Is It Wrong to Abusing Cartoon Tropes in Dungeon?

Apollo left. After delivering a confession so cringe-inducing that it gave Altair goosebumps, he finally departed.

To put it simply, Apollo's purpose in coming was to confess his love to Altair, to declare that he would always love him, and to promise that though he was down and out at the moment, he would rebuild his strength and return to "marry" Altair someday.

If Altair were a beautiful maiden, this scene might have been touching. Unfortunately, Altair was a grown man.

Thus, Altair could only respond to Apollo's antics with a resounding nmd!

However, Apollo's confession, while exasperating, did bring an unexpected surprise to Altair.

A new achievement popped up: [Achievement: A God's Gaze]

Back when Hestia accepted his confession and made him part of her familia, Altair had earned an achievement and gained the skill [Bear Power]. Now, Apollo's confession brought him another skill.

[G's Strength

You have gained the attention of the God of the Sun, granting you the God of the Sun's power. That's right—starting now, you can shoot atomic breath from your mouth!]

What? Excuse me!?

Reading the skill description left Altair completely dumbfounded.

Hestia's divine power allowed him to breathe fire, but Apollo's divine power? It gave him the ability to emit atomic breath? These two powers were on completely different levels! The disparity in the skills was ridiculous.

In light of this, Altair began to question his initial understanding of [Bear Power].

The skill was supposedly granted by Hestia's blessing, enabling him to breathe fire. While the name naturally made Altair think of some charred rice dish, now that he considered it, the God of the Sun's Gaze skill didn't seem out of place. After all, Hestia was the Goddess of the Hearth, and her domain did include fire.

As for the God of the Sun's Gaze allowing him to emit atomic breath—it kind of made sense too. The sun, after all, is essentially a massive nuclear fusion reactor in space. So being able to shoot atomic breath wasn't that far-fetched.

After receiving this skill, Altair felt a sudden surge of overwhelming power brewing within his body. All he had to do was concentrate, and he could gather this energy into his chest and unleash it in one devastating blast. This newfound power made his body feel unusually warm, almost feverish.

If someone were to measure his temperature now, they'd notice that Altair's body temperature had risen significantly above normal. His previously stable body temperature had clearly increased.

While Altair found Apollo irritating, he couldn't deny that the skill Apollo had bestowed upon him was genuinely amazing. However, the changes this skill caused in Altair's body made him feel a bit strange.

"I can't shake the feeling that I'm slowly losing my humanity. This skill... it's definitely not something a normal person would have."

In addition to the skill, another window appeared before Altair.

[Special Achievement: Mythical Descent

You have gained the gaze of multiple gods. As a favored child of the gods, you are now qualified to access the mythical realm.]

[Special Dungeon Unlocked: Mythical Descent]

You may now freely enter and exit the Mythical Descent special dungeon. This dungeon does not offer completion rewards but contains unique treasures to be discovered within.

Warning: This dungeon is extremely difficult. Please ensure your level and abilities are sufficiently high before entering.]

The Mythical Descent dungeon—it wasn't a world-tier breakthrough dungeon and could be freely entered and exited?

Altair carefully read the description in the window and noticed a lot of fine print. For instance, this dungeon allowed both solo and party entry, meaning he could invite others to join him. Unfortunately, Altair didn't have anyone to call on at the moment.

The freedom to enter and exit referred to being able to enter repeatedly and leave at any time. However, each entry would pick up from where the last session left off.

In other words, if there was a storyline or event in the dungeon and it was completed, that storyline wouldn't reset for farming purposes.

Even so, this setup was far more convenient than the world-tier breakthrough missions. If the dungeon rewards were worthwhile, there was plenty of potential for opportunity!

Although the warning highlighted the extreme difficulty, Altair figured he could always retreat if things got too tough.

"Let's celebrate!"

Excited by his new gains, Altair shared the news of his newly acquired skill with Hestia and Saeko.

While Hestia was annoyed at Apollo's attention being directed at Altair, she was still delighted that Altair had grown stronger. As long as Altair loved her, Hestia could let the rest slide.

And so, the Hestia Familia celebrated once again—a common occurrence for the cheerful group, who seemed to find a reason to celebrate almost daily.

After the celebratory feast, Hestia and Saeko headed off to the bathhouse together, leaving Altair some time to himself. Taking advantage of this, he decided to check out the Mythical Descent dungeon and see what it was all about.

Given the warning about the extreme difficulty, Altair made sure to bring every weapon and resource he could carry. Fully equipped and prepared for anything, he activated the dungeon entry button.

The world shifted to shades of black and white. A glowing azure portal appeared before him, and Altair stepped through, entering the mysterious dungeon world.

A flash of white light blinded him momentarily. He shut his eyes, only opening them again once he felt his feet firmly on the ground.

When Altair opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a gloomy, oppressive sky. Thick black clouds hung low, heavy with the promise of a violent storm.

Taking a deep breath, he was hit with the sharp, metallic stench of blood. Looking down, he found himself standing in the middle of a massive plaza, surrounded by bodies.

The corpses were everywhere—elderly people, young adults, women, children. They all shared the same horrific fate: their throats had been slit.

Altair turned his head and noticed a massive tree behind him. The trunk was at least three meters wide, and it was hard to tell how long the ancient tree had been standing there. Despite its size, the tree was in a withered state, entirely barren of leaves. It looked lifeless, as though it had been dead for years.

Perched atop the tallest branch of the tree was an eagle. It gazed down at Altair with piercing eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.

The way it stared at him—Altair could feel something unnatural. It was as if there was a person behind those eagle eyes, watching him intently.

Cautiously, Altair placed his hand on the hilt of the massive sword strapped to his back, ready for combat at a moment's notice.

The moment his hand touched the sword's hilt, the eagle atop the tree opened its beak and spoke:

"Who... are you?"

___

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