Through countless battles against dungeon monsters, Liang Yue had forged an adventurer's instinct—
and even when faced with a massive swarm of rare Blue Butterflies,
he kept his mind razor-sharp and calm.
"Rare type…"
"The exp should be higher, right?"
More importantly—
aside from the Minotaur found in the middle floors,
his time in the dungeon so far hadn't produced a true opponent.
Liang Yue wanted a fight that could challenge him.
And this massive flock of Blue Butterflies
fit that desire perfectly.
Even setting aside the Sword Soul template's exp gain,
this many monsters at once
would boost his ability stats across the board.
And—
this would be a glorious achievement in itself.
A rookie adventurer, facing a swarm of rare monsters,
struggling with all his might to find a way out of certain death.
The only flaw was…
it came a little too early.
Before encountering the butterflies,
he hadn't gone through any high-intensity battles yet.
He still wasn't sure if all his ability stats
were close to maxing out for his current level—
but his stamina was at its peak.
That was all the confidence he needed
to face this many rare monsters head-on.
"Let's try it."
Focus sharpened;
he dove into battle mode.
He understood exactly how Flowing Heart
boosted the damage and range of his slashes.
When the butterflies, wings trembling as they shed powder,
closed in to within three meters—
Holding both mithril shortswords crossed in front of him,
he widened his swing arc.
The sword shadows became so fast
they were invisible to the naked eye.
Sword energy, faintly streaked with flowing light,
crossed in midair to form a diagonal X-slash—
ripping apart the heavy, stale air in the cavern
and surging toward the butterflies.
The gale from the strike
blew the poisonous powder back the way it came.
Being butterfly-type rare monsters,
their defense wasn't high—
only their powdery poison mist was troublesome.
Any Blue Butterfly caught in the range of the sword energy
was shredded instantly,
turning into black dust in the air.
[Exp +201]
"…
Even with Flowing Heart's boost,
the slash range maxes out at about three meters."
Based on the Sword Soul template's real skill,
his hand-crafted version was simplified—
so its range couldn't match the original.
As the airflow settled,
the remaining butterflies continued to flutter closer,
undeterred.
He quickly realized that relying on "Draw Sword Slash"
for each attack wasn't the most efficient method here.
Phantom Sword Dance.
"Launch a rapid flurry of slashes at the target from a stationary stance,
ending with a fierce sword energy strike that deals multiple layers of damage."
…The concept was easy enough to grasp.
With the Sword Soul template,
it would be much easier to execute—
but now, he'd have to "handcraft" it.
Looking down at the shortswords in his hands,
Liang Yue wasn't entirely confident—
not about his future achievements,
but in the fact that his confidence
was built on the foundation of real strength.
Lowering into a bow stance,
steadying his breathing,
his calm eyes now gleamed with anticipation
for pulling this skill off himself.
As the swarm of special monsters drew closer,
he tightened his grip—
and with Flowing Heart's boost,
each swing of the shortswords left streaks of flowing light in the air.
His speed skyrocketed—
already past the limit of what a normal adventurer could track by sight.
Still, he felt it wasn't enough.
Only by constantly pushing beyond himself
could he reach the far shore of the Sword Soul path he had chosen.
——
Unlike her usual trips with a massive pack as a supporter,
Liliruca Arde—of the Soma Familia—
was here in the dungeon today as an adventurer.
Following her familia on expeditions
only meant being used and drained dry.
In contrast, her brief meeting with Liang Yue in the dungeon
remained vivid in her mind—
mainly because
his way of solving problems was… far too unconventional.
When faced with oppression from her familia,
Liang Yue would first try to reason with people.
To Lili, this was pure naivety—
if reasoning really worked,
the Soma Familia wouldn't be in such chaos today.
Her own "reasoning" involved physics.
As a supporter with limited combat strength,
she couldn't argue with the junkie-like addicts in her familia—
at least not verbally.
Still…
his "other method" had piqued her curiosity.
The mechanics of toxins.
"Blue Butterflies…"
"I remember these rare monsters are all over the 8th floor."
Thanks to her knowledge of the maze,
she had reached this area safely and alone.
Her goal wasn't to hunt them,
but to use their sensitivity to air vibrations
to lure them away from their territory—
buying enough time to collect the powder
they dropped during flight.
"Blue Butterfly powder is highly hallucinogenic.
If I have enough of it,
I should be able to buy myself some time…"
Her plan was simple—
to apply for withdrawal from the familia,
she'd have to pay an outrageous sum in valis.
Even then,
there was no guarantee they'd let her go.
A better plan was to get an audience with Soma himself—
and to do that,
she'd drug the familia members hooked on divine wine into unconsciousness.
As for the captain…
she hadn't decided how to handle him yet.
For now,
she needed as much Blue Butterfly powder as she could gather.
If all else failed,
she could hire an adventurer for protection.
With this in mind,
Lili had taken the enormous risk of coming here alone.
The reason was yesterday—
when she was hired by another adventurer,
passing through this wide tunnel on the 8th floor.
They'd encountered a Blue Butterfly swarm—
and that adventurer, lacking the strength to fight,
had immediately retreated.
Now, returning to the same spot,
everything was going smoothly—
as if someone had recently cleared the monsters here.
"…Feels like someone's been through here."
By habit,
the cloaked Lili pressed herself against the wall,
lowered her steps,
and crept toward the familiar tunnel.
The first thing she saw
was an adventurer's back—
vaguely familiar,
though she couldn't place it right away.
Facing an overwhelming swarm of Blue Butterflies,
he showed no intention of retreating.
"That's… actually good news?"
"If this guy lures them away,
I'll have a safe window to collect powder."
Her dark-brown eyes stayed calm—
until she recognized
the distinct, unique sword style he used.
And the moment she caught a glimpse of his profile—
"…?"
"You've got to be kidding me.
Him again?!"
---
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