#########-Yuuki-#########
Kouki [There's a lot of monsters here]
He said casually as he shredded monster after monster.
Compared to the abyss of Orcus, the monsters in the outside are not that hard to deal with.
Kouki and Yukitoshi-kun may as well be unbeatable even on their own in the surface.
Yukitoshi-kun is in no condition to do that right now though.
We reached the entrance of Miledi-san's place.
I knocked.
Yuuki [Miledi-san! We came to play!]
I opened the door and entered.
Kouki [Yuuki-kun, Yukitoshi-kun, can I ask for something?]
Weird, he immediately stopped us from entering.
Kouki [Can you let me clear it alone?]
##################
Miledi [What a honestly dumb kid is that new friend of yours]
Yukitoshi [Agree, I wasn't specially looking forward to clear the labyrinth again but it would have been easier to go as a party]
Yuuki [...Maybe that's why he is doing it alone?]
Yukitoshi [Well, isn't that great? I actually want him to be able to]
I stood on Miledi-san's room with Yukitoshi-kun.
After hearing that only Kouki was going to challenge the labyrinth we were allowed to enter from another door.
I actually didn't know you could enter with an alternative route.
Miledi-san's golem body was adapted to the labyrinth's functions so she could see and control the labyrinth remotely.
But synchronizing Tsuki-chan we can see a projection of what Miledi-san can see.
Yukitoshi [...A pitfall]
Miledi [...Hehehe...]
The floor disappeared under Kouki's feet.
Yukitoshi [...He got out]
Miledi [No bad]
Kouki got back on his feet and he seemed to be preparing to charge at the labyrinth head on.
Miledi [A honest kid indeed... I wonder how long will it take to break him]
Yukitoshi [Or to kill him]
Please do your best.
Yukitoshi [...He dodged the saw blades]
Miledi [And very easily, Is this kid maybe a very nice catch?]
Yuuki [Well, Kouki is an actual "Hero"]
Miledi [For real!?]
Yukitoshi [Yeah, at least in paper he should be more than capable of doing this much]
Miledi [Still... It's a bit of a shame, the labyrinth is actually not ready to take challengers right now]
?
Is it not?
Yukitoshi [What do you mean by that?]
Miledi [Well, the body I use to face challengers is still damaged after I fought you both]
That makes sense.
Yukitoshi [Can't you fix it? Don't you have spares or something?]
That also would make sense.
Miledi [I do have spare parts, but having the core and the direct connections with the body erased is not that easy to fix]
That means Miledi-san's giant golem body is like a puppet without strings right now.
Yukitoshi [...We can't have that]
Yuuki [Yukitoshi-kun?]
Yukitoshi [
I wouldn't say it was a disappointment but I do get what he means by that.
Yukitoshi [Amanogawa is meant to be our main weapon, he IS a "Hero" after all... He has to be able to do what we can't, if not, then he's useless]
Seems he has a lot of expectations in him.
Yuuki [If he clears the trap and defeats the golem army he'll just walk straight to where we are]
Kouki right now probably can survive the traps and being honest the army of golems will not stop him.
Yuuki [There's no challenge]
Miledi [Right? At this rate it will just be a formality]
Yukitoshi [Why not just fix the big golem before he arrives?]
Miledi [Hmmm~... I'm not really sure...]
The golem Miledi-san uses to face challengers is not just a golem, both the materials and the functions it has are a technology work of art.
Expecting to have it work just because we put a new core inside wouldn't make sense.
Miledi [W-wait!? Isn't that guy advancing really fast!?]
Indeed, compared to us (me as a no class and Yukitoshi-kun as a mage) Kouki has his body as one of his strong points.
He runs, jumps and reacts in a way that we simply couldn't.
He can almost predict the direction where arrows come from.
He swiftly dodges a succession of saw blades by easily finding a pattern in which he can move without being hit, using the holy sword as a last resort in case he needs to cover himself.
When the stairs turned into a slide under his feet he dug the tip of the holy sword on the floor to stop himself from falling, when the slippery liquid that makes sure to disturb the footing of whoever is still standing started to flow, he used the wall as footing while supporting himself with the holy sword.
Not only his trained body, he now has
He's far from being an expert and this is not the kind of place where magic will be at its peak but using it to get a few centimeters in the floor or in a wall does a great difference.
The mental attacks aren't really working either.
When Kouki falls in a harmless but humiliating trap or finds an annoying message he just slaps himself and keeps going.
Yukitoshi [*Tch* good time he chose to prove he can actually do what we expect from him]
Yuuki [It's very inspiring though]
Kouki looks very cool right now.
Yukitoshi [This is even worse than I thought, at this rate he won't get anything but the ancient magic and if his affinity is bad this WILL be a waste of time]
Miledi [I don't like the way you say it]
Certainly.
Yuuki [Should we send Kirin? I don't think he can win if we do though...]
Kirin is a bit too strong even for the current Kouki.
Yukitoshi [What else do you have besides the huge one?]
Miledi [Hm... Only regular golems... We can send an army of them but...]
Yeah, it doesn't feel like it would be enough.
Yuuki [It's either too little or too much]
Yukitoshi [...Let me see one of the golems]
##################
Miledi-san brought us to a place where she works with what's necessary to run the labyrinth.
An open space no different from the room where she faces the challengers although with a better footing.
She pulled out the big golem.
Yuuki [Certainly... I did a good job with this one]
There was a beautiful, almost scarily clean hole in the area where the core is supposed to be.
If I remember right, he threw
The hole doesn't fit the proportions of the sword hough.
Miledi [That you did, so good I thought I was actually dying and now I'm not sure how much I'll have to replace to fix it]
Miledi sounded both impressed and annoyed.
Next she pulled out a golem, a regular one.
A living knight armor that although it could at best fight as a regular knight, had its strength in numbers and relf repair capabilities.
Yukitoshi [First of all, how do this thing work]
This regular golem, unlike the giant one, is very simplistic both in design and functionality.
It works by a link to the labyrinth's operative system.
The combat capabilities and even the automatic self repair are an external command send by the labyrinth.
If brought outside of the labyrinth, this is just an armor.
Yukitoshi [So, regular metal and not only nothing similar to acore but pretty much an empty armor]
Miledi [That's about it]
He looked at the golem from different angles while deep in his thoughts.
Yukitoshi [Why don't we alter this regular golem into something closer to the big one but human sized?]
Miledi [That's a very interesting idea]
Yuuki [Would that be easier than repairing the big one?]
Yukitoshi [You tell me, you have experience making artifacts like the horse]
Yuuki [It's not like I just made them, is a bit more complicated]
Yukitoshi [But you can use, the horse for example, as a blueprint to upgrade this one]
I guess that makes sense.
Yukitoshi [Changing the materials if necessary, making the design more detailed so it becomes posible to add a core imbued with combat capabilities, that way it will be able to fight independently from the regular golems and finally making it directly and precisely controllable using the labyrinth's system]
That actually sounds like it could work.
Miledi [I can get a core from the spares]
Yuuki [I have a pair of Azantium ingots, I can't make a whole golem with it but I think I can make a pair of long swords]
Yukitoshi [Don't, first make a frame that can efficiently connect with the core]
Yuuki [Then what about the weapons? I don't want to brag but after the adjustments I did to the holy sword, regular steel will be no different from dry wood]
Yukitoshi [Make only a pair of "v" shaped edges of Azantium, the bone of the swords and the armor can be of enhanced steel]
Miledi [I actually have a good load of Azantium we can use, is for the trial so I don't mind]
Yukitoshi [It's not about resources, is about time, we need to finish before he gets here]
Certainly, enhancing regular steel, combined with the frame and the important part of the sword made of actual Azantium will definitely do both in design and time wise.
Yukitoshi [Let's make Amanogawa cry]
Yukitoshi-kun seems to be having fun, his lips twisted in an evil grin.
#########--#########
After dealing with the last of the golem army that blocked his way, Amanogawa Kouki reached a spacious room.
In front of him, an arena-like space.
There was a knight standing on the other side.
He recognized it as a golem.
It had some differences, slightly more stylish design, the armor was of a cleaner, silver white color and was holding a type of twin long swords that other golems didn't use.
Still, it was similar enough to the other golems he had fought to know at a glance.
Kouki [Is this the boss?]
That's weird, he heard from both Yuuki and Yukitoshi and also vaguely remembered from the future he saw that Miledi Reisen used a giant golem to fight.
He walked into the arena.
Kouki [Miledi Reisen... -san? I don't know what this means but I came here to challenge the labyrinth alone fully aware of what that meant, I don't think you will just have pity on me for that but I hope this is not some kind of handicap-]
*Chiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnn-*
His hands moved instinctively.
His brain understood a second later that his senses as a swordman had saved him.
He had stopped a deadly attack from the golem that had charged at him the moment he was mirroring it's position in the arena.
Yukitoshi [You don't have to worry about that Amanogawa]
Kouki [Yukitoshi-kun!?]
From the golem sounded the voice of Yukitoshi.
On the master room, Yukitoshi sat on a luxurious looking chair prepared by Yuuki.
On his lap, the small artificial body of Miledi Reisen.
On top of his head, the black colored spirit
Kouki jumped back in a defensive stance.
Kouki [I have an idea of what this means but I would like an explanation]
Miledi [Well, my annoyingly efficient hero friend, you're lucky enough to invade me in my most vulnerable moments]
Now Miledi's voice came out of the knight golem.
Kouki [That's a shame, I came expecting to face the whole challenge fair and square]
Miledi [Well, worry not!! As both Yuu-chan and the creepy guy know of your feelings]
The golem pointed one of the long swords at Kouki.
Miledi [I assure you I will thoroughly crush you with this new body]
Yukitoshi [Don't worry, even if you half die we can patch you up and throw you back to the entrance]
Kouki [I appreciate the sentiment but you sound like you expect me to try again after I fail]
Yukitoshi fixed his posture in the chair.
Yukitoshi [Amanogawa, you know my current condition, don't you?]
Kouki [I do, that's why, specially now, I don't get why are you so fixed in me clearing the labyrinth]
Yukitoshi [I already told you, how much time we waste and whether or not it's worth it depends completely on you]
Kouki [You certainly said that]
Yukitoshi [Even if I'm not the only one controlling the golem and even if most of the processing and calculations are made by one of the bulbs and the retard, I'm still putting my hands on the fire... Don't you dare disappoint me]
Kouki [I see... You're definitely right, I already disappointed friends before and it's not something I would dare to do again]
Yukitoshi [I'm not your friend though-]
*Clank*
Kouki erased the distance between himself and the golem and attacked.
The golem, controlled by two individuals that divided the different tasks needed to move the golem in combat, reacted accordingly as if it was planned.
It then answered with a slash that was deflected by Kouki.
The second slash came, this time dodged to the side, he immediately looked to connect with the holy sword but was received by the golem's own sword.
A vertical slash fell on Kouki's head, he jumped back right before the blade crushed his skull.
Blood ran down his forehead on the left side of his face.
Miledi [This actually works wonders, both the performance and efficiency are above what I expected from something build in little more than an hour]
The golem was made with hurry, the good results don't change that.
The reason why both Miledi and Yukitoshi are controlling it while Izanami and Yuuki manage the link stability and other calculation related work is to asure it properly functions.
The golem has a time limit.
Not a literal timer but a limit of how much it can keep working while the core runs at max capacity to control the body to it's limits.
It's not weak at all, in fact, a second unit on the same level would be close to the difficulty of fighting a giant Miledi.
Still, the fact that there was no time to properly calibrate it meant it won't last.
Yuuki [I wonder... Will the
Yukitoshi [That better not happen, Amanogawa better wins or loses properly, anything else means he's a failure]
Kouki exchanged slashes with the golem.
Kouki's skill with the sword was remarkable but the golem, although less skilled for being controlled by mages and not warriors, had higher stats allover.
Miledi [You don't disappoint me kid, I'm actually surprised you're going for the kill so hard even when you want him to win]
Miledi praised (?) Yukitoshi's commitment to the fight.
Yukitoshi [I said it already, if he can't do this much, he's useless]
The blade continued to reach Kouki little by little.
His stance was firm and his breathing was calm but the blood was clearly visible in the white clothes under his armor.
Kouki ["
Kouki immediately shortened the difference in stats, his single sword was able to push the dual wielding golem.
Miledi [He suddenly became stronger]
Kouki's sword was able to reach the golem with a heavy thrust right in the chest where he supposed the core was.
The tip of the blade pierced through the armor but stopped when hitting something harder.
He couldn't reach the core.
Kouki immediately understood.
The holy sword is made with some of the rarest materials in the world, he have seen a lot of artifacts made with Azantium but the holy sword is one of a kind.
If he can pierce it then it's not Azantium.
If he can't then it's Azantium.
Not only the swords that the golem uses, he noticed that the core was also protected by Azantium.
Kouki immediately started thinking in a way to win.
Is destroying the golem completely the only option.
It will be hard but not impossible.
Yukitoshi [Let's go with
]Yuuki had added the skill to the core, it was the base level skill as adding something closer to his own level was more complicated and would take more time.
Still, there was a trick that Yukitoshi had noticed.
Kouki [-!?]
The golem moved faster, of course.
Kouki switched from a mix of attack and defense to defense and gaining distance.
*Slice*
One of the attacks hit his thigh.
Kouki [Khu-!!]
The golem was becoming stronger with every second.
The working of the regular golems, dependent on the labyrinth, gave Yukitoshi an idead.
Kouki is strong, he's far from brilliant but it doesn't change that fact.
He not only has higher stat correction, he also has skills that boost his strength even more.
Even if in this labyrinth, his strongest offensive skills or magic are useless, he still has combat skills that are perfect for the occasion.
Yuuki immediately thought about adding
to the golem, but that, in theory, wouldn't be enough.Then, why not, even if the golem can move independently, use the labyrinth as a source of mana?
It was quite simple actually, the other golems are already controlled and supplied by the labyrinth, doing the same with this golem would be easy even if it didn't need to.
The golem essentially had four controllers, one of them can take care of that with no problem.
supplied by a giant, external source of mana meant that the effect could increase constantly.Not only
The golem baptized as the "
Still, time is their weapon and curse.
If Kouki is not able to defeat the Hero Slayer(Prototype) before its time limit approaches, they will crush him.
When Kouki was able to gain distance, the Hero Slayer(Prototype) threw one of its swords at him.
Kouki was able to deflect it but the Hero Slayer(Prototype) shortened the distance and kicked his chest sending him flaying before rolling on the arena's floor.
The holy armor was crushed and in pieces.
His ribs were probably crushed too.
Yukitoshi [What's wrong Amanogawa?]
The Hero Slayer(Prototype) walked towards him without hurry.
Yukitoshi [Where did all the confidence you had go?]
The tone was not taunting.
It was calm but reproachful.
Yukitoshi [I guess when you're not a hero, have no magic or skills... This is what's left]
Kouki tried to get up as he listened to Yukitoshi's words.
Yukitoshi [I think I understand what you meant, I'm starting to feel like giving up on you]
There was no answer from Kouki's part.
Yukitoshi [If this is the best you can do then I don't need you]
The time was about to run out, the Hero Slayer(Prototype) is about to stop functioning at its full capacity.
Yuuki [...Yukitoshi-kun]
Yukitoshi [I won't kill him, I'll just punish him for being a failure]
Miledi [Oh... He got up]
Kouki was standing again.
He picked up the holy sword with his left hand, looks like receiving the sword thrown at him broke or twisted something.
Yukitoshi [?]
He then put it back in the scabbard.
Yukitoshi [What is this-?]
Yukitoshi was about to complain when he felt something strange, there was a strange aura coming from Kouki that he could feel even through the eyes of the Hero Slayer(Prototype).
Miledi [I don't think he's giving up]
Kouki had his hand in the grip of the sword.
Kouki [...This is... Everything I have left...]
There seemed to be some meaning behind those words, but it didn't matter.
For whatever reason, it looked like he wanted to be cut.
Be it a secret technique or whatever didn't change anything.
Yukitoshi [I see, if that's what you want then...]
The Hero Slayer(Prototype) raised it's sword preparing for a heavy swing.
It then charged.
There was killing intent in that charge.
Kouki may survive or actually die if the sword connect.
The Hero Slayer(Prototype)'s sword reached for Kouki-
*-------------____________-------*
A strange echo sounded on the arena.
Kouki was still there, but the sword that should have cut him had disappeared.
Yukitoshi [Eh?]
Miledi [Eh?]
Yuuki [Eh?]
Three surprised voices in chorus.
The holy sword unsheathed in a reverse grip.
The Hero Slayer(Prototype)'s sword buried into its own chest, the tip piercing it's core.
Yukitoshi, Miledi and Yuuki had seen it but it took them a few seconds to understand.
Kouki had received the swing by unsheathing the holy sword in a reverse grip and redirected the tip towards the Hero Slayer(Prototype)'s chest.
Before they could react to what had just happened, Kouki moved again.
He switched to a forward grip and thrusted the holy sword right in the open space inside the edge of the sword, using it like a scabbard.
The holy sword can't cut Azantium.
Even if it could be done compensating with magic or skill, the current Kouki is not able to do so.
Still, if he can't, then he can use the sword that was conveniently coming at him.
The holy sword pushed the Azantium sword through the frame and core until it pierced through the Hero Slayer(Prototype) completely.
The Hero Slayer(Prototype) fell to it's knees and stopped functioning.