to the rookies he was getting fond of. "See, when you enter, the dungeon sort of… routes you to a specific sector.

Each sector has a 'Boss', a powerful guardian, that blocks the path to the next floor.

Beat the boss, and you unlock a semi-permanent, stable route upward."

"The bosses respawn, of course," Kaela added, her voice low yet serious. "Usually after a few days. But if you're lucky, you enter a sector where another party has recently slain the boss. Then it's just a straight shot through the mobs."

Borin stood as he heard his companions, his armor creaking with the movement. "But we're not lucky today. I've run this floor for twenty years. The way the mana feels… the boss is alive. And we're getting close."

He looked at each of them, his gaze lingering on Aria and Cass. "The mobs were a warm-up."

Once you enter the dungeon, the goal is to go as far as you can since you do not start where you left off.

"The big one is the real test. The Sector Boss of the first floor." He hefted his shield. "We find it, we kill it, and we open the path to the second floor."

People don't go to higher floors in a single run. It is those who 'live' inside the dungeons who make it to the higher floors in floored dungeons like this one.

"Wow..."

Aria felt a thrill that was entirely her own.

This would not be just another fight.

This would be archiving her first milestone as an adventurer.

And for a Dungeon Architect, defeating a dungeon's appointed guardian felt less like a conquest and more like… passing a final exam set by her predecessor.

"Let's do it."

She met Borin's gaze and gave a single, confident nod.

"Let's kill that thing and survive this floor... together."

"Yes!"

She was ready... and so was the rest of her party.

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