Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Effort
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Bio hadn't moved a single step, but a sharp sensation from the Will I had spread out sent me urgently rolling to the side.
*CRASH—*
With a deafening roar, the ground where I had been standing caved in.
It was as if some giant creature had clawed its way through.
“You didn't just guess, did you?”
“Of course not! I'm starting to get the hang of it now!”
“Is that so? Then here comes another one.”
I focused again on the Will I had scattered across the surrounding space, but this time, I felt nothing... Above me!
Pinpointing his location was one thing, but this attack's range was too wide.
I could barely manage a 5-meter radius.
Thinking it was impossible to dodge, I gathered the Will I had spread out, wrapped it around my sword, and swung upward.
My Will was naturally weaker than Bio's, but if I focused it on a single point, I should be able to break through a part of his attack.
Anyone watching would have thought I was just swinging my sword at empty air, but that wasn't the case.
A heavy pressure emanated from the tip of my blade.
The impact of our Wills clashing sent shockwaves rippling out, causing the surrounding atmosphere to churn violently.
*BOOM—*
Fragments of Will shattered, tearing my clothes in a few places, but I broke through.
“It seems you've certainly got the hang of it.”
“Let's take it easy.”
“How can you train if we take it easy? I'm coming again, so get up.”
“Let's just rest a bit. I have no strength left. Just ten minutes.”
As I spoke, I collapsed right where I stood, and Bio approached me.
“You get exactly five minutes.”
*He's relentless,* I thought, tilting my head all the way back.
I wonder where Ha-young is right now?
It was already our eighth day on the 34th floor.
Ha-young and I had split up a few days ago after having lunch in the grasslands.
It wasn't because of a fight or any trouble, of course. It was because I realized that my being with her wasn't helping her grow.
All my companions had pointed out that I was coddling her too much, being overprotective and taking care of everything.
Truthfully, I hadn't come down to the lower floors just to help Ha-young.
It was to build up my own skills through training, and while I was with her, I honestly couldn't even get in a proper sparring session.
For Ha-young's sake, and for my own.
We talked it over and agreed to spend some time apart.
Ah, but of course, I didn't send Ha-young, who was new to the Labyrinth, off on her own. My companions are with her.
Milli, Alpen, Geum-yong and Nix, Timi, Hanna, Rina, and Elaine—all of them.
We're still in the same party, too.
Fortunately, as long as we're on the same floor, the party connection holds no matter how far apart we are.
And the communication issue between my companions and Ha-young wasn't a problem; even if they couldn't speak directly, they could communicate just fine by writing.
Of course, my companions hated the idea of being separated from me, and honestly, I also wondered if it was necessary for *all* of them to leave, but Bio had insisted strongly.
I couldn't understand it at first, but after one sparring session, I understood perfectly.
Just one session left the surroundings looking like they had been carpet-bombed.
It was a little lonely, but since all I did was eat, sleep, and spar, I could feel my skills improving by leaps and bounds.
Though, of course, I still hadn't managed to land a single successful attack on Bio...
Honestly, thanks to being in a party with Ha-young, my stats had been boosted fivefold. I thought that might be enough to at least have a decent match with Bio, but I was nowhere close.
No matter how high my stats were, his understanding of the sword and of Will was on a completely different level.
It felt like Bio was at least two or three—no, five—steps ahead of me.
“Five minutes are up.”
“Already? Hey, Bio? Can we rest for just five more minutes...”
I was dying of exhaustion, but that guy Bio wore the same expression as always.
“That child, Ha-young—your 'Chairman,' was it? She's facing the 34th floor's Floor Boss right now. We don't have much time left for this kind of training.”
She's already fighting the Floor Boss?
All my companions are with her, but Ha-young must have been working really hard.
I did tell her that I'd rejoin them after she conquered all the zones on the 34th floor and defeated the boss.
“Then maybe we can just rest a bit and...”
“A child much younger than you is trying so hard. Aren't you ashamed? Your other companions are also doing their best to help her...”
*She's ten, that's not 'much younger,'* I thought.
His ability to get under my skin without using force was truly on a mythical level.
“Fine, I get it.”
My body hadn't recovered yet; it felt as heavy as lead, and my head was spinning, but I used my sword as a cane to push myself up.
“You seem to be used to reading the killing intent within my Will now, so let's move on to the next step.”
“What's next?”
“Feel it for yourself.”
No sooner had Bio finished speaking than an excruciating pain washed over me.
*Thud—*
That thing that just fell to the ground was my left arm.
The bone inside was clearly visible, yet no blood flowed from the wound.
“Aaaaargh! Bio!”
“You can't sense it at all.”
Bio's gaze shifted to my severed arm, and my left arm floated into the air and reattached itself to my shoulder.
It was as if time itself had been reversed.
“What... what did you do? What the hell was that?”
I swung my arm, and thankfully, it felt completely normal. The pain was gone, but the mental shock still lingered.
“The attack that cut off your arm was one where I erased all emotion from my Will. The Sword King called this the Sword of Nothingness.”
“You can erase emotion from your Will?”
The fundamental principle of Will is intent.
The will to cut.
The will to kill.
The will to explode.
Will is the manifestation of such intentions in reality. I couldn't comprehend how one could erase emotion from it.
“Well, it's not that difficult.”
“Then why didn't you explain that first instead of just cutting my arm off...?”
“You can't truly learn it without experiencing it firsthand, can you? For your reference, what I used to reattach your arm is called the Sword of Life. That one is a bit easier to learn.”
“Sword of Life?”
“Just as the name implies, it is the sword that gives life. It's not as difficult as you might think, so if you learn this first, you should be able to get a grasp of the Sword of Nothingness as well.”
As he spoke, my left arm fell off again, and the pain returned.
Whatever that guy Bio did, there was no blood this time either, but the pain was incredibly vivid.
“Aaaaaargh! Bio!”
“Now, you try it.”
“Ugh, at least give me a proper... explanation...”
“Didn't I explain everything? Use the Sword of Life to cut your arm. It will reattach itself. Simple, right?”
*Simple, my ass.*
“But...”
*That's all the explanation I get?*
“Instead of the will to 'cut,' try cutting your arm with the intent to 'heal'.”
Enduring the pain, I did as he said and directed my Will toward my arm, but instead of reattaching, the severed limb split into two pieces.
“Ugh, hey, it's not working!”
“Tsk, tsk. Don't focus on 'cutting,' concentrate your will on 'healing'...”
“How am I supposed to concentrate in this situation!”
Bio gave me a pathetic look, then glanced at my severed arm again. The two pieces merged back together and reattached to my shoulder.
The pain vanished, but my head was still spinning.
“Do I really have to learn this? Rina can heal wounds, and so can you.”
“What will you do if you're gravely injured in a situation where your companions can't be with you?”
“I can just use a potion.”
“Is that what you did when you fought the Lord of the Martial Alliance? Did you have a nice time drinking potions?”
He really knows how to shut a person up.
It was frustrating, but he wasn't wrong.
There was no guarantee that a situation like when I was declared an enemy of the martial world, where I couldn't summon my companions, wouldn't happen again.
And during the fight with the Martial Alliance Lord, I had failed to drink many potions, dropping quite a few.
“Learning the Sword of Life is the best way to master the Sword of Nothingness. Now, let's go again.”
“W-Wait a minute!”
“What is it?”
*Can't we just catch a monster and practice cutting and reattaching its limbs?*
“Learning the Sword of Life is fine, but is there a reason we have to use my arm?”
“A... ahem. Now that I think about it, that would work as well.”
...?
I thought there was some profound reason that I just didn't understand.
At the very least, I expected some motivational speech about how using my own arm would make me try harder because of the pain...
“Hey! You've got to be kidding me...”
“I'll go catch something. You rest here.”
With an awkward cough, he vanished like smoke.
...That rotten jerk.
Sigh. He looks so competent, but he's a complete airhead.
If Hanna were here, she would have said this was just another one of Bio's charms, but what charm? A charm that could freeze hell over.
Sigh. More importantly, I wonder if our Ha-young is doing okay?
Rina and Milli seemed to be teaching her pretty strictly. I'm a little worried about her.
****
It had been almost four days since I parted ways with Hyeon-ung.
We had traveled together through the desert region, but we decided to separate so he could train and I could gain more experience.
I was a little worried, but his companions—Hanna, Rina, Alpen, and all the other ladies—came with me.
And since he didn't move to another floor, we were still in the same party.
From the western grasslands where we split up, to the northern forest, and the eastern cursed lands, I hunted all on my own.
Of course, Hyeon-ung's companions helped me a lot during dangerous moments.
Milli, who uses a bow just like me, was especially diligent in her instruction.
I tried my best to learn, but it seemed I never met her standards.
Every time Milli looked at me, she would let out a deep sigh and hand me a piece of paper.
[That's not how you shoot a bow.]
[When you aim, you need to maintain your focus as if you're stopping not just your breath, but your heart. If you let out that much killing intent, even an orc from a neighborhood hill would run away.]
[Don't you want to see Hyeon-ung?]
She never offered a single word of praise, but considering Milli could perform godly feats like shooting better than me with her feet while blindfolded and doing a handstand, I couldn't argue with her.
Amidst the constant scolding, I started to think I'd never be able to shoot like Milli in a million years and wondered if I should learn something else. That's when Rina stepped in to help.
[You plan on hanging around our man with skills like that? You'd just be a burden.]
Rina's taunt sparked a sense of defiance—no, a venomous resolve—within me.
The reason I had pestered my father, who was dead set against it, to let me come to the Labyrinth was because I wanted to be helpful to Hyeon-ung.
Of course, just being in a party with him boosted his stats a lot, but I didn't want to rely on that trait. I wanted to stand proudly by his side.
Not as someone to be protected, but as a true companion, just like all the others here.
The giant lake in the center.
If I can just defeat the Floor Boss that appears here, I can see Hyeon-ung again.
*Tap, tap—*
Feeling a touch on my shoulder, I turned to see Rina approaching with a stack of notes.
[This time, none of us will help you unless your life is in danger. This is the final test, so do your best with what you've learned. If you want to stay with our man, you have to at least be able to do this much, right?]
Just from the handwriting and the content, I knew it was Rina.
[Ha-young, even if Milli and Rina were a little harsh, I hope you know it was all for your sake. At least I know how hard you've worked. I'm not as good with a bow as Milli, but I learned a bit during my knighting ceremony. Composure is key when shooting a bow. Don't lose it, no matter what.]
This one was from Hanna.
Even without her memories, Hanna is always so kind.
[If you're having a hard time with the bow, why not try the magic I taught you? It lives in the water, but a powerful enough fire spell can ignore type disadvantages! You can do it, right? I believe in you!]
I think Timi wrote this one.
[You'll finish this quickly, right? It's boring not being with Hyeon-ung. Please, fighting! —Elaine—]
Elaine even signed her name.
She can be a bit quirky and seem a little dense, but I like that she's always bright and smiling.
[The serpent's weak points are its eyes and the inside of its mouth. Make good use of the mobile archery you learned in the forest, and be careful of the water. If you fall in, you're done for. I don't want to get yelled at by Hyeon-ung. Lastly, believe in yourself, your bow, and your arrows. You've gotten a lot better than when you started.]
It was touching to see that even Milli, who always scolded and pushed me, ended with praise and encouragement.
[Ha-young, you can do it! I'm cheering for you! Me, Geum-yong, and Nix too!]
I was so grateful to Alpen, too.
“Poyo!”
“Kkyuing!”
Nix and Geum-yong were always on my side.
I tore off a small piece of paper I had and wrote a reply.
[I'll live up to your faith in me.]
I handed the note to Rina and took out the items I had obtained from the mid-bosses of each region.
The King Scorpion's Stinger.
The Great Giant Buffalo's Tail.
The Triple-Headed Ogre's Sinew.
The Elder Lich's Skull.
As I threw all four into the lake, a red light began to emanate from the water.
[All materials have been offered as a sacrifice. The true master of the 34th floor, the Great Lake Serpent, awakens from its deep slumber.]
The light gradually faded, and a dark shadow appeared within the lake.
I immediately nocked an arrow and waited. A pillar of water erupted, and a massive serpent revealed itself.
It had three heads poking out of the water, each one looking to be over five meters long.
It was bigger than I expected, and I hadn't anticipated the three heads, but I decided it didn't matter. I released the bowstring and fired two more arrows in quick succession.
The arrows cut through the wind and struck the eyes on each of the heads.
“KRAAAAAAAH!”
It thrashed wildly, but I kept my eyes fixed on it, mechanically nocking another arrow in preparation for its next attack.
If I couldn't even defeat a boss on the 34th floor, I wouldn't be able to stay with Hyeon-ung.