Chapter 304 - This Time, and This Time Too
"Um… Haru? I think things are a little… strange."
"What a coincidence, Sora-san. I was just thinking the same thing."
"This is the same dungeon as before, right? It's not just a different area that happens to have the same layout, is it?"
"It should be the same [Buried Labyrinth of Forgetfulness]… at least, I think so."
"Right. So then—what is that?"
"Well, yeah—it's probably the [Boss: God-Wedge Sword-King]."
Our total clear time was just under thirty minutes.
In real-world time, we'd blitzed through the dungeon in less than twenty minutes, arriving at this fateful place without a shred of the exhaustion we felt last time.
…So far, so good. But when we opened the gate and stepped into the vast, circular field I remembered, we were greeted by something entirely unfamiliar—an utter unknown.
I had plenty of questions, but there was only one way to react to the thing waiting for us in the boss area. Namely—
"Who the hell are these guys?"
"Two… of them?"
The enemy nameplate read: [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King].
That much was the same, but the similarities ended there.
Over six meters tall.
A giant knight of platinum armor.
A greatsword with the majesty of a holy blade.
Nowhere to be seen was the nemesis we knew. Instead, our bewildered gazes fell upon two armored knights who hardly deserved the word "giant."
Each stood at about half the height of the original [Angalta]. While the design and atmosphere were similar, their armor was different—one white, one blue.
Their weapons were also distinct: the white knight wielded a greatsword, the blue one twin swords. But the most noteworthy thing was…
"Are those… mine?"
"Magic swords, right…?"
Attending each of them, floating in the air, were two golden straight swords.
Faced with such a drastic transformation from the base form we'd fought before, Sora was speechless while I couldn't suppress a wry smile. The armored figures remained motionless, awaiting our challenge.
The nature of the [Buried Labyrinth of Forgetfulness]—and by extension, [Angalta]—was Learning of Martial Might.
The [Wandering Decaying Statues] that appeared along the way weren't technically enemies, but part of a gimmick. They weren't a defense mechanism to block intruders, but a learning device designed to invite them in…
They were offshoots created by this battle-crazed entity, evolving by learning the power of challengers.
…I'd studied up on all that, but still.
"You were supposed to 'evolve,' not 'split in two'...!"
"This… this doesn't feel like a rematch anymore…"
My thoughts exactly. Also, what are we supposed to do about this? They look absurdly strong.
Even though they've been split right in two and their scale has been reduced, the sheer pressure they're exuding is on a completely different level from the giant knight before.
And that's per knight. Even if it's the same boss, something like the [Jemrant Quintesta, the Gem-Eating Queen] we just rolled over would be no comparison.
Well, well… they sure look like they're having fun.
"So… what's the plan?"
First, do we fight them together or try to separate them?
"…I think we should try to split them up first."
My thoughts exactly. As a general rule, letting enemies coordinate in a game never ends well. That's doubly true when they're ridiculously strong-looking boss enemies.
"Okay, which one do you want?"
In response to my question, Sora stared intently at the twin knights still standing in the distance.
"………………I'll try taking on the 'white' one."
"Got it. I'll take the 'blue' one."
"Let's see what their abilities and strengths are, and change our approach if needed."
"Agreed. Let's try to keep an eye on each other as much as possible."
"Instead of testing the waters… we should probably push them hard from the start, right?"
"I get that feeling. If we give them any breathing room to coordinate, I have a bad feeling we'll be completely stuck…"
"Then—at full power."
"Yeah—all out."
We nodded to each other and took a step forward.
Detecting our entry into the combat zone, the silent pair of knights stirred, pulling their weapons from where they were planted in the floor.
As we advanced, we shared a smile without even looking at each other.
"Come—[An=Ru Galta (Hypothesis: The Wedge-Armor that Sings of the Royal Road)]—[Everquartz, the Sky-Soaring White Crystal Sword]."
"`Schwert Kreis`—`Torus`, `Acht`."
With my left armor and right sword, and her magical sand swords at the ready, we fixed our gazes on the enemy.
It was a bit different from the rematch I'd envisioned—but that was fine, too. A true gamer should welcome the unknown and the unexpected.
"—Haru."
"Yeah?"
"This time, let's actually win."
"Of course. Sora."
"Yes?"
"This time, let's have a blast."
"…Yes!"
Who was the first to charge? Was it me? Sora? Or one of the armored knights?
Less than a second remained until the battle cry. I couldn't hold back the irrepressible smile spreading across my face, but that couldn't be helped. Why?
Because the future I could see was guaranteed to be exceptionally fun.
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◇Status◇ Title: Acrobat Name: Haru Lv: 100 STR: 200 AGI: 250 DEX: 0 VIT: 0(+150) MID: 300(+350) LUC: 300
◇Skill◇ ・Gandharva 《Construction》 《Flip Stroke》 《Whirlwind》 《Exchange Voltate》 《Greed's Precept》
・Water Magic Aptitude 《Aqua》 《Flood》
・Active 《Reflect Blower》 《Breath Moment》 《Rocket》 《Floating Leaf》 《Fatal Leak》
・Passive 《Embodied Protection》 《Awakening Blow》 《Heavy Attack Manipulator》 《Adamant Sky Dash》 《Hare Real》 《Land Insulate》 《Floating Star》 《Trickster of Zenith》 《Dangerous Light, Fast Recovery》 《Cutting Body, Unyielding Advance》 《Guardian's Cradle》 《Mana Efficiency》
《Telepathy》
◇Arts◇ 【Kesshiki Ittoryu】 《Flying Water》 《Striking Iron》 《Heavenly Snow》 《Withered Flame》 《Seven Stars》 《Blade Thunder》 Secret Technique: 《Bound Wind》
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇ Name: Sora Lv: 100 STR: 100 AGI: 200 DEX: 100 VIT: 100 MID: 500(+200) LUC: 50
◇Skill◇ ・Magic Sword Aptitude 《Optimize Alert》 《Magic Sword Telekinesis》 《Homing Projection》 《Magic Sword Generation Efficiency》
・Light Magic Aptitude 《Qualia Veil》 《Circlet》 New!
・Active 《Scareless》 《Observer's Eye》
・Passive 《Mana Cladding》 New! 《Acrobatics》 《Precept of Seeing Through》⇒《True Eye》 Up! 《Precept of the Healing Hand》 《Mana Efficiency》 New!
《Telepathy》
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Tomorrow, I can't promise, but I'll do my best.