"Moo!!!"
The Minotaur bellowed like a roaring tank and barreled straight for Takumi.
Sensing no danger at all, Takumi swung the longsword in his hand on pure instinct. The keen blade drew a few graceful arcs through the air; the spilling sword-light swept by like crescent moons.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
A spray of scarlet burst across the Minotaur's body in an instant. But the sword in Takumi's hand couldn't endure combat at that intensity and shattered on the spot.
Expression unchanged, Takumi tapped a finger. The shattered blade turned into hundreds of streaks of light and shot into the Minotaur.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The bull-man's burly frame was instantly laced with dozens of oozing gashes. Muscles swelled; it roared in fury. The knotted cords of its shoulders and arms bunched like hawser, briefly knitting the wounds as it forced out one last burst of power and charged.
Each step punched hoof-shaped craters into the ground. Its sharp horns thrust for Takumi's chest, aiming to skewer him clean through.
Seeing this, Liliruca turned pale, sucked in all the air her small lungs could hold, and ran for her life with everything she had. In her heart, she'd already pronounced Takumi dead. Even if she hadn't gotten anything truly valuable off him, the magic stones they'd picked up along the way were worth half a month's take for her!
What she didn't see: the rampaging Minotaur crashed head-on into Takumi—those horns pressed straight against his skin and failed to pierce so much as a hair. Worse, its hooves churned furiously, but it was like an ant trying to topple a tree—Takumi didn't budge.
Crack.
A delicate sound came from the Minotaur's horn. From straining too hard, even the hardest part of its body began to twist and splinter.
Takumi looked at the flailing beast with cold eyes, extended a finger, and lightly tapped its brow.
"[Hundredfold Gravity Lance]."
In a flash, it was as if a razor-keen awl punched through the Minotaur's skull and ground it to paste. In the space of a breath, the raging monster collapsed into a corpse.
Testing the new technique, Takumi roughly gauged its strength. He'd condensed gravity at a single point, then multiplied the load a hundredfold—compress the weight to a lance and drive it through. Precision was the key; mishandled, the power would go wild. Judging by that strike, his control was decent.
The corpse crumbled to ash, leaving only a magic stone and a horn behind.
[Ding! Randomly plundered trait: Berserk (Green)]
[Berserk (Green): When grievously wounded, you briefly forget pain and erupt with all your strength.]
Takumi glanced at the new trait and smiled. "Not bad luck."
The Goblins and Kobolds earlier hadn't yielded a single trait.
He lifted his gaze to the golden-haired girl now in view.
Golden straight hair fell to her waist; her stunning face matched a goddess's. A tall, slender frame was wrapped in sky-blue light armor—and even armored, her figure arched high of its own accord, tracing a flawless S-curve. From beneath a white battle-skirt, the exposed length of thigh was snow-pale and full.
Their eyes met—the gold of hers and his—and that electric prickle passed through them both.
Ais Wallenstein's cherry lips parted; surprise flickered across her cute, stoic face. She'd seen him obliterate the Minotaur as clear as day.
So strong. Stronger than me. She couldn't help asking, "Um… how did you do that?"
"That? You go swish—boom and then clang, and it's done."
Takumi bent to pick up the magic stone, smiling as he traced a few gestures.
"…"
Ais understood none of it but felt a deepening awe all the same. After a breath, she offered a soft apology.
"That Minotaur was my mistake. If it caused you trouble… sorry."
On the way back from expedition they'd encountered a group of Minotaurs on Floor 17. She'd lost one in the chase; hence this mess.
Takumi shook his head. "Anything can happen in the Dungeon. It wasn't your fault. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back. You?"
"I'm returning too… um, what level are you?"
"Lv.1. Fresh newbie. Name's Takumi. Pleasure to meet you, Sword Princess."
At that, Ais's pupils jolted. The stoic mask shifted.
"Lv.1?!"
"What a joke. That's a Lv.3 at least. Kill one Minotaur and you start blowing smoke in front of Ais?"
Bete—face marked by a lightning tattoo—strode up behind with a scowl. He hadn't seen the fight, but by his reckoning Takumi couldn't be Lv.1. All this talk was just peacocking for Ais.
Takumi's smile faded. He swept a cool glance over the snarling werewolf and chose to ignore him. Little fish weren't worth notice.
"My Supporter ran off, who knows where. I'll take my leave." He turned and walked away, never sparing Bete a second look.
Veins throbbed on Bete's forehead. A Lv.5 of the Loki Familia had never been dismissed like that. He nearly lunged—until Ais shot him a glare.
"Don't hurt people without cause."
"…Tch."
Bete deflated on the spot, muttering as he stalked back to the group.
Ais watched Takumi's retreating back. After a moment, she followed. She didn't care about levels—what he'd just displayed had shocked her. Especially that instant he struck: the suffocating brush of death was unmistakable. If that had been her… she'd likely have died.
That alone made him worth pursuing—for the path to grow stronger.
Meanwhile, Takumi moved at an easy pace upward.
"Lili really did run fast. But running off with my magic stones? That won't do."
If you take from him, you pay back with interest.
Already out of the Dungeon, Liliruca panted hard as she ducked through crowds toward the West Block. She needed a quiet corner to tally today's haul.
She had no idea that minutes later, Takumi's shadow would fall right behind her.
...
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