Chapter 70: Dungeon Conquest (2)

Chapter 70: Dungeon Conquest (2)

The sound of Freezing Talons slicing through the air echoed sharply in the dungeon.

Is that the relic he obtained from the Gray Training Ground? He managed to bring it here without the Lord noticing. Aidan thought, his eyes fixed on Karyl’s sword.

Will I finally get to see him use magic? He hardly used it during the competition. As Aidan had seen Karyl fight against Curan in Tatur, he knew just how skilled Karyl was with a sword.

But that only fueled his curiosity even more. The Expert Competition is, after all, a contest reserved only for ranked sorcerers. As he was unaware of the recommendation letter from Baron Beryl, Aidan often wondered if Karyl’s magical prowess was truly at a level qualified for the Expert Competition.

If he truly possesses magical power that ranks him among expert sorcerers... Combined with the remarkable swordsmanship Aidan had witnessed, It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Karyl a Sword Master. Aidan watched him with trembling eyes.

Karyl, however, lunged towards the Agma, seemingly unconcerned by such thoughts.

[Listen well.] Allen’s voice cut through the intensity of the battle, as Karyl deftly parried the Agma’s spear.

[Until now, the place where you’ve wielded the Colorless Air Sword was a virtual space created by me. That place puts more emphasis on your imagination over your physical limits. Therefore, wielding the Air Sword in the real world may prove to be completely different.] In response, Karyl’s focus narrowed, fixing intensely on the Agma.

“There's no room to intervene,” Mikhail murmured as he watched the fight between Karyl and the Agma. Even though he had seen Karyl in competitions, the level of combat he was currently seeing left him awestruck.

Despite the intense training he had undergone since joining the mercenary gang, just following Karyl’s sword with his eyes felt overwhelming.

Crashhhhh—!!

The sound of the sword slicing through the ground rang out as Karyl relentlessly attacked the Agma, who skillfully deflected his bows with its shield.

It feels like I’m fighting a person, not a monster. Karyl’s gaze grew sharper as his sword kept missing by a hair’s breadth.

Then... But the fact that the Agma was able to dodge his attacks only made Karyl’s smile grow wider. According to Allen, this was the perfect opportunity for him to freely practice his swordsmanship.

“Huff—!!”

Swiftly adjusting his grip on the Freezing Talon, Karyl drew it towards his waist, preparing to unleash his move.

Colorless Air Sword, Second Form.

He raised the sword high and struck down with a heavy blow against the Agma's shield, causing the monster to stagger.

After mastering the First Form, Karyl was quite impressed. Calnere must have put much effort into creating the Second Form. It was the only sword form of the Colorless Air Sword that Karyl found satisfactory, needing no adjustments from start to finish.

Yet, all of a sudden, a bizarre sound of twisting muscles rang out.

“...!!”

Despite the powerful attack, Karyl’s sword failed to pierce the Agma’s shield, and to his surprise, right after the strange sound, the monster’s lance started spinning like a top.

[Be careful!!] Allen Javius warned, and right on cue, the Agma's lance shot out like a cannonball, followed by a tremendous noise and clouds of dark dust.

“Karyl!!” Seeing Karyl disappear amidst the rising dust, Mikhail urgently called out, gathering his mana. Wind began to swirl from his hands, creating a vortex that drew in the smoky haze. revealing Karyl’s figure.

“...!!”

As the dust was drawn into Mikhail’s magic, Karyl’s figure was revealed, accompanied by the sound of heavy breath echoing through the dust. Mikhail turned around only to see crimson blood flowing down Karyl’s shoulder. Despite narrowly dodging the Agma's spear, the accompanying wind pressure had torn his flesh.

“Look out!!”

Mikhail shouted again, noticing that the Agma stood behind Karyl, aiming its spear from above, ready to strike him down.

Aidan, noticing it as well, quickly adjusted his dagger and rushed forward to distract the creature.

“Don’t worry. I am fine.” Karyl's calm voice rang out.

He appeared above the Agma. He had moved with such speed that the Agma couldn’t even react. He was so fast that he appeared stationary, a motion barely perceptible.

Swoosh—

A tremor ran through the Freezing Talons, and Karyl's wrist moved—the only motion Aidan could barely catch. Yet in the flash of a moment, before he could even register the movement, the Freezing Talon's blade had already pierced Agma's neck.

Karyl had used the second of the Five Sword Steps, the Unicorn Posture.

"Wow... This single corpse is like a treasure trove, offering both anti-magic armor and materials for artifacts." Mikhail smacked his lips at the thought of the possibilities. "Karyl, you seem to know everything. I'll get started with the disassembly, but it might take some time."

"Good." Karyl nodded in response and let out a low sigh.

In truth, he had just quoted Allen’s words. He blamed himself for nearly misspeaking due to his laxity. Hah, I'm not quite used to this yet, huh? I need to be more careful.

Under normal circumstances, Allen would have teased him for such a mistake, but for some reason, he remained silent, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Karyl paid little mind to him, and casually touched his shoulder, the one that had just been injured by the Agma,

"Although we haven't been inside for long, let's take a short break while Mikhail is disassembling," he said.

"Yes," Aidan responded promptly, following Karyl's lead.

*

After burying the hefty carapace in the pit they had dug and covering it with dirt, Mikhail wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Are we done now?" Aidan, who had been waiting, stretched lazily and asked.

"You could have lent a head, you know?"

"If a mercenary can't handle this much on his own, it would be a disappointment."

"...I'm more on the magic side now, you know," Mikhail grumbled.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're still part of the mercenary gang, not a magic guild."

"Ugh." Mikhail could only grumble at Aidan's joke.

"Let's keep moving. We still have a long way to go."

"Yep."

"Understood."

Having bandaged his shoulder, Karyl moved it around a few times to check, nodding in approval as if satisfied with its condition, before rising to his feet.

We've lost more time than expected. It's not good to stay in the dungeon for too long because of the toxic air.

In his past life, he hadn't known that it was actually dark energy, but he was well aware of the physical effects of the dungeon's toxicity.

We'll conquer this place and head back within twelve hours.

Karyl hastened his steps, his eyes shining with determination.

What are you doing? Aren't you coming?

[Ah, no... It's nothing.]

Karyl looked at Allen, who was still standing behind him, not uttering a word. Since the other two couldn't see him, he couldn't look at him in an obvious manner.

You've been quiet for quite a while. Is there a problem?

[No, it’s nothing. Let's just keep moving.]

Hmm.

Karyl turned his head back and started walking again.

However, Allen, seemingly lost in thought, murmured in a low voice as he watched Karyl's back disappear into the dungeon.

[No matter how much I think about it, that sword technique you claim to have created...]

Allen trailed off, hesitating to voice his thoughts aloud.

...It feels like I've seen it somewhere before.