I settled on blocking with the Shield of Champions and attacking from behind with magic. The lizardman moved like he’d been training with the sword since he was a child. It was quite a while before I got an opening to counter with a Lightning Strike.
“Hssssrrrrrgg!”
Electricity shot from my fingertips and spidered over his body. While he was paralyzed, I bashed him as hard as I could with my shield, then lopped off his right hand—taking the sword with it. The lizardman staggered back, clutching at the stump of his arm. I put my shield away and picked up Noname.
“I did it! This is going to be awesome!”
But I shouldn’t have let my guard down. The lizardman whipped out with his tail, aiming straight for my heart. I barely got away in time to avoid it. I’d heard that some lizards could regrow their tails if they got cut off, but this guy was clearly a step above that—he was already regrowing his hand. Strands of goo hung from his new fingers and he leaped forward. This time however, he wasn’t aiming for me. Instead, he destroyed one of the boulders in the arena.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
He was so strong! He probably could have killed me with his bare hands. It didn’t take me long to work out what he was up to—he needed some appropriately sized stones. When he found one that fit nicely in his hand, he flung it at me.
“Huh?”
Fwing!
The rock hurtled toward me, and I instinctively raised Noname to block. Somehow, I managed to deflect it, but only by pure chance. The lizardman’s throwing was impressive—he must have had an A- or S-Grade skill for it.
Time to pull my shield out again. The rocks weren’t anything special, so I hunkered down and started launching Wave Slashes from behind it.
“Gah?!”
The lizardman spluttered, stumbling back. The slash connected in a direct hit, slicing his body in two. I really didn’t want to watch him regrow a whole new set of legs, so I activated Flame Blade and charged forward, burning his head clean off.
Finally, I plopped down onto the ground beside him.
“Ugh, I really hope that’s the last of them.”
If a fourth enemy appeared, maybe I could try to escape. Although, if I called the Dungeon Elevator now, I’d probably just have to start all over again the next time I came down here. But the audience groaned in disappointment, and my fears proved to be unfounded.
“How awful!” cried the host. “How dastardly! This mere child has bested all of our heroes. How could this be?! Well, I don’t want him to kill me, so I’m going to open the gate.”
The path forward opened up, and the audience didn’t seem like they were about to riot either. Time to get out of here before anyone changed their mind. I shuffled toward the gate in a very unheroic manner, when suddenly the host started shouting again.
“Oh, what is this?! I have a bad feeling about this guy!”
Crackle crackle crackle…
What was it now?!
Thunder rippled through the arena, followed by black lightning. Soon, a crack opened in midair, revealing black nothingness and within it a rider on a red horse. The horse was majestic, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the rider. He had long black hair, and he would have looked human if not for his fierce red eyes. He wore no helmet, but his black armor was edged with gold. He carried a black lance, and I didn’t have to use Discerning Eye to know he had high defensive stats.
“The strong one,” the rider rasped. “Where is he…?”
I stood there in silence for a moment. I had to remind myself to look at his abilities.
Name: Black Lancer
Level: 666
Skills: Devastation Thrust; Elusive Thrust; Javelin Throw (Grade S); Total Magical Resistance (Grade B)
Are you kidding me?! I might as well just give up now!
This had to be the creature that Dory told me about. Even a cursory glance at his stats convinced me that I didn’t stand a chance.
Was he really looking for me? He had to be, right? But instead, the rider turned toward the screaming audience.
“Where is he…?”
He spurred his horse on, and it leaped easily into the crowd. Once the Black Lancer was over the wall, he started spearing everyone who tried to run.
“I don’t want to die!” cried the host. “I’m too young to die!”
The guy was out of his mind with fear, but when he turned to run, the lance flew out of the crowd and speared him straight through the head. I had to admit, that was a spectacular throw. Before I could spend too long admiring it, the Black Lancer turned his horse toward me.
“Sometimes it’s just best to hit the bricks!” I reminded myself.
Time to make a break for the exit. It was right in front of me, but the Black Lancer wasn’t far behind. He retrieved his spear from the host’s body and drew back his arm, aiming it straight at me.
I have to make it. I have to!
If I didn’t, I was dead.
I reached the gates and, sure enough, the stairs were at the end of the hall. But I could feel the lancer right behind me. Goosebumps sprang up all over my back.
“Not even the weak shall escape,” he intoned.
Moving almost by instinct, I parried the lance with the flat of Noname’s blade. A horrible screech chased me down the corridor, but I had faith in this sword. Or maybe I just had faith in the Enduring Blade skill I’d given it.
Either way, my trust was tragically misplaced. Noname crumbled on impact, and I tumbled to the ground.
The whole world spun around and around. My only thought was getting away. The stairs were right in front of me. If I ran as fast as I could, I might make it.
“I see that you are not one of the weak,” said the rider.
At least that’s what I thought I heard him say. I was so afraid that I might have imagined it. At any rate, I reached the stairs and managed to tumble down to the fourteenth floor. An impenetrable darkness flooded out from the bottom of the stairs, but I didn’t have time to investigate. If the Dark Lancer had appeared on Dory’s floor too, then he could probably appear anywhere.
I reached the checkpoint for the fourteenth floor and hurriedly summoned the Dungeon Elevator to return to the second. I still don’t want to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t.