As everyone knows.
There is a considerable degree of difference between doing things with the right hand and doing them with the left.
Posture, point of force exertion, and even the tactile sensation—all differ significantly.
Therefore.
Swinging a sword with the right hand is completely different from swinging it with the left.
Whether it is the trajectory the blade traces, the range it can reach, or the variations in follow-up moves—
Reality is indeed not a game; a BOSS's movements and moves cannot be rigid and completely fixed.
But even so, there is always a "limit".
Isagi saw it clearly.
Through constant, unceasing training every day, and the verification of dozens, even hundreds of deaths.
At this moment, he had committed every single move of the [Golden Miracle] to memory, and he understood exactly how to respond and counterattack with absolute clarity!
"!"
Deep in the Dungeon at night.
Isagi had come alone to this [Circular Colosseum] filled with pale colors for the umpteenth time.
Having just finished training with the Lord Goddess during the day, he immediately ran to the Dungeon at night for practical application.
This was his resolve!
The harder you work, the luckier you get!!
The empty stands always appeared somewhat desolate.
That Golden Cock Knight, clad in bloodstained golden armor and wielding dual swords, still stood tall in the center of the arena, giving off an inexplicable sense of decay.
Isagi was the same as always.
Even in this somewhat biting late autumn, he still wore only thin, ordinary dark cloth clothes and cotton trousers. Holding the pitch-black long blade "Blade of Ten Thousand Skeletons," he walked straight inside.
Words were no longer needed.
Having become familiar with each other countless times over, Isagi could now know exactly what the [Golden Miracle]'s next move would be just by seeing which leg it stepped forward with first.
A straight charge; the left hand feigns a horizontal slash, but actually jumps to the right side, swinging the right hand for a diagonal slash.
After being parried, it will pause slightly for an instant, then violently press forward, swinging both swords to begin a rotation. Judging from the raised hands, the "Pale Longsword" in the left hand leads, and the "Golden Longsword" in the right hand follows.
So, after it starts rotating, step back to dodge, silently count two seconds in the heart, and then immediately execute a parry.
Clang!
A brilliant golden flash pierced through the pale colors, forcibly halting the spinning Golden Cock Knight.
But Isagi did not advance, because this guy was feigning exhaustion. In reality, if one approached at this moment, it would unleash a dual-sword thrust. But one couldn't retreat either, because if one retreated, it would also leap backward to open the distance.
The correct approach was to stay in place while feigning an attack against the guy.
Isagi raised the long blade with both hands, posturing as if to chop down. In reality, however, he was waiting. And indeed, he waited until the [Golden Miracle] used the Pale Longsword in its left hand to block, while simultaneously thrusting the Golden Longsword in its right hand towards his chest.
Hmph!
Delayed attacks, feints—I know them too!!
Clang!
The long blade that was originally meant to chop down suddenly changed direction, once again parrying the thrusting longsword away. And next was—
In the silent Dungeon.
Within the arena filled with pale colors, accompanied by the flashing sounds of clashing metal.
With total concentration, Isagi once again inexplicably entered that strange state he had experienced during the battle with the [Pale King].
His thoughts seemed to have completely entered a void.
Thinking of absolutely nothing, yet every movement was just right. Past experiences were now completely transformed into the body's muscle memory and instinct. He didn't think about anything at all; the only thing to do was to understand every attack of the BOSS before his eyes.
Then, seize every opening that could be utilized.
Swing the blade, parry, until it finally knelt on the ground as if its stamina was exhausted, and then unleash his own fatal attack!
[Declaration of Death]!
Deep crimson lines of death emerged once again. This time, Isagi even felt as if he hadn't looked at all... No, it was as if the lines of death were "created" by the long blade in his hands.
It was no longer about him seeing, judging, and following the extension of the death line to slash.
Instead, where his weapon was, that was where the death line was—
[Natural Perfection]!
That marvelous feeling made Isagi even feel a bit entranced.
Splurt!
Deep crimson fresh blood sprayed out from the Golden Cock Knight's chest.
This was the first hit.
Isagi thought so, and subsequently, continued to enter the previous loop.
How many hits would it take to completely defeat the opponent?
It didn't matter.
As long as this continued, the final winner would be him. This was also the reason Isagi didn't let the other girls participate in the battle.
Since the equation for victory had already been confirmed, one shouldn't arbitrarily change the steps of solving the problem. If more people came, what if the BOSS's behavior and moves changed?
Just like spaghetti code in a company—as long as it can still run, don't touch it.
The current [Golden Miracle] was already a second-phase guy; its moves and characteristics had all been figured out and seen through by him!
Surely this guy couldn't have some brand new third phase?!
Mm.
At this moment, Isagi, whose attention was completely immersed in the battle, inexplicably failed to realize that he seemed to have forgotten something...
...
Deep in the Dungeon, located on the 18th Floor, the [Under Resort].
Between the towering domes, that incomparably huge crystal radiated a warm and bright light, just like the sun.
Here.
One could not feel the somewhat bleak and chilly autumn atmosphere of the surface city at this moment.
In the mountains and forests, branches and leaves were lush as if it were spring. Crystal clear river water flowed everywhere, and verdant green grass carpeted the ground, undulating forward to form one small slope after another.
Ryuu looked into the distance at the adventurer town "Rivira" built against the mountain.
It was a small settlement completely piled up from timber and stone, without the slightest planning, nor any aesthetic beauty to speak of.
But this was only natural.
Because since its establishment hundreds of years ago, Rivira had been destroyed dozens of times.
Although the [Under Resort] serves as a Safe Floor in the Dungeon and does not spawn monsters, that does not mean it is absolutely safe.
In the vast mountains and forests outside the town, there are quite a few monsters that have come here from other floors.
And from time to time, accidents always happen—most of the time, monsters from further down riot inexplicably, swarming up and invading the 18th Floor.
Whenever this happens.
Adventurers will abandon the town and retreat to the city surface first, waiting until the monster riot subsides before returning here to rebuild Rivira.
Fortunately.
For over a year now, the cemetery where her friends lay had not suffered any destruction.
Between the beautiful cliffs deep in the mountains and forests, it was truly a place with good scenery. The joke back then, "If I die, just bury me here," had now become reality.
It was just that.
What remained here were merely the surviving relics of her friends.
On the slightly raised earthen mounds, now overgrown with green grass and wildflowers, lay longswords, long blades, daggers, magic staffs, shields, gauntlets...
When Ryuu returned to "that place" in a daze after fleeing back then, she only found these things.
Adventurers who die in the Dungeon are mostly like this.
Because monsters will devour their bodies; often, apart from broken weapons and armor, nothing is left behind.
The Elf girl had been standing here for a long time.
For several months, she would always run over to visit her former companions during her breaks.
The things she should say—including the revenge, the Goddess returning to the city, having new Familia juniors... she had already said them all.
However, Ryuu now had a new distress.
'The juniors are working unreasonably hard. Compared to them, as a senior with stronger Level and strength, I should have performed more in battle, but instead...'
Ryuu couldn't put it into words.
She always had this feeling, in the past and in the present.
'I'm somewhat out of place with my companions.'
The self who pursued justice was pulled forward by Alise and the others back then. So, does the current self also have to be pulled forward by Isagi and the others?
As a senior, it's too embarrassing!
But no matter how she poured out her heart, the broken weapons buried here could not give the girl an answer.
She could ultimately only leave in silence.
Along the mountain road flanked by huge crystals blooming with light, she headed towards the passage connecting to the 17th Floor. Subsequently, she walked past the empty [Wall of Sighs], a cavern chamber flanked by incomparably huge, crystal-mirror-like walls—the Monster Rex Goliath had not respawned.
Therefore, along the way, the Elf girl also spotted a "caravan" delivering goods to Rivira, guarded by high-level adventurers, with a large number of Supporters carrying various supplies.
After all, given the ruggedness of the Dungeon, neither mules nor horses could walk in here. Some caravans were heading to Rivira, while others had just set off from the adventurer town, preparing to return to the city above.
Among the caravans returning to Orario, Ryuu saw an "acquaintance." More accurately, it should be someone she recognized.
Filvis of the Dionysus Familia.
The black-haired Elf maiden dressed in a white skirt was as beautiful and demure as ever. It seemed she was acting as a caravan guard. At the same time, beside her, another beautiful woman was following.
She had fire-red, slightly curly short hair, and her figure was also quite charming. Although she wore a black robe, she still frequently drew the sideways glances of the surrounding adventurers.
Ryuu knew Filvis, naturally because Lefiya often went to her for training, especially in the technique of "Concurrent Chanting."
But she herself was not familiar with her; it could only be said that they had met a few times.
Moreover, because the other party was a dependent of the God of Wine, Ryuu had always maintained a certain degree of suspicion towards Filvis.
Regarding the previous "Hypnotic Divine Wine," no clues had been found yet! So, all Wine Gods in the city were objects of suspicion!!
Curiously.
She took a few extra glances at the red-haired woman beside the other party.
Ryuu then accelerated, leaving these slow-moving caravans behind.
For an ordinary adventurer party, returning to the surface from Rivira in the Dungeon would take at least the better part of a day. These caravans were even slower, requiring at least a full day or more.
But Ryuu's speed was fast.
The girl truly transformed into a deep green [Gale]; the monsters along the way were completely unable to hinder her footsteps.
Thus—
Several hours later, on the 5th Floor, Ryuu just happened to run into Isagi, who was preparing to go home.
What a coincidence!
Seeing the boy's figure, the Elf girl felt it was somewhat inconceivable. Then she thought, he must be running to the Dungeon alone late at night for "special training" again.
No, it wasn't special training.
Seeing the arrival of his Familia senior, Isagi's eyes lit up. Subsequently, he didn't plan to return to the surface anymore, but turned around, pulled the girl, and continued walking towards the depths of the cavern.
"Senior, you came just in time! Go, go, go, let's go over there!!"
"..."
Where exactly are we going!
Being dragged by the boy's hand always made one blush and one's heart beat faster at times like this inexplicably!
Since becoming accustomed to contact with Isagi.
Ryuu discovered that the other party's sudden "hands-on" approach was truly...
Ugh... She didn't know what to say!!
Most importantly.
Ryuu knew she was just thinking nonsense. No matter how violently her heart beat, or how hot her pretty face was, in the end, it was definitely that, hehe. Isagi, this guy, was dragging her to a special Dungeon right now.
She could guess without thinking; it must be that [Circular Colosseum]—
It really was!
When, from a distance, she saw the arena covered in pale colors and the glittering golden rooster standing in the center, Ryuu couldn't help but let out a lament in her heart.
Sometimes, the boy was really easy to understand to the extreme.
However, the Elf girl was still somewhat puzzled. Usually, Isagi trained here alone; why did he insist on dragging her along today?
She suddenly realized.
Isagi's face also seemed a bit red.
???
What's the situation?
And soon, Ryuu knew why.
When the Elf girl was dragged by the boy to the front of the arena, she discovered that the [Golden Miracle] inside had much, much more blood on its body. Even its originally arrogant posture of holding its head high could no longer be sustained.
It was clearly kneeling on the spot very weakly, gasping for breath constantly.
'Is this almost a win?'
Ryuu couldn't help but think so, while once again sighing with emotion that her junior was truly amazing. Did he really defeat such a powerful monster alone relying on his whimsical method?
It was just, what was the situation now?
Why not go in and deal the fatal blow?
Just as the girl was thinking this, Isagi took the initiative to pull her into the arena together.
Then.
Ryuu saw that as the [Golden Miracle] discovered enemies arriving, it immediately propped up its body with difficulty and swung the longsword in its hand.
But it wasn't to launch an attack, but—
Suddenly, from within the vast swathes of pale color in the distance, including around itself, many, many monsters "spawned" directly from the ground, just as if they had just been born from the Dungeon.
Moreover, these monsters were very familiar.
They were the guys that would appear in the arena before! There were even small BOSSes serving as [Champion Candidates]!!
Hah?!
Ryuu was dumbfounded watching this.
She thought, 'What is this situation? Wasn't it a monster for a proper contest of sword skills? Why has it suddenly turned into a gang fight?!'
Wait.
She seemed to suddenly think of something.
Looking at the Golden Cock Knight not far away, assuming the posture of commanding the surrounding monsters—this ability, wasn't it precisely that—
[Lord of All Beasts]?!
Could it be that because it killed Rudra before, it gained such an ability?
The girl pursed her lips, looking at Isagi beside her. Now she knew why the boy had a face full of anger just now.
Speaking of which.
Just recalling the scene she saw just now, Ryuu's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
'So cute.'
As if discovering some new continent.
Ryuu just felt that Isagi, looking like that just now, was really so cute...
____
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