Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Frozen in place, my body stiffened without a twitch.

Veronica’s pupils rippled with waves.

‘Ah, I spoke too fast in my urgency.’

Before she could misunderstand or get angry at me for saying something strange in such a tense situation, I waved my hands to calm her down.

“Sorry! I was too hasty in my explanation.”

“It’s okay… but why did you suddenly ask me to hug you? Do you have a good plan or something?”

“Of course! Come here, both of you, and listen carefully.”

The plan was as follows.

Since the monster had never backed down or used his legs in combat, it seemed that the monster’s psyche was that of a predator, never retreating.

The monster’s only focus was on eliminating the paladin who had attacked it and those who threatened its survival.

So, if Yeriel, who was on top of it, kept attacking the same spot, the monster would likely target her, its mind distracted by the need to regenerate its upper core.

“This is the moment we should move!”

All my senses were focused on one thing, and it was now!

I needed to find the location of the second core hidden somewhere in the monster’s body using Chaos Eye, fly towards it, and destroy it with all the techniques I had.

The ground was already cracked due to the earthquake, and it would be difficult to pinpoint the location from below, so I needed to fly.

After explaining the plan, I asked the others,

“What do you think? I believe this is the best plan we have for now, but does anyone have a better one?”

No one objected or offered any alternative plans.

I nodded and approached Veronica.

“Then, let’s try a hug, shall we? I need to check if you can bear my weight and fly high.”

“Hmm, the phrasing is a bit odd, but okay. Come here.”

She lifted me up in her arms.

“You’ll need to swing your sword while hugging me, so keep that in mind.”

“Then hold me a little lower and tighter…”

Huff!

Veronica, who had flown for about ten seconds while hugging me, muttered,

“It’s fine as long as it’s a short battle. Let’s start.”

“Lumia, stay back and don’t get too close to the monster. Just stay within the central area and avoid getting hurt. Okay, drink a low-grade potion each, and let’s go!”

“Okay… be careful.”

Flap!

The final battle was about to begin.

.

.

.

Ahren led the way, breaking through the hundreds of magic barriers and defeating the necromancer.

Yeriel, who had also undergone a significant transformation due to the unique item, played a significant role in the battle.

Veronica, with her beautiful wings spread out, flew while holding Ahren in her arms.

But what about me? What had I been doing all this time?

I had been looking at the map and compass, climbing trees to find the path.

I had summoned my familiar to stand guard.

Due to the unique item, I had been in pain every day and receiving healing from the others, becoming a burden.

I had tried to participate in the battle by using black magic, but honestly, I wasn’t sure how much I had contributed to the overall effort.

In the previous battle, I had only used area-of-effect magic two or three times thanks to Veronica, who had desperately protected me.

I felt more like a party member who needed maintenance rather than a useful contributor.

‘I want to be of help too.’

Like Yeriel, who was fighting the monster alone.

Like Veronica, I could do the same as her, who was fighting alone against Cresdowzer.

Like Veronica, who had come to protect me from the earthquake and become a pillar of the plan Ahren had devised.

I wanted to be of help, not just being protected by them, but also contribute to defeating the monster.

In my pocket, I held the black book and orb.

I desired the black magic of the orb.

The unique black magic of the orb, which I had been using consistently in every battle since acquiring it, was ‘Desire of Darkness’.

The other unique black magic, which I had neglected due to its ambiguous effect and high mana cost, was ‘Rippling Darkness’.

“Rippling Darkness.”

Smoke-like darkness spread from the orb, enveloping me.

The range was narrow, and the stealth effect was minimal…

At most, it would work against low-level monsters like Kobolds and Ratmen.

Why did I use this useless magic now?

The answer was clear.

‘I will directly control this useless magic.’

I would reorganize the magic… no, the magic that belonged to the equipment, which I had never directly learned.

Until a month ago, this would have been an impossible feat.

But…

“I can do it.”

Once a day. At the moment when the orb devoured the darkness around me and purified it, I felt pain and a sensation.

I clenched the orb tightly in my hand, focusing on it.

Huff!

The darkness created by Rippling Darkness slowly condensed above my head.

What I desired was an arrow.

Furthermore, I wanted range and protection.

“Ugh. Oof.”

It hurt. Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain.

The pain of rotting flesh spread from the hand holding the orb.

My vision blurred, and blood dripped from my nose.

But I couldn’t stop.

I had promised to stay by his side.

I couldn’t be a woman who crumbled under such pain.

Could I always be by his side if I couldn’t even endure this?

The condensed darkness didn’t dissipate and instead took on a fixed shape.

My will, which contained the intention to intercept and protect, was imbued into the darkness.

I instinctively felt it. I had succeeded.

“Rippling Darkness.”

Again and again.

Once I succeeded in creating a new form, I could reshape it faster and faster.

The condensed darkness took the form of arrows, one after another.

I wiped the blood from my nose with the back of my hand.

Ignoring the pain, I flew towards the back of the monster, where the second core was located, accompanied by the arrows of darkness.

Thud!

I couldn’t go much further and sat down.

The price of my radical attempt and the overuse of the orb manifested as pain throughout my body.

‘It’s too dangerous to get close. Then…’

“Go and protect him.”

Zzzz!

Protect Ahren and that attacks aimed at him were intercepted.

This was the intention I had imbued into the magic.

.

.

.

Found it!

I had located the position of Cresdowzer’s core.

If it were a human, it would be between the solar plexus and navel.

From that ambiguous position, an amber light pulsated, and the second core was detected with Chaos Eye.

All that was left was to get close enough…

Perhaps tired of Yeriel’s persistence, Cresdowzer changed its target from her to Veronica an me.

Damn. I had hoped it wouldn’t be so easy, but it seemed it wouldn’t let us off the hook.

─Kuaaaaaaah!!!

A roar filled with fury.

[Cresdowzer casts “Destruction Ray”.]

Ziiing─!

An amber-colored beam, seemingly enough to cause severe harm with just one hit, was fired in our direction.

“Hmph. Is that all?”

Even though Veronica was holding the armored me, she effortlessly twisted her body by manipulating the magic of her wings.

I was momentarily amazed by her flight skills, which were far superior to what I had imagined, but Cresdowzer, now angrier, unleashed a barrage of light projectiles this time.

Boom! Bang! Booom!!!

“Well, this is something.”

She displayed dazzling evasive maneuvers, comparable to those of a modern fighter jet pilot performing aerobatics.

Yet, the elliptical light projectiles that grazed past us exploded violently, even though they didn’t appear to have made direct contact.

“Ugh.”

“Gah!”

The blast’s aftermath engulfed us in an instant.

Veronica and I wobbled, but quickly regained our balance.

Fortunately, she quickly adjusted her flight, but Cresdowzer, taking advantage of the moment, fired another barrage of projectiles.

Just as Veronica was about to perform evasive maneuvers, folding her wings and descending, something unexpected happened.

Zzzzz!

A black arrow soared upwards, intercepting and destroying the projectile.

Psssh!

The arrow, which had taken on a form unlike any magic I had seen before, instantly disintegrated the projectile into black dust.

‘Could this be Lumia’s doing? I didn’t know she could use such magic.’

Decay? Corrosion?

I couldn’t quite describe what had just happened, but it was a welcome surprise.

One of the remaining arrows circled around me, protecting me from the barrage of projectiles.

Kwooooooo!!!

Bang! Bang!

Despite Cresdowzer’s relentless attacks, we remained unharmed thanks to Veronica’s exceptional flying skills and Lumia’s new magic.

We were almost there.

The problem was time.

‘We’re running out of time. We’ll have to go with Plan B.’

As we approached Cresdowzer, I gave Veronica an unreasonable order.

I asked her to fly as high as possible, release me, and land on the ground, even though we were close to our destination.

“What are you talking about?! Are you trying to commit suicide?!”

It was understandable for her to react this way, as I hadn’t mentioned this plan before.

I caressed Veronica’s hand, which was holding me.

“I don’t have time to explain. Trust me.”

The plan had already gone awry.

My original plan was to gather various energies in my sword and strike the core as soon as I reached it.

However, contrary to my expectations, Cresdowzer decided to target us instead of Yeriel, who was drawing its attention.

If I continued with the original plan, I wouldn’t have enough time to gather the necessary energies to destroy the core.

“…”

Veronica, gritting her teeth, abruptly changed her flight path and soared upwards, flapping her wings.

Flap!

Fly higher, even higher.

Fly high enough that Cresdowzer’s gaze couldn’t reach us.

Swoosh!

In no time, we reached a height where Cresdowzer’s massive body appeared as a tiny dot.

Veronica, panting heavily, shouted,

“Huff. Huff. This is as far as I can go… Just die alone!”

Looking down, I realized how insane my decision was.

Damn, I was about to fall from this height. Was I out of my mind?

If we weren’t in the labyrinth, I might have seen clouds in the sky.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that I wasn’t a normal person either.

“Let’s survive this.”

With those words, Veronica released her grip, and I began to fall towards the ground.

Freefall.

I ignored the howling wind in my ears.

I had less than thirty seconds left.

I focused all my energy on the longsword in my hands.

[One-Point Concentration]

Stability be damned.

It had been a long time since I had used One-Point Concentration, but now was not the time to hesitate.

Forgetting Roten’s teachings, I focused solely on infusing the sword with all my magical power.

Unlike Barrak, which I had used in training, Solace had the ‘Unbreakable’ option, so I didn’t have to worry about destroying it.

I clenched the sword tightly, infusing it with all my might, and the entire blade turned gray.

[Killing Intent Release]

The killing intent within me overflowed, filling my vessel to the brim.

My hands, which were holding the sword tightly, began to tremble, and the blade turned red.

I wanted to unleash this wicked energy and destroy everything in my path, but I held back and moved on to the next step.

[Lightning Strike]

Pshh!

The gray magic infused into the sword, turning it gray, and then the red magic turned it blood-red.

As the finishing touch, purple lightning crackled on the sword.

“I’m going to kill you, you bastard!”

I was getting closer.

The ground, shattered by the earthquake, was visible.

I could see it.

The body of that damn monster, Cresdowzer.

As I continued to fall, I passed Yeriel, who was riding on top of it, and reached the central part of its body.

Kwaaaaaa!!!

[Cresdowzer casts ‘Destruction Ray’.]

Cresdowzer, realizing my fall a little late, let out a roar and fired a ray of light at me.

Perfect.

‘Thank you for making it easier for me.’

The amber light ray, which seemed to be coming from its solar plexus, was aimed at destroying me.

In this slowed-down world, I could see the core.

If I had run recklessly on the broken ground or if Veronica and Lumia hadn’t helped me see the core, I wouldn’t have had this chance.

Ignoring the effects of the freefall and the unstable posture, I took the stance that was most effective for stabbing and charged towards the core.

I needed to endure the pain in my legs, which were shaking from the fall, as I had to.

White, gray, red, and purple.

I held on to all the energy I had infused into the sword, reached the second core, and stood before it.

This fucking bastard and its variables!

I gritted my teeth.

“Die, you motherfucker!”

Breaking through the bones blocking my way, I saw the amber source, the pulsating heart of Cresdowzer, and thrust my sword into it.

Thud!

With all my strength, I stabbed the sword into the core, and it slid in without any resistance.

The multi-colored light spread from the core throughout Cresdowzer’s body.

Kwaaagaaagaaak!

The cracks, like a spider’s web, spread through the monster’s body, which was the size of an average apartment building.

“Huff!”

I thrust the sword into the core once more, then pulled it out and grabbed onto the broken ribs on its chest.

Kwoaaaaaa!!!

As I watched the monster’s final moments, a voice came from above.

The owner of the voice was none other than Yeriel, the holy knight.

She had gathered the remaining holy power and rushed towards me, grabbing me by the back of my neck.

“Are you crazy? What are you staring at? Do you want to die with it?!”

I was definitely not in my right mind at that moment.

She grabbed me just before I lost my mind, and as soon as we escaped the monster’s vicinity, it exploded with a deafening roar.

Kwaa!

Piiiiii.

A ringing sound filled my ears.

“Ugh.”

“Are you okay? You just fainted for a moment, but it was brief.”

“Ugh. What about the others?”

Yeriel pointed in one direction with her finger.

“They’re coming this way.”

They looked a bit tired and bruised, but thankfully, no one seemed to be seriously injured.

Just in case, I asked the person next to me,

“Are you okay? What about Yeriel inside you?”

“Of course! I’m fine! Oh, by the way, when I leave later, you need to be prepared. The cute one inside me is very angry at your reckless actions.”

That’s a bit scary.

Yeriel shrugged and chuckled, saying,

“Anyway, what’s going on here? A 7th-floor monster? It’s almost like a 5th-floor boss.”

That’s true.

Damn, what did it eat to cause this chaos?

It must have absorbed a large number of mid-level adventurers. The difficulty level was unprecedented.

Anyway, the long battle had finally ended.

Christopher had turned to ashes, the monster had exploded, and everyone was safe.

‘Now, let’s see the rewards! I hope it’s worth all the trouble.’

[Chaos… ■■]

…Yes, chaos.

It was time to solve the remaining problems.