The kobold lord struggled to his feet, grabbed the fallen machete, and the four charged again.
Kirito took the lead, his black iron sword flashing with a deep blue light.
Usazawa Fukasumi, standing beside Kirito, protected him, wielding a purple scythe taller than herself with lightning speed.
With the help of the two, its health points quickly dropped to the last sliver, leaving it with only the second-to-last bar of health.
A cold killing intent flashed in Kirigaya Naoki's eyes, and the blade of his sword flashed black again, further reducing his already meager stamina.
Of course, Naoki Kiritani was not in a good state either. Stamina is not simply linked to physical strength; it is also related to mental strength.
When physical strength is too low, it not only drains the body's potential but also mental strength.
Naoki Kiritani is currently in very poor condition.
I feel a little dizzy.
However, the opponent's last bar of health must be taken down instantly.
Otherwise, it would be bad to give the other party time to prepare.
The blue luster on Kirigaya Naoki's body had dimmed somewhat, but the sword was still wreathed in black energy.
"Let's go together!" Naoki Kiritani shouted.
Kirito gripped his sword with one hand, deflecting the opponent's attack with a diagonal slash. Then, he thrust out his black longsword with a sudden horizontal double strike – a horizontal arc slash. A flash of cold light, and two swift slashes were unleashed.
After the slash, just as Kirigaya Kazuto was about to switch sword techniques to recover from the stun caused by the slash, the kobold leader roared and threw his shield with his right hand. The shield, accompanied by a whistling sound, crashed towards Kirigaya Kazuto, who was forced to dodge. In that brief moment of dodging, the BOSS began to switch states.
Its health bar has now reached the second stage.
All of this happened too fast. Usagizawa Fukasumi wanted to capitalize on the stun effect caused by Kirito Kazuto's slash, but it was already too late.
The kobold lord gripped his long, thin, and wide nodachi behind him with his right hand, a move that startled the three of them.
Once he realized what was happening, Kirito quickly said, "Step back! This guy's information is different from what we had during the closed beta!"
Before he could finish speaking, Kirito felt a gust of wind blow past him.
Naoki Kiritani's figure was as ethereal and invisible as a ghost, appearing directly behind the kobold leader, his sword already drawn at some point.
The three stared blankly at Kirigaya Naoki, their eyes filled with shock.
Kiritani Kazuto was somewhat stunned and said, "I didn't see his movements at all. You guys, did you see them clearly?"
The three looked at each other, and for a moment no one spoke.
Kirigaya Naoki sheathed his sword and slowly walked past the kobold. The blue light around him faded, the enhancement effect disappeared, and he exhaled a breath of stale air, muttering, "Night has fallen." (Note: Obito reference)
The kobold leader remained standing in place, its right hand still gripping the slender katana behind it. Its blood-red eyes still held a chilling killing intent, but it was no longer able to make any further moves.
The kobold leader's HP was completely depleted, and his chest was ripped open by a ferocious slash. Blood gushed down his torso and flowed onto the marble floor.
With a final trace of resentment, the kobold leader collapsed to the ground. Just when Kirigaya Naoki thought the kobold lord would turn into blue light and dissipate, the BOSS's massive body turned into black flames and burned.
Kirigaya Naoki was slightly taken aback. He stared at the spot where the BOSS's ashes had dissipated and fell into silence.
Meanwhile, system notifications flashed before Kirigaya Naoki's eyes.
[A powerful soul has been detected that can be absorbed]
[Automatically absorbed]
[Lucky host, you have triggered a special mission!]
[Slay 50 floor bosses]
[Reward: Chance to awaken Word of Power, infused with 1 unit of inferior dragon blood]
[Slay all 60 floor masters]
[Reward: 2 chances to awaken Word of Power, 1 injection of ordinary Dragon Blood]
[Slay all 70 floor masters]
[Reward: Awakening of Word of Power, Infusion of Rare Dragon Blood*1]
[Slay all 80 floor masters]
[Reward: Awakening of Word of Power, Infused with Rare Dragon Blood*1]
[Slay 90 floor masters]
[Reward: High-level Word of Power Awakening, Infused with Perfect Dragon Blood*1]
Each boss's soul can only be devoured once; after being devoured, the opponent's soul will be completely destroyed.
[Do you choose to accept this quest? Note: Once accepted, the quest cannot be abandoned. All experience gained from defeating the boss will be reduced by half as a price for consuming the boss's soul.]
Naoki Kiritani narrowed his eyes slightly as he browsed through the messages.
Ignoring his throbbing head, Kirigaya Naoki fell into deep thought as he looked at the messages coming in one after another.
Looking at the list of rewards, Naoki Kiritani was thrilled.
The connection between dragon blood and the power of words makes it hard not to think in that direction.
Is it a dragon? Many of the dragons' incantations are like bugs in the system.
If it's a Word of Power, the boost to one's combat strength will definitely be taken to a new level.
So here's the problem: after accepting this quest, all the experience gained from killing the BOSS will be reduced by half. But if that's all, then it's still barely acceptable.
Although this is still a lot of experience, it's nothing compared to the generous reward.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to accept the task.
There was no way around it; the pay was just too tempting.
He also wanted to unlock his golden eyes. Although his pupils were already crimson gold, they were still somewhat inferior to others.
Putting all that aside, I clicked "accept," and another system prompt appeared.
You have chosen to accept this task.
You have obtained the following status.
[Soul Devourer: The opponent's soul will be devoured.]
[Effect: Experience gain will be reduced by half]
Then, when Kirigaya Naoki looked up at the status bar in the upper right corner, sure enough, he saw a debuff with an icon of a demon with its mouth wide open.
After resolving the issues with the system, the intense fatigue from the battle began to spread throughout Kirigaya Naoki's body.
He took out a bottle of stamina-replenishing potion and drank a few mouthfuls, which made him feel a little better.
Just as Kirigaya Naoki breathed a sigh of relief, a hand grabbed his clothes tightly.
Kirito glared at Kirito Naoki and said, "When did you learn your swordsmanship? It's too overpowered! I can't even see your movements clearly."
Asuna, standing to the side, said, "That's true. You have too many skills. Putting aside your skill that can consume stamina to increase all your attributes, just your ridiculously powerful slash is outrageous enough."
Naoki Kiritani gave a sullen smile and offered no further explanation.
But then, as if remembering something, he pointed to the fallen BOSS and asked curiously, "Didn't you see it?"
Kiritani Kazuto said with displeasure, "What did you see? Don't try to change the subject."
Kirigaya Naoki choked for a moment before continuing, "Didn't the BOSS turn into black fragments and dissipate when it disappeared?"
Kirito touched Kirigaya Naoki's forehead and asked in surprise, "He doesn't have a fever. How could the BOSS turn into black fragments and disappear? It turned into blue light and disappeared."
Naoki Kiritani fell into deep thought.
So, players can't see what happens when the BOSS disappears?
He sighed and opened the equipment menu to check the equipment dropped by the BOSS.
Unsurprisingly, it's a black coat with top-notch attributes.
[Equipment: Midnight Coat]
[Quality: Rare]
[Traits: Agility (I), Increased Stamina (I)]
[Dragon Guardian: Indestructible]