In the wake of the shock, I gasped. It pressed down harder, robbing me of air. My HP dropped by nearly half. Even if I tried to escape, in my breathless state, it would catch me.
The beast knew how royally screwed I was. That had to be why it didn’t attack. Instead, it simply watched.
“Think I’m a goner, do you?” I spat with a sneer. Apologies to the beast, but I wouldn’t let this battle end so cleanly.
It let out an animalistic howl at my disrespect, and lightning attacks once again rained down around us…yet I hardly took any damage. Why? Well, despite the tough situation, I had stopped for a small snack.
Magic Rebound Medicine
Swallowing this medicine will reduce all magic-related damage by 99% for ten seconds.
I’d swallowed my Magic Rebound Medicine, the bonus reward from level six that nullified the majority of magic damage for ten seconds. In other words, ten seconds of free rein to slash the lightning beast at will. That it came out of our full-body clash unscathed was unexpected, but I wasn’t hanging my hopes on that strike. When I jumped under its claws, I was tempting it to stomp me. That was part of the plan.
As for why I wanted to get stomped, it was simple: if the beast wanted to pin me down, it wouldn’t move. It would hold me down with its foreleg and wait for the life to bleed out of me, as many seconds as it took.
That’s what I was waiting for.
The beast let out a low growl as it watched me. It was probably wondering why I was taking my sweet time to die. Its expression shifted, as if it realized I was barely damaged.
With no time to waste, I swung Nameless at its other leg. It pushed down harder on my body in retaliation, but its action was too slow. The time I needed to activate my skill had passed.
Quietly but clearly, I said, “Dungeon Teleportation.”
Dungeon Teleportation only worked when the destination was a dungeon I’d already visited. With it, I’d bypassed the Span and achieved outrageous leveling in a short time. It had other uses, like when I teleported into midair during my battle with the Nameless Knight and orc general. Those had their place, but this shiny new technique was different. It might be the simplest yet most effective use of all. I’d just never fought an enemy that put me in a position where I needed to imagine it.
Theoretically, my idea made sense—at least in the case of a monster so massive, it could swallow me whole.
I spoke to the beast one final time, from inside it, where not a single ray of light reached…for now.
“The inside of your body is technically inside the dungeon, you know.”
I swung hard and cut the beast open from the inside. Its vulnerable guts vibrated as it howled in pain. As I’d hoped, the defensive barrier did nothing to protect its internal organs.
Man, the struggle I’d gone through made the effectiveness of this attack feel unreal, even if it was disgusting. This chance wouldn’t come again, so I had to act decisively.
“Haaaaa!”
Several slashes later, I carved my way through the darkness of viscera, muscle, and skin. With one more slash of Nameless, I opened a gaping hole in the side of the beast’s body. The cloudy sky above welcomed me back to the battlefield. The beast’s defensive barrier was gone due to the massive damage I’d dealt to it.
To my surprise, lightning started crackling through its body.
“What in the world?!” I exclaimed.
It wanted to expel me from its body at any cost, and my Magic Rebound Medicine had worn off. I couldn’t afford to take the hit, so I leapt into the air, still dripping the beast’s blood. I gazed down at it below me while it looked back with bloodshot eyes. Furiously, it snarled.
“Nice try!”
It snapped at me like a rabid dog, but I swung to the side and used the momentum to chop into its neck. I finally had the upper hand. I ignored the beast’s thrashing and focused myself down to a razor’s edge.
Without the defensive barrier, my blade hewed smoothly into its hide. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere as it howled in pain. I pushed my blade fiercely into the beast’s flesh.
We screamed in unison, a human and a beast on the brink of death, fighting with adrenaline and pure instinct. This could be the moment I surpassed my limits and not only won but survived. The beast’s carcass would be my stepping stone to the next level!
The next thirty seconds stretched into an eternity. We struck each other, both damaging, until the gap between our movements widened. The gaping wound in the beast’s abdomen and many cuts across its flank served to slow it down. On the other hand, my HP had fallen to the point where Revitalize kicked in again, increasing my speed.
The moment came—the precipice.
The beast abandoned its sense of preservation and launched itself at me in a tornado of teeth and claws. Nowhere to go except up! I launched myself into the air with a kick. The beast’s last-ditch attack crashed into the place where I was seconds before. I gripped Nameless with both hands and cleaved it into the beast’s head!
“This is it!!!” I shouted, putting my heart and soul into drawing out something more from myself. Just another second, another centimeter, another breath.
The blade sunk deeper and deeper, until the King of Lightning’s ferocious growl quieted into a pitiful rumble—then silence.
Slowly, the beast’s body slumped.
Gravity took over, and I fell to the ground. I rose abruptly on shaky legs, stepping into stance with Nameless raised and ready to strike again.
It wasn’t necessary.
The system spoke in my head, signaling the quest was over.
“Gained XP: Level increased by 1,232!”
“Level Ten Quest: The King of Lightning is complete.”
“Level-ten takedown reward: Level increased by 500!”
“All-quest takedown reward: Level increased by 1,500!”
For the first time since our fight ended, it registered that I’d really defeated the lightning beast.
“…It’s over.”
Wait—I didn’t just defeat the beast. I beat the whole extra dungeon.
I conquered the Remote Magic Tower!
Amane Rin
Level: 13,212 SP: 32,710
Titles: Dungeon Traveler (10/10), Nameless Swordsman, Endbringer (ERROR), Wiser Wise Man
HP: 35,850/104,020 MP: 15,080/28,100
Attack: 24,720 Defense: 20,840 Speed: 25,820
Intelligence: 20,520 Resistance: 20,600 Luck: 19,620
Skills: Dungeon Teleportation LV 18, Enhanced Strength LV MAX, Herculean Strength LV MAX, Superhuman Strength LV 9, High-speed Movement LV MAX, Gale Wind LV MAX, Revitalize LV 1, Purification Magic LV 1, Mana Boost LV 7, Mana Recovery LV 2, Enemy Detection LV 4, Evasion LV 4, Status Condition Resistance LV 4, Appraisal, Item Box LV 5, Conceal LV 1
Sword of the Nameless Knight
A sword used by the Nameless Knight.
Recommended equip level: 10,000 (MAX)
Attack +100%
When an enemy (human or monster) is of a higher level than the wielder, all parameters except HP and MP increase by 100% each.
Total levels gained within the Remote Magic Tower: 6,608 (final result)