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"Guoh oh!"
"Hss!"
Amidst a sea of mist.
Monsters with slender bodies and big heads, known as "Imp," appeared in groups, swarming from all directions toward the center.
At the center, the gleaming light of a blade never ceased, dancing like a sword's ballet, creating an impenetrable defense. Occasionally, a flash of the blade would cut off the head of a Little Devil.
Even with over a dozen Imp charging at once, they gained no advantage and couldn't breach the sword's barrier.
He seemed to move effortlessly, constantly shifting his steps to minimize the number of enemies he faced at any given moment. Then, with a sudden swing of his blade, he steadily reduced the number of Imp.
This was a sword skill created by Ryoji, specifically designed for defense, named "Flawless Buddha's Light."
His master, the God of War Nangou Torajirou, had a famous technique called "Kenkyoku · Tsurugi no Mai." Using this technique, he dominated the battlefield, emerging unscathed from every chaotic battle, earning him the title "Flawless."
Ryoji absorbed the essence of this technique and innovated upon it, transforming it into a sword skill that suited him, Flawless Buddha's Light.
This sword skill was particularly effective in group battles, where its true power could be unleashed. It turned the area around him into an impenetrable barrier, making it an unbreakable defense.
As time passed, Ryoji, like a thin stream flowing forever, reduced the number of Imp to about three or four.
At this point, the Imp finally realized their fear, understanding that this was a tough nut to crack. They quickly panicked and fled, disappearing into the thick mist.
Ryoji did not pursue them. Instead, he stood in place, panting heavily, recovering his depleted stamina.
"Roar oh!"
But before he could rest for long, a roar buzzed through the air.
Shortly afterward, a massive half-Beastman gradually emerged from the mist.
The half-Beastman had a towering three-meter-tall body, a boar's head, and deep brown skin. A grass skirt hung around its waist, and its body, though covered in fat, seemed somewhat bloated. Yet, with every step it took, the ground trembled faintly.
"Is the 10th Floor already this challenging?"
This was the 10th Floor of the Dungeon.
A thick mist filled the space, making it impossible to see anything beyond a few meters. The ground was covered in dry grass, crunching softly underfoot. The surroundings were also filled with completely withered trees, devoid of any leaves, leaving only brittle trunks of varying hardness.
The further down one went in the Dungeon, the more complex the terrain became. Features like grasslands and forests, which rarely appeared in the upper floors, began to emerge, and the spatial scope expanded significantly.
The maze on the 5th Floor was only as large as the central square, but the 10th Floor was at least a dozen times that size. Combined with the ever-present mist, even the paths became difficult to discern.
According to the rule of "increasing the difficulty every five floors," the monsters on the 10th Floor had also grown stronger by a level.
Monsters like the half-Beastman, a giant creature, never appeared in the upper floors. This was the first floor where such giant monsters appeared, and their three-meter-tall bodies exuded immense pressure, making the difficulty level evident.
"Hiss... Hah!"
Ryoji took a deep breath, using the ancient breathing technique taught by his master to squeeze out every last bit of his remaining stamina. Then, he charged toward the half-Beastman!
The half-Beastman's body was enormous, and its strength was undoubtedly formidable. However, its massive, fat-laden frame also became a burden, making its movements incredibly sluggish.
The half-Beastman swung its arm down, but it only hit a patch of grass. Ryoji's figure curved around its side, moving to its back, and then he slashed at the tendons of its legs.
"Vrring~!"
A flash of the blade.
"Roar oh, ?!"
The half-Beastman let out a cry of pain as the tendons in its heels were severed, causing it to lose control and kneel forward.
"Ha!"
Ryoji let out a low roar, leaping from behind and thrusting his blade into the half-Beastman's heart.
"Shhhrrk!"
The blade pierced through the fat without resistance.
The half-Beastman's eyes widened, but it couldn't make a sound. Shortly after, its body lost its color and turned into black smoke , dissipating into nothingness, leaving behind a Magic Stone about the size of a thumb.
"Ha..."
Ryoji couldn't help but sit down on the ground.
After battling the Imp and using the breathing technique to unleash his full power, he had nearly exhausted his stamina. He needed to find a safe place to recover before continuing his exploration.
"Roar oh!"
"Wū Wū Wū, , !"
However, as if he had stirred a hornet's nest, two more half-Beastmen charged out of the mist. These half-Beastmen were even wielding dry tree branches, clearly using the surrounding forest as a natural armory.
Not only that, but as the half-Beastmen approached, a swarm of bat-like monsters appeared in the air, emitting disorienting sound waves from their mouths.
"..."
It seemed they were trying to make things difficult for him.
In the upper floors, monsters usually came one at a time, and their appearance frequency was nowhere near this high.
He hadn't expected that the 10th Floor would easily flood with a large group of monsters. The previous swarm of Imp had been an accidental encounter, but now even giant monsters like the half-Beastmen could appear in pairs?
Indeed, the difficulty of the 10th Floor was on a completely different level compared to the first nine floors!
Ryoji reached for the pouch strapped to his thigh and pulled out a red potion, quickly downing it without caring about staining his clothes.
Before setting off into the Dungeon, Ryoji had visited a general store, where he bought a waist pouch, a thigh pouch, and several stamina potions.
By the way, a regular stamina potion only cost 500 valis each, and the shopkeeper must have made a fortune that day.
As the potion went down, his previously exhausted body quickly regained its strength.
Ryoji tightened his grip on the Vrring blade, sheathing his short sword at his back. With a clear mind, he prepared to counter the sound wave attacks from the bats, focusing all his attention on the two half-Beastmen.
"Come at me! I'm not afraid of you!"
A vicious glint appeared in his eyes.
Then, he stepped forward, charging fearlessly toward the group of monsters.
...
Unbeknownst to him, countless stars had already spread across the sky.
The number of Adventurers coming and going from the Tower of Babel had dwindled, with most gathering in taverns and similar places. Under the golden full moon, Magic Stone Lamps illuminated the main streets, making the entire Orario feel like a City that Never Sleeps.
In such a night, Ryoji dragged his weary body out of the Dungeon.
(End of Chapter)