The gryphon landed in front of me. Same as the Nameless Knight and the lightning beast, I had never read anything about this boss before. This would have to be a cautious fight where I slowly uncovered my enemy’s abilities. And that level—25,000! Oof. This was easily the highest-level enemy I’d faced.
Yet I wasn’t afraid. I’d survived enough clashes with overwhelming opponents to believe I could come out on top.
“Come to me, Nameless,” I said, summoning the silver longsword to my right hand. I gripped it tightly and a flood of stat-boosting power washed over me like a sudden rainfall. Simultaneously, I activated Superhuman Strength and Gale Wind. My body thrummed with the electric promise of a summer thunderstorm.
“It’s about time we get started, isn’t it?”
I leapt like a discharged spark into the air, closing the distance between us at light speed. Propelled by kinetic energy, I swung Nameless—but something crucial became clear when it made contact.
“Is this what I think it is?!”
It was.
Invisible wind whipped around the gryphon’s body in a protective barrier—just like the lightning beast and the salamander’s elemental flame armor. A forceful gust buffeted me away from the gryphon. I neatly landed on the ground without damage, but now, I had to reconsider this whole fight.
What was my best option? Steal the wind armor, like I had against the salamander? The recommended level to beat the salamander was 10,000, and the MP it cost to steal its armor was over 20 percent. Stealing the gryphon’s magic armor would cost double that, at a minimum. It was a hard sell.
The gryphon’s shrill cry pierced the air—and my thoughts—as it descended in a counterattack. Those huge wings flapped fiercely, sending a violent squall my direction. The pressure was enough that it knocked me a few steps back.
I could overthink the gryphon later. Quelling that storm came first!
Should I dodge it? Not a bad idea, but I had a better one.
“Greed!” I shouted. The crimson sword appeared in my hand. I swung wide…and absorbed its attack, instead of its armor!
“Yes! Gotcha.” A chartreuse gleam shone alongside the crimson light within the blade. I’d lost nearly a tenth of my MP, but I’d gained a new attack. This was a sweeter deal than the huge loss I’d incur stealing the armor.
Nameless, Greed, Time Zero, a fire bullet, and violent wind…how could I combine them to break the wind armor? The answer came quickly. As annoying as the armor was, it wasn’t infallible. It couldn’t hold a candle to the offensive electric shocks of the lightning beast’s armor. The wind made things tricky by keeping me at bay, but that meant that the battle would be a cinch if I got close enough. I could do it if I relied on my skills and the boosted stats Nameless gave me.
My priority was to reach the gryphon’s body. Forget clever strategizing; I decided to burst through the barrier with as much speed as I could muster.
“Here goes!” I shouted. I ran toward the gryphon. It was still in the air, but I paid that no mind.
Faster!
The gryphon changed its stance as if preparing to swoop down in an aerial strike. The only thing on my mind was gaining more speed.
Faster!!!
In less than a second, I felt myself reach full throttle. Before I really processed that, I had already leapt off the ground. The gryphon’s lone defense was its barrier of wind, and at the rate I was going, I was sure to slam into it. But I wasn’t out of tricks up my sleeve, so it wasn’t going to happen.
Not to me.
“Time Zero.”
I said the command and instantly teleported in front of the gryphon. As with all the other times I’d used this method, I retained my momentum; this was one of my key battle strategies at this point. Still, it wasn’t enough to maintain my speed. I had to break through the gryphon’s armor. I had to go faster, faster, faster!
I thrust Greed behind me and whispered, “Release.”
The wind I’d stolen from the gryphon broke free from Greed and blasted away from me, propelling me forward. When the gryphon used its magic, its body clearly recoiled a little from the force of its own power. With my much lighter body using the same magic, the effect was amplified.
Faster than ever before, I flew at the gryphon with Nameless at the ready.
“Gooooooo!” I screamed.
With one slash, I shattered the armor and impaled my sword into the gryphon’s face, eliciting a blood-curdling squeal from its gnashing beak. I drove the blade deeper into its body and then yanked up, slicing through muscle, skin, and feathers to leave a gaping hole in its body.
Its wings stilled in death, and the gryphon and I lost our inertia at the same time.
“Oops!” Forgot we were in midair.
I would have hit the ground in a heap if Time Zero hadn’t buffered my landing. Nice one, Time Zero. The gryphon’s deadweight slammed down a second after I did.
The system rang in my head.
“You have defeated the extra boss.”
“Gained XP: Level increased by 387!”
“Extra boss takedown reward: Level increased by 80!”
“Whew! I won.”
Thanks to my double-level enemy, I gained a hefty dose of experience. I nodded with satisfaction and flicked Nameless a few times to shake off the rest of the blood. That gory work done, I examined Greed. It still swirled with crimson.
“Hey, and with magic to spare. Nice!”
Not a bad way to defeat Suzuka Dungeon.
Amane Rin
Level: 14,885 SP: 9,210
Titles: Dungeon Traveler (10/10), Nameless Swordsman, Endbringer (ERROR), Wiser Wise Man
HP: 115,930/115,930 MP: 21,370/32,920
Attack: 26,970 Defense: 22,710 Speed: 28,210
Intelligence: 22,370 Resistance: 22,500 Luck: 21,420
Skills: Dungeon Teleportation LV 21, Enhanced Strength LV MAX, Herculean Strength LV MAX, Superhuman Strength LV MAX, High-speed Movement LV MAX, Gale Wind LV MAX, Revitalize LV 1, Purification Magic LV 1, Mana Boost LV MAX, Mana Recovery LV 2, Enemy Detection LV 4, Evasion LV 4, Status Condition Resistance LV 4, Appraisal, Item Box LV 6, Conceal LV 1, Battle Barrier LV 1, Plunderer LV 1