23 Fierce Battle with Goliath! (Combining Two Chapters)

Chapter 23: Fierce Battle with Goliath! (Combining Two Chapters)

"Is that so...?"

Shiro sensed a different meaning in Loki's words; it seemed that she cared more about his well-being than other adventurers in the dungeon.

…

The Next Day,

As soon as Shiro pushed open the bedroom door, he found Ais already waiting at the door early.

"When are we going to the dungeon?"

This was the first thing Ais said when she saw him.

It seemed that Ais was very eager to become stronger.

"Let's talk after breakfast." After saying this, Shiro went to the dining hall with Ais.

"Whoa, did you see that? Ais actually came out of Torajirou's dorm with him!"

"Really? It's only been a month, right? Has he managed to win over our sword princess?"

"Damn it! Was Ais just taken away like this?"

Wherever you go, there are people who love to gossip, and the members of the Loki Familia are no exception.

Seeing Shiro and Ais coming to the dining hall together, they started gossiping eagerly.

Subconsciously, they sat down in the central position, having become accustomed to being dragged here every day by Tiona for the past month.

"Torajirou-kun, I heard you're about to upgrade to Lv2?"

Tiona, the most lively, was the first to speak.

Over the month, aside from Lefiya, Tiona had the best relationship with him.

Others, hearing the topic finally brought up, perked up their ears, especially Bete.

The beastman's ears, which usually drooped and looked soft, perked up in an eye-catching manner.

"Yeah, I'm going to try and achieve a great feat today, so Lefiya, I can't go to the dungeon with you today," said Shiro after taking a sip of his soup.

"Eh? Ah... it's okay, but Torajirou-san, don't you think you're a bit too anxious?" Lefiya hurriedly waved her hands.

"Regarding this, Finn, I wanted to ask if our Familia has any upcoming expeditions planned."

At this moment, Finn had a fish in front of him larger than his own head, and Tione was looking at him with an expectant smile.

Seeing Shiro asking him, Finn seemed to see a savior.

"Yes, our Familia will go on an expedition in about a week. Right now, Riveria, Gareth, and I are preparing the materials. We must succeed in reaching the unexplored floors this time."

"Then, if I reach Lv2, can I join the expedition?"

Finn smiled.

"I see, so that's why you're in a hurry to level up. If you can reach Lv2 before the expedition, I will allow you to join the reserve team on Raul's side."

"By the way, Amid has a message for you; their Familia needs water from the 50th floor's Cadmus' Spring. The reward will not only be valis but also a few bottles of elixir."

"I understand, I'll send someone to negotiate with her." Finn licked his thumb unconsciously.

Usually, such tasks are posted on the guild's bulletin board, but if you're familiar with the other party, they can also be commissioned directly.

Keep in mind that the guild won't handle any disputes that may arise in this case.

Loki Familia has always had a cooperative relationship with Dian Cecht Familia, who are accustomed to entrusting such dangerous tasks to them.

After the meal, Shiro and the fully prepared Ais headed to the dungeon.

As they moved down, Ais stared at Shiro, causing a chill to run down his back.

"Ais, you can just tell me if there's something on your mind, please don't stare at me so directly."

"I want to know your reason for becoming stronger."

Ais's eyes held a seriousness Shiro had never seen before.

She needed to become strong quickly for some reason, and Shiro, an anomaly capable of fighting a Lv4 while only at Lv1, had always attracted her attention.

"Because I have things I must do, and besides, isn't becoming stronger a happy thing?"

Shiro's answer was rather casual, as if becoming stronger was as natural to him as eating when hungry.

"Happy?"

Ais couldn't understand his reasoning.

"What about you, Ais? What's your reason for becoming stronger?"

"I want revenge."

When she said this, the doubt in Ais's eyes vanished, turning into mere reflectors of light, and she became like a predator ready to pounce, cold and ruthless.

The joy Ais usually showed from becoming stronger was not because she was happy about her own improvement but because she was one step closer to her revenge.

It's fair to say that much of Ais's daily happiness was born from vengeance, which was quite twisted, to be honest.

"And after your revenge? What plans do you have then?"

Ais was stunned by Shiro's question.

The truth was, she'd hardly considered what it meant to live beyond her revenge.

In her eyes, the target of her revenge was probably only defeatable by someone like the "hero" her father spoke of.

Any thoughts of a bright future had already disappeared by the time she woke up from the dungeon. She couldn't fight with such a naive mindset.

"I don't know..."

"Then leave it to us!" Shiro smiled at Ais.

"Ais's target of revenge must be very strong, right? Most people in our Familia would probably help you, but before that, Ais, you should think carefully about your life after revenge."

Ais only had a vague memory of her life before becoming an adventurer.

She once lived a carefree life with her family in a small village, until a black dragon arrived and stole everything. Now, the only thing left in her life is the burning desire for revenge.

After all, what did she truly desire? If forced to say, perhaps it was "home."

And to find a hero of her own, like her mother did.

"Find something else that makes you happy before taking revenge, I will also try to become stronger as quickly as possible to help you, Ais! Starting from the Monster Rex in front of us!"

Shiro pointed confidently towards the path ahead.

Ais was puzzled by Shiro's words, but she kept them in mind.

As Shiro and Ais delved deeper, the cave gradually became more spacious, and the path turned into less of a forked road and more of a straight path.

Unlike the maze-like structure before, this area was a rectangular hall.

The surrounding walls were made of rough rock, the only difference being the wall on the left side.

It was hard to imagine that this was part of the dungeon; the left wall looked as if it had been polished by numerous craftsmen, without a single bump, stretching straight from the left to the end of one's vision.

This was the iconic architecture of the 17th floor—the Big Wall of Grief.

It was also where Shiro was going to challenge the Monster Rex, Goliath.

As Shiro and Ais stepped in, a certain sound began to resonate.

Snap—

The wall started to crack, and a piece of stone fell from the wall, hitting Shiro's heartstrings.

"Is it coming?"

Being nervous was inevitable; this was Shiro's first time fighting a Lv4 monster.

Unlike his fight with Raul and Ais where there was room to hold back, this was undoubtedly a fight to the death.

It's a do-or-die situation.

Snap, snap, snap—the wall continued to crack, the falling stones increasing from one or two to a dozen or twenty.

The noise grew louder, slowly turning into sighs, moans, with the sound waves shaking the entire hall, the avalanche-like rumbling affecting both Shiro and Ais's eardrums.

When the sighing reached a certain threshold.

Thump—

A striking sound came from inside the wall.

Thump—Thump—Thump—

The knocking got louder, and the cracks on the wall widened.

Boom—

The wall shattered, and stones scattered everywhere.

With a loud noise, a massive figure landed.

Shiro looked up at his opponent.

Through the smoke, he saw the giant humanoid silhouette, seven meters tall, declaring its strength by looking down upon them.

As the smoke gradually cleared, the true form of the adversary was revealed: black hair flowing behind, light grey skin, muscles as hard as steel, and eyes dyed red like blood.

This was the Floor Boss—Goliath.

Roar—

With the monster's roar, a giant palm descended towards Shiro.

Since he was already prepared, Shiro ducked under the attack, the wind from the palm cutting his cheeks like knives, his white hair fluttering violently.

This single blow made Shiro acutely aware of the opponent's attack power.

With the surge of magic power, a sword appeared in Shiro's hand.

He nodded at Ais, who quickly retreated to the back, one hand holding the sword hilt, ready to intervene and end Goliath's life if anything went amiss.

Then Goliath's second attack came, pulling back its left hand while its right hand slammed down towards Shiro.

Shiro leaped back, avoiding the attack but was still blown away by the aftermath.

When Shiro stabilized himself, Goliath was already charging at him, the ground trembling under his movement.

Another punch came from Goliath, but Shiro, having experienced the previous attacks, dodged by turning his body.

At this moment, Goliath's huge arm became a hindrance, blocking his view.

In Goliath's blind spot, Shiro rushed to its feet and stabbed at its knees.

Ding—

A clear sound rang out; Shiro's force was insufficient to break through Goliath's defense.

If the force wasn't enough, then—

Massive magic power surged from Shiro's body, wrapping around the sword.

Sizzle—

The sword, previously unable to penetrate the defense, cut into the opponent's flesh like a hot knife through butter.

Angered by this hit, Goliath swung its left hand, aiming to kill the pest that wounded it.

Shiro tried to retreat but was too slow; Goliath's Lv4 speed was superior to his.

Shiro had no choice but to leap into the air.

In that instant, Shiro saw through his mind's eye that Goliath was about to smack with its right hand.

Without a doubt, if he took this hit head-on, Shiro would lose his combat capability.

Putting all his strength into adjusting his body in mid-air, he curled up as much as possible to mitigate the incoming impact.

Then he thrust his sword towards Goliath's incoming palm.

The blade easily sliced through the opponent's palm.

Goliath, in pain, reflexively pulled back a bit, but Shiro was still sent flying, hitting the wall.

Rolling twice on the ground, he grabbed some stones, imbued them with his magic, and threw them towards Goliath's chest.

The stones, like bullets, penetrated Goliath's muscles, revealing a corner of the magic stone on its chest.

Shiro then looked up at Goliath.

"Tsk, healed just like that."

That's right, in that short instant, the wound Shiro had inflicted on Goliath had almost completely healed.

Magic power began to gather rapidly in Goliath's mouth.

"Bad!" Shiro quickly dodged to the side.

Boom—!

A 3-meter-wide crater appeared on the spot where Shiro had been before.

Several more magic bullets flew towards him, forcing Shiro to dodge awkwardly, still getting hit by flying debris.

Amid the dust raised by the magic bullets, Shiro spat out a mouthful of blood and took out an elixir from his Gift card to consume.

Now Shiro was wounded all over, though his magic power was still plentiful.

But Goliath, from the start as it emerged from the wall, looked the same, even stronger due to Shiro's provocation.

Dragging the fight undoubtedly meant Shiro's defeat.

Ais on the side had thought several times about whether to intervene or not but was always stopped by Shiro's gaze.

The biggest difference between monsters and adventurers is that monsters don't tire mentally; no matter how long the battle, they don't feel mental fatigue.

But an adventurer's momentary lapse could cost them their life.

The situation was undoubtedly perilous for Shiro.

Then, should he let Ais step in?

"Ha, what am I thinking at a time like this?"

The Falna on his back was heating up.

[Celestial Star Spirit's Protection] — Ability values adjust according to the level of crisis encountered.

Despite being seriously injured, Shiro's heart was more exhilarated than ever, murderous intent swirling in his golden pupils.

Feeling the power from his body, Shiro revealed a mad grin.

Now that he has chosen to face it head-on, there is only one answer left.

"I will kill you!!"

Under Ais's gaze, Shiro rushed out from the smoke as Goliath's next magic cannon shot at him.

There was no escape.

Then cut through it!

For the first time, Shiro tried to cut through magic itself, the sword blade emitting dazzling light.

Swipe—

The magic cannon, split in two, exploded beside him; Shiro ignored the noise and continued to advance.

The sound of the magic cannon echoed on the 17th floor, continuously being sliced off by Shiro.

"Got you!"

Shiro rushed in front of the Goliath.

He thrust his sword towards the opponent's chest, where the magic stone was located.

Destroying the magic stone meant death for even the mightiest monster; Goliath was no exception.

The Goliath clasped its hands in front of its chest, catching Shiro's sword.

Not deep enough, it wouldn't break the magic stone in the chest, so—

"Haahaaahaaa—!!!"

Shiro roared like crazy, pushing the sword in with all his might.

Goliath staggered back frantically, instinctively thinking if it could just catch the human at his weakest moment for a counterattack, it could kill him.

This minor wound would heal in an instant, not affecting its combat ability.

It would be its victory, and the human in front of it would most likely lose.

However, Goliath felt as if its back hit something.

It was the Big Wall of Grief; there was no more space to go back.

The wall that had nurtured Goliath now acted as a dagger at his throat.

If it didn't counterattack now, it would definitely die.

Realizing this, Goliath immediately began to gather magic power in its mouth; Shiro's face was illuminated by the magic.

"Tempest!"

A green wind blew as Ais drew her sword and charged at Goliath.

Seeing that Shiro's defense couldn't possibly withstand Goliath's next strike, Lv5 Ais thought it was time for her to intervene.

But looking at Shiro's eyes, Ais halted her charge midway.

She was familiar with that kind of unyielding gaze; she had it too, but Shiro's eyes lacked the bitterness hers held.

Could he be the "hero"?

She remembered the words he had said to her when they entered the dungeon, and at this moment, Ais seemed to understand the reason behind Shiro's strength.

So, all she needed to do now was to trust him.

"Roar!!!!!"

With the magic power fully accumulated, Goliath roared, ready to launch its strike, but Shiro's sword was one step faster.

"Arghhhh—!!!!!!!"

The sword pierced through Goliath's magic stone on its chest, and the monster lost consciousness instantly.

The fully charged sonic bullet, along with its fall, shot towards the sky, and with a 'bang—', it exploded in the sky, bursting into beautiful fireworks for the victor.

"I won..."

Looking at the fireworks in the sky, a satisfied smile appeared on Shiro's blood-covered face; then the next second, everything turned pitch black as his body fell backward, losing consciousness after falling into a warm embrace.

 ---

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