Rylan marched on, slowly leading his group deeper into the Dungeon as he stepped over the destroyed corpses of more of the Undead Soldiers. The hallways were the sa as always, composed entirely of stone, with open coffins and skulls lining the walls and the base of the columns. However, there had been two changes. Rylan frowned as he looked around.
It’s darker and colder.
Now, not even the lighting from the torches burning with green flas was enough to grant them a clear view of the hallway. The sharp drop in temperature was also noticeable, even to him. He looked over his shoulder at Andy, Laura, and Elliot. The three kids were shivering intensely, even though Sarah had pulled them close, and an orange fla floated above her open hand. Gerard waved his hand, making his mana ignite into a ring of fire that floated around the group. Still, the chill remained.
Rylan then looked at his own siblings and Elizabeth. Their situation wasn’t very different, though they had each cast their own fire spells to try to offset the cold.
This won’t do.
Rylan circulated his mana according to the Setting Sun Sword Style, extending Silver Twilight’s blade toward the group. The flow was not nearly enough to activate a Sword Art, but his mana still directly turned into flas. They surrounded the group, rapidly increasing the temperature. Once he felt like it was at a good spot, Rylan only focused on maintaining it. He looked at the kids once again. They were no longer shivering; instead, they were looking around at the flowing, veritable do that Rylan had created around them. He smiled, eting Elliot’s gaze.
“Thanks, Rylan,” the boy said in a low tone, as if he had hesitated a bit before speaking.
Rylan smiled at him.
“No problem,” he replied.
anwhile, Krysta, Philip, and lvin had walked closer to the do, nodding to themselves. Krysta looked at him and grinned.
“Your mana’s movents don’t remind of a spell. Is this like another one of your Sword Arts?” she asked.
Rylan nodded at her with a smile.
“To a lesser degree,” he replied. “Just trying to keep everyone heated up. Co on, let’s keep moving.”
She nodded. Rylan looked at the do he’d created.
I can only use the Setting Sun Sword Style when I also circulate my Aura, but sothing like this is possible with just my mana.
There was no rit to showing too much of his Aura to Mar’s Mages. It would give rise to questions he had no intention of answering, just yet. Not until he t Catherina and saw what she was about.
Though I’m already thankful that Mar is protecting Ceotha.
Rylan rubbed his chin. Maybe there would be no harm in telling Mar’s Mages about Aura? No, it was still too soon. It was better to be safe than sorry. There would be plenty of ti for him to get to know them better during the trip.
“Wait,” lvin suddenly said just as Rylan was about to turn around and resu his walk. “Shades might appear from now on, since it’s this dark. Let’s be careful. They’re annoying enemies.”
Rylan and Gerard nodded at the sa ti.
“I know,” Rylan replied, then looked at the others. “So, you guys stay within the do. Since I’m the only one outside of it, they’ll probably target first, which is what we want. The presence of lvin and the others should also discourage them from targeting you.”
Elizabeth frowned.
“I don’t like this plan,” she said. “You’ll be doing all the fighting.”
As she spoke, she threw a few reprimanding glances at Mar’s Mages, making Krysta and Cecilia trade a glance, while Philip scratched the back of his head.
“No, it’s perfect,” Rylan replied with a smile. “I need so XP, anyway. This is good.”
Her frown got deeper as she looked at him.
“Just be careful, son,” Gerard said before she could say anything else. “Shades are among the most difficult to handle enemies at the level of the Fifth Circle, and if they’re gathering like you said, they’ll show up in large groups. Be cautious.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Thank you, dear,” she said.
“At least Rylan can handle them easily,” Regis said. “And if too many appear, there are still others who can fight.”
Lillia clicked her tongue.
“I think it’s worth trying to make Rylan kill all of them alone. As he said, he needs the XP,” she stated.
Aelfric nodded with a smile.
“No matter how many show up, Rylan can handle them all,” he said in a proud tone.
anwhile, Mar’s Mages watched this exchange with interested looks.
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“I admit I’m curious to see how you’d fare against a large group of enemies at the level of the Shades,” Cecilia said.
Rylan smiled at her.
“Only one way to find out. Let’s keep going,” he replied before turning around.
The group continued to make their way deeper into the Dungeon. The deeper they went, the darker and colder the environnt beca. After three minutes, they encountered their first group of undead, numbering twenty enemies. Rylan took care of them alone. They ca across the second group five minutes after that, this ti numbering thirty. Once again, Rylan defeated all of them on his own.
Standing over the broken ss that used to be a Skeleton Warrior, Rylan narrowed his eyes.
They’re really gathering.
Now, it had already beco clear. He could hear the groups of enemies rushing toward his position from the other hallways, and every group he ca across was larger than the previous.
The Boss knows we’re here.
By now, it was almost certain. Rylan looked over his shoulder at everyone. Thanks to his fire do, they were protected from the temperature, and he had killed the enemies quickly enough to keep them from being targeted.
Finally, Rylan looked at the System notification floating in front of him.
[You have reached Level 85.]
At least this is being fruitful.
He beckoned the others, making them resu their march. Every group of enemies was defeated by Rylan alone, but their numbers never stopped increasing. The fifth group was composed of dozens of enemies, and the eighth group had almost double its number. Finally, in the ninth group, Rylan ca across the ones he’d been waiting for.
Standing in the middle of almost pitch-black darkness, Rylan stared ahead. There, in the middle of the dozens of Skeleton Warriors, Undead Soldiers, and Undead Mages, were three humanoid, faceless figures that seed to be made of pure darkness. They were each around three ters tall, with long, thin limbs that ended in sharp tips that resembled claws. With the two horns on their heads, they looked like demons of darkness.
There you are.
Rylan narrowed his eyes at the Shades, circulating both his Aura and his mana. They seed to almost ld into the surrounding darkness, making their outlines fainter, as if they were about to disappear, to the point that he was probably the only one who could see them clearly. Slowly, he raised his sword in front of his body. It was the signal for the battle’s start. The undead monsters started rushing toward him in a wave that sought only to rip him apart, while the Shades also moved.
“Be careful, Rylan! I can’t even tell what’s happening!” Aelfric shouted from behind, making Rylan grin.
He grabbed Silver Twilight’s hilt with both hands.
First, to get rid of the mob.
Mar’s Mages would protect everyone. He could fight freely. With this in mind, Rylan shot forward with Snowstorm, closing the gap between him and his enemies in a flash, then swung his sword.
Stormcaller Sword Style, Third Movent: Rainfall.
Circulating his twin energies while preventing his Aura from leaking out, Rylan started attacking. Thrusts and slashes fell upon the mob of undead like rain, each either stabbing through the forehead of an enemy or slashing off their heads. Even as they gathered around him, Rylan didn’t stop. One after the other, the attacks t their mark, cutting the enemies apart several at a ti. Both his mana and Aura empowered his body in its entirety, allowing Rylan to easily outspeed any of the undead as they were mowed down.
It was then. Suddenly, as he was about to attack again, Rylan tilted his body backward. A heartbeat later, almost invisible claws went right through where his head had just been. He looked to the left. Less than a ter away from him stood one of the Shades, its faceless countenance staring straight at him. Instead of retaliating, Rylan jumped backward. The second Shade, which was just in the middle of attacking him, hit nothing but air.
But there was still the third one.
Abruptly, Rylan spun in place, cutting everything around him while still channeling Rainfall. Once his sword passed a specific spot, there was so resistance. The mana in the air roiled as the Shade that had just been cut raged. Once again, Rylan shot to the side to avoid an attack. anwhile, the wave of undead continued to rush toward him, stepping over the sliced apart corpses of their comrades and kin as if they weren’t even there. Further in the back, green Fireballs floated above the Undead Mages.
So, that’s their plan.
The enemy’s strategy seed to be simple. The Undead Soldiers and Skeleton Warriors were nothing but at shields to the Mages, which would attack him from afar, and the Shades used the darkness in their favor to camouflage themselves and try to ambush him.
If I were an ordinary Fifth Circle Mage, I’d be dead by now.
The first Shade’s attack would have reaped his life. Unfortunately for the enemies, he was himself.
How trivial.
Rylan held Silver Twilight’s hilt with both hands, circulating both of his energies as they roared within him, crackling with power. At the sa ti, all three Shades rushed at him from different directions, almost flying through the oppressive darkness, lding into it. Rylan’s mana and Aura gathered around his sword, creating a larger, ethereal blade. They took the shape of lightning around it, and heavy winds dominated the room with the wrath of a storm. Rylan shot forward, closer to the mob of undead enemies.
Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movent: Tempest Break.
He swung his sword as the ethereal blade expanded to encompass the hallway from one side to the other. The winds beca sharper than steel blades, tearing the undead apart before the blade had even reached them. The wave of power split everything it touched in half, cutting through the entire mob to reach the Undead Mages at the back. The surrounding darkness was montarily dispelled by the wrathful lightning, clearly revealing the three Shades as lightning bolts pierced right through their chests. As Rylan’s swing continued, the power only raged further, effectively vaporizing every single one of the undead. The Shades were the last to go as the electricity coursed through. For the first ti, they screeched just as they were about to disappear.
Then, silence.
Rylan let out a breath as he straightened his posture. The hallway’s walls around him were now scarred by the attack, with long, twenty-ter-long gashes deeply etched into them. The Skulls had been destroyed, turning to dust, while the coffins had crumbled. No enemy was left alive.
It was a bit tough to keep the fire do intact as I fought.
Still, it had been worth it. As he’d anticipated, the enemies had only targeted him instead of going for the others. He turned around to find everyone staring at him. The calst ones seed to be his family and Sarah, but the three kids and Mar’s Mages were looking at him like he was a mythical beast.
Rylan smiled awkwardly at them and looked at the System notification floating in front of him.
[You have reached Level 86.]
He dismissed it and started walking back to the group.
“Holy shit,” Cecilia said after a few seconds of silence. “That was fucking insane.”
Philip nodded absent-mindedly and whistled.
“This Sword Art business is so serious shit. I get how you killed three Sixth Circle Mages now. You probably have even crazier stuff stored up,” the man said. “Crazy.”
Krysta nodded with a dreamy expression, while lvin rubbed his chin with a smile.
“I can’t wait for what you’re going to tell Her Majesty,” he said.
Rylan smiled at them.
“You’ll see. Now, let’s go,” he replied. “We’re almost there.”
The Boss room drew ever closer.
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