A Level Two Zara, with a humanoid appearance and red eyes filled with madness, charged at Takeshi. The captain did not even show concern. With a single movement of his spear, he easily cut the creature in half. That dungeon was filled with Zara, especially Ghouls, and Takeshi continued advancing without slowing down. He spun his spear and, with a single movement, cut down another ten monsters of the same level at once.
Enrico watched carefully from a distance, trying to understand Takeshi's movements. He wanted to learn how to handle as many weapons as possible. The bow would remain his main weapon, of course, but he did not intend to depend on only one option.
'If I had a Unique Ability at least somewhat similar to Daigo's, it would be much easier.'
Daigo's Unique Ability was similar to one of the five abilities Kai possessed, although it was considerably more limited. Its name was Weapon Master. It allowed Daigo to learn how to handle any weapon he held much more quickly. This did not mean that he could master a weapon instantly, as he still needed to train, but his learning speed was far greater than that of an ordinary person.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Daigo was one of the best users of magical weapons on the continent. If he managed to create an Ego Weapon, his potential would be even greater.
The only problem was that he had already surpassed the Sixth Circle by focusing mainly on magic, which could make developing an Ego Weapon at that stage somewhat more difficult.
Meanwhile, the five guards were also dealing with the monsters with ease. All of them were Sixth Circle mages and were far above those Zaras.
Enrico then turned his attention to Yumeha.
"Alright, Yumeha. I want you to fight that Zara with me."
He pointed toward a creature that was slightly farther away. Unlike the others, that Ghoul was thinner and seemed to move irregularly.
"I want you to fight it so you can learn how to fight Nartheis. And don't worry, I'll be right behind you. If anything happens, I'll intervene."
Yumeha swallowed nervously as she stared at the deformed body of the Ghoul, which was slowly emerging from the dimness. Its white eyes were wide open and fixed on her.
Enrico remained a few meters behind, leaning against a rock. Rina and Aoi, meanwhile, were already fighting some Zaras farther ahead, focused on finishing the battles quickly.
Yumeha held the staff with both hands, but her fingers were trembling. Her legs seemed rooted to the ground.
The Ghoul let out a sharp scream and began running on all fours. Its claws scratched against the stone as it charged directly toward her.
"Yumeha, don't forget to activate your connection with Akaname. And don't stand still. If you stand still, you'll die."
Yumeha took a deep breath. Enrico's words immediately brought her mind back to Akaname, the Yōkai she had just created.
'Akaname... answer me!'
A dense mist emerged from the amulet around her neck and took shape behind her. Akaname appeared, small and deformed, with its long tongue hanging out of its mouth.
The Ghoul jumped.
Yumeha rolled to the side at the last moment, still trembling, but managed to escape. As she got up, she extended the staff toward the creature and tried to control her breathing.
"Corruption Tongue!"
Akaname advanced.
Its long tongue shot forward like a spear and struck the Ghoul's chest. The creature let out a scream of pain as the area that had been hit began to dissolve, like flesh submerged in acid.
The Ghoul managed to move away before the attack could consume it completely. It staggered backward and spat out a large amount of blood.
The liquid spread through the air and transformed into dozens of small blood needles.
"Yumeha!"
She reacted immediately.
Akaname moved in front of her while the two dodged to the side. The needles passed by them and embedded themselves in the wall behind them.
Yumeha realized that she could not continue relying solely on Akaname.
She placed a hand on the amulet and took a deep breath.
"Second Yōkai..."
Mana began gathering around her body.
"...Hitodama!"
A small sphere of red spiritual fire appeared before her, floating in the air.
Yumeha had chosen that form after meeting Enrico. To her, Hitodama represented the light that had appeared in her life when everything seemed lost. It was the light that had appeared when someone had finally given her an opportunity and believed in her potential.
Because of that, just like Akaname, she had decided to keep Hitodama in its summoned form.
"Light Chain!"
A light enveloped Yumeha's body the moment she activated the magic. However, before she could do anything else, the Ghoul appeared in front of her and landed a direct blow on her body, sending her flying backward.
"Ahh...!"
Yumeha rolled across the ground and spat out some blood. She brought a hand to her mouth, wiped the blood away with the back of her fingers, and stood up. Despite the impact, the damage did not seem as severe as it should have been.
Akaname had already reacted. Its long tongue was wrapped around the Ghoul's arm and, with a sudden movement, it pulled the creature and hurled it against the wall. At the same time, a light similar to the one surrounding Yumeha also began covering the Yōkai's body.
The Light Chain possessed a rather peculiar property: half of the pain and damage received by Yumeha was shared with her ally connected to the magic. Because of this, even when the Ghoul struck Yumeha, part of the impact was transferred to Akaname.
The Yōkai advanced again, and its tongue struck the Ghoul's arm, violently tearing it off. Yumeha took advantage of the opening and ran forward.
She concentrated Akaname's mana into the staff and repeatedly struck the creature's core.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
The core began developing small cracks.
The Ghoul, despite being wounded, attempted one final attack. It charged toward Yumeha with its remaining hand, but a small sphere of red fire crossed its path.
Hitodama struck the creature's arm and deflected the attack before it could reach Yumeha.
She saw the opportunity.
"It's over!"
Yumeha concentrated the remainder of her strength into the staff and delivered one final blow against the core.
CRACK!
When the core broke, the Ghoul's body lost its strength and fell to the ground.
Yumeha remained still for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Then she exhaled and looked to the side, trying to see whether her master was satisfied. To her happiness, Enrico was smiling.
Her face became slightly flushed.
"That was a great first fight."
Yumeha nodded, still a little embarrassed.
However, when she looked toward the other side of the field, she noticed something that made her expression change completely.
Rina and Aoi had already defeated more than five Level Two Zaras.
Yumeha tightened her grip on the staff, and her eyes gained a competitive gleam.
She would not let Rina get too far ahead of her. Without wasting time, she ran toward another group of Nartheis.
Enrico smiled and followed right behind her.
If Yumeha wanted to use that opportunity to evolve, he also intended to take advantage of the battles to do the same.
After a few hours, the group had advanced considerably through the dungeon. In one of the larger areas, Takeshi was fighting three Level One Faizes at the same time, while the five guards remained around him, prepared to intervene if necessary.
Farther away, Aoi observed Yumeha's Yōkai with curiosity. She even carefully touched Hitodama before looking at Akaname, which remained a little farther away.
"They don't seem to have a gender."
"It's because they're still in the First Circle. As Yumeha advances through the circles, they will evolve as well. They can change their appearance, and Yumeha will be able to decide whether they will have a male or female appearance. They can also learn to speak."
Aoi pulled her hand away from Hitodama and looked at Enrico strangely.
"Seriously... how do you know that?"
Yumeha, on the other hand, seemed completely satisfied. She already expected Enrico to know those details, after all, he had explained how her magic worked when even she herself could not properly understand it.
"Don't worry, Master. All of my Yōkai will be women."
Enrico looked at her for a few seconds, not understanding where that had come from.
'Why does she think I care about that?'
Rina, who was standing beside her, simply observed Yumeha in silence.
'When he becomes my Ketsumei, I want to know all the abilities that my future self will be able to develop.'
Meanwhile, Takeshi finally defeated the last Faizes and walked toward the group.
"Only the boss remains. I'll clear this dungeon immediately so we can return, Lord Enrico."
Enrico nodded.
Takeshi smiled and headed toward the boss room accompanied by one of the guards.
Enrico then stood up and stretched casually.
"I want to fight a few more Nartheis. I'll go left."
Another female guard who was nearby approached.
"I'll go with you, young master."
"Sure."
The two began walking, moving away from the others. Yumeha made a move to follow them, but Enrico raised a hand.
"You've already fought enough. Rest for a while."
Yumeha hesitated, but nodded.
Enrico continued walking until he entered an empty room. As soon as he had moved far enough away from the others, in a completely different part of the dungeon, he stopped and turned his head back.
"You can stop pretending now. We're far enough away."
The guard accompanying him remained motionless for a moment, seemingly unable to understand.
"What do you mean, young master?"
Enrico slowly turned toward her.
"You must have already sent a message to the ruler of Tianlong about Renzou's recovery, haven't you? The daughter of one of the Heavenly Dragons?"
The guard's expression immediately changed. She tightened her grip on her spear and pointed its tip directly at Enrico.
Enrico, however, remained completely calm.
"Calm down. I would like to tell you a few things that will interest your empress."
The guard remained silent.
She could not understand where that confidence came from. How could that boy, who appeared to be only fifteen years old, speak about such a matter so calmly?
Enrico simply stared at her, waiting for her answer.