Ryuu single-handedly took on the two Captains of the Rudra Familia and the last remaining LV.2 adventurer.
Roy approached Jura, drawing the Muramasa Sword from his waist. "I'll be your opponent!"
"You little brat, are you looking down on me?" Jura felt insulted. A mere LV.1 scrub dared to prance around in front of an LV.2.
Roy pushed off with his legs, charging towards Jura.
Jura, the LV.2, retreated instead. He pulled a long whip from his waist. "Idiot! I'm a Beast Tamer! Why would I fight you head-on?"
High ability scores, even those breaking their limits, meant peerless strength against those of the same level. But the vast difference between levels was something even Roy's SSS-rank Agility couldn't overcome.
The two engaged in a chase through the cavern, weaving through the white mist. Roy was unable to catch up to the cat-person.
However, Jura was even more shocked internally. He couldn't shake off Roy either! Was this the speed an LV.1 adventurer should possess? The two maintained a consistent distance, seemingly turning the fight into a battle of attrition.
Snap!
Jura's expression turned ruthless. He fiercely whipped his long lash out. The snake-like phantom, carrying a strong crackling sound, struck the skin of a Dungeon monster.
"Monsters, fight for me!"
Following his whip crack and roar, the surrounding Dungeon monsters, dragging their injured bodies, stood up.
Orcs, Imps, Evil Bats, War Shadows, Killer Ants, and other monsters blocked Roy's path.
In this world, a Beast Tamer doesn't
"tame" monsters; they "force them into submission," making the monsters understand the power relationship between themselves and the Tamer.
The best evidence was that the tamed monsters would still attack people other than the Beast Tamer. It was extremely difficult to make a monster remember complex commands.
Jura was very successful at this, making the monsters realize that the LV.1 Roy was an easier target than himself.
There was no need to mention the other monsters. The War Shadows and Killer Ants were known as "Rookie Killers" in the upper floors. If Roy tried to deal with these monsters first, he wouldn't have any strength left to face Jura.
Roy decisively pulled out the Frost-Ice Blade.
With a light swing, a cold chill erupted, equivalent to an LV.3 adventurer's magic. A blizzard enveloped the area, and all the monsters were frozen into ice sculptures.
Crack!
The next moment, all the ice sculptures exploded, shattering into beautiful, sparkling ice crystals.
The crystalline ice blade in Roy's hand crumbled; this useful magic sword was finally completely ruined.
Jura's speed had slowed down slightly in order to command the monsters. Roy took advantage of the brief window created by the magic sword clearing the monsters, closing the distance to Jura and swinging his sword.
Jura spun around. He grabbed the whip with his other hand and blocked Roy's downward slash horizontally.
Seeing Roy's magic sword easily destroy twenty or thirty monsters, Jura asked, "That power, is it a Crozzo magic sword? You little brat, you have quite a few good things."
"You're not bad either. You put on such a weak act; you almost fooled me!" Roy gripped the sword hilt with both hands and pushed forward with all his might.
During the previous chaotic battle, Jura had been slacking off, never engaging the Pure Titans or Dungeon monsters. Instead, he cleverly hid behind others.
He looked battered and mentally exhausted, but in reality, his wounds were just superficial scratches.
Those involved in the situation are confused, but onlookers see clearly.
Only Roy, who entered the battle, saw through the act.
"That's how the Dark Faction operates, you little brat!" Jura sneered. He maintained more than seventy percent of his stamina. He suddenly pressed forward with immense force.
In a pure contest of strength, the powerful force emanating from Jura pushed Roy back repeatedly.
"Challenging me with LV.1 strength is the most foolish thing you've ever done!" Jura roared with laughter.
Even though Jura was just a Beast Tamer, he was a genuine LV.2 adventurer.
An adventurer who levels up is no different from a superhuman. Even if they barely managed to advance to LV.2, their physical constitution would see a qualitative leap—easily jumping onto a two-story rooftop, or lifting several hundred pounds of rock...
Jura, having seized the initiative, swept out a whip kick. Seeing this, Roy instinctively retreated to dodge.
Whoosh!
Roy backed up two or three meters. Before he could regain his footing, a shadow like a viper struck towards him. He raised the Muramasa Sword to block, but the long whip landed precisely on the back of his hand. With a snap, the skin tore open.
A sharp pain shot to Roy's brain, and he gasped sharply. In his peripheral vision, he noticed that the skin on the back of his hand had been ripped off, the wound deep enough to expose his finger bones.
The Muramasa Sword nearly slipped from his grip. He quickly switched the sword to his other hand.
"Hahahahaha!"
Jura controlled the distance between himself and Roy to about four or five meters. He rapidly lashed out with the long whip, forcing Roy to jump and weave. Every time he was hit, his skin tore open. Beyond that, his bones felt like they were being pulverized.
Before long, Roy's shirt was shredded. His chest and back bore numerous whipping marks, purplish-red wounds oozing dark red blood. Even his right cheek had a faint red welt.
A burning pain covered his entire body. Anyone else would have regretted challenging Jura alone—he could have just left the fight to Ryuu, where Jura would still have faced death.
Yet, the light in the depths of Roy's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "Twenty-one wounds, three minutes. That is the damage you have inflicted on me!"
Jura's face froze slightly.
A faint bloody light emanated from Roy's body, creating a visual distortion, like the air around a flame.
"This... is this a Skill? Impossible, you're only LV.1." Jura's pupils widened. He had only gained his first Skill, a Beast-Taming type, after leveling up to LV.2.
Roy lunged forward, instantly crossing the five meters. The Muramasa Sword thrust fiercely towards Jura's heart.
"What good is a Skill? My level is still higher!" Jura roared, trying to bolster his courage. His long whip struck out, darting like a snake emerging from its hole.
The moment the sword touched the whip, Roy gripped the hilt with both hands and twisted rapidly. The sword, like a stirring rod, wrapped around the long whip.
Blood for Blood · Double Repayment!
Discarding the Muramasa Sword tangled with the whip, Roy exerted every muscle in his body. The bloody light around his body converged on his fist, which he slammed heavily toward Jura's face.
Jura also abandoned his whip and threw a punch.
With both sides losing their weapons, the fight devolved into pure, close-quarters combat, signaling the height of the battle.
Crack!
When the two fists collided, a powerful force distinctly not belonging to an LV.1 emanated from Roy's punch. The bones in Jura's fist, forearm, and upper arm all cracked audibly.
Jura looked terrified, stumbling backward.
Roy executed a spinning turn, delivering a powerful shuto (hand strike) to the back of Jura's neck, instantly shattering his spine. His nerves severed, his eyes instantly lost their luster. With a thud, his body collapsed onto the ground.
Jura's eyes remained fixed on Roy. In his final moments, he couldn't believe he had died at the hands of an LV.1 scrub, especially since the opponent hadn't used any insidious tricks!
"Hah! Hah!"
Roy gasped for breath. Killing an LV.2 adventurer with LV.1 strength was undoubtedly a great achievement!
[Would you like to level up?]