Anime: Passive Inheritance System

Kai charged straight into the monster horde, pushing against the flow of people fleeing in panic.

Buzz—

His glowing swords swung at blinding speed. Each slash sent fountains of blood spraying through the air. These creatures came from different dungeon floors but were now all gathered together, turned into the dungeon's attack dogs.

Hellhounds, three-headed wolves, purple-winged bats, stone-armored warriors…

Kai focused and methodically harvested their lives with his twin swords. His movements were precise and familiar, striking at each monster's weak points with practiced ease. In the past two months, he had already slain more of these types than he could count.

Huff…

After cutting down another beast, a sudden, heavy breath sounded behind him. Spinning swiftly, Kai found himself face-to-face with a towering red figure bearing curved horns—a Minotaur.

The half-man, half-bull beast raised a massive stone axe high above its head. Almost at the same moment Kai turned, it brought the axe crashing down.

The rough weapon loomed larger in his pupils, the rushing wind tossing his hair. But instead of fear, a cold smile appeared on Kai's lips—he'd seen this before.

Clang!

One black sword shot upward, intercepting the axe mid-swing. Sparks burst from the clash. At the same time, the blue longsword in his other hand stabbed forward, piercing the Minotaur's solid abs. Crimson sword energy surged, churning the monster's innards into mush.

Guh…

The Minotaur's blood-red eyes locked on Kai. It opened its mouth, but blood and organ fragments flooded its throat, choking any final cry. Its expression shifted from rage to confusion, fear, and regret—then finally, to a primal clinging to life. In the next second, its eyes dulled and its body collapsed to the ground.

Kai stood silently, sweeping his swords to the sides, dragging trails of light through the air. Then he turned and continued fighting upstream through the monster tide, heading toward Babel Tower.

Even though the walk from Hostess of Fertility to Babel Tower usually took just five minutes, it took Kai over ten this time.

Every step forward required cutting down several—sometimes dozens—of monsters. At first they were just Lv.1 and Lv.2 mobs, but the closer he got to Babel, the stronger they became. One particularly dangerous encounter was with a blade-legged centipede, a Lv.4 monster hiding among weaker ones. It ambushed him, and the sneak attack nearly cost him dearly. A gash nearly a finger-joint deep tore across his back from his left scapula. If not for his fast reflexes and Lv.3's [Godspeed Reflex], he might've been ripped in half.

As Kai neared Babel, he also began to see others—fighters locked in combat with monsters. Some were elite adventurers, others unfortunate souls caught before they could escape.

Newbies and veterans—Lv.1s and Lv.5s—were now fighting side-by-side in the same battlefield. Monster roars and clashing weapons filled the air. At some point, the sky over Orario turned blood-red, the battlefield shrouded in a grim aura of death.

The dim light, the roaring beasts, the cries of allies, and the thick metallic stench in the air—it all felt like being back in the dungeon again.

Everyone, no matter how strong or weak, felt the same suffocating pressure. It seemed endless.

Until a shadow streaked across the sky, dragging starlight behind it, plunging like a blade into the heart of the battlefield.

Sword aura howled around him like clashing metal. Kai straightened his back, pulling the blue sword from the corpse of a monster.

"You… you're…"

In front of him, a young female adventurer in light armor had collapsed, her weapon knocked far away. Just moments ago, the monster in front of her had been ferociously attacking—now, it stood frozen, eyes dim, with a sword sticking out of its chest.

She looked behind the beast and saw Kai rising slowly among the swirling sword aura.

They locked eyes. Kai stepped over to her fallen weapon—a silver rapier. With a flick of his foot, he kicked it back to her. The sword landed tip-first in the ground beside her.

Snapping out of her daze, the woman scrambled to her feet, grabbed her sword, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you so much for earlier. May I ask your name…"

She lifted her head, wanting to know the name of the black-clad swordsman—but he had already disappeared.

"…Eh?"

Clang!

A sharp sword cry rang out nearby, drawing her gaze.

Under the bloody sky, twin beams of light danced like shooting stars, carving through the monster horde. At the center of it all, a black-clad swordsman wielded glowing blades, slicing through the battlefield with dazzling speed.

Mesmerized, the female adventurer finally remembered who he was.

The fastest to reach Lv.2 in history. Hestia Familia's young blade. Nicknamed the "Dark Sword Saint" by the gods. He'd singlehandedly fought over ten Goliaths in a safe zone not long ago.

Black hair, black eyes, black outfit. Twin swords.

Kai.

If it's him… maybe he really can…

Hope reignited in her eyes as she watched him carve through the horde, trying to reach Babel Tower and reenter the dungeon.

But—

He failed.

It was as if the monsters had gained intelligence. No—more like they had a commander. They stopped charging randomly. Now they moved in unison. Even after Kai cleared a path, new ones instantly replaced the fallen.

"Buzz—"

Another wave fell under his blades, but again more came. Kai was stuck outside Babel's perimeter with no breakthrough in sight.

He couldn't even get into the dungeon—how could he possibly complete the trial, or rescue Bell and Lili?

"Damn it…"

While slashing through more monsters, Kai desperately searched for an opening. Then, a sudden wave of danger hit him, freezing his next move.

His hawk-like eyes scanned the area—nothing unusual among the monsters.

Then… it must be below!

Without hesitation, Kai stomped down hard and launched himself backward.

Just in time—giant stone hands erupted from the ground, slamming into the spot where he'd just stood.

Seeing those stone hands, Kai narrowed his eyes.

Rock Golems. Lv.5 monsters. Usually found starting from the 55th floor.

But these ones… the stone had a faint blue tint. Steelrock Golems?

Regular Rock Golems were Lv.5 mobs, but Steelrock Golems were elite versions. Their rock bodies were nearly impervious to weapons and they possessed the rare monster trait: Titan Strength—strong enough to rival weaker Lv.6 monsters.

One-on-one, Kai was confident he could grind it down. But now wasn't the time. And judging by the number of stone hands, there was more than one…

Or so he thought. As the ground shook, a single massive figure rose.

Just one?

Kai blinked, surprised. But when he saw its full form, his eyes went wide.

"This is… a Steelrock Golem?!"

This one had eight arms—four pairs growing from its back. All those hands that tried to kill him came from this one multi-armed Steelrock Golem.

First the enhanced Goliath. Now an enhanced Golem.

"They're really spoiling me, huh…"

Kai smirked coldly and stopped retreating. He planted his feet and readied for a charge.

One sword forward, one back. Silvery light gathered on the blades. It started like flickering candlelight—then blazed as bright as aurora.

[Light of Resolve]. If it was really the same [Light of Resolve] from SAO…

Then pierce through this hell!

Eyes locked on the entrance behind the monsters, Kai poured everything into his swords, banishing all hesitation.

Each passing second made his resolve firmer. The light grew, soon burning like a star.

Then, beneath the Orario night sky, a blazing cross-shaped beam shot forward, leaving a fiery trail. It sliced through the monster blockade like butter and pierced straight into Babel Tower.