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"Boom——!"
The ground shattered, dust surged, fierce winds howled, and shattered rocks scattered like bullets. With just a single palm strike, a massive hand-shaped crater, a foot deep, was left on the rocky floor.
If someone were to take that hit head-on, they wouldn't just die on the spot, survival would still be highly unlikely.
Sword Step!
At the very moment the giant's hand struck down, Ryoji had already activated his ultimate Divine Speed special ability, setting his evasion speed to be absolutely faster than the opponent's striking speed.
Before the pitch-black giant hand could land, Ryoji had already zipped out from his original position with a sharp sound, as fast as lightning, dazzling the eyes, so fast one couldn't even track his figure.
"Thud!"
He landed ungracefully, tumbling twice on the ground before finally dissipating the excessive momentum that had built up in his body.
But it was fine.
"My legs are okay!"
His physical strength had increased twofold to threefold compared to before; not just that, his leg power had massively improved thanks to breaking past his Agility limit, meeting the minimum requirement to activate Sword Step.
In that case, he could fight!
Ryoji resolutely lifted his head and looked up at the giant.
Its light gray-brown skin was as rough as rock. Though it had short legs, its upper body was heavily muscled and made up about 60% of its height. Its body looked as solid as steel, and a few long strands of black hair hung from its perpetually hunched back.
The giant stood completely naked, about seven meters tall, and its roar sounded like a mournful cry. The sonic waves rushed forward, releasing a terrifying sense of oppression within the wide stone chamber.
"Goliath? What are the odds!"
The two-meter-high passage was perfectly safe, there was no way the giant could enter it. Line hid there, staring in disbelief at the enormous Floor Boss.
Goliath, this was the very creature born on the 17th Floor, the Dungeon's first true Monster Rex, without question a solid Level 4, not something second- or third-rate Adventurers could ever defeat!
"Run!"
Lefiya was so shocked she momentarily lost her voice. It wasn't until the wind mixed with dust slammed into her face that she snapped out of it and shouted toward the battlefield.
In their eyes, Ryoji had just barely escaped the crushing blow of Goliath's palm, both girls had their hearts in their throats.
But moments later, they realized that the boy in the arena had absolutely no intention of running. Instead, he stood up and faced the overwhelming giant head-on.
What was he thinking?
Was he actually planning to fight the Floor Boss?
Had he gone mad?
"Boom!"
The gray-brown giant let out a roar, then hunched over and stomped both feet hard into the ground.
As the earth cracked again, Goliath, with a face full of savagery, kicked up a wild gust of wind and charged straight toward Ryoji.
So fast!
Like a speeding locomotive, the giant's momentum was terrifying enough to make one's heart tremble just from facing it.
But still... it couldn't compare to Tiona.
"Sword Step!"
The moment the giant moved, Ryoji positioned his katana at his side and once again activated Sword Step.
"Clang——!"
In that instant, a small black blur shot out at a speed no less than the Divine Speed of the giant itself.
Using his light and nimble form, he narrowly dodged the giant's sweeping palm and charged in with a precise slash, striking vertically at Goliath's side ankle.
In a flash, sparks flew like welding sparks.
The clash lasted but an instant, the two figures passing by each other.
"So hard!"
Ryoji's face turned pale.
Looking closely, his arms were trembling uncontrollably, and his grip on the blade was nearly at the point of paralysis.
Directly ahead of him, on Goliath's right ankle, a deep slash had appeared, from which a large amount of blood gushed out. That strike hadn't just broken through the skin, it had cut deep enough to damage the blood vessels beneath.
With Ryoji's current power, even slashing through a Minotaur's muscle felt like cutting into rubber. It was basically impossible to break through Goliath's dermal defense. Only his absolute Divine Speed had drastically increased his velocity, and the kinetic energy produced from that speed was not to be underestimated.
"Oh ohoh ohoh ohhh!!!" Goliath let out an enraged roar. His crimson eyes bulged out from their sockets, staring wide as dinner plates, his face burning with fury and frustration.
He could clearly sense that this insect's strength wasn't anything special, yet it kept dodging him over and over again, and even managed to injure him. That alone made what little sanity he had boil over completely.
"Boom!"
Goliath stomped the ground again and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. Spreading his arms wide, he lunged with both hands in an attempt to grab Ryoji in a crushing embrace.
He had no ranged Skills, Ryoji had confirmed that much.
"And barely any combat technique, either!"
Shortly after, he evaluated Goliath's motion patterns.
This monster only relied on raw stats to act recklessly. Compared to normal monsters, there wasn't much difference.
He could take him down!
"Shuā!"
Ryoji activated Sword Step again. But instead of dashing through the gap between Goliath's hands, he charged toward the giant's flank.
It was a risky choice.
The chamber was only about twenty meters wide. With Goliath's massive frame, even if Ryoji dashed toward the wall, the giant would only need to turn and take two or three steps to catch up.
And that's exactly what happened.
Ryoji barely slipped out from between Goliath's lunging arms, but he quickly crashed into the rock wall. His back slammed against it with a thud, leaving his chest tight from the impact.
Fortunately, his Endurance stat had improved significantly, and he was also wearing armor. Otherwise, that collision would've left him seriously injured.
But now, Goliath had turned around as well, facing the wall. His eyes flashed with ferocity as he raised a fist and smashed it straight toward Ryoji!
The gust of wind from the strike blew directly into his face, making it nearly impossible to keep his eyes open.
But he didn't need to open them.
Guided purely by instinct, he darted to the other side of the chamber. With Sword Step's absolute evasion speed, Goliath had no hope of catching up.
"Pa!"
Just after dashing out, Ryoji slammed his foot down, braking with all his might and forcing himself to a stop. He instantly spun around, katana raised at his side.
"Boom!"
A moment later, his figure blasted off like a bolt of lightning.
"Clang——shhhh!"
This time, Ryoji poured out the remaining 40% of his internal magic power in one go, unleashing Divine Speed that approached the limit of Lightning Flint, propelling his entire body like an electric arrow.
The sound of metal striking metal rang out for just a split second.
Then came the sound of flesh being torn.
"Uuugh oh ohoh oh!!!"
Goliath let out a scream that sounded almost like a wail, his voice laced with sheer shock and pain.
Both of his heels had been slashed open. His legs could no longer support his massive body. The rock-like titan collapsed out of control, falling to his knees with both arms barely holding himself up.
Meanwhile,
Ryoji, with a terrifying imposing presence, bounced across the ground several times before finally crashing into the chamber entrance wall, where he barely managed to stop.
"Khah… hah…"
He panted heavily, eyes immediately scanning Goliath's condition. Seeing the beast truly down for the count, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he checked his own condition.
Thankfully, just both wrists and his right foot were fractured.
He didn't feel any signs of internal organ damage or torn muscles, which made Ryoji genuinely overjoyed.
(End of Chapter)