Chapter 5: Attacks with Sword Aura, This Life is Set!
After briefly adjusting his upcoming goals, he quickly arrived at the 2nd floor of the Dungeon. So far, the cave environment hadn't changed. However, the monster knowledge and Dungeon characteristics he had learned from Eina at the Adventurer's Guild earlier proved useful.
The most threatening Dungeon Lizards were completely different from what Liam had imagined. Their bodies were covered in grayish-brown scales, and their total length was comparable to a human's.
They excelled at using their size advantage to charge.
Geckos were smaller in all aspects but liked to attack adventurers in groups, roaming the labyrinth walls and cave ceilings.
These were what needed extra attention.
Liam cautiously explored the current area. This was the drawback of solo adventuring; there were no teammates to coordinate with.
He had to bear the responsibility for his own safety.
As for being nervous, that wasn't it at all. It was more an anticipation of how "Secret Sword Art" would perform after being upgraded to the mastery level.
The Sword Soul class was, in every sense, a master of weapons.
They could use any sword-shaped weapon, and in the game, Secret Sword Art's final effect would even change depending on the weapon used.
With the skill level increased after investing points.
The most direct feeling Liam got after Secret Sword Art reached mastery was that he no longer needed to adapt when switching weapons.
He could switch seamlessly!
"This world... probably doesn't have lightsabers."
"Once I have money, I'll buy a tachi. Using it with the broadsword for dual-wielding shouldn't be a big problem and should enhance my combat strength a bit."
"It's just, are the number of monsters cleared by other adventurers a bit too few?"
As he continued to explore, Liam's tightly furrowed brows never relaxed. Quite a few adventurers had passed through this current floor.
Up until now, he hadn't encountered any monsters blocking his path.
He didn't even have a chance to use his upgraded skill. Liam paused briefly, considering whether to go deeper.
A faint rustling sound reached his ears.
When he abruptly turned his head, a massive lizard, perfectly camouflaged against the cave wall by its grayish-brown scales, suddenly appeared before him.
If not for its huge mouth filled with sharp teeth, flicking its tongue like a viper, Liam would have had a hard time spotting it quickly.
This was probably...
Just when you're sleepy, someone offers you a pillow?
After its failed sneak attack, the Dungeon Lizard completely abandoned its camouflage. Its massive body, equivalent to a human's, displayed explosive speed.
Its sharp claws dug into the wall as it lunged towards Liam.
This was a common attack method for Dungeon Lizards. Their tough scales could withstand ordinary weapon slashes, and they utilized their size advantage.
As long as they knocked an adventurer down, the fight was over.
Liam had done his homework before embarking on his Dungeon adventure. His subconscious urged him to grip his broadsword tightly and swing down at the lizard.
Flexibly applying the combat techniques of Secret Sword Art.
A crescent-moon-like sword aura was unleashed by the slash. The blade didn't even touch the Dungeon Lizard; the strike, imbued with sword intent.
Instantly split the monster in two, its body exploding into dust!
A magic stone, slightly smaller than a thumb, fell to the ground, making a crisp sound upon impact, signaling the Dungeon Lizard's demise.
「Exp +34」
"Sword Aura!!"
Liam had been worried if his weapon could even penetrate the Dungeon Lizard's defense. He hadn't expected a casual slash to actually unleash sword aura!
The monster turned to dust very quickly after dying.
His sharp eyes, however, briefly caught the details of the slash. The front half of the Dungeon Lizard's body was cleanly cut.
This also served as a point of verification: sword aura could enhance the attack range of a short sword.
Lost memories were still attacking him.
Secret Sword Art paired with a short sword would release sword aura. Liam had never thought that upgrading the skill to mastery would have this effect in the DanMachi world!
"Not working hard in youth, your attacks carry sword aura." (A DNF meme, implying effortless power)
"This life is set!"
"."
Bending down to pick up the magic stone that had fallen to the ground, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. Although he hadn't mastered other skills.
With this combat method of increasing attack range through sword aura.
His leveling speed would definitely increase. This also sort of restored the game's setting, allowing for faster clearing of maps? Most crucially, the sword aura that extended his attack range didn't cause additional stamina consumption.
Able to level up quickly, Liam had no thoughts of resting. The novice Sword Soul's hands were itching, craving high-intensity combat!
"Let's do it in one go and reach Lv5 today."
Having grasped the Dungeon Lizards' attack patterns, the subsequent exploration went exceptionally smoothly. Unfortunately, the monsters couldn't drop materials.
The good thing was that they gave a lot of experience points.
And as "sword aura" was integrated into his Secret Sword Art attacks, even when facing a large number of Gecko monsters simultaneously.
He could still handle them with ease.
Pushing his progress to the 5th floor, there was no concept of time in the dim caves. The only feedback he received was the constantly increasing experience points.
As his stamina was continuously consumed, the little energy provided by his breakfast had long been used up.
After clearing out a group of Geckos inhabiting a dead-end tunnel in the cave, Liam chose not to continue fighting, always maintaining a good condition.
Even when facing a large number of monsters, he could push through directly.
But when he opened the poor man's lunch set he had bought from a vendor in Orario, the joy brought by leveling up was instantly wiped away.
The vegetable leaves were just simply blanched in boiling water, without even a trace of oil on the surface.
The staple food was dark whole wheat bread, which didn't look particularly easy to chew. The only source of protein was an egg.
"After this meal."
"For future bentos, I'm definitely ordering from a reliable restaurant!"
This thing cost him 300 Valis. With a little more money, he could have had a hearty and filling lunch at "The Hostess of Fertility."
He felt the idea of buying a tachi could be put on hold for a bit.
Improving his meals was the most crucial thing at this stage!
Liam ate this tasteless "poor man's meal," having to wash it down with cold water to barely get it into his stomach. Taking advantage of the brief leisure.
He checked the "Sword Soul Template."
「Liam Moon」
「Level: 4」
「Experience: 51%」
「Skill: Secret Sword Art (+)」
「SP: 30」
"Tomorrow, I'll bring some food that can replenish energy, then I can consider going to the 6th floor to kill monsters and level up..."
Good food needed to be treated seriously. If it was a "poor man's meal" that was hard to swallow, with the sole purpose of filling his stomach, there was no need to waste time.
After finishing the last piece of whole wheat bread.
Liam gulped down some cold water, intending to give his stomach some time to digest. Leaning against the wall, he faintly felt the ground tremble.
A subtle sound of trampling came from a distant cave.
It made him subconsciously grab his weapon. Dungeon Lizards or Geckos couldn't cause this kind of commotion. Could it be other monsters?
He got up and walked out of the dead-end tunnel.
"This shouldn't be..."
Liam observed his surroundings, looking in the direction the sound came from. What came into view, however, was a monster that shouldn't be on this floor.
An extremely powerfully built humanoid monster.
And the bull's head on its shoulders also indicated its identity.
"Minotaur."
(End of this chapter)