On the thirty-seventh floor of the Dungeon, Genichi advanced alone through a dim passageway.
Alise followed behind him, her face full of resentment.
"Hey, are you hiding something from me?"
She could not help asking.
"You've been acting weird these past two days."
Genichi did not answer.
He simply kept walking forward.
Alise looked at that cold, indifferent back of his and rolled her eyes.
"Tch. Fine, then."
But she forgot about it almost immediately.
Because ahead of them, that massive figure had appeared.
Udaeus.
The floor boss of the thirty-seventh floor, a Level 6-class monster.
It was a gigantic skeletal creature, over five meters tall.
Its entire body was pieced together from countless bones, each one shining with an eerie black luster, as though steeped in some evil power.
Its head was an enormous skull, with horn-like protrusions extending from either side. In the hollow darkness of its eye sockets, two crimson flames burned.
That glow was like hellfire, flickering unsteadily in the darkness.
At that moment, it was staring straight at Genichi.
At the insignificant human who had dared trespass into its territory.
Genichi came to a stop, unflinching.
"Lucky me. No one's farmed Udaeus yet."
He murmured softly.
"That works out perfectly. It's mine."
He tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, and blazing battle intent flared in those dark eyes.
Alise stood behind him, staring at the gigantic skeletal monster, and could not help swallowing hard.
The pressure Udaeus gave off was on a completely different level.
Amphisbaena had still been within the bounds of what Alise could mentally process, but the monster before her now was something she genuinely could not face.
That chill seemed to seep straight out of the marrow of her bones, making her want to turn and run.
"Hey... you're really going to fight it?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Yeah."
Genichi's answer was brief and certain.
"But it's Level 6!"
"I know."
"You're only Level 4!"
"I know."
"You know my ass!"
Alise was on the verge of losing it.
She had always known Genichi was crazy, but she had never imagined he was this crazy.
A Level 4 challenging a Level 6 floor boss?
This was not just madness anymore. This was suicide.
But Genichi paid no attention to her panic.
He simply stared quietly at Udaeus, waiting for the perfect moment.
There was no fear in those dark eyes.
Only battle lust.
Then...
He moved.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he shot straight toward the giant skeletal monster.
Udaeus let out a roar.
It did not sound like something coming from a throat. It sounded more like a wail rising from the depths of hell.
The next instant, the ground began to shake.
Rumble...
Countless black bones burst out of the earth.
Those bones moved like living things, growing wildly, spreading, and surging upward.
Some became bone spears and thrust toward Genichi. Some became bone walls and blocked his path. Some turned into skeletal claws that reached up from underground, trying to seize his ankles.
In an instant, the entire battlefield became an ocean of bones.
Genichi's gaze sharpened.
He kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air, avoiding the bone spears stabbing up from below.
At the same time, the blade in his hand flashed out.
Light from the slash scattered, severing several bone spears that were hurtling toward him.
The moment he landed, he leaped again, continuing his charge toward Udaeus.
The bones came at him like a rising tide, trying to stop him.
But Genichi was too fast.
He wove through the sea of bones with perfect agility. Every dodge was timed exactly right. Every swing of his sword cut down another incoming spear.
Blade-light flashed. Bones shattered and flew.
He moved as if dancing on the edge of a knife, advancing to an irregular rhythm.
From far away, Alise watched the scene with her heart lodged in her throat.
That man was really staking his life on this.
As Genichi drew closer, Udaeus suddenly unleashed another furious roar.
The earth cracked open, and from the depths, a massive black sword slowly rose and slammed down at Udaeus's feet.
Genichi was not surprised in the slightest.
He already knew that in the rare case of a solo challenger, Udaeus might draw that black greatsword.
And once Udaeus took up that weapon, even Ottar at Level 7 could be sent flying.
That was how monstrous its power was.
So there was absolutely no way he could meet Udaeus head-on.
In the next instant, Genichi's figure vanished.
Apparition.
He reappeared on the shoulder of the arm holding the sword.
"Thou art a dragon!"
First, he used the skill that imposed the conceptual attribute of dragon onto Udaeus.
"Ariel!"
Next, he layered on Ais's enchantment magic.
Blue-green wind coiled around his blade, making a weapon that was already sharp become even deadlier.
"Burn, burn, burn, let all the flames run wild!"
Still not satisfied, he added Alise's enchantment magic, Red Heliotrope.
Crimson fire overlaid the blue wind, the two streams of magic intertwining around each other until the blade radiated terrifying heat and cutting power.
From a distance, Alise watched all this with the corner of her mouth twitching.
That bastard was using her magic more smoothly than she could.
Genichi ignored her stare.
He gripped the hilt with both hands and aimed at the arm holding the sword.
Then...
He drove the blade down with all his might.
Crack!
The instant the sword pierced Udaeus's shoulder joint, the sound of bone breaking rang out.
Empowered by layered magic after layered magic, the blade sliced through Udaeus's supposedly indestructible skeleton as easily as tofu.
The entire shoulder joint shattered on the spot.
The arm holding the sword came loose and tore free from Udaeus's shoulder.
The enormous black greatsword fell with it, crashing to the ground with a heavy boom.
He had succeeded.
A slight smile touched Genichi's lips.
But in the very next second...
A tremendous force came at him from the side.
Udaeus's other hand slammed into him.
It was impossibly fast, and the force behind it was terrifying beyond belief.
Genichi did not even have time to activate Apparition before he was sent flying.
Boom!
His body smashed into the far wall like a cannonball, leaving the stonework caved inward.
Pfft.
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
His internal organs screamed in pain, as though they were about to rupture from that single strike.
Genichi gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the wave of dizziness threatening to drag him into unconsciousness.
This was the power of a Level 6 floor boss.
Even a casual hit carried enough force to take his life.
If not for Ariel offsetting part of the impact, and if not for the under-armor he wore absorbing most of the damage...
He might already have been reduced to meat paste.
His hands trembling, Genichi pulled out a panacea from his pouch and tipped it back.
The liquid went down his throat and turned into a warm current, rapidly repairing his damaged organs and bones.
After only a few breaths, more than half his real injuries had already recovered.
But before he could even catch his breath, Udaeus's next strike had already arrived.
A giant skeletal claw smashed down toward where he stood.
Genichi's gaze sharpened, and he activated Apparition in an instant.
Snap.
His figure vanished.
The claw crashed into the wall, reducing that entire section to rubble.
Genichi reappeared on the ground some distance away.
Dropping to one knee, he sucked in great gasps of air.
"That was careless..."
Regret flickered through his mind.
Before making his move, he should have layered several defensive spells on himself first.
If he had, that strike might not have hurt him so badly.
In the end, he had underestimated it.
Genichi drew in a slow breath and rose to his feet.
He looked at Udaeus in the distance, and a cold gleam flashed through those dark eyes.
"But now..."
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"It's not too late."
"Gather, sighs of the earth. My name is Alf!"
As Genichi finished the chant, a faint garment of light appeared over his body.
It looked like moonlight woven into gauze, gently draping itself over his entire frame.
It seemed fragile, but powerful defensive force pulsed from within it.
This was Riveria's defensive spell, Dia Fratel - one that greatly increased resistance to both physical and magical damage, and one that, for a short time, could be layered without causing the usual problems.
Wrapped in that light, Genichi felt some of the fear left behind by Udaeus's earlier slap recede.
But he did not stop there.
Immediately afterward, he began another chant.
"O sun that hounds the open sky, all things flee thy presence. Bloom, armor of the laurel tree."
A second layer of light rose over him.
This was Daphne's magic, Laurus Hildr.
Its effect was to reinforce endurance and drastically enhance agility.
With Genichi's current reserves of magic power, the spell should raise his speed and durability by at least thirty percent.
With two layers of protection on him, he finally felt a little more confident.
He lifted his gaze and looked at Udaeus again.
The giant skeletal monster was still staring at him.
Then Udaeus let out a roar that shook the cavern.
It raised the black greatsword in its hand and brought it down in a savage arc.
Boom!!!
The sword struck empty air.
But the pressure from the swing itself erupted like a solid shockwave, expanding in all directions.
The ground was stripped away layer by layer by the force of the wind. Rock shattered. Debris exploded outward.
The black bones that had still been growing across the battlefield were instantly ground into powder.
The entire cavern trembled beneath that single swing.
Genichi's expression tightened.
The shockwave's range was too wide. Wide enough that even with Apparition, it was difficult to avoid entirely.
He activated Apparition at once and vanished.
The next moment, he appeared behind a huge boulder in the distance.
But the pressure wave followed immediately, and the boulder exploded to pieces.
Caught by the aftershock, Genichi was thrown backward.
Twisting in midair, he landed on one knee and drove his sword into the ground to steady himself.
Pfft.
Another mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
Even with Dia Fratel and Laurus Hildr protecting him, the aftershock of that strike had still wounded him.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood again.
Looking at Udaeus in the distance, a grave light flickered through his dark eyes.
Too strong.
This monster was far too strong.
The gap between Level 4 and Level 6 was even greater than he had imagined.
So great that even with all his skills, even with the enchantment magic he had learned from one powerful person after another, he still could not truly match Udaeus's strength.
In terms of speed, he could barely keep up.
Barely.
And even then, he was still being suppressed.
Every attack, every dodge, felt like dancing on the tip of a blade.
One mistake, and that monstrous power would tear him to pieces.
Genichi drew a slow breath and pressed down the emotions surging in his chest.
He could not give up.
It was not time to give up yet.
He still had a trump card.
He still had Alfia.
It just...
was not time yet.
He had to endure a little longer.
Just a little longer.
Only when he truly reached the end of the road would he summon Alfia and drag everything down with him.
Grinding his teeth, Genichi activated Apparition again.
He meant to repeat the same tactic and destroy Udaeus's other arm as well.
Snap.
He vanished instantly.
The next moment, he appeared on Udaeus's other shoulder.
His blade was already raised high.
But...
The instant he appeared, several huge bone spikes burst from Udaeus's body.
They were so fast it was as if the monster had already predicted exactly where he would reappear.
Genichi's pupils shrank. He did not even have time to attack and could only evade in haste.
One bone spike grazed his cheek, leaving a line of blood.
Another aimed straight for his chest. He managed to knock it aside with his blade, but the impact still sent him flying.
He flipped through the air and staggered backward several steps after landing before he could regain his balance.
"So it predicted me..."
Genichi stared at Udaeus, his brows knitting together.
This monster had already learned his pattern.
It had memorized the way he attacked. Memorized where he would appear. Memorized every movement he made.
There was no chance of using the same method to catch it off guard again.
Genichi fell silent.
Standing at a distance, he kept his eyes fixed on Udaeus.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
In raw power, he could not compare.
In speed, he could barely keep up, but he was still suppressed.
As for surprise attacks, those had already been seen through.
And ordinary magic was useless against it.
He needed an opening.
A perfect opening.
And right now, that opening had not come yet.
Genichi slowly inhaled and let out a long breath.
Then suddenly, he smiled.
It was a faint smile, but there was something difficult to describe in it.
"Looks like..."
he murmured softly,
"I might have been a little too arrogant."
Originally, he had thought that once he reached Level 5, he would be able to contend with Filvis Challia at Level 7.
But now it seemed that idea had been far too optimistic.
Udaeus was only Level 6, and already this overwhelming.
Then how strong would a Level 7 Filvis Challia be?
He did not know.
But he did know one thing.
His expectations for Level 5 had probably been too high.
Level 5 might let him fight against Level 6.
But against Level 7...
it still would not be enough.
Genichi's gaze deepened.
He stared at Udaeus in the distance, and a swirl of complicated emotions moved through those dark eyes.
But only for a moment.
Soon, all of those emotions vanished.
What replaced them was an even firmer resolve.
If it was not enough, then he would keep growing stronger.
If Level 5 was not enough, then he would reach Level 6.
If Level 6 was not enough, then he would reach Level 7.
One day, he would become strong enough to crush every enemy before him.
But right now...
First, he had to defeat the monster in front of him.
Genichi tightened his grip on the sword and charged in once more.
From a distance, Alise watched, her eyes filled with complicated emotion.
She did not know what Genichi was thinking.
But she knew this man was giving everything he had.
So much that it made her chest ache.
So much that even she, the tool he had summoned, could not help wanting to support him.
"Come on..."
she murmured softly.
"You have to win..."
Far away, the battle between Genichi and Udaeus raged on.
(End of Chapter)
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