Chapter 247
Chapter 247
WHOOSH!
When Zeke threw his fist at the approaching golem, a powerful shockwave burst forth.
BOOM CRASH!
The golem, made of solid material, shattered and scattered in all directions.
Zeke frowned while sifting through the golem's remains.
'This one doesn't have a core either.'
Normal golems should have had a core necessary for operation.
However, the golems encountered in this labyrinth didn't have these operating cores.
Zeke recalled the golem he encountered on the Deep Sea clan's island. That golem also lacked a core because it was a magical construct created through sorcery.
'Strange. I even tried Gluttony, but nothing was gained.'
Neither Karma Points nor mental or physical energy was restored. Through this, Zeke reached one conclusion.
"Lady Yelin, these don't seem to actually exist."
Yelin was startled by Zeke's words.
"What do you mean? How can they not exist?"
"These bizarre monsters and golems we're seeing for the first time are all illusions without substance."
There was a reason Zeke suspected this.
While the lack of cores and Gluttony's ineffectiveness could be explained away for artificial constructs like golems, as they could vary greatly depending on their creator's abilities.
But monsters were different. It was incomprehensible that the system showed no reaction at all no matter how many were killed and consumed.
Even if they were spiritualized beings like in the Inverted Tower, they should at least give experience points, but there was nothing.
Yet the attacking monsters seemed so real, as if they were truly alive.
They could even inflict real wounds when they attacked.
'Such vivid illusions. Is this the power of dragons?'
While Zeke was examining the principle behind these illusions, there was a sound.
THUD!
Yelin, who had been standing behind him, had dozed off and hit the back of her head against the wall. She regained her senses with an embarrassed expression.
They had already been in the labyrinth for three days.
While Zeke with his infinite stamina was fine without sleep for three days, Yelin was different. Normally, she would have had no problem enduring this much.
But now they had to stay alert while defending against monsters and golems. Her stamina was bound to wear out faster than usual.
Zeke stood up and said.
"We should set up a temporary camp and rest for a while."
But Yelin shook her head and said.
"Th-that's not necessary! I'm fine!"
"Proper rest is important to continue exploring the labyrinth. I know a good spot over there, let's go."
Yelin followed Zeke, pretending to give in to his suggestion.
The labyrinth's structure was similar to the Inverted Tower. Paths enclosed by walls stretched endlessly, with rooms appearing at intervals.
Zeke set up camp in a corner room where golems had appeared.
After summoning ghost soldiers in spirit form to keep watch, he began preparing the campsite.
As Zeke efficiently pulled out field equipment and prepared, Yelin watched with curious eyes.
"Wh-where is all this coming from?"
"It's an artifact I found in ancient ruins. It has a large subspace that can hold quite a lot."
Having lied so much, the words now came out naturally.
Zeke set up a field bed and told Yelin to get some sleep first.
After refusing several times, Yelin reluctantly lay down and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Looking at Yelin sleeping soundly, Zeke smiled thinking of the Ishtar warriors he knew.
'Seems not everyone from the Ishtar family is uptight.'
The Highlander's Ishtar warriors Zeke knew in his past life were similar to assassins and southern hitmen.
Masters of poison and weapon techniques, their sneak attacks as mystical practitioners were sufficiently threatening.
The reason Ishtar warriors were called mystical practitioners was because they trained their bodies from a young age using special drugs.
Unlike illegal drugs like the Empire's stimulants or human experimentation, it was a traditional method of training the body by consistently taking specially processed herbs.
The Ishtar warrior who taught Zeke about poison and ancient eastern language said this training method opened the body's 'chakras'.
While he didn't understand what that meant at the time, now as a Black Knight, he seemed to have some sense of its meaning.
'Perhaps it meant increasing mana adaptability and reaction speed by making the body like a medium through special training.'
Even the Knight of Valor Tyr could reach a realm beyond Black Knights without specific aura training methods.
He thought perhaps Ishtar too had found a way to build up their realm through this body training and constitution improvement, different from aura training methods.
While lost in such thoughts, Yelin who had been sleeping woke up.
"Mmm. How long was I asleep?"
"About two hours, I think."
Yelin got up looking much refreshed.
Zeke handed her the field rations he had prepared.
The two people sat facing each other, filling their stomachs with field rations.
Then Yelin looked at Zeke and spoke.
"There's something I'd like to ask Sir Zeke."
Zeke lifted his head and looked at Yelin.
With a serious expression, Yelin asked.
"What is your goal as a knight, Sir Zeke?"
It was a difficult question to answer for being asked so suddenly.
After pondering, Zeke opened his mouth.
"I'm satisfied with diligently carrying out my duties as a family knight."
But Yelin shook her head and said.
"I'm asking about your personal goals, Sir Zeke, not as a family member."
Zeke thought deeply about Yelin's words before speaking.
"The strongest on the continent."
He said while meeting Yelin's eyes.
"That's the only goal I've had for a long time."
At Zeke's words, Yelin unconsciously clenched her fists.
She nodded.
"Indeed... my eyes weren't wrong."
Yelin looked at Zeke and said.
"I'm glad to meet someone with the same goal as me. If we could truly break the shackles of the covenant... I too would like to undertake warrior's training dreaming of becoming the continent's strongest like Sir Zeke."
"What is this warrior's training you speak of?"
"It means wandering the continent to broaden one's horizons, testing your skills against renowned strong ones, and finding new paths through exchange."
"I didn't know Ishtar had such a tradition."
"I heard our ancestors migrated from the Eastern Continent long ago and settled in the Northern Continent. They say they used to interact with other tribes in this way back then."
"Well, since it wasn't as easy to move around freely as it is now, such exchanges must have been difficult."
"Now it's difficult to move outside because of the covenant's shackles, but if only these could be removed... I really want to undertake warrior's training. And... someday I'd like to compete with Sir Zeke for the position of strongest on the continent."
Zeke inwardly marveled at Yelin's purely sparkling eyes.
For him, becoming stronger was directly linked to survival.
The reason he dreamed of becoming the continent's strongest was also to gain freedom from being bound by anyone, along with survival.
But Yelin was someone with a pure desire to become stronger in martial arts.
'A High Elf dreaming of becoming the continent's strongest. Something feels odd.'
Just then, the ghost soldier signaled that it had detected something strange.
Instead of answering, Zeke quickly got up from his seat.
"Lady Yelin, I think there's something."
At his words, Yelin also quickly drew her weapons and took a defensive stance.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Zeke and Yelin approached the room's entrance and hid their bodies to the side.
—I'll go scout ahead first.
When Zeke spoke through telepathy, Yelin was startled but quickly composed herself and nodded.
He moved forward while keeping low.
He focused on the sounds coming through his Dragon Eye.
But something was different from the other monsters and golems they'd seen until now.
'A Black Knight?'
A Black Knight wearing black armor covering their entire body and a helmet hiding their face was walking forward holding a giant greatsword.
Suddenly, light flashed from inside the Black Knight's helmet.
They swung their sword at Zeke who was hiding his presence.
CRASH!
Zeke avoided the greatsword using the Phantom Step technique and saw that the place where he had been was completely destroyed.
He felt a heavy force similar to when he used Gold Force.
SCREECH!
The Black Knight dragged their sword along the ground as they charged at Zeke.
Sparks flew as the greatsword created friction with the solid floor.
Soon the Black Knight's greatsword swept upward from below.
WHOOSH!
Zeke dodged the greatsword imbued with powerful force while looking for gaps in the surroundings.
'Is this also an illusion?'
But the movements and power behind the sword seemed too serious to be just an illusion.
That's when it happened.
"HAAH!"
Yelin, who had suddenly appeared, spun while wielding twin swords toward the Black Knight.
CLANG!
Yelin's swords quickly slashed at the Black Knight's back.
But the Black Knight stood there completely unaffected by the strike.
A moment later, the Black Knight smoothly turned around and swung their greatsword at Yelin again.
CRASH!
Yelin avoided the attack with nimble movements, doing a backflip.
Then the Black Knight reached out toward Yelin while holding their greatsword.
WOONG!
Suddenly Yelin's body was pulled toward the Black Knight.
Yelin, momentarily confused, quickly tried to break free but had already entered the greatsword's range.
CLASH!
But Zeke, who had approached unnoticed, blocked the Black Knight's greatsword with Bahamut.
He deployed a Gold Force field and deflected the Black Knight's greatsword upward.
WHOOSH!
Zeke immediately sprang forward and unleashed Infinite Sword Technique at the Black Knight.
Swords occupying all directions slashed and stabbed at the Black Knight's vital points.
BOOM!
Magic circles rose up glowing on the surface of the Black Knight's armor where Zeke's sword had struck.
WOONG WOONG WOONG!
Perhaps it was magic that absorbed all of Zeke's sword strikes, as the armor remained intact despite being hit by consecutive attacks.
At the same time, magic circles also appeared on the Black Knight's greatsword, and light burst forth from the blade.
The Black Knight swung their light-wrapped greatsword at Zeke.
Zeke also raised an Aura Blade and swung his sword.
KWAKWAKWAKWANG!
The light of the great sword and the aura blade collided and canceled each other out.
Zeke didn't miss the opening and immediately sprang forward.
He was already wearing Hersion.
He charged directly at the Black Knight's body while wielding Bahamut.
KWAKWANG!
The Black Knight was slammed into the wall after taking the charge enhanced with golden power.
KKIGIGIGIGIK!
The surface of the Black Knight's armor began to glow again.
Zeke unleashed Infinite Sword Technique toward the Black Knight embedded in the wall.
Infinite Sword Technique
Continuous Strike
Eight Directional Strike
WHOOOONG!
Zeke's sword relentlessly attacked the Black Knight's body that was stuck in the wall.
While magic circles on the armor glowed trying to absorb the sword strikes, the attacks only grew stronger.
The Black Knight's seemingly impenetrable armor gradually began to dent.
KKIGIGIK!
The Black Knight tried desperately to avoid Zeke's attacks, but there were no gaps in the Eight Directional Strike of the Infinite Sword Technique.
Additionally, Zeke utilized his infinite stamina advantage to perfect his gapless assault.
KWACHING!
Just as the Black Knight's armor was starting to cave in.
KUGUGUGUGU!
The entire labyrinth began to shake and vibrate.
Zeke took a step back at the sudden change in the labyrinth.
At that moment, Yelin, who was nearby, approached Zeke.
"Why is the labyrinth suddenly…? This reaction wasn't in the records."
Suddenly, the surrounding labyrinth walls that had been sealed began to disappear as if scattering.
Then the walls naturally came together like fitting puzzle pieces, creating a different scene.
Before they knew it, a massive cavern spread out before Zeke and Yelin.
When the labyrinth suddenly transformed into a cavern, Yelin muttered to herself in confusion.
"What's going on here?"
In contrast, Zeke calmly observed his surroundings.
And he recalled a place similar to this one.
'The lair of Gold Dragon Uranos beneath the Bird Tribe's sanctuary.'
Zeke realized that it had a similar structure to Dragon Uranos's lair where he had found the seal of the Chronos Kingdom.
The Black Knight, who had been lying limp on the ground like a broken doll, suddenly began to float into the air.
Zeke and Yelin gradually raised their heads as they watched the Black Knight float upward.
And then two purple eyes emerged from what they had thought was just a black wall.
KRRRRRR!
The two eyes exhaled roughly while looking at the dented Black Knight.
Then it slowly revealed its form.
'That's......?'
A massive Black Dragon stood before Zeke and Yelin.
Simultaneously, the dragon's voice echoed in both their minds.
『????????????????!!!』