Published at 22nd of January 2024 12:06 pm

Chapter 320: The Way of Tempering: When Iron Meets Iron

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“Yoosh!”

After activating the banishment skill that could pass through anything, [Mirage Shift] it took just one second. With only a single step forward, I had successfully breached the “Sealed Door” that had been troubling the hero Niko and his companions.

Hmm, that was easier than I thought. If I hadn’t been able to pass through, I was thinking of trying to pass through the surrounding walls, floor, or ceiling. If that still didn’t work due to a strong seal, I considered secretly borrowing the Yellow Orb from the casino… Ahem, ahem, I considered borrowing it just for a moment for a righteous cause, but it seems that it’s unnecessary.

So, I had succeeded in coming to the other side of the door, but…

“It’s dark… I can’t see anything”

Beyond the door, there was total darkness. Of course, it’s natural for it to be dark since the door that should be opened was closed, but even so, it was dark. During the activation of [Mirage Shift] the way objects looked changed or, rather, the contours of objects were emphasized, so I could still manage somehow, but if I were to rely on normal vision, I wouldn’t even see my fingertips close to my eyes.

Though the duration was three hours, after deactivating [Mirage Shift], which would be unusable for a day, I planned to explore the back of the room in this state and, if lucky, find the dungeon core said to contain the magical tool. However, it seems I’ll have to revert to normal and bring out a lantern or something.

“It can’t be helped… Whoa!?”

The moment I deactivated it torches on the nearest pillars to the left and right suddenly lit up. As I started walking slowly, it seemed that the torches on the pillars attached nearby would light up as I approached them at a certain distance.

“I see, it didn’t detect my entrance because I was invisible. But this guidance is quite blatant…”

As if it were the path for a king, there was a red carpet laid straight on the floor beneath my feet, and as I advanced, the pillars lining the sides would guide me by lighting the torches. The room itself was quite large, so I could stray from the path, but it would be too roundabout to ignore the place where something was certain to be and explore the unknown darkness.

“Heh, they did it like this.”

What awaited me as I walked down that path was a mysterious monster with a white cloth over its head like a ghost… No, a monster. Its height was only up to my chest, and two human-like legs extended from the hem of the cloth, but it seemed to have no arms hidden inside the cloth.

“…This thing is strong, isn’t it?”

There’s no way it could be weak, being placed here alone, but apart from that, I could feel the presence of a strong opponent from this white cloth. And that intuition did not fail me; the moment the white cloth kicked the floor, its figure approached me in an instant!

[Squeak!]

“What the!? Seriously!?”

As I caught the flash-like kick, a firm response was transmitted to my hand. In other words, that foot had metallic hardness, unlike its appearance.

Moreover, the white cloth launched three kicks without touching the ground. It doesn’t seem to be simply flying through the air, but there’s no doubt it’s using some trick.

“Tch, you’re pretty fast, aren’t you! Then it’s my turn now!”

Surely there wouldn’t be a fourth kick, so the white cloth landed on the floor and leapt behind me with the same momentum that it had flown toward me. So, I kicked the floor to chase after it, slashing at the white cloth, which I assumed was its body, with [Dawn Breaker.]

[Squeak!]

“What!? You’ve got to be kidding!”

Although it seemed to be floating in the wind, what I heard was a high-pitched sound and the firm response of slashing a foot. Could it be that its whole body is hard even though it looks so fluffy!?

“It’s a complete visual deception! Damn it!”

I slashed at the white cloth many times, but my blade just wouldn’t go through. If it were merely hard or soft, there would be countless ways to handle it, but I’ve never cut something that has the hardness of metal while yielding like cloth, absorbing force. So I don’t know how to put power into it to cut it.

“Ugh, you!”

The enemy’s method of attack was, fundamentally, its two legs alone. Even so, they attacked me in ever-changing ways, pressing me accurately. I would like to attempt a counterattack, but for now, matching its moves alone was quite challenging.

Well, in such a situation, actually, if I used the attack that I used to defeat the Winged, this guy could probably be taken down easily. But that’s a technique to be used as a last resort against opponents that regular attacks don’t work on, not a technique to be used against opponents that can be attacked normally. If I got used to that, my skills would probably dull in no time.

Or, if I deployed [Invincible], I could probably remain unscathed even if I completely abandoned defense, but that’s different too. The trump card is a trump card after all, and if I used it regularly, it would be useless against an opponent… like in a match I absolutely can’t afford to lose, and I’d be caught off guard.

So, this situation is good. On the battlefield, there’s only me and the white cloth, an environment where I can focus only on the fight without worrying about anything extra, and I’ll hone what was a slightly cloudy aspect of myself as a “normal swordsman” using this guy as a whetstone.

“More! Faster! Sharper!”

Kiiin! Kiiin! Kiiin!

Like a whip, it bends, like a spear, it extends, like a sword, it slashes, like a blunt weapon, it strikes. Handling those two legs of the white cloth that way, I found myself smiling without realizing it.

Ah, this is it. This feeling. Just like when I’m focusing on forging, only the fight fills my thoughts.

Slash, stab, sweep, catch on my back, cut with the blade. My sword dances wildly in response to the white cloth’s feet, and the situation, where I should have been at a disadvantage, gradually turns into a draw, and then into an advantage.

Kiiin! Kiiin! Kii–Bushuu!

Finally, my perfectly angled cut sliced off the white cloth’s left leg at the shin. The blood that spurted out was the same red as a human’s, but the white cloth landed as if it didn’t feel pain and lunged at me.

But sadly, one leg is one leg. It seemed to want to obstruct my vision by flinging its spurting leg around as a last-ditch effort, but…

“Too bad, that won’t work on me.”

I brought my arm to my face to block the blood spray. I don’t need sight anymore, not when it tries to get an attack through with half its original strength… because there’s only one trajectory it can take.

Kiiiiin!

The white cloth’s desperate kick. But in its path, I placed… [Dawnbreaker], and the white cloth’s right ankle was sent flying in the wrong direction by its own power.

As a result, the white cloth fell flat on the floor. Unable to stand up after losing both legs, its crawling on the floor was a pitiful sight, worthy of a defeated opponent? The answer is–no.

“–Hmph.”

It rushed me carelessly, and I, anticipating it, bisected its body from the head–the only part not sagging with cloth. Black smoke rose from the two slashed pieces of white cloth, and it became mere fabric, fluttering to the floor.

“Phew……….”

After its body disappeared, I finally exhaled and relaxed. The pieces of cloth that should have overlapped were now back to one piece, and when I picked it up, a faintly glowing, translucent gem appeared beneath it.

I recognized its existence. It was the same thing that was in the depths of the dungeon when I conquered another dungeon in the first loop.

“So this is the Dungeon Core, huh? Then the mission is accomplished.”

I slowly put the Dungeon Core in the [Stranger’s Box] and finally, once again, looked down at the floor where it had fallen.

“That was a good fight… you were strong.”

After speaking praise to no one in particular, I quietly sheathed my sword and smiled.

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