The giant serpent was completely overwheld by the power of lightning. Before it could be turned into "grilled at," it was finally put out of its misery.
What a satisfying battle.
Shane panted heavily as he jumped down from the serpent's back.
Clack.
He planted his sword against the ground, the tal blade striking gravel with a crisp sound.
He couldn't help but raise his hands, staring at them over and over again, unable to fully grasp the reality that he had actually killed a monster.
————
"This person… is strong."
A vague sense of caution began to rise in Frieren's heart.
Faced with a powerful warrior, a "fragile" mage would instinctively feel wary.
She hadn't felt this way in a long ti.
"Are you alright?"
Frieren walked over and stopped beside Shane.
She carefully observed his expression. Seeing him lower his head and stare blankly at his hands, she sighed quietly.
A novice adventurer, after their first kill, often fell into a kind of "post-battle introspection"—questioning the justification of their actions, or even feeling pity for the defeated as the strong over the weak.
It was a common reaction.
At least, it was fortunate that his first kill had been a magical beast, not a true demon.
Still, it was sothing that required overcoming a psychological barrier.
"You don't need to—"
Before she could finish, Shane suddenly turned toward her, eyes shining.
"First ti hunting a monster and I already killed a dragon—this should go down in adventurer history, right? Ah, it's starting to dissolve… is there anything I can keep as a souvenir? Like a horn or scales… If I tell the Adventurers' Guild I killed a dragon, will they believe …"
It seed she had worried for nothing.
————
On the ground—
The serpent's corpse had already begun to break apart, turning into magical particles and dissipating. The process was noticeably slow, though. It really might have been a hybrid, its demonic bloodline impure.
Shane swung his sword lightly, still unsatisfied.
He was brimming with confidence now. Forget a hybrid—he felt like he could take on a pure-blood magical beast next without much trouble.
"Alright, now we can focus—huh? What's that?"
During the fight, he had triggered the [Electrocution (Blue/Rare)] effect—lightning flashing everywhere, looking ridiculously cool.
But this natural cave had already shown signs of collapse. Its structure wasn't stable. After being ravaged by repeated lightning strikes, nearly all the branching tunnels had collapsed and been sealed.
And aside from that, in a place where there had been no passage before, a new opening had appeared—about half a person's height, with unusually smooth edges.
The opening sloped downward, revealing a passage.
Unlike the naturally ford tunnels, the inner walls seed to be built from so kind of smooth white stone, and the ground was lined with even steps.
A faint but distinct current of dry, stale air drifted out from within.
"No way…"
Shane frowned. The joy from his first successful hunt vanished instantly.
Frieren stepped past him and examined the entrance closely.
"This is the entrance to the second floor of the labyrinth," she said slowly.
"The second floor?"
"Large labyrinths are usually divided into multiple levels. Each floor has a guardian. Only after defeating it will the entrance to the next floor appear."
Shane was stunned.
Wasn't this Ghost Bastion supposed to be the lowest-level small labyrinth?
And it was said to have been cleared seventy years ago. Could it be…
Those adventurers never found the correct path at all?
Staring at the ominous entrance, Shane swallowed.
This little scavenging trip had turned out way more intense than expected.
The two didn't hesitate for long.
All the original paths had collapsed. This was the only way forward.
Step. Step. Step.
As they entered, the pitch-black passage lit up instantly.
Crystal spheres embedded in the walls on both sides—each about the size of Shane's fist—glowed softly.
The gentle white light dispelled the darkness… and revealed sothing unusual.
[Artificially Synthesized Mana Crystal]
Status: Intact
Attribute: [Reactive Light Source (???)] — It does not remain lit at all tis, but will always shine when needed.
Evaluation: Byproduct of Experint No. 1024, harmless.
Shane frowned at the attributes.
Question marks? This was the first ti he had seen that. Was it so kind of high-tier attribute?
He kind of wanted it.
He tried to focus his mind and use Extract.
"Ugh—"
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed his temples, like needles piercing his brain, forcing out a muffled groan.
Frieren, who was walking ahead, turned back in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Shane waved his hand quickly, suppressing the discomfort and pretending nothing had happened as he continued down the steps.
'It can't be extracted… is it because my ntal strength is too low? Or because the attribute itself is too special?'
The thought lingered in his mind.
Before he could dwell on it, the vast space ahead suddenly drew his attention.
At the end of the stairs stood a massive hall.
The walls were covered with stone murals. Spiral stone pillars rose high into the air, and the ceiling above disappeared into darkness.
It gave off an indescribable sense of pressure.
Further ahead, in the center of the hall, was a circular pool. Faintly, water could be seen inside.
"Hm?"
Frieren let out a puzzled sound, then suddenly lifted into the air with her staff—without any warning.
Had the Mana-Sealing Stone interference disappeared?
That thought had just crossed Shane's mind when Frieren, who had just risen into the air, suddenly lost balance and fell straight down.
He stepped forward instinctively and caught her.
Thud.
The elf girl landed steadily in his arms. Looking up, she sighed slightly.
Shane estimated that she had risen about four or five ters. That ant near the ground of the second floor, there was no Mana-Sealing Stone interference. But higher up, closer to the first floor, the interference still remained.
"It seems we still can't use magic freely."
The two cautiously observed their surroundings before slowly approaching the circular pool.
As they had seen earlier, there really was water inside—and it looked deep.
Shane hesitated.
He had already run out of drinking water. His waterskin was empty, and logically, this was the perfect place to refill it.
Besides, his waterskin had the [Water Purification (Green/Uncommon)] attribute. Safety wouldn't be an issue.
But…
Used to boiled water, he felt an inexplicable resistance toward drinking from unknown wild sources.
At that mont, Frieren reached out and stirred the surface of the water slightly, then frowned.
"Shane, step back."
Before her words even finished, her staff was already aid at the water.
A beam of magic, comparable to a laser cannon, shot out—piercing straight through the pool and illuminating the previously unseen depths.
What lay beneath the water made Shane instinctively take a step back.
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