Endurance represents defensive power and vitality. Although Ryoji isn't particularly strong in this stat, he's still reached over 600 points, about the average for an Adventurer leveling up.
Plus, he's wearing armor that Tiona spent hundreds of thousands of Valis on, and with that combination, the burden on his body from using the Divine Speed special ability was minimized to the extreme.
There were plenty of superficial wounds, but not a single injury was life-threatening, not even enough to knock him unconscious.
Only his right foot and both wrists had fractured from the sheer force they had to exert.
However, the new blade he spent tens of thousands of valis on this morning had shattered completely with that last strike, leaving only its broken remains on the ground.
There was no time to mourn the loss of his new weapon. As Goliath let out a pained roar, Ryoji quickly ducked his head and bit open the leg pouch on his left thigh, pulling out all his remaining high-grade recovery potions.
Fractures were considered serious injuries. Even with high-grade recovery potions, it would take several to fully heal them.
Without hesitation, Ryoji poured three full bottles of high-grade recovery potion onto his right wrist.
His eyes burned with determination.
He was just one strike away from taking down Goliath, he couldn't quit now!
Just one hit!
The Mind/Energy Recovery Potion he drank ten seconds ago was also kicking in, rapidly restoring a large portion of his depleted Magic Power.
"ROOOAAARRR——!!!"
Goliath sat up from the ground.
It stared at Ryoji, who was trying to stand at the entrance of the cavern, eyes blazing with fury.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The giant raised both fists high and started slamming them into the wall in front of it, sending tremors across nearly half of the 17th Floor like a localized earthquake.
As if venting its rage in a mindless fury, Goliath's barrage caused countless stones of all sizes to break free and fall from the cavern walls.
"…Don't tell me—" Ryoji's expression turned serious.
BOOM!
Goliath picked up a stone the size of a human head and hurled it toward Ryoji with all its might.
"Not this too!"
Ryoji quickly leapt away with his still-functional left leg, narrowly dodging the stone by a hair's breadth.
Crap.
With only one usable leg, pulling off multiple Sword Steps in a row was nearly impossible. If Goliath kept throwing rocks with both hands, there was no way he could dodge them all.
Should he retreat from the cavern first? Or use a full health potion to heal the fractures, then return for the final strike?
Given Goliath's massive body, it couldn't pass through the cavern's doorway and was confined to a 200-meter range within this chamber.
But Goliath's body was incredibly tough. To deal a fatal blow, Ryoji would have to go all-in with Absolute Divine Speed. Just using a sword shard, even stabbing through its eye, wouldn't reach its brain. That's what he had planned to use the 万能potion for, after the final strike.
"——Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow! Shoot, sniper of the fairies!"
At that moment, a swirl of orange-gold Magic Power surged forth.
A rhythmic chant echoed from the other side of the cavern.
Goliath's rock-throwing halted abruptly, it instinctively sensed danger and, without hesitation, abandoned the tenacious Ryoji, turning instead toward the two girls on the opposite side.
Lefiya stood within the passage, surrounded by a magic circle of countless geometric patterns and magical script glowing orange-gold. A massive surge of Magic Power erupted from within her, turning into a radiant blaze.
Arcs Ray, a short incantation spell focused on speed, perfect for fast-paced combat. And if infused with enough Magic Power, it was still more than enough to threaten Goliath!
"Roar!"
Sensing danger from the chant, Goliath immediately picked up a stone nearby and hurled it toward Lefiya.
"—Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy!"
Without hesitation, Lefiya turned and pressed herself against the wall of the corridor. She utilized the concurrent chanting technique she'd honed over the past ten days under Ryoji's strict guidance, causing the thrown stone to miss her completely.
At the same time, her incantation was nearing its end.
With a sharp, commanding cry from Lefiya—
A blazing crimson arrow, wreathed in fierce flames, descended like an artillery strike. A thick pillar of fire smashed straight into the rock-like giant's forehead, burning away its black hair instantly. The skin on its head blistered with burns, and it let out a blood-curdling screech.
What overwhelming firepower!
Even Goliath was completely suppressed, Ryoji couldn't help but be impressed.
"Now!"
From the other side of the flames, Lefiya shouted loudly.
Go now?
No, judging by Lefiya's tone, she probably meant for him to retreat for now, heal his injuries, and then find a way to break through.
She didn't know how he was capable of such high-speed movement, but as long as he recovered first, it wouldn't be too hard for him to break through Goliath's blockade.
Ryoji had been thinking the same.
But the moment he saw Goliath expose its unguarded back while attacking Lefiya, his plan quietly changed.
"Read the uncut version on 69shu!"
"BZZZT——!"
As shimmering specks of Magic Power lit up in the air, a katana glowing with silvery ripples like water appeared in Ryoji's right hand.
Monsters had a weakness known as the Magic Stone.
It was the core the Dungeon gave them during creation, an energy source, usually buried deep inside their chest, near the heart.
"Time to speak from the heart!"
With a push from his left foot, Ryoji shot forward.
In that instant, he poured all the Magic Power he had just recovered into a single slash.
In that moment, the spiritual weapon Vrring Blade accelerated to far beyond the speed of sound.
"——Lightning Flint!"
Like a streak of aurora piercing through space and time.
Without fear. Without hesitation!
Just as the flame arrow ended its barrage, a black blur broke through layers of sound barriers at an eye-blurring speed. Amid swirling shockwaves, he pierced straight through all resistance in the blink of an eye.
"BOOOOM!!"
Only after the strike had landed did the thunderous explosion echo through the entire chamber.
A ferocious shockwave howled like a tidal wave, blasting Lefiya and the other girl over a hundred meters away, forcing them to stumble back repeatedly, nearly falling off the slope.
At the scene—
Goliath's body froze in place.
A gaping hole was visible at the heart on its back.
Shortly afterward, with a thunderous sound, Goliath's entire body shattered into thick, dark smoke, slowly dissipating into the air.
Thud.
A Magic Stone larger than a human head appeared in midair, only to shatter into countless fragments before it even hit the ground.
At the same time, Ryoji's body fell from midair, hitting the ground with a slap.
"...Ryoji-san?!"
After a brief silence, Lefiya let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"...The hell are you crying for... Hurry up and come heal me already…"
Came Ryoji's weak but unmistakably grumpy voice from where he'd fallen.
(End of Chapter)
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