An unrelenting barrage of monster attacks.
What made it worse was that every ambush ca from extrely tricky angles. Even when exploring the lower floors, Tiona had never been pushed into such a sorry state before.
It wasn't a matter of strength.
The real issue was the coordination these monsters displayed—sothing that could easily be compared to being besieged by two Lv.4 adventurers working together.
Noticing the crystal lizard at her flank swinging its claws toward her legs—Tiona decisively raised her twin great blades to block.
But—
The attack she expected never ca. Instead, it felt like a feint, until she saw the thick tail sweeping in after building up montum.
"..."
As a warrior, Tiona had absolutely no aptitude for magic. From Lv.1 until now, her Magic stat had always been zero.
What she relied on—
Were her attributes, all of which had reached Rank A.
Facing the crystal lizard's sweeping tail that carved deep grooves into the ground, Tiona instinctively made the optimal response.
She drove her twin blades into the ground.
Gripping the hilts tightly with both hands, the muscles in her arms bulged as she used a 'human flag' motion to lift her body into the air.
Using inertia, she spun sideways to evade the monster.
And—
In the opening after the crystal lizard's attack, Tiona stepped forward decisively, charging at the monster like a cannonball.
Using the sa thod—
She disemboweled the creature and killed it completely.
"Just two monsters..."
"And they can coordinate to this level? If there were more of them, just how hard would these things be to kill?"
Tiona couldn't figure it out.
They were all exploring the Dungeon—yet these special monsters, skilled at ambushes, finishing blows, and even feints, were downright sinister!
The good news:
She hadn't looked too embarrassing in front of her junior, Lefiya.
As a veteran, that was one of the few standards she held herself to. After finishing off the two crystal lizards—
Just as she was about to give Lefiya so pointers—
Tiona turned her head, only to realize that this sowhat airheaded elf hadn't taken her eyes off Ron in the distance even once.
"..."
Hey, hey, hey…
I'm your senior in the Familia, you know!
Tiona's mood beca complicated, but when she noticed the situation on Ron's side, her lingering dissatisfaction instantly faded.
Because—
Compared to her own earlier fight—
Ron was currently bearing even more pressure. At so point, several more monsters had appeared before him.
"Fair enough..."
He didn't ask for her help.
Naturally, Tiona had no intention of stepping in. Interfering too much might disrupt the exploration plan Ron had already calculated.
Still—
Compared to her own fight—
For so reason, she felt that Ron's style was… more seasoned.
She frowned.
Even when facing two crystal lizards, every attack the monsters made seed to fall within Ron's expectations.
Whether it was frontal pressure or sneak attacks from the rear—
This guy…
Always made the optimal decision at critical monts. Whether it was parrying with that absurd greatsword or dodging attacks—
He anticipated every move the monsters made!
"..."
"Senior Tiona, your expression… looks a bit off?"
The fight had already turned into close combat.
Lefiya had no space to cast magic—in other words, she was getting a full view of Ron's lee combat.
Was it flashy?
Honestly—
Compared to Ais from the Loki Familia, it clearly wasn't. If anything, the best way to describe it was… extrely practical.
No unnecessary movents.
Against the crystal lizards, he countered every move, always making the most accurate judgnt to avoid taking damage.
Even—
His rolling dodges were incredibly smooth?
"Heh."
"I just feel like… yeah… the Dungeon this ti is harder than I expected."
Tiona's eyelid twitched violently.
There was no way she could admit that, facing the sa two crystal lizards, she had looked more miserable than Ron did right now.
However—
She quickly identified the issue.
It was her first ti facing these mutated special monsters. anwhile, this guy had been beaten up by them since becoming an adventurer.
Being more experienced than her… was actually pretty normal, right?
"Mm…"
"Ron's strength is also higher than I expected."
That was just how Amazonesses were—they never admitted defeat.
But Tiona was also willing to acknowledge objectively that, purely in terms of close combat, Ron was stronger than most adventurers she had seen.
At the sa level…
She might not even be able to suppress him effectively!
Most importantly, based on her earlier observations during the battle with the giant dogs, his magical prowess was also not to be underestimated.
If her sister's guess was correct—
Ron could even acquire magic from monsters through combat.
Just thinking about it—
This battle-loving Amazoness had already found the perfect word to describe him.
'Monster.'
"It's almost over."
Tiona shook her head lightly.
Once Ron managed to kill one of the two crystal lizards during their pincer attack, the outco of the fight was already decided.
As expected—
He leapt into the air to dodge the monster's wide sweeping tail, then spun and brought down his greatsword onto the crystal lizard—
Lion's Claw!
The disemboweled monster instantly turned into gray ash and dispersed.
"..."
Ignoring the gazes behind him—
After dealing with the two crystal lizards and picking up the dropped magic stones, Ron straightened up and looked ahead into the passage.
Dark and deep.
An intense sense of danger suggested that sothing even more sinister was waiting ahead.
"Crystal lizards are already showing up."
"Damn it…"
"What's next, are you going to throw an 'Ash Judge' at ? Test whether I, this newly risen Ashen One, am worthy to link the fire?"
As a Souls veteran—
Dark Souls III had been Ron's entry into the series in his previous life. Even just the crystal lizards were troubleso enough, not to ntion the inescapable tutorial boss, Gundyr.
He couldn't even rember how long it had taken him to finally get past it.
"..."
Compared to the unknown ahead—
What intrigued Ron more was the appearance of these crystal lizards.
Dark Souls III's mutated monsters had already begun appearing in the Dungeon.
When had this started?
It couldn't be…
Related to the Character Save Slot he had obtained not long ago—specifically the Ashen One?
Suppressing that speculation deep in his mind, he nodded to Lefiya and Tiona behind him and decisively stepped forward.
The surroundings hadn't changed.
Still a cave passage.
And under the faint light of those glowing growths, the ancient, weathered gravestones lining both sides of the passage—
Beca impossible to ignore in Ron's growing suspicion.
So—
What cos next is… Dark Souls III, making its grand entrance?!
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