Genichi still did not know that a few small things he had done had actually drawn Freya's attention.
But even if he had known, he would not have cared.
Freya would never be interested in him, at least not right now.
The Goddess of Beauty had always set her sights only on those with "shining souls."
What was he, Genichi, supposed to be?
A plunderer who would stop at nothing to become stronger. A slaughterer with blood all over his hands. A selfish man with darkness in his heart.
A soul like his would probably do nothing but make that goddess frown.
And besides, now that Genichi was already Level 4, it was not as though he truly feared the Freya Familia that much.
If he could not beat them, could he not just run?
He had Apparition. He had Alfia. He had more than enough trump cards to keep himself alive.
If it really came to that, then at worst, he would just run away.
Things like pride meant very little to Genichi now.
As long as he stayed alive, that was more important than anything else.
This trip ended with Genichi grinding in the Dungeon for a full nine days.
Over those nine days, he took Alise from the twenty-fourth floor all the way down to the thirty-seventh, slaughtering every monster they could kill along the way.
The floor boss of the thirty-seventh floor, Udaeus, had already been taken down by someone else and had not respawned yet, so Genichi never got the chance to fight it.
As for the monsters on the way, they were no better than weeds before him.
One slash, one kill. Clean and efficient.
Magic stones piled up like a mountain, and his status values steadily rose.
Alise kept doing her job as his tool, picking up magic stones, collecting drops, and standing off to the side consuming mana while he fought.
By now, she had completely given up resisting.
Since resistance was pointless, she might as well just accept it honestly.
After nine days, Genichi's status values had reached a fairly impressive level.
Even if they had not reached SSS1499, they should have been at least no lower than B.
Before returning, Genichi made a special trip to the lower twenty-seventh floor.
He wanted to try his luck.
To see whether he might run into Amphisbaena.
If he found it, then he would challenge it while he was here.
If not, then he would leave.
And this time -
his luck was good.
The moment he stepped into the twenty-seventh floor's territory, he saw a massive shape swimming faintly in the huge lake ahead.
The two-headed dragon, Amphisbaena.
Genichi's pupils contracted slightly.
The monster was even larger than he had imagined.
Two enormous heads, long necks, a thick powerful body, and huge waves rolling across the water as it swam below the surface.
With a single glance, Genichi came to three conclusions.
Its latent ability was Level 5.
In the water, it could display power on par with Level 6.
And most importantly, he was not suited for underwater combat.
Fighting a dragon in the water was obviously a terrible idea.
So he needed to create a battlefield that suited him.
Genichi took a deep breath and began to chant.
"O omen of the end, O pure white snow -"
His voice was low and steady, carrying a strange, whisper-like cadence.
Magic power began to surge.
"As twilight approaches, let the wild winds rise - sealed light, frozen earth, snow filling the heavens, the third winter -"
He raised his hand and plunged the blade in his grip into the water's surface.
"My name is Alf!"
"Ecstasy - Fimbulwinter!"
Boom!!!
The instant the blade touched the water, a terrifying wave of cold burst out from it.
That cold was almost alive, spreading madly across the entire lake.
The water began freezing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
One layer, then two, then three -
the ice grew thicker and thicker, covering a wider and wider area.
In just a few breaths, the entire surface of the lake had been frozen solid.
The thick layer of ice was enough to withstand any amount of impact.
Even Amphisbaena, the two-headed dragon -
half of its body was frozen beneath the ice.
Its two enormous heads struggled desperately, trying to break through the frozen surface.
But the ice was too thick, too sturdy. In its restrained state, there was no way it could break free anytime soon.
Seeing this, Genichi's lips curled slightly upward.
It worked.
He pulled his blade free, stepped onto the ice, and looked at Amphisbaena.
The battle began.
Genichi did not know that, in the distant shadows, two pairs of eyes were fixed on him.
Those eyes were full of disbelief.
Ais Wallenstein.
And Lefiya Viridis.
The Loki Familia's Sword Princess and Thousand Elf.
They had come to the Dungeon to earn some extra money, never expecting to witness something like this.
That boy -
the boy who had once come to the Loki Familia, only to be turned away at the door -
was now fighting Amphisbaena.
And with his very first move, he had frozen the entire lake.
That magic...
Lefiya's mind went blank.
That was -
Riveria's magic.
Ecstasy - Fimbulwinter.
Lefiya parted her lips, wanting to say something, only to realize that she could not get a single word out.
And as for Ais -
the blonde girl simply stood there in silence, her golden eyes locked on the distant figure in battle.
Something complicated flickered in her gaze.
Genichi had no idea anyone was watching.
All of his focus was on the fight before him.
Even with half of its body frozen in place, Amphisbaena was still terrifyingly strong.
Its left head spat blue flames, while its right head released a red mist that could dissolve any magic it touched.
The two enormous heads alternated between blue flames and red mist, trying to melt the ice and attack Genichi at the same time.
But Genichi did not retreat.
He moved agilely across the ice, narrowly evading each attack by the slimmest margins.
At the same time, the blade in his hand struck Amphisbaena again and again.
One slash. Two slashes. Three slashes.
Each strike carved a deep wound into that enormous body.
Blood dyed the ice red, only to be frozen by the cold into dark crimson crystals.
Amphisbaena let out a furious roar.
It struggled desperately, trying to free itself from the ice.
But the ice was too thick, too strong. In its current state, it simply could not break loose.
Genichi seized the chance and unleashed everything he had.
He stopped holding back. Stopped testing.
He used every means available to him.
Sword strikes, magic, skills -
a storm of attacks poured down on Amphisbaena.
At last -
after nearly half an hour of continuous assault, Amphisbaena finally let out three miserable cries.
Its two heads drooped weakly.
Its enormous body stopped struggling completely.
Genichi dropped to one knee on the ice, gasping for breath.
He had succeeded.
As a Level 4, he had killed a Level 5 floor boss head-on.
But this feat alone was probably still not enough to push him to Level 5.
He slowly stood up and walked toward Amphisbaena's magic stone and drops.
And at that moment -
Alise suddenly turned her head and cast a meaningful glance toward the distant shadows.
That was where Ais and Lefiya were hiding.
She knew they were there.
She had noticed them before the battle even began.
But she had not told Genichi.
She only gave that meaningful glance, then withdrew her gaze and continued being his tool.
Genichi did not notice anything strange about her.
He collected the magic stone and materials dropped by Amphisbaena, then grabbed Alise's hand.
"Let's go."
Snap!
Apparition activated.
The two of them vanished from the twenty-seventh floor in an instant.
Only after Genichi had left did Ais and Lefiya slowly step out of the shadows.
They stood on the frozen lake, staring at the now-empty battlefield for a long time without speaking.
Amphisbaena's corpse had already disappeared, leaving behind only a pool of blood and shattered ice crystals all over the ground.
But the traces left by that battle were still perfectly clear.
The thick ice, the giant cracks, the blood everywhere -
all of it spoke of how fierce that battle had been.
Lefiya took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly.
"Ais... should we report this to the captain and Lady Riveria?"
Ais was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Yeah."
Her voice was soft, but incomparably clear.
(End of Chapter)
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