Sousetsuka

 8





Lecan quickly moved to the right and recited a spell.

"<Flame Spear>!"

Just when the spear was about to hit Carrion King, it exploded in mid air.

It's a barrier.

Earlier on, the Carrion King's attack was stopped by Lecan's <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier.

And now this thing reproduced that barrier as its own. Likely using mana from the magic Lecan shot at it.

"<Flame Spear>! <Flame Spear>! <Flame Spear>! <Flame Spear>!"

Lecan kept shooting a barrage of magic while circling around the Carrion King's right side.

All of which was blocked by a barrier before they hit the Carrion King.

Lecan stopped moving and tried to make heads or tails of what just took place.

(This thing snatched.)

(The mana from that first <Flame Spear> I shot at it.)

(Then using that mana, it generated barriers to block my subsequent barrage of attacks.)

Looking again the vortex of mana is still swirling on the Carrion King's right index fingertip even now.

(One spell worth of mana from my attack.)

(Was enough for this thing to block five of my attacks.)

(And it's still got a lot of leeway.)

(This thing's mana efficiency is an order of magnitude higher than me.)

Lecan was terrified.

He was at a loss as to how he should go about this fight.

Carrion King slowly rotated its body to face Lecan.

Lecan raised <Apparition Cutter> high up and charged ahead toward the Carrion King.

The Carrion King shot a magic.

A <Flame Spear>.

Lecan's <Necklace of Intuador> generated a barrier that blocked that <Flame Spear>. Lecan swung down the sword without minding the occurring explosion but the Carrion King had vanished.

It had warped into the back of the room once again.

It lifted up its right hand and pointed its bent index fingertip at Lecan yet again.

There's a thread of mana that connects that fingertip to Lecan's chest.

Lecan checked where the thread connected, and experienced another spine chilling sensation.

It's connected to <Necklace of Intuador>.

Lecan instinctively understood what's currently going down.

(This skeleton bastard.)

(Is draining mana off my necklace!)

Lecan leaped backward.

However the mana thread persisted.

He tried moving left and right in a zig-zag pattern, but the thread still persisted.

Lecan retreated to the floor's exit and attempted to get back to the stairway.

But he couldn't get out.

"<Zoruas Kurt Venda>!"

He recited the spell yet he wouldn't teleport away.

He's not allowed to leave this room until this confrontation against Carrion King is over.

Lecan tried cutting at the mana thread with <Apparition Cutter>, but it wouldn't work. This link is unaffected by physical objects.

(Just how am I meant to deal with this?)

That was when the thread got cut off.

A moment later, Carrion King shot a <Flame Spear>.

A bluish white thick <Flame Spear> on par with Lecan's version.

It landed on Lecan's chest and blew him away.

His head collided hard against the rock wall, but he managed to keep his consciousness. The helmet offers a truly outstanding protection.

As Lecan tried to regain his posture, another <Flame Spear> shot out.

To the legs, to the abdomen, to the shoulder, the Carrion King toyed with Lecan all while dealing damage, yet Lecan managed to regain his balance and dodged two more <Flame Spears>.

Eventually the barrage of <Flame Spear> stopped, affording Lecan time to gather his thoughts while still keeping watch on his foe.

The Carrion King's offensive magic hit Lecan.

This suggests that <Necklace of Intuador> is no longer working. All of its mana has been drained off.

Just what could he do in this situation.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"<Tiri Warda Roa>!"

With <Ring of Undying King>'s activation, Lecan's body turned dull white. Nothing can damage Lecan for a little while from here on.

Carrion King tilted its head.

Lecan raised <Apparition Cutter> and charged at the Carrion King.

A gigantic <Flame Spear> shot out of the Carrion King's right index fingertip and landed on Lecan.

However, Lecan only suffered a slight recoil and no damage.

Nothing can harm him during the <Invincible> period of <Ring of Undying King>'s Grace.

Lecan savagely lunged at Carrion King.

And just as his sword was two steps away from it, Lecan's body stood completely still.

He can't even move a muscle as if he's being hold down by an invisible giant.

Mana flowed out of Carrion King's right index finger. Some sort of magic is pining Lecan down.

Lecan exerted all the strength in his body to go against this loathsome invisible something and go forward.

However, he can't advance. The power that has bound Lecan isn't budging in the slightest.

Carrion King made a gesture of flicking out its fingers.

Lecan immediately got blown back.

He rolled on the rocky ground, hitting protruding rocks here and there but he managed to regain control.

<Ring of Undying King>'s effect has lapsed by this point.

Carrion King pointed at the ceiling with its finger.

Lecan's body flung hard into the ceiling.

An intense pain assaulted Lecan.

Carrion King pointed his finger at the ground.

Lecan's body got beaten down onto the ground.

The impact was enough to send all the air in his lungs out.

Carrion King pointed at the right wall.

Lecan's body crashed onto the right wall.

Carrion King pointed at the ceiling, ground, both walls on and on, Lecan was helpless to prevent himself from getting thrown around all over.

<Apparition Cutter> had fallen off his hand.

His helmet was torn off and came flying off.

He made an attempt to protect his exposed head, but it wasn't perfect and his head is bloodied all over. His body under the armor suffered serious injuries as well.

Lecan noticed how he could move his body again.

Carrion King had lowered its right hand as it stared at Lecan with a slightly tilted head.

Lecan stood up while enduring the pain.

His head feels dizzy.

"<Recovery>."

The wounds on his face and head closed up and blood stopped coming out. His vision, hearing and smell came back to normal. However, his face and head are still full of blood stains.

"<Recovery>."

He cast <Recovery> over his armor and took Mana Restorative and Red Potion.

Carrion King kept staring at Lecan.

It must be toying with him.

But he gives no crap to what his foe is thinking if it means a time out for healing and preparing for his next attack.

He'll take everything he can take now.

Lecan took <Sword of Toron> out of <Storage>.

It's been broken from the fight against Argent Flame Wolf, so it's at half length.

But it might have a chance at defeating the Carrion King with its magic dispelling ability.

Lecan took a stance with the sword and recited a spell as he walked forward.

"<Zoruas Kurt Venda>."

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 7





As he stepped onto floor 10, Lecan's <Life Detection> only showed one blue dot. A very small dot. Situated in a room that wasn't too spacious.

Lecan proceeded ahead.

A rough ground consisting of rocks. Same with the walls and ceiling.

He was on his guard for the possibility of Dark Sprites emerging out of the walls, but nothing happened even after he got far in.

As the enemies have been steadily getting stronger and numerous the more he goes down in this dungeon, he thought this floor would finally prove to be a challenge. But that hope has been dashed as it seems.

Lecan stopped moving 20 steps ahead of this one enemy and checked it out with <3D Perception> and <Mana Detection>.

It's a humanoid magic beast.

Around kid-size.

It's kneeling down with its arms wrapped around its legs and face down so Lecan can't tell its full figure, but there's not even a shred of power from it. It's wearing some sort of worn-out rag-like thing to cover its emaciated body.

It's only got a very small pool of mana.

A trifling foe.

"<Graph Make>."

Lecan cast a spell to investigate this floor's structure.

"What?"
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
There is no stairway that leads down.

Meaning this is the lowermost floor.

Or perhaps, defeating this frail-looking foe will open up a stairway down.

(Can't be.)

(This is no Grand Dungeon.)

It's really the end by floor 10.

What an utterly lacking dungeon.

Then he's just gotta defeat this thing in front of him and get out of here.

As Lecan took a step forward, the magic beast lifted its head.

It's a skeleton-like face.

A chill stopped Lecan in his track.

Lecan's battle hardened instinct is telling him not to carelessly get in the range.

As he squinted in this dim room, he found out that this thing was not fully a skeleton, it still got a little bit of meat attached to it. Or more like skeleton with dried meat sticking to its face.

This magic beast stood up.

Dull and slow like an elderly.

Its standing figure looked quite feeble as well, you'd think a slight breeze would push it down and break all its bones.

Turned out, the worn out rag was no rag at all.

It's meat.

Rotting meat is clinging to its bones, swaying as it moves.

Looking again, the bone-clinging meat on its entire body is all rotten and slimy looking, with a disgusting color to it.

Remains of hair dangle on its head.

Rotting water plant-like hair.

A repulsive odor drifts in the air.

Lecan pulled back his right leg that was about to step forward.

(Is this thing a Carrion King (Nuruell)?)

The highest ranking specter kind among Apparition type magic beast, Carrion King, he's heard of its existence at least. He has no knowledge on their appearance but this seems to fit the bill.

Lecan drew the <Apparition Cutter> hanging on his waist. It's finally this sword's turn.

"<Deploy>!"

He deployed <Shield of Wolkan> and put it in front of his chest.

Then he stepped forward.

Carrion King raised its right hand and casually moved its index finger.

Then a black lightning-like thing manifested and assaulted Lecan.

It clashed with <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier, creating a huge explosion.

Lecan was shocked.

This thing shouldn't have enough mana to cast such a powerful spell.

(No. Could it be.)

(This thing can cast magic with an extremely high efficiency.)

(Still, it shouldn't have been able to do anything noteworthy with such a small mana pool.)

Carrion King lowered its right hand slightly, its head tilted to the left.

As if it was wondering how its attack got blocked.

Its expression even looked like it was laughing a bit.

Lecan swiftly charged ahead and swung down <Apparition Cutter> at the Carrion King.

It vanished.

Lecan turned around.

The Carrion King is in the middle of the room now.

(Was that Warp?!)

(But I didn't sense any mana convergence.)

Even Argent Flame Wolf would converge its mana whenever it cast magic even if only for an instance. Especially when it warped, the mana vestige clearly remained.

Yet there was not even a hint of the Carrion King converging its mana to warp nor was there any vestige remaining during the warp.

(You must use magic to defeat the magic beasts in this dungeon.)

(That might apply to this thing too.)

"<Reduction>."

Lecan turned <Shield of Wolkan> back to gauntlet form, carefully raised his left hand with <Apparition Cutter> still in his right arm and converged his mana.

"<Flame Spear>!"

A thick bluish white-colored spear of flame flew at the Carrion King.

The explosion that should have defeated this Carrion King never took place.

The Carrion King is just casually standing idly where it's at.

A vortex of mana mass is swirling on the bony index fingertip on its right hand.

The Carrion King had so easily absorbed the magic Lecan shot and put it under its control.

The words Shira told him way back in the past resurfaced on Lecan's mind.

<<Those who cast magic without reciting spells, especially those who do so like they're breathing are no ordinary humans. Those beings are the embodiment of magic itself. They live in the world of essences. If you ever come across such a being, Lecan, run away. Run even if they possess very little mana. They stand on a whole different level than you. They will swiftly see through your weaknesses, and kill you or worse, make you go through a fate worse than death.>>

The thing standing before Lecan now is not even human. However, this Carrion King may very well fit the description of <The embodiment of magic itself> Shira mentioned.

A chill ran down Lecan's spine.

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 6





It's a cramped, short and dim dungeon.

Lecan found a stairway that connects below on ground floor, so he took it.

The stairway was narrow with bedrock walls on all sides. And dim.

He would have hit his head so many times if it wasn't for <3D Perception>.

The stairway wasn't that long.

He got to floor 1.

It's dim as well.

All of a sudden, a mass of many glimmering things flew out.

They all went for Lecan.

Who quickly saw through their real nature and recited a spell.

"<Flash (Riliom)>!"

A dazzling flash of light shone the place as the dozens of those things vanished while leaving resentful voices behind.

They were Hollow Shrieks (Gwora).

They're Apparition type magic beasts classified under Soul Demons, they're incorporeal.

Listening to the voice they emitted would induce panic and lower your ability.

Additionally, having your body, especially head, possessed by one will drain your vitality and knock you out. And death awaits if it's left alone.

When Lecan encountered one in Dungeon Golbul, he managed to regain his sanity thanks to <Ring of Rozan>, but back there those things were floating individually, and their movements were predictable so dealing with them was simple.

Yet the Hollow Shrieks he came across just now were on a completely different level than the ones in Golbul.

First, their mana was far above those. Meaning they're probably higher ranked.

The sudden ambush and how swiftly they moved were nothing like Golbul's Hollow Shrieks as well.

Though the Lecan now has <Necklace of Intuador> on him. He's got nothing to fear with it on, no matter what kind of powerful magic those Hollow Shrieks cast.

(Fumu.)
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
(The weird dimness and then this.)

(This dungeon might be a home to a bountiful of Apparition type magic beasts.)

(Which means.)

Lecan put <Sword of Rusk> away and took <Apparition Cutter (Ginscyll)>. A Grace Gear he obtained on floor 123 of Dungeon Tsubolt.

(It's a chance to test this thing out.)

His face slackened up without him realizing.

Then he got down to floor 2.

The stairway to Floor 2 was quite long.

Magic beasts were prowling all over the place here.

But exclusively on the ceiling high above.

There's countless icicles hanging down the ceiling with magic beasts flying around the gaps between them.

They're half translucent white with an upper half resembling the form of a human woman.

These must be the so called White Frost Princesses (Surushirufen) magic beasts.

The White Frost Princesses spewed out white breaths as they flew around.

Those breaths evaporated in the air, turning it white little by little.

(It's cold.)

One of the magic beasts shot something out of its mouth at Lecan.

It's an ice.

A sharp ice knife.

It's flying quite fast.

Lecan cut down the incoming ice knife with <Apparition Cutter>.

Dozens of the White Ice Princesses shot out their ice knives toward him.

"<Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>!"

Lecan immediately unleashed a barrage of Fire Arrows.

Each spell generated ten <Fire Arrows> which then flew into the ceiling.

The White Frost Princesses got stabbed by the Fire Arrows and broke into pieces before disappearing as they screamed.

The ice knives they shot hit <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier and broke down.

Real ices would have slipped past the barrier. Meaning both these White Frost Princesses and the ices they shot out are incorporeal.

"<Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>! <Fire Arrow>!"

Lecan had enough of it and continued the barrage of <Fire Arrows> until they all got destroyed.

And thus no more foes remained.

<Life Detection> shows that there's not even a single magic beast on this floor.

"<Graph Make>."

He tried using <Graph Make> magic just to be sure and sure enough there's none.

Lecan looked at the drawn <Apparition Cutter> in his right hand.

He wanted to find out just how effective this sword is and if it could cut down intangible beings, but there was no way to achieve that with that setup just now.

As he stepped in the stairway to floor 3, Lecan recited a spell.

"<Floor>!"

Only the Ground Floor came up on his mind.

He didn't get the marks on floor 1 and floor 2.

(That's odd.)

Grand Dungeons have their own peculiar quirks, but ordinary dungeons all have the exact same structure. In ordinary dungeons, defeating two Giant Variants on a floor in succession will get you a Mark that allows you to warp to that floor.

He exterminated all the magic beasts on floor 1 and 2 in this dungeon and yet he didn't get a Mark. There was no Giant Variant to begin with. And the magic beasts don't drop a magic stone when defeated.

(This is no ordinary dungeon.)

(Something's not right.)

Floor 3 magic beasts were incorporeal type as well. Probably what they call <Dark Sprites (Boabora)>.

Some unknown magic attack came flying at him, but <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier protected Lecan.

These Dark Sprites look like a lump of phantom haze that can get bigger and smaller. This extends not only to their bodies but also their presences. They're troublesome alright, but <Lightning> took care of them.

Floor 4 had Hollow Shrieks. They were more powerful and numerous than the ones on floor 1, but nothing to Lecan.

Floor 5 had White Frost Princesses, and Floor 6 had Dark Sprites.

It couldn't be, thought Lecan but Floor 7 had Hollow Shrieks, Floor 8 White Frost Princesses and Floor 9 Dark Sprites yet again.

Lecan was fed up.

The fight is boring and there's nothing to gain.

He can't even test out <Apparition Cutter>.

(Still.)

(You've no hope of exploring this dungeon if you cannot cast offensive and defensive magic.)

(And the magic those Dark Sprites cast on Floor 9 were no joke.)

(This is a dungeon for mages, exclusively even.)

As he took the stairway to floor 10, Lecan thought that the next floor would probably have more powerful Hollow Shrieks again.

(This is boring.)

(Gotta conquer this boring dungeon quick and get out.)

But a completely unexpected adversary awaited him on floor 10.

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 5





Lecan noticed that he was gripping something in his right hand when he came to.

Something that holds an enormous amount of mana.

He lifted it up while still laying on the ground.

It's a magic stone.

A crimson-colored magic stone with a beautiful luster at about the same size as Toron's.

(Is this the Argent Flame Wolf's?)

That's the proof of his triumph over Argent Flame Wolf.

Lecan finally defeated that mighty foe, a Divine Beast that had honed itself in battle.

He was awash with a sense of fulfillment while still feeling hazy, then he put away the magic stone in <Storage> before falling asleep again.

The next time he woke up, he was hit with insatiable hunger.

And it's cold.

It's night already.

Lecan got up and cast <Recovery> on his legs first thing first.

It worked well.

He crunched on Mana Restorative and Stamina Restorative and drank down water.

It was refreshing.

He felt the water soaking through his entire body as it gradually regained its strength.

He cast <Recovery> on his whole body.

Then he gathered some withered branch, grilled some meat and made soup. As he could only wait until it was all done cooking, he chewed on some bread all the while.

Then he slowly enjoyed his meal. He could never had enough no matter how much he ate.

After meal, he refilled <Necklace of Intuador>'s mana and went to sleep.

Once he woke up, he put on new clothes first. And picked up the broken pieces of <Sword of Toron> on the ground.

It was cold.

His body is getting chilly. He collected some firewood and lit them up.

The Argent Flame Wolf left no corpse behind. Which means the magic stone was his only prize this time.

"Now, then. Time to get a move on. Wait, where is this place again?"

He walked on with maximum <Life Detection>'s scope for a while before eventually running into a village.

He entered the village and asked the villager there their whereabouts.

According to the villagers, he was in Tiren Village in Modo Barondom.

Apparently, Lecan has strayed far to the northwest.

To the east is Town of Transhe, and to the west is town of Egis. They're both about the same distance away from Tiren Village, though Egis is apparently a tad closer.

Lecan bought some food from the villagers.

He gave up trying to find a lodging since the villagers were obviously wary and scared of him, and just went straight into the forest toward the northeast.

He should arrive at Egis or at least a highway that connects to Egis if he just followed this direction. And since Egis is connected to the capital on highways, getting to Mashajain from there should be simple.

As he was about to set up camp in the forest, he noticed a spot his <3D Perception> can't detect behind a dense formation of trees while probing the surroundings with it and <Life Detection>.

"What?"

Lecan drew near that spot and probed it.

There's a lump of protruded soil. It looked like a part of the hillside at a glance, but Lecan had ended up searching the spot with <3D Perception> by chance since the trees looked as if they surrounded the spot. He usually doesn't make it a habit to search inside soil, but it's not like it can't be done. And yet it can't be done for this particular spot.

There is only one explanation for this phenomenon.

"<Flame Spear>! <Flame Spear>! <Flame Spear>!"

The hillside laid bare after he blew away the trees that were in the way.

Lecan stared hard at it.

Then he leaped back, held out his right hand forward, converged mana and recited a spell.

"<Flame Spear>!"

An extra large <Flame Spear> hit the hillside, breaking and blowing away the rocks.

A hole emerged.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
A dungeon.

It really is a dungeon alright.

Lecan took a small shovel out of <Storage>, pushed the soil away and removed the rocks.

There's no mistake, it's a dungeon. The entrance to this dungeon was buried under soil and rocks.

It might be an undiscovered dungeon. Meaning it has never been conquered before of course.

To dungeon adventurers like Lecan, unconquered dungeons are the most exciting of adventure. Moreso when it's a dungeon no one else has gone into. He could feel the thrill welling up, complete with anticipation.

He quickly had his meal and changed his clothes.

Fortunately he has that armor he got at Yufu. The armor made from a mix of Great Flame Dragon and Dylan Silver Steel with free sizing joints. It's almost an exact replica of the armor Duo Bahn had, but there's no crest of Yufu Dungeon Knights on it. It's made as a gift to the Royal Family or other lords.

It's a bit over the top as a casual wear, but there's no denying its extraordinarily high magic and physical resistance, and it's also much more unrestrictive compared to common full plate armor.

Lecan was hesitating what to do about the helmet at first, but he decided to put it on. His field of vision gets restricted with it on, but Lecan's got <3D Perception>. He's not really a fan of helmets, but there's no harm in trying out how it feels at least once.

He didn't put the gauntlet parts.

The left one would get in the way of <Shield of Wolkan>'s gauntlet state. While his right hand needs to be free of obstructions to handle his sword.

The sword on his waist is <Sword of Rusk>.

With the gauntlet form of <Shield of Wolkan> on his left hand.

<Ring of Rozan>.

<Necklace of Intuador>.

<Dagger of Harut>.

<Ring of Undying King>.

<Talisman of Darkness Demon>.

<Leg Bands of White Devil>.

And <Guardian Jewel of Zana>.

He's pretty much fully prepared for everything. It's a bit dramatic for just exploring shallow floors, but as this dungeon is of a completely unknown quality, there's no such things as overly prepared.

It's already light out as darkness wraps the surroundings, the insides of the dungeon becomes the only source of faint light instead now.

It was already cloudy before, but it turned worse with nightfall.

A cold breeze blew then it started pouring as thunders could be heard from afar.

A heavy downpour hit the mountain right as Lecan took a step inside the dungeon.

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 ４





The leaping Argent Flame Wolf crashed into the anti-physical barrier.

The wolf drove its fangs into the barrier, breaking it into pieces.

However, that managed to throw it off balance mid-air.

"<Perforation (Shupire)>!"

<Sword of Toron> in Lecan's right hand plunged right onto the wolf's neck.

He could feel some feedback.

Yet the sword failed to pierce through the Argent Flame Wolf's neck fur.

(What?)

That thrust was a skill-infused stab. Lecan never imagined that it wouldn't work.

The wolf landed and leaped back.

Just as Lecan was going to go after it, his legs gave out.

He supported his body with <Sword of Toron> stabbed on the ground as he was about to completely fall down. He tried to take a step forward, but his legs wouldn't follow his command.

He put his right hand into <Storage> grabbed Red Potions and Stamina Restoratives and crunched on them.

They won't be as effective after the past few days of continuous usage, but it should be better than nothing.

(Just a little bit.)

(Give me strength for just a little bit more!)

Argent Flame Wolf's face distorted detestably as it shook its entire body.

Lecan felt a bit of strength returning to his legs.

He put power into his right hand and stood up using <Sword of Toron> as a support cane.

Argent Flame Wolf's body is clad with mana. That shaking motion was for drawing out the last bit of mana from inside its body.

Argent Flame Wolf flung its jaw open.

"<Deploy>!"

Lecan turned around as he turned the <Shield of Wolkan> back from its gauntlet state.

Argent Flame Wolf warped right before Lecan's eyes and shot out magic attack.

Lecan thrust out <Sword of Toron> at the wolf while protecting his head with <Shield of Wolkan>.

The sword should disperse most of the magic attack so long as any part of it touches it.

However, <Argent Flame Wolf> directed the magic it converged at Lecan's legs as if it was avoiding <Sword of Toron>. The magic attack still retained most of its power as it hit Lecan's legs.

(Crap!)

Gonna lost my legs from knees down, thought Lecan.

However, the <Leg Bands of White Devil> equipped on both his shins staved off the wolf's magic attack. While his shoes got burned away from the attack, Lecan's insteps suffered grievous damage.

"<Perforation>!"

Lecan thrust out <Sword of Toron> on the wolf's face as he fell forward but it hit a hard bone and broke apart.

Argent Flame Wolf vanished. With Warp.

Lecan turned around. The wolf stood 20 step away from him.

Its face distorted as it shook its body. It's squeezing out the very last ounce of its power from within its body.

(How.)

(How come I couldn't damage this thing.)

Lecan's attack hit and even broke the Argent Flame Wolf's forehead back in Dungeon Palcimo.

What was it that differed then.

(I see!)
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
(<Sword of Agost>!)

<Sword of Agost> is a sword dedicated to exterminating dragons. Meaning it's a sword capable of killing Divine Beasts. Thus why it managed to damage Argent Flame Wolf.

But at his current state, Lecan can't possibly wield the gigantic <Sword of Agost>. Even if he could, he would be too slow to deal with Argent Flame Wolf. He only managed to do it in Dungeon Palcimo due to his companions stopping and luring the wolf's attention.

The wolf stopped shaking its body.

The lights shot out of its eyes poured at Lecan.

Lecan would have died had it attacked him with its claws or fangs earlier.

Yet, the wolf opted to warp away instead.

It feared for Lecan's attack.

Which means, Lecan might have driven this wolf into the corner despite losing his sword.

The Argent Flame Wolf is converging its mana once again. Amassing the power needed to finish Lecan off.

"<Recovery> <Recovery>!"

He cast <Recovery> on his feet, but it was ineffectual. They're still torn to shreds.

(Get healed! Get healed!)

He tried to will it, but his Self-Healing skill wouldn't activate.

(Is it still not severe enough?)

Lecan put away the broken <Sword of Toron> into <Storage> and grabbed another sword out.

A long and heavy sword.

The blade fell on the ground with a thud.

It's <Sword of Agost>.

Argent Flame Wolf is still converging its mana.

It must be planning to unleash the most powerful magic it could muster up for one last time. Even if <Sword of Toron> could disperse most of it, the remaining firepower should still be enough to kill Lecan. After all Lecan can no longer dodge now.

Turning to defensive actions would only prolong his death.

Argent Flame Wolf is still converging its mana. But the amount of mana emanating wasn't that much. Even the wolf must be nearing its limit.

Lecan lifted up the huge sword and took a step forward with his right leg.

He could barely feel his legs.

Then another step with his left leg.

(Alright. Here's the spot.)

With its power amassed, the wolf opened its mouth wide. Not allowing Lecan to get any closer.

An instance just before the Argent Flame Wolf unleashed its finisher magic attack, Lecan covered his face and recited a spell in a very quiet whisper.

"<Zoruas Kurt Venda>."

A moment later, Lecan's body warped 20 steps ahead with <Sword of Agost>'s huge blade thrust deep inside the opened mouth of Argent Flame Wolf.

There's the wolf's face right before Lecan's eyes.

The expression of shock in its face with the <Sword of Agost> embedded was not unlike that of a human's.

Lecan grinned as his consciousness blacked out.

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 3





Lecan recited the spell to activate <Talisman of Darkness Demon>.

Argent Flame Wolf shouldn't be able to move for a while with this Grace Gear active.

While Lecan can freely.

But then, Argent Flame Wolf vanished a moment before he finished reciting.

"What."

It just warped away.

Lecan sensed the peculiar mana wave emanating from it when he was reciting the spell earlier.

He was already done with the recitation by the time he realized what was going on.

However, the wolf would always without fail warped next to Lecan whenever it initiated the jump, until now.

Lecan focused on <Life Detection> to look for Argent Flame Wolf's location.

It's nowhere.

The wolf is nowhere within the search range of <Life Detection>.

That's how far away it has run off to.

Even if the Grace took effect, Lecan had no way to locate the wolf thus no way to attack it. The Grace time limit kept ticking on meanwhile.

He went out of his way to save using the Grace Gear until this point since he was afraid the wolf would be wary of it on the second usage, and that was all for nothing.

"Tch. No choice."

Lecan switched gear instead of dwelling on it.

(I've got this precious time for myself.)

(Gonna make full use of it.)

Lecan refilled <Necklace of Intuador>'s mana.

It was almost empty.

Then he ate bread, jerky and drank water.

He also took Stamina and Mana Restoratives.

They're not quite as effective as he's been taking them all this time.

(Still.)

(That was some fleet-footed fleeing.)

(Hold it.)

(Could it be.)

Could it be Argent Flame Wolf has had experience fighting someone with <Talisman of Darkness Demon> beforehand.

That possibility hit him.

<Talisman of Darkness Demon> has about 28 steps radius effective range. His opponent would hear the spell at that distance. And the wolf was likely familiar with it.

Otherwise, there's no explaining why it suddenly opted to run away at that point.

This was when Argent Flame Wolf suddenly emerged 50 steps ahead of Lecan.

Lecan charged at the wolf.

And recited a spell.

"<Tiri Warda Roa>."

Argent Flame Wolf intensely stared at Lecan as he charged at it in <Invincible> state granted by <Ring of Undying King>.

Its gaze is oddly fierce.

And just as Lecan got within 20 steps to it, the wolf vanished once again.

It's still inside <Life Detection>'s range this time around. But that's still 2000 steps away.

(Dammit.)

(Wasted two of my trump cards.)

Lecan ran up the gigantic crater slope.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
And ran into the forest.

The Argent Flame Wolf started its pursuit slowly from quite far away.

(Is it still suffering the wound from earlier?)

(No, that's not it.)

(It must have suffered a great deal of damage.)

(But this guy's still got some strength left.)

(No that's not why, it's being cautious.)

Argent Flame Wolf was shocked to witness the magic it shot with all its might reflected in its fullness.

The same wolf isn't aware that <Magic Mirror of Ryin> is unusable for three days after each usage. Hence its only choice is to be on guard.

Lecan doesn't even consider the option to get away from Argent Flame Wolf. Even if he did, the wolf could just warp back right to him regardless of distance. In fact, staying close to it makes the fight easier as he could then observe it.

Lecan jogged slowly to converse stamina at first, but then the wolf suddenly raised its speed, forcing Lecan to do the same.

On the third day, <Necklace of Intuador> used up all of its mana. He can only rely on <Sword of Toron> now. But the sword is incapable of completely nullifying magic attack, so some residuals will inevitably hit Lecan. Queen Spider's armor gradually tore apart until only its remnants left on him. His <Thousands Rock Spider Vest> and his favorite trousers were also completely tattered.

Argent Flame Wolf favors spewing magic out of its mouth, but it would also sometimes let out a barrage of magic circles, and sometimes it would even attempt to burn or freeze Lecan.

Lecan kept casting <Recovery> on himself while taking Mana Restorative. Red potions as well. And water.

After innumerable exchanges of magic and evasive maneuvers, Lecan has grasped the knack to anticipate Argent Flame Wolf's magic. Though the same could be said to the wolf as it's gotten quite good at predicting Lecan's movement. Hence the ebbs and flows haven't actually changed. Lecan would employ <Leg Bands of White Devil> and <Gust> to evade powerful magic.

By the end of the third day, Lecan's speed has obviously fallen.

However, so did Argent Flame Wolf's attacks as they lost its fierceness.

The effect of <Recovery> has dulled after repeated usage, Lecan's body is full of magically induced wounds. He can't heal himself well anymore with <Recovery>. Naturally, Red Potions are useless too by now.

The flight continued on even now.

He had used <Ring of Undying King> and <Talisman of Darkness Demon> again, but the Argent Flame Wolf warped away whenever he did. Nevertheless they afforded him break times.

And then on afternoon of the fourth day, the moment he had been waiting for finally arrived.

As Argent Flame Wolf tried to shoot magic, it let out a feeble 'phew' sound and a puny fireball came out.

(Finally!)

(It's out of mana!)

Lecan ceased his flight and savagely ran head on toward the Argent Flame Wolf.

(Dammit.)

(My legs' shaky.)

Even Lecan is nearing his limit. Stamina Restorative is no longer effective. Due to him taking them for days.

Lecan was gripping Sword of Toron in his right hand and <Wand of Cordyshie> in his left.

The Argent Flame Wolf bent its body down before propelling itself forward toward Lecan.

Just as its razor-sharp fangs were about to crunch on Lecan, a spell echoed.

"<Barrier (Ogdim)>!"

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 2





Lecan always knew he would have the third match against Argent Flame Wolf.

Thus he deliberated. Just how should he approach the fight.

And he reached a conclusion, a plan to exhaust the wolf by keeping on fleeing.

Every single Argent Flame Wolf's magic attack has a tremendous amount of mana put behind it.

Those attacks should consume quite a lot of mana.

And Lecan has Mana Restorative.

What'd happen then if he minimized his mana expenditure while the other party kept expending a lot of theirs.

He decided to take a shot at it.

The necklace would quickly use up all of its mana if he kept getting hit directly by Argent Flame Wolf's magic. By zigzagging around, hiding behind big trees, and avoiding direct hits, the necklace would last longer while Argent Flame Wolf would use up more and more mana.

Argent Flame Wolf is faster than Lecan in a straight race. And wolves are much better at swiftly changing course than humans.

However, irregular movement is deceptively difficult to do. And Lecan often used this tactic of fleeing until his opponent would drop their guard during his early years in his world when he wasn't as strong as he is now. And with <3D Perception> skill on him now, he's even better at running through forest now, the knacks he got from running for his dear life back then should prove useful even now.

He needs to stay in the forest to ensure this plan's consistency. This was the reason Lecan took the highways and always stayed in towns on his way to Yufu. And why he purposely traversed through forests on his journey from Yufu to Mashajain. And not a small forest, but somewhere the forest sprawls throughout a vast area.

And just as he planned, the Argent Flame Wolf went for him.

Lecan ran away. And kept running away. In order to grasp victory.

Lecan was headed for mountains with lots of ups and downs.

Trees, elevations and obstructions would protect Lecan from Argent Flame Wolf's attacks.

There were times where he couldn't perfectly dodge, even then he would strive to avoid direct hits. To minimize <Necklace of Intuador>'s mana usage.

Would be best if he could refill the necklace's mana, but that'd require him to stop and calm his mind along with a bit of time. That's unrealistic. Even then, he would find enough times to cast <Recovery> on himself, take in Stamina Restoratives and drink water here and there.

Argent Flame Wolf would stop moving to converge its mana whenever it shot powerful magic. Lecan has no way to completely evade this enormous magic thus he faces it head on with <Sword of Toron>. Vestiges of attack the sword couldn't disperse got blocked by <Necklace of Intuador>'s barrier.

Lecan is wearing the Queen Spider's armor right now. This armor has high magic resistant, but it's still lacking before the Argent Flame Wolf. Overking Bear Overcoat seemed to have exceeded its restorative effected, it's not restoring back and now sleeps in <Storage>.

Argent Flame Wolf kept its chase on Lecan, demolishing the forest in its path.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Woon!"

Argent Flame Wolf howled once. Then a mass of mana manifested above it, swirling into a complex vortex.

Busy with running away, Lecan couldn't afford to look behind at that vortex but it's probably a magic circle.

A storm suddenly blew ahead of him.

Lecan immediately cast <Gust> to escape into the sky above.

But a moment before it was cast, he changed its direction.

"<Wind>!"

A strong <Gust> clashed with the storm ahead of him, and he ran through a gap in the winds created by the clash.

Then, a thunderbolt magic attack exploded behind him.

He would have been hit directly by that had he escaped into the sky.

It's been more than a day since he started this escape plan.

Both Lecan and Argent Flame Wolf's speed hasn't deteriorated at all.

(Still this guy.)

(Is really sticking with magic attack.)

Lecan had always suspected it.

That Argent Flame Wolf specialized more in magic attacks than physical.

Naturally he's well aware just how dangerous its claws and fangs are, even experienced them first hand. Its nimbleness and motor skill are impressive as well.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel that Argent Flame Wolf specializes more in magic attack. He couldn't help but believe that these powerful magic and the vast amount of mana it has are the secret to Argent Flame Wolf's mightiness.

Thus the reason Lecan went with this strategy of exhausting the wolf's mana.

Regardless of whether that guess was right or not, the Argent Flame Wolf kept attacking with magic. There were also times it would warp right above Lecan and assaulted him with its claws and fangs, but it mostly persisted on using magic attacks as if it was to prove something.

By the end of the second day, Lecan slipped and fell down.

Argent Flame Wolf stopped and converged its mana.

This mana convergence was no joke. A vortex of a humongous amount of mana swirled.

Argent Flame Wolf is readying itself to shoot magic attack far more powerful than anything before.

Lecan thrust his left arm forward as he stood up and recited spells.

"<Deploy (Parshoot)>! <Reflection (Waldona)>!"

A hitherto unseen massively powerful magic attack was unleashed, swallowing Lecan whole.

A moment later, <Shield of Wolkan> was on his arm, <Magic Mirror of Ryin> was activated, and he proceeded to reflect this magic attack.

Its destructive power was simply beyond word.

A huge part of the mountain got gouged out and evaporated, all the trees around them got mowed down before bursting into flames.

Lecan was slack jawed at the enormity of the firepower.

As the cloud of dust settled down, the Argent Flame Wolf stood in the center of a giant crater.

Its eyes are closed, legs firm on the ground, it had stood against the magic.

Even this Argent Flame Wolf capable of brushing off any and all magic suffers great damage when hit by its own magic.

Smoke is rising from its whole body. Its beautiful fur has been dulled brown.

And yet there's not even a patch of torn fur. It truly holds a terrifying resistance against magic. However, the flesh under that fur seems to have suffered a great deal of damage, it's bubbling and swelling up.

Lecan could smell a scent of burning meat even from this distance. Its flesh under the fur has been grilled.

Lecan climbed down the crater.

Argent Flame Wolf opened its eyes wide. A gaze full of rage pierced Lecan.

Lecan carefully approached the Argent Flame Wolf.

Argent Flame Wolf shook its body, kneaded its inner mana and clad itself with that mana.

Then its browned fur regained its white luster back complete with the glister. The flesh under its fur also got refreshed, back to its glory.

(Oh?)

(What was that?)

He can't tell what Argent Flame Wolf just did. But it's clear that the wolf had just used up a huge portion of its mana.

This is exactly the chance to use his trump card.

Lecan recited a spell once he got close enough.

"<Gaspario Raaf>."

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