Chapter 103: Inside The 99th Floor

Reiji’s eyes narrowed.

[Water Jet.]

A compressed beam of water burst from his fingertips.

SWOOOSH!

The high-pressure stream pierced straight through the creature’s skull.

A fist-sized hole exploded through the back of its head.

The impact sent it flying several meters before its body slammed heavily against a stone pillar.

BOOM!

Fragments of rock scattered across the floor.

"...Got it." Aoi let out a sigh of relief.

Then the creature simply stood back up.

Aoi’s mouth slowly fell open.

"It... stood back up?"

The hole remained in its skull. There was no blood. No flesh attempting to regenerate.

Its head simply had a massive opening through it. Yet... it continued walking toward them as though nothing had happened. It was as if the hole in its head was simply another Christmas decoration.

Scrrr...!

Scrrr...!

"...Seriously?" Reiji muttered.

The creature suddenly lunged again. This time, Reiji didn’t underestimate it.

His body shifted to the side.

The black claws narrowly missed his face.

SHING!

The claws carved deep grooves into the stone wall instead.

’Its physical strength isn’t weak...’

Reiji immediately created distance. His eyes never left the creature.

It wasn’t regenerating.

It simply didn’t care.

Destroying the brain accomplished nothing. Destroying the soul accomplished nothing.

Which only left the body itself.

Reiji slowly raised one hand.

[Mana Manipulation.]

Invisible mana threads spread outward.

At the same time...

[Verdant Growth.]

Tiny green vines erupted from the cracks beneath the creature’s feet.

Instead of wrapping around it, the vines rapidly hardened.

Compressed and sharpened.

Within moments, dozens of needle-like thorns floated quietly around Reiji.

Aoi watched everything unfold.

’Again...’

She still couldn’t understand how one spell continuously changed into something completely different under his control.

It was as though every element obeyed him.

Reiji flicked a finger. The needles shot forward.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

They pierced the creature from every direction.

Its shoulders. Its knees. Its elbows. Its chest. Its neck.

Dozens of tiny holes instantly covered its body.

The creature staggered.

But it still refused to fall.

"...Persistent."

Reiji frowned.

’Then let’s take things up a notch.’

A ripple spread through the air. His hand reached behind him.

A faint flash appeared.

The Long Bone Sword emerged from his Inventory.

Aoi’s eyes widened.

’A Spatial Pouch...?’

She had assumed he simply kept the sword hidden beneath his cloak. Apparently not.

’So... he’s carrying a Spatial Pouch?’

For some reason, that made her even more convinced he was some kind of mage.

After all, he constantly fought using magic.

Only drawing a sword whenever absolutely necessary.

But what she didn’t know was that it wasn’t a Spatial Pouch. Rather, it was his Inventory.

But Reiji didn’t know what was going on in her mind, and even if he did, he would continue to let her assume it was a Spatial Pouch.

The creature screeched, and Reiji calmly gripped the handle.

Black and amber mana quietly wrapped around the blade.

The undead creature charged one final time.

Its claws tore through the air.

Reiji stepped forward.

Then a flash.

SHING!!

The Bone Sword flashed continuously through the chamber.

The creature froze.

Then its body split apart.

One piece. Then another. Then another.

Within seconds, its entire body had been cut into dozens of pieces.

The scattered remains finally stopped moving.

Blue particles slowly rose into the air before disappearing completely.

Ding!

[Host has killed a C-Rank Lurking.]

[+9 EXP.]

Reiji quietly exhaled.

Aoi walked toward the scattered remains and bent down.

No core. Just countless disintegrating pieces of the creature’s remains.

Aoi sighed. She didn’t expect one after all; he had shredded it like paper.

She stood up before looking back at him.

"...That thing was creepy."

"Haha." Reiji chuckled as he returned the Bone Sword to his Inventory.

Aoi’s eyes unconsciously followed the movement.

’Definitely a Spatial Pouch...’

The more she observed him, the more mysteries she discovered.

A ridiculously powerful perception skill. Several different magic attributes. A strange black-and-amber mana.

A Spatial Pouch.

Swordsmanship capable of instantly killing monsters.

And an identity mysterious enough to make the entire country search for him.

"...Just who are you?" she whispered almost unconsciously.

Reiji glanced at her.

"Hm?"

"...Nothing." She quickly looked away.

There were still too many questions she couldn’t ask.

Their contract remained clear. She wouldn’t pry into his secrets.

Reiji looked deeper into the ancient hallway ahead.

"...Let’s keep moving."

Aoi nodded.

The two ventured farther into the ninety-eighth floor.

Unlike the upper levels, this place felt ancient. Every stone pillar was covered in faded carvings. Broken statues lay scattered throughout the corridors.

Some depicted warriors. Others resembled creatures neither of them recognized.

The deeper they walked, the colder the air became.

After several minutes, another staircase appeared before them.

This one remained perfectly intact.

Wide stone steps spiraled downward into darkness.

Reiji activated Detect Presence.

"...Looks clear."

"So... we walk?"

"We walk."

The two descended carefully.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the staircase.

Unlike before, nothing collapsed.

Several minutes later, the staircase finally ended.

A massive pair of stone doors stood before them.

One of the doors already hung open.

As though something enormous had forced its way through long ago.

Reiji slowly pushed it wider.

Rumble!

The doors groaned open.

Both of them stepped inside. Then stopped.

The chamber was unlike anything they had seen since entering the ancient ruins.

The ceiling stretched so high that the darkness swallowed its upper reaches. Massive stone pillars lined both sides of the hall, each engraved with weathered symbols that neither of them could decipher.

Several had collapsed over the centuries, leaving mountains of rubble scattered across the floor.

At the center of the chamber lay countless gigantic bones.

Some resembled those of monsters.

Others belonged to creatures neither Reiji nor Aoi could identify.

"...Something strong is here," Aoi murmured.

Reiji didn’t answer his eyes swept across the battlefield.

There were signs of destruction everywhere, yet a strange silence hung over the room.

No insects. No wind.

Not even the faint scratching noises common throughout the dungeon.

It was unnaturally still.

Almost as though the chamber itself was waiting.

An enormous chamber stretched before them.

At its very center stood a gigantic creature.

It possessed the body of an elephant.

The muscular forequarters of a lion.

Massive crimson wings resembling those of a phoenix rested folded against its back. Its burning golden eyes slowly opened.

The Chimera had noticed them.