24 Chapter 23

Like the previous times I have done this, I made sure to head toward the far edges of the floor before throwing the bait. I held two bags of bait in my hands as I approached the spot where I decided to attract the monsters, using [Concealment] all the while to not draw the attention of any monsters yet. It was a long, fairly wide, tunnel with a high ceiling and two very narrow entrances that forced monsters to funnel inside one by one. As I walked into the room I tossed each bag of the bait toward each of the two entrances before walking to the middle of the room.

Next, I used [Dress Change] and removed all of my armor, keeping my sword firmly gripped in my hand. The reason I had chosen to use two baits instead of one was due to the fact that, on top of getting all my stats to SSS, I wanted this to be a feat capable of leveling me up. I'm not actually sure if I can level up from killing those level 2s from before, so I was just planning to complete a feat worthy of leveling me up right now.

I stopped my inner monologue when I saw the first monsters starting to appear at either end of the tunnel. Two Minotaurs screamed as they sprinted toward me. My outstretched free hand released a torrent of flames that burned the Minotaur to ash, even as it desperately tried to keep charging. After the first was ash I turned and struck the second with my blade, only empowering my blade with [Magic Aura Sword] for now. My slash cut deep into the beast's chest but didn't kill it. As it tried to punch me, I ducked and placed a hand on its leg, activating [Stun].

As the muscles of the Minotaur froze, I rose up and slashed through its neck. [Sixth Sense] started to ring warning bells in my head, causing me to duck right as a Ligerfang snapped its jaws on the place where the back of my neck had just been. I responded with an uppercut to the tiger monster's head, blasting it with flames after it was dazed. I watched as more and more monsters poured through the two entrances to the tunnel. The majority of the monsters were Ligerfangs, Hellhounds, and Minotaurs.

I readied myself for a long fight as the hordes of monsters crashed toward me like two massive waves. I managed to get off one [Holy Cannon], shredding through a section of the oncoming monsters, before the rest were on me. With the bulk of the monsters that I had attracted with the bait here, I activated [Galvanize] on my blade, causing it to start to vibrate slightly. Then, I spun in a circle, projecting a blade of aura to cut all the monsters seeking to surround me.

After a while, I jumped in the air above a Minotaur, pointing my blade down and shooting [Holy Lance] straight into its head. However, at the same time, my leg was grabbed by another Minotaur. It swung me as hard as it could straight into the ground, shattering the stone where I struck. I felt bones snap as it threw me into one of the walls with incredible strength. While I was in the air I managed to blast it with a concentrated burst of flame, but that didn't stop my impact against the wall.

I heard something shatter, but this time it wasn't one of my bones. I looked down at the broken remains of the sword that Miach had gifted to me as the surrounding monster redoubled their efforts to kill me. As the closest Ligerfangs lunged and the Hellhounds shot fireballs at me, I opened my hand, grinning as a black sword fell into it. I had a split second to react as no less than five monster tigers tried to rip out my throat. I instinctually brought up my sword and slashed, watching as [Dark Moon, Evening Palace] ripped apart the lunging monsters.

My new sword was definitely of higher quality than my previous one, not even budging in the slightest while [Magic Aura Sword] and [Galvanize] constantly energized it. Now, I cleaved through the remaining monsters, until suddenly [Sixth Sense] activated, but I reacted too late. I turned just in time to see an ax spin through the air and embed itself in my stomach. My eyes opened in surprise as I looked up, expecting to see another adventurer, but only finding the last standing Minotaur. I looked around as I fell to my knees, seeing that all that remained was me and this Minotaur.

[Ultraspeed Regeneration] immediately began to fix the damage, but the Minotaur was already charging. An inferno roared to life as I pointed my bloodied fingers at the beast. It screamed as the fire consumed it, but it wasn't dying fast enough. It was on top of me in an instant, giving me no time to call for Regulus or Aqua, I didn't even have time to activate [Instantmove] either. I felt my nose get pulverized and my brain rattle around in my skull as a massive fist impacted my face. Then, as I was thrown back from the punch, everything went black.

I must have woken up not too long later. The corpse of the Minotaur that had almost killed me was split in two by what looked like a highly pressurized stream of water. I noticed that it was also riddled with holes caused by a barrage of sharp rocks. I gave my two spirits thanks as I collected the stones in the room before dragging myself back down to the 18th floor. I made sure to replace my armor before heading down. It was dark when I made it back to Rivira, the ceiling crystals substituting moonlight at this time of day.

After returning to the lake I quickly collapsed to the ground, managing to pull myself into a sitting position after a while. It was then that I noticed a decently large source of light as well as voices from the other side of the small bank of trees that separated this lake from another, bigger lake. I didn't pay them any mind and started my own campfire after collecting a few large logs, directly setting them ablaze with magic. Stripping out of my armor, I called on Regulus's power to make me a small seat beside the fire.

I sat there a while, staring into the heart of the fire, lost in thoughts of my old life. That was until I heard approaching footsteps from the trees. Looking up, I met the gaze of a young-looking boy with medium-length scruffy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was small, but I still felt that he was much stronger than me despite the fact that he looked young. He wore a yellow vest over a purple long-sleeved shirt and trousers. I immediately recognized the "boy" as the captain of the Loki familia, Finn Deimne.

He looked annoyed, but his face changed as soon as he saw me, smoothing back into a neutral, but friendly expression. I gave him a simple nod, giving no indication that I recognized him. After a few moments, I saw his eyes narrow ever so slightly, indicating that he remembered me from that moment when Ais had seen me and got surprised. I saw all of this with [Magic Sense] while my eyes were turned back toward the fire so that Finn wouldn't know I was looking at him closely.

(A/N: I'll be working under the assumption that Finn knows Ais is part spirit, as I don't see a major reason why he wouldn't)

He began to walk toward me purposefully. I looked up at him with a friendly expression on my face, after all, I wanted to give no indication that I was anything other than friendly to him and or the Loki familia as a whole. Even though Finn was much smaller than me, I knew he could probably break my spine over his knee with very little effort, he probably wouldn't even break a sweat. I decided to show off a bit of power as he walked into the light around my campfire, raising a finger and causing another stone seat to rise from the ground.

Finn raised an eyebrow but responded simply, "Thanks,"

"No problem. I don't think we've met before, I'm Augustus Zahard of the Miach familia," I said politely.

"I'm Finn Deimne, captain of the Loki familia, but you already know that," He said with a smile, but I could tell that he was subtly testing me.

I laughed at his remark, "Of course, I know you. You're the captain of the most famous familia in Orario. I'd be a fool to not know who you are,"

(A/N: To be continued...)

- - - (Chapter End) - - -

Right now, my plan is for the MC's final weapon to be Balmung, but post cool swords that you think fit the MC.

(Pic of Balmung)