"Test and Battle (Two-in-One)" After the Fallen Sprite fragment on the fifty-ninth floor was purified by Drake, the source of the monsters,
"Test and Battle (Two-in-One)"
After the Fallen Sprite fragment on the fifty-ninth floor was purified by Drake, the source of the monsters, most of the monsters dissipated.
Drake's primary objective was complete; he'd even received an unexpected reward—the sprite's blessing. Satisfied, Drake began his return journey.
After resting for a night on the fiftieth floor, Drake, fully recovered, returned to the middle levels.
Level eighteen, the adventurer town of Rivira.
Drake didn't linger; it wasn't for lack of interest in sightseeing, but Fal sensed the Fallen Sprite's power again.
However, the traces were too faint for Fal to pinpoint their location.
Drake recalled the plot; besides the Vendetta, there should be two more "hybrid" monsters created from humans.
The Masked Man and the red-haired woman, Revis, along with the Vendetta, were the executors of the plan to cooperate with the Dark Faction and transport the Fallen Sprite fragments to the surface.
Drake hadn't encountered them on the fifty-ninth floor; they were likely active in the middle levels.
It was unclear whether they knew the Fallen Sprite fragment on the fifty-ninth floor had been purified.
Drake searched Rivira but found no trace of them. He wasn't determined to eliminate them immediately; he wasn't concerned about not finding them.
However, Drake noticed something unusual; a long cloth bag with the Loki Familia's emblem was in the shop of Rivira's leader, Bors Elder.
Drake learned from Bors Elder that it was Ais's spoils.
Ais had soloed the lower level Dungeon's lone king, Udaeus, a couple of days ago; she had likely leveled up to Level 6.
He also learned something new. Besides the known materials, Udaeus dropped a material called Udaeus's Black Sword.
It was speculated that if the number of adventurers fighting Udaeus was limited to a certain number, Udaeus would change its fighting style, using a greatsword.
Defeating it then would yield Udaeus's Black Sword material.
The exact number limit was unknown; soloing it, like Ais did, definitely met the criteria.
Drake suddenly remembered the future where the Black Domination Sword would surpass Riveria's Magna Avis, one of the top five staves, priced at 340 million valis, becoming Orario's most expensive weapon.
Magna Avis was obtained by Loki at a ridiculously low price, and the price only included the staff itself, not the embedded magic stones.
The Black Domination Sword's price, however, only included the Goibniu Familia's "labor costs"; even so, it reached 410 million valis.
Its material was Udaeus's Black Sword; Ottar, having heard about Ais's solo victory, soloed Udaeus again, obtaining the material to forge the Black Domination Sword.
Drake's blacksmith's soul stirred; he secretly planned to farm Udaeus before Ottar, testing the strength of the material forged by all the Goibniu Familia's high-ranking smiths.
Coincidentally, Drake's second piece of news from Bors Elder concerned Ottar.
Adventurers reaching Level 18 reported seeing Ottar in the middle levels.
Everyone was puzzled why Orario's strongest adventurer was in the middle levels.
Drake estimated the time and guessed what he was doing.
Because Bell had almost been killed by the Minotaurs, he had lingering trauma. Freya, wanting his heroic "light" to be flawless, sent Ottar to the Dungeon to train a Minotaur for Bell's initial Great Feat.
It was unclear whether Ottar had found the Minotaur, possibly a previous life of the Cow Girl.
Drake was thankful his goddess wasn't as capricious as a certain goddess. Bell was the one suffering; Drake could only offer silent condolences.
But Drake immediately realized he shouldn't have jinxed it; seeing a muscular minotaur carrying a greatsword before him, Drake was confused.
This was Level 15; Drake thought he'd randomly encountered Ottar, but Ottar was blocking his path, clearly not intending a simple passing.
Drake frowned, addressing Ottar. "Freya Familia's King, I don't recall having a relationship that warrants a greeting; you're blocking my way!"
Ottar said, "Hephaestus Familia's Drake, I've been waiting for you."
Drake frowned further; based on Ottar's actions in the original story, he wasn't one to cause trouble.
Besides becoming stronger and fulfilling Freya's tasks, he didn't care about other things.
Was this the troublesome goddess's doing?
Ottar drew his greatsword, saying nothing before disappearing from Drake's sight.
Drake released Dragon Slayer and Evil Dragon, catching the descending blade with his palm.
The blade and Evil Dragon's scales scraped, creating sparks.
"What's the meaning of this?" Drake said coldly.
Ottar's actions were a declaration of war; Drake wasn't going to take it lying down.
"A test," Ottar's voice was flat, as if attacking Drake wasn't something to reflect on.
Drake laughed coldly. "A test? Because you're Orario's only Level 7?"
Drake's armored fingers dug into the greatsword's blade.
The intense heat reddened Evil Dragon's scales; the greatsword melted from Drake's touch.
Ottar retreated, looking at the remaining hilt and a small section of the blade, discarding it. "Oh? Is this your sprite's power? But it's not enough to meet that one's expectations."
This was the first time Ottar had spoken so much; Drake wasn't interested in listening.
Ottar didn't draw his other greatsword; he attacked Drake unarmed. He seemed more confident in his fists than steel.
Drake retracted his inherent magic armor, meeting him unarmed.
Though Ottar's attack angered Drake, he'd wanted to test Orario's war machine.
Ottar's strength was simple; his stats, except for magic, had reached the S-rank limit.
Then there were his skills and magic; his magic, "Hildis Vini," wasn't used in the original story; its effects were unknown.
But his two skills were undeniably powerful.
Beastfolk had the potential to awaken beast transformation skills like Bete's "Moonlight Howl," increasing their strength by a level.
However, beast transformation skills usually had conditions; Bete could only transform in moonlight.
Ottar's [Vana Arganture] was different; it provided immense stat boosts but consumed significant mental and physical energy.
But it didn't matter; Ottar had another skill, [Stortus Ottar], automatically granting the growth abilities [Healing] and [Mana Recovery] during prolonged combat.
These essentially provided automatic health and mana regeneration; [Vana Arganture]'s consumption was insignificant.
[Stortus Ottar] also strengthened Ottar's existing growth abilities during prolonged combat.
Prolonged combat was triggered by sustaining injuries and continuing to fight; [Stortus Ottar]'s final effect was that this condition changed proportionally with his stats.
With Ottar's current stats, even a minor injury would trigger the skill.
As their fists collided, Drake noticed Ottar's skills were also exceptional.
Ottar gained far more experience from fighting adventurers than from fighting monsters in the Dungeon.
The Freya Familia's harsh training was well-known; Ottar had challenged the Zeus and Hera Familias in the previous era.
From initially losing to regular memBors Elder to challenging Level 8 〈Heroes〉 and Level 9 〈Empresses〉, Ottar had grown stronger.
He even achieved Level 7 by defeating 〈Gluttony〉 Chaldon in the Great War.
Drake and Ottar were opposites; one was a martial arts master, the other a battle veteran with unparalleled experience.
This was the first time Drake had encountered someone who could match his martial arts through experience alone.
Drake became even more excited; his initial anger vanished; he wanted to learn from Ottar.
Drake and Ottar simultaneously dodged each other's punches.
A cut appeared on Drake's face, caused by Ottar's punch's wind pressure.
Ottar's hair was singed by Drake's fiery fist; a burn mark appeared on his face.
Drake bent his arm, using his elbow to deflect Ottar's arm, then moved in, punching.
Within a few exchanges, Ottar realized he couldn't gain an advantage in close combat; he wouldn't let Drake get close.
Before Drake's punch landed, Ottar kicked.
Drake's punch hit Ottar's chest, but Ottar also kicked Drake's abdomen.
They separated, both with blood on their lips. Their gazes met; they charged at each other.
Their arms blurred, colliding repeatedly.
Amidst the collisions, a strange sound echoed; Ottar was surprised to see cracks on his fist armor.
Their collision was too intense; even his refined metal armor couldn't withstand it. The armor shattered; fragments flew everywhere.
They dodged the fragments.
Ottar forcefully controlled his body, punching Drake.
"Four Symbols Fist!"
Drake connected with the Dungeon's earth, unleashing Four Symbols Fist's power to the fullest.
Four Symbols Fist's strength lay in connecting with the earth, providing impenetrable defense.
Its power depended on the user's skill and environment.
Drake was on the fifteenth floor; an attack that couldn't destroy the fifteenth floor couldn't break his defense.
Ottar's punch was strong but not that powerful.
White smoke rose where Ottar's punch landed; he felt like he'd struck a mountain, unable to shake it.
Ottar's attack failed, revealing an opening. Drake countered with a punch, striking Ottar's left chest.
This punch used the Cicada's Cry technique, transmitting the shock through the armor and muscles directly into Ottar's heart.
Ottar spat blood but landed a punch on Drake's face. Drake, having used other techniques, had releasedFour Symbols Fist's effect, receiving the full force of Ottar's punch.
They both retreated; Drake wiped the blood from his mouth. "You're tough! Withstanding Cicada's Cry and still having that power!"
Ottar wiped his mouth. "You're not bad either!"
Without further words, they unleashed their full power.
Drake's dragon scale scarf fluttered; the air around him distorted from the heat.
Ottar transformed; his eyes were almost pupil-less; his muscles bulged; his skin looked leathery; his hair seemed to lengthen.
"Dragon Blood Mode," "Vana Arganture"
They both activated their power boosts and charged.
Their fists collided again; the impact was far greater than before. The shockwave destroyed the surrounding stone walls.
They fought fiercely, relentlessly exchanging blows, demolishing the walls, altering the fifteenth floor's structure.
But despite the intensity, they only breathed heavily; their condition was surprisingly good.
In Dragon Blood Mode, Drake's dragon power replenished his stamina and healed his wounds. Ottar's [Stortus Ottar] was active; his condition was no worse than Drake's.
Their fighting spirit burned brighter as the battle intensified.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Drake's flaming fist struck Ottar's chest; Ottar's shirt was incinerated, revealing his muscular torso.
But Ottar didn't retreat; he kicked Drake away. He couldn't pursue; he knelt, waiting for his wounds to heal.
Drake clutched his chest, looking at Ottar.
Their auras rose behind them, forming a roaring dragon and a charging boar.
The dragon and boar faced off, then charged, clashing. Drake and Ottar fought again.
Drake's hand chop cut Ottar's chest, leaving a burn mark. Ottar broke Drake's ribs with a punch.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!"
Drake used Ottar's punch's force to flip, kicking Ottar's chin.
Ottar flew; Drake followed with a Fire Dragon's Wing Strike.
Ottar crashed into rubble, becoming buried.
Drake didn't believe this would defeat Ottar; he remained vigilant.
A hand emerged, pushing aside the rubble; Ottar appeared.
He'd deactivated [Vana Arganture]; he didn't seem to want to continue.
"The test ends here; continuing would be a real death match! That's not Freya-sama's wish. If you don't want to stop, I'll run away."
Drake paused, deactivating Dragon Blood Mode. He found Ottar's personality strange, but he knew Ottar would keep his word.
"Boring! But only this once. If you challenge me again, the fight's end won't be your decision."
Ottar looked at Drake deeply, memorizing him. Silently, he picked up his greatsword and left.
This inexplicable battle ended, but Drake forgot this was Level 15; many adventurers were present; their commotion wouldn't go unnoticed.
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