Chapter 8 And Then 12 Years Passed
Despite my encounter with the madman Fiona Ackerman, I continued to steadily progress through the labyrinth towards the lower floors.
Within that year, I reached the 30th floor and faced the guardian who awaited me in the vast innermost chamber――"Lich".
Lich was an undead with an appearance like skin clinging to bones, clad in a black robe and wielding a staff.
Also known as the "No-Life King", he was a monster that wielded immense magical power.
Apart from his diverse offensive magic, the most troublesome aspect was the seemingly endless number of undead he could summon.
Necromancy magic――[Summon Legion Undead]
Lich could repeatedly summon an army composed of a wide variety of undead.
No matter how many I defeated, there was no end. Countless undead were summoned, filling the vast innermost chamber to the brim.
Individually, they were no match for me.
However, I was made to vividly experience the meaning of the phrase "there is power in numbers".
The battle dragged on for hours.
I couldn't even land a blow on Lich, let alone get close. Even when I decimated a large number of undead with [Blast Continuous Blade], they were immediately replaced.
Perhaps if I could annihilate all his minions in an instant, I could have approached during the brief summoning interval, but there was also a limit to the number of blades I could generate with [Blast Continuous Blade].
The undead summoned in the vast innermost chamber far outnumbered that.
On the other hand, if I tried to bypass the undead by using [Skywalk], a barrage of magic would rain down like bullets. Not only Lich, but many of the summoned undead were also capable of using magic.
In fact, when I was shot down from the air and plunged into the midst of the undead army, I thought I was going to die for real. Countless attacks from weapons and magic were unleashed from all directions, without even fearing friendly fire. If I were to take even one hit squarely and my posture was disrupted, I would surely be defeated without even having a chance to recover.
With a sense of impending death, my entire body stood on edge, and my consciousness shifted as if it had awakened. An unprecedented level of concentration.
My next move was dictated by instinct.
Landing on the floor of the hall, I spun around while swinging my wooden sword.
My unique sword technique [Blast Blade] variation――[Blast Round Blade]
The aura blade that spread in a circle exploded, blowing away the undead surrounding me.
I was about to unleash another sword technique to break free from the encirclement ―― when I suddenly realized that it would be bad to run away here.
The battle had already dragged on for a long time. As a result, my magical energy, which had been inexhaustible until recently, was finally starting to run out. If I took a break here, I would surely lose due to the difference in stamina.
Therefore, I decided to take a big gamble at this point.
I abruptly changed the direction of the sword technique I was about to unleash to break free from the encirclement. I swung my sword sideways towards Lich, who was at the back of the crowd.
My unique sword technique [Heavy Blade], [Flying Blade] ―― combined technique [Heavy Flying Blade]
I swung my wooden sword in a straight line and sent [Heavy Flying Blade] flying forward. While slicing through the undead in its path, I also advanced myself, hiding behind the still-advancing [Heavy Flying Blade] and sending it flying again when the aura blade spread and shattered. I repeated this process.
I pierced through the army and ran through it with repeated [Heavy Flying Blades].
It was a brute force attack without any strategy.
Sometimes, such brute force attacks can yield better results than thinking too cleverly.
However, [Heavy Flying Blade] could only defeat the enemies in front of me, and only some of them at that. It was absolutely impossible to defend against the constant attacks from all sides. Or rather, if I kept defending one by one, my feet would stop moving. Therefore, I took all the attacks ―― arrows, magic, spears, and stones ―― with my body.
"――OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!
I shouted and squeezed out all my strength and magical energy.
It was okay as long as I didn't die. I wrapped myself in an aura like I was activating [Slash] with a hand blade. I ran through without stopping, alleviating fatal injuries to the extent of serious injuries.
Amidst the chaos, I somehow managed to slip through the horde of undead and stand face-to-face with Lich, the cold ghostfire burning in his eyes.
By the time I reached him, I was already covered in wounds, barely clinging to life. My mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
If the fight with Lich's main body had dragged on any longer, I would have undoubtedly died.
But luckily for me, Lich's main body wasn't as powerful as I had feared.
"..."
Lich raised his ornate staff towards me, ready to unleash some magic.
"Prepare to meet your end!"
But at this close range, my sword was far quicker than any spell.
Fueled by the anger that had been building up inside me, I swung my sword down from a high stance.
My unique sword technique – [Flash Blade]
With that single blow, it was over.
Lich, sliced in half from head to toe, his false life extinguished. It was also fortunate that the summoned undead horde was sent back as soon as he vanished. If they had continued fighting even after Lich was gone, I would have definitely died.
Of course, with the potions I had on hand, I couldn't heal all my injuries.
With my near-death body, I somehow managed to return to the surface through the teleportation circle on the 31st floor and was taken to the Medical Clinic.
In my over ten years as an explorer, this was the closest I had ever come to death.
I took this as a lesson, and if I ever had to fight Lich again, I decided to further hone my [Slash] technique to make it an easier victory.
Well, I would rather not fight him at all.
But in the end, thanks to the sword technique I developed based on this experience, I would narrowly escape death the following year.
* * *
――It's been 11 years since you left ≪Sword of Glory≫
I don't even want to remember what happened that year.
In short, there was a stampede.
Monsters overflowed from the dungeon and were released onto the surface.
We explorers fought, and many of us died.
I lost 3 friends, and in my rage, I cut down the monsters mercilessly.
In the center of the swarm of monsters that could be called an army, I charged towards the monster at its heart,
I just kept slashing my way through.
Apparently, someone who witnessed this battle called me "Extreme Sword," but I never realized that I was "Extreme Sword" myself, nor did I report the outcome of the battle to the guild.
In the midst of the chaos, no one among those who witnessed the battle from afar knew who the "Extreme Sword" who appeared in the center of the stampede was, and my true identity remained unknown.
――And thus, 12 years had passed since I left the ≪Sword of Glory≫.
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