Zich poured more mana into the blade, and the rusty sword trembled in his hand as red light gathered along the edge, thicker than before. The air around his arm felt hot, almost burning, while the Silverback rushed toward him with both fists raised.
Zich stepped forward instead of dodging and swung.
"Blood Arc."
Fwish!
A much larger red slash shot out and struck the Silverback directly. The monster's eyes widened as its left arm was cut clean off. Blood sprayed across the corridor as the huge ape staggered backward, staring at the missing limb as if it could not understand what had just happened.
Zich froze for a second, his eyes slowly widening.
"Oh?"
The Silverback roared in pain and stumbled, but before it could recover, Zich's lips stretched into a wide grin.
"Hahahaha!"
His laugh echoed through the corridor, loud and wild. Slimy shook slightly on the wall, while Blood Leech turned its head for a moment before returning to its fight. Zich raised his sword again, his eyes filled with excitement.
"So it works! You ugly bastard, thank you for being my test subject!"
He poured more mana into the blade again and struck.
"Blood Arc!"
The second slash cut across the Silverback's chest. The monster tried to block with its remaining arm, but the attack tore through its guard and carved deep into its body. Zich dashed in before it could fall, his sword thrusting forward as another Blood Arc exploded at close range.
Slash!
The Silverback split open and dropped heavily to the ground.
[Ding! You have killed Silverback Ape.]
[Ding! Blood Arc has leveled up.]
[Blood Arc LV.1 → Blood Arc LV.2]
[Congratulations, you have created a new technique!]
Zich stared at the notification, breathing hard.
'Creator of a new technique… so you mean to tell me no other person thought of this before in this world?'
[Please name your technique.]
The system panel popped up, cutting off his thoughts.
"Um… Saint Zich Overcharge Technique?"
Zich was not thinking clearly because of the heat of the moment, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
[Ding! Saint Zich Overcharge Technique has been recorded.]
[As the creator of this technique, whenever a new player—]
Zich had no time to read the rest. Another Silverback roared from the side, and his gaze snapped over.
Blood Leech was being pushed back. Its body plates were cracked, and one claw bent at an awkward angle. The Silverback facing it had several wounds, but it was still standing strong.
"Move!" Zich shouted as he dashed over.
Blood Leech ducked low as Zich swung his sword with both hands.
"Blood Arc!"
The upgraded slash shot forward faster than before and cut across the Silverback's knee, forcing the monster to drop to one leg. Blood Leech immediately pounced, its proboscis stabbing into the monster's neck while its claws dug into the ape's shoulders.
From above, Slimy spat poison into another Silverback's face, making it roar blindly as it swung its arms at nothing. Nearby, the Silverback Grunt smashed its club into the last ape again and again, even as its body was already covered in wounds. It was weaker than the real ones, but it held its ground.
Zich moved between them with quick steps, only using Blood Arc when there was a clear opening. Each slash was stronger now, and every hit made the Silverbacks hesitate.
One fell to Blood Leech.
Another collapsed after Slimy's poison weakened its eyes and throat.
The last Silverback tried to crush the grunt with both hands, but Zich came from the side and cut through its neck with an overcharged Blood Arc. The huge body crashed to the floor, and silence returned to the corridor.
Zich stood among the corpses, sweat running down his face. His mana had dropped heavily, but he was still standing.
"Heh… much better."
Meanwhile, outside the dungeon, the ranking board changed again.
[Ding! Ranking Updated.]
[2nd Place: Zich — 189 Points]
Across the eastern plane, players stared at the update with open mouths.
"He passed Jayden!"
"No way. Jayden was second a moment ago!"
"Where is he hunting? How is he getting points this fast?"
Inside one of the rooms in the shelter, Arnold Sanchez stood before a wide ranking panel with several Player Association staff behind him. The shelter lord's arms were folded, but his eyes narrowed when Zich's name appeared above Jayden.
"So there's actually someone stranger than the Smith kids in this layer…" Arnold muttered, genuinely surprised.
A staff member beside him swallowed. "Shelter Lord, do you know him?"
Arnold did not answer. Instead, one of the earlier guides named Cole spoke up.
"I have seen him before. He's a summoner. Apart from Jayden and Helen, he is the third to access his soul space on his first entry into the Ascension Mountain."
"Interesting," Arnold said. "The Summoner class is quite rare, and most beginners only get weak creatures. It seems this one is different."
Back on the plains, Jayden saw the update, and his expression turned colder. Helen glanced at him, but this time she did not tease him. She only watched as his breathing slowed and his grip tightened.
Back in the dungeon, Zich crouched near one of the Silverback corpses and searched through what remained. A faint glow appeared beneath the body.
"Oh? Treasure?"
He pulled out a small vial filled with pale blue liquid.
[Normal Rank Mana Potion]
[Effect: Restores 50% of total mana.]
"Now this is useful."
Beside the corpse, he found a sword. It was plain, but the edge looked far better than his rusty blade.
[Iron Sword(Normal)]
[Effect: +3 Strength]
Zich looked at his old weapon and clicked his tongue.
"You served badly, but you served."
He tossed the rusty blade aside and picked up the iron sword. After that, he checked the head of the Silverback and found a small shard hidden inside, just like before. In total, he collected two soul shards, bringing his number to five.
Zich stored them carefully inside his backpack, which was now being carried by the Silverback Grunt.
It looked strange seeing an ape wearing a backpack, but it worked.
Instead of moving to the next corridor immediately, he sat down near the wall and leaned back. The others had been returned to the graveyard to conserve mana.
Zich did not drink the mana potion. His mana recovered slowly on its own. The dungeon stayed quiet, but he did not trust it. After enough time passed, he stood up and rolled his shoulders.
It was now time to face the boss of this dungeon.