(Bonus n1)
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Night fell deeper.
The three of them arrived at an abandoned Goddess monastery.
The outer walls had long since collapsed, leaving behind only a single dilapidated prayer hall standing silently amid overgrown weeds. Shattered stained glass lay scattered across the ground, and the statue of the Goddess at the center of the hall was weathered and worn.
Shane swept his gaze around and decided they would camp here for the night.
The mont she stepped inside, Fern's eyes were drawn to the dust-covered statue in the center. Having grown up under Heiter's guidance, she had been devout since childhood. Even in a place where faith had long been abandoned, she instinctively softened her steps.
Frieren followed behind her, swaying slightly, half-asleep.
She had gotten too absorbed in reading a grimoire the previous night and ended up staying awake for most of it. Dragged out of bed by Fern in the morning, she had been out of it the entire day.
"Shane, could you try catching a couple of fish? I'll take care of things here."
He nodded.
With his longsword slung at his side, he headed toward a nearby stream. Ever since obtaining [Electrocution (Blue/Rare)], fishing had beco his favorite activity. Who could understand the salvation of a fisherman who never returned empty-handed?
Inside the monastery,
Fern gathered so firewood and lit a campfire.
"Lady Frieren, please eat before you sleep… Lady Frieren…"
She sighed. Frieren had already wrapped herself in a blanket, leaning against the wall, fast asleep.
Standing up, Fern looked around, then took out a clean piece of linen from her bag. She walked deeper into the prayer hall and began wiping the Goddess statue.
Unlike most monasteries, this one had stone guardian statues placed beside the Goddess.
It was clear that, before its fall into ruin, this place must have been solemn and grand, filled with many followers.
She carefully brushed away the thick layer of dust.
Just as Heiter had once taught her, she cleaned the statue with ticulous care.
Her movents were gentle and devout.
But just as she wiped the final corner of the statue's base—
Behind her, to the left, one of the guardian statues suddenly emitted a dull cracking sound.
Fragnts of stone began to fall.
The once-motionless statue slowly turned its head. Jagged stone wings snapped open, and a pair of crimson eyes locked onto Fern.
"!!"
Fern froze in shock.
Bang—
A beam of magic shot past her ear.
Frieren's attack struck instantly, hitting the statue as it lunged at Fern.
"Fern, when you encounter an enemy, don't hesitate. Just attack."
The mont her voice fell, Fern snapped back to her senses. She imdiately summoned her staff and aid at the dust cloud from the explosion.
[Mana Detection]: The target is not dead.
As expected, monts later, the statue tore itself free from the wall groove, twisted its body, and lunged at Fern again with sharp claws slicing through the air.
Bang—
Fern's magic fired.
The statue was blasted away again, this ti crashing straight through a wall.
"That's a Gargoyle. They often appear in churches or dungeons, disguising themselves as statues and ambushing adventurers when they let their guard down."
Fern listened carefully to the explanation, her eyes locked onto the target.
The Gargoyle climbed up from the ground and charged again.
"Why is magic barely affecting it?"
"Gargoyles naturally have high resistance to magic. The key to defeating them as a mage is to strike before they move."
"But this resistance is way too high! I can't damage it at all!"
Frieren also noticed sothing off. She glanced around, observing the layout of the entire prayer hall.
Along both sides of the hall were twelve pillars, each just over a ter tall. Aside from the one the Gargoyle had been disguising itself as, the tops of the remaining eleven pillars were empty.
"No way…"
Fern continued attacking the Gargoyle relentlessly, but every spell that hit it felt like scratching an itch—completely ineffective.
The Gargoyle was knocked back again and again, only to rush back in just as quickly.
"Fern, this Gargoyle's resistance is abnormally high. It must have gone too long without feeding on humans and ended up devouring many of its own kind to survive, evolving into sothing this troubleso."
Devouring its own kind…
Fern made a slightly disgusted expression.
"Lady Frieren, what should I do now?"
"Run."
"??"
Fern thought she had misheard.
Then she saw Frieren turn around and leave without the slightest hesitation.
She froze in place, her mind blank for a mont.
It wasn't until the Gargoyle's low growl rang in her ears and its claws ca slashing toward her that she snapped out of it. She rolled awkwardly to dodge, scrambling to her feet as she chased after Frieren.
Just as despair began to creep in, she saw Shane ahead, holding a string of freshly caught fish.
The girl dashed straight toward him.
"Shane!"
This ti, having learned from his previous attempt at grilling fish, Shane had cleaned the fish thoroughly by the stream—removing the innards, scraping off the scales, and washing them multiple tis.
This ti, he was definitely going to make delicious grilled fish!
Just as he was thinking that, a purple figure suddenly rushed toward him.
Behind it, a hideous creature followed closely.
Without ti to think, he pulled Fern behind him and instantly drew his sword, stepping forward to et the attack.
Bang—
The sword tip trembled.
The Gargoyle's claws struck the blade, leaving only a faint white mark.
Instead, Shane was pushed back several ters by the impact, nearly crashing into Fern.
"Shane, be careful! This Gargoyle has high resistance."
Frieren's warning ca just in ti.
He steadied himself. High resistance, huh? Perfect. Ti to test his new attribute.
He gently pushed the still-shaken Fern behind him, raised his sword again, and stepped forward.
[Nurical Mirroring (Purple/Epic)]
In an instant, his physical resistance skyrocketed—his body hardened dramatically.
Then—
[Dual Blade Style · Shadow Kill]
He activated the skill and turned into a blur, appearing behind the Gargoyle in a flash, a faint grin on his lips.
Thrust.
Thrust.
Thrust.
…
Strike after strike pierced into the sa spot on the Gargoyle's back.
The [Dual Blade Style: Ominous Change] effect triggered. The blade sank in like it was piercing soft tofu—smooth, effortless, without resistance.
The Gargoyle let out a single howl.
And only one.
Under the continuous barrage of piercing attacks, [Electrocution (Blue/Rare)], [Suspicious Poison], and [Tornt] all activated simultaneously. After that initial scream, the Gargoyle could no longer react—let alone counterattack.
At this point, the tide had completely turned.
Honestly, Dual Blade Style was incredible.
When he first obtained the attribute, Shane had thought he would need to wield two swords to use this technique.
But the way attributes worked was entirely different from traditional training.
He had beco the only person in this world who could use Dual Blade Style with a single sword.
Because the Gargoyle's resistance was so high, he had to keep adding extra strikes from ti to ti. After grinding it down for a full half hour, the Gargoyle finally shattered into a pile of rubble as it writhed and collapsed.
Clatter—
A pile of miscellaneous items spilled out from the Gargoyle's stomach.
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