Kai had already unlocked the dual-wielding skill after over two weeks of intense training, but he hadn't carried two swords around to preserve his trump card.
But now, facing an unexpectedly overpowered Goliath, he couldn't afford to hide anything anymore.
Clang!
The sword sang as it was drawn.
At the very instant Kai pulled the slender sword from the female adventurer's waist, a surge of restrained power burst from his body, creating pressure several times stronger than before that made the surrounding people's skin ache.
If that much affected the bystanders, then facing it head-on, Goliath must've felt even more.
As Kai brandished both swords, Goliath halted its charge, growling low like a beast defending its territory. Its blood-red pupils shrank to fist-size as it stared warily at the green and black swords in Kai's hands.
"Kai-…kun?"
Hestia stared blankly at Kai, now standing in front of everyone to face Goliath alone. She suddenly realized she might not know this child of hers as well as she thought.
"Hestia."
Hermes, who had somehow appeared beside her, also stared intently at Kai's back. His usually closed eyes opened slightly, light glinting within them.
"Your kid… is not simple at all."
Kai was unaware of what the others were thinking. All he felt was the firm grip on his swords. Looking at Goliath's massive form, his fear had vanished.
The [Dual Wielding] bonus—more damage dealt and less received as injuries stack—was fully active.
Goliath's previous strike had hit him squarely, causing internal bleeding. He wasn't sure exactly how strong the boost from that damage was, but he had a powerful feeling—
He could kill Goliath now.
The standoff didn't last long. Even though the beast sensed something was off, Goliath was still a monster. Within moments, it couldn't restrain itself and charged again, roaring.
Kai clenched his lips, focused completely on its movements. He shifted his stance, muscles tensing.
Seconds later, Goliath entered the range of his cross-sword attack.
Zing!
With a screeching clang, the black sword rang out. Kai ducked beneath Goliath's swinging arm, his sword slashing upward at its elbow.
Snap—
He felt the blade cut through something elastic, but he didn't stop.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!!!"
Kai kicked off the ground. His black cloak blurred. As he passed by Goliath, he poured everything into his swords—swinging, slashing, striking again and again. Though he'd never used a left-hand sword before, the system's [Dual Wielding] skill activated, allowing him to handle the borrowed slender blade with expert ease.
Left hand blocked Goliath's counterattack, right hand followed up, leaving a deep gash. With [Dual Wielding] active, the real damage was far worse than it looked.
In a flash—faster than thought—Kai let his instincts drive his blade. Black and green sword lights flickered in the stone hall, sharp slashes tearing at the nerves of all who watched.
Faster! Faster! Even faster!
More. More. More. More. More. More. More—
Until—he touched the peak.
His body blurred, lightning-fast, as he danced around Goliath. His whole body burned; it felt like wings sprouted from his back. His swords felt weightless, each swing pure ecstasy.
Whumm—Whumm—Whumm—
The air trembled with each swing.
Goliath couldn't understand what was happening. How did this black swordsman suddenly become so terrifying? Why did even shallow wounds feel like his soul was being ripped apart?
It couldn't grasp it. Just pain. Terrible, inexplicable pain.
The beast reached out to grab the shadow that had hurt it, but—
"UAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Kai roared, swinging both swords in blinding succession. With a leap, he launched himself into the air, spinning like a hawk, dragging twin sword trails—one black, one green—as he soared past Goliath's head and landed behind it.
When he landed, the green slender sword was gone.
Huff… huff…
His chest heaved. Kai looked back at Goliath, still standing.
But in its back, only the sword hilt remained visible.
Then—
Boom!
Goliath's massive body exploded into white dust, centered around the slender green sword. A deep-purple magic stone, cracked and glowing, dropped to the floor—pierced through by the blade's tip.
It's… dead?
Kai turned and saw the stunned crowd, then took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He walked over to the stone.
Clang!
He grabbed the sword and gently pulled it free.
Still sharp, forged of pale green unknown metal.
"Good sword…"
Kai studied it, then glanced at the quiet female adventurer watching from afar. He couldn't help but reevaluate her.
But that wasn't the priority now.
"System."
[Beep!]
[Name: Takashina Kai
Race: Human
Profession: Adventurer Lv.2 (1469/10000) – Hestia Familia
Age: 23 (150)
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Spirit: 19 (100)
Strength: 14 (100)
Agility: 17 (100)
Endurance: 17 (100)
Constitution: 15 (100)
Class Inheritance: Black Swordsman
Energy: 392,140.5 / 1,000,000]
Seeing his greatly improved stats, Kai relaxed a bit.
Grinding monsters all night had finally paid off. This mid-floor dive was worth it.
He opened his [Black Swordsman] skill tree.
[One-Handed Sword Lv.3 (22458/500000): Greatly improves sword technique mastery. Boosts all stats and battle instinct while holding a sword. Increases dodge rate against sword techniques and crit rate while attacking.]
[Insight Lv.3 (325/500000): Greatly increases observational and intuitive skills while holding a sword. Boosts sixth sense and ambush avoidance.]
[Balance Lv.3 (14586/500000): Greatly improves sense of balance, 3D mobility, and agility while wielding a sword.]
[Godspeed Reflexes Lv.3 (49/500000): Boosts agility and dodge against sword techniques. Significantly increases neural response and battle instinct while wielding a sword.]
All four passive skills had reached Lv.3. The next layer had two glowing gold skill slots:
[Solo Player Lv.1 (10000/10000): When acting alone, greatly boosts all attributes over time, up to 500%.]
[Dual Wielding Lv.1 (10000/10000): When dual-wielding, boosts all stats and grants attack bonuses. Damage reduction and amplification scale with injuries, maxing at 20%/200%.]
After weeks of training and the Goliath kill, both had maxed out.
Without hesitation, Kai tapped both to upgrade.
Golden light flashed as the icons stopped flickering and became steady once again:
[Solo Player Lv.2 (0/100000): Max attribute boost increased to 600%.]
[Dual Wielding Lv.2 (0/100000): Boosts raised. Damage mitigation max reduced to 15%, amplification max raised to 300%.]
Satisfied, Kai turned to the third layer of the tree.
Only one skill existed there—[Strategy Fiend].
With both second-tier skills at Lv.2, its pristine white frame now shimmered with golden light.
Kai steadied his breath and tapped it.
Immediately, a flurry of system messages filled his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the Host. The skill "Strategy Fiend" has been successfully unlocked. Current Level: Lv.1]
[Congratulations to the Host. All talents and passive skills of the "Black Swordsman" — including basic passives, advanced passives, and core passives — have been fully activated. Ultimate passive unlocked.]
Ultimate passive?
Hearing a system prompt entirely different from previous skill unlocks, Kai frowned and looked up at the skill tree interface.
The four-tiered skill tree was now fully lit up. Aside from the bottom two rows of glowing skills, the first and second tiers had also been activated.
[Strategy Fiend Lv.1 (0/20000): After entering battle, you may activate Bloodlust mode. By using Sword Intent to devour your own HP, you unleash sword aura. The power of the sword aura increases in proportion to the amount of life consumed.]
This was a third-tier skill, currently glowing with a brilliant golden light.
But Kai's attention was entirely focused on one skill in the fourth tier.
[Light of Resolve: Condense radiance from your soul to unleash a blow that transcends all limits.]
The description was short — so short it didn't even specify the actual effects — yet Kai couldn't tear his gaze away from the skill.
The skill box was transparent, unlike the silver glow of talent passives or the golden hue of other passives. Light of Resolve had no visible color, yet it was so dazzling that one couldn't look directly at it.
So the day has finally come...
Looking at the now fully lit skill tree, Kai fought back the excitement surging in his chest, took a deep breath with his eyes closed, and then closed the system interface. Holding his sword, he turned toward the others.
"Clack, clack—"
His footsteps landed with crisp, steady echoes.
"Clack, clack—"
Wearing a faint smile, Kai was in a great mood — all his skills were now successfully unlocked.
Not far away, Hestia, Bell, and Lili breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Kai return safely. After all, they had seen him get swatted away by Goliath and vomit blood multiple times. The fact that he came back unscathed was a great relief.
Ahh... that was seriously walking a tightrope. Once we get back to Orario, I need a good rest.
But... should I take a hot spring bath first, or go for a big feast?
Come to think of it, I never did ask Miss Syr for that lunchbox she offered...
I also have to thank the owner of this rapier properly. I wonder what she looks like under that cloak... I bet she's beautiful...
As Kai relaxed and let his thoughts wander—
"Crack—"
"Hm?"
A familiar shattering sound echoed from behind him.
...What was that?
He paused, his smile frozen.
Ah. I remember now— That's the sound of the Wall of Lamentation breaking.
In his field of vision, Hestia, Bell, and Lili's expressions turned to pure terror. Their eyes widened as they stared behind him. Other people nearby also looked shocked.
...Wait. Didn't I kill Goliath already? Why those faces?
His thoughts stopped. A chilling realization dawned.
He spun around, drawing his sword and holding it horizontally in front of him.
In the next instant, an overwhelming force slammed into his blade like a tidal wave.
"Crack—"
The solid black blade shattered instantly into several broken pieces. Then, a half-man-tall, deep crimson-scaled fist landed squarely on Kai's chest.
"Crack, crack..."
In that moment, an indescribable power shook his soul. His thoughts scattered. Bones cracked inside his body.
A moment later, blood gushed violently from every pore.
An explosive shockwave burst from the point of impact, launching Kai's body far into the air like a ragdoll.
Still airborne, Kai barely regained consciousness. And then he saw the monster that had attacked him.
—Goliath.
But... different from the one he had killed before.
Over ten meters tall, its joints covered in red-hot scales, skin steaming, muscles like chiseled stone.
Previously, the first Goliath emerged from the left side of the Wall of Lamentation, and the right side had remained intact—something that should've been an obvious warning.
In the original story, only one Goliath ever appeared on the 17th floor.
He had trusted the original too much—and now, he was paying the price.
His black longsword was shattered, bones fractured in multiple places, and he was likely suffering from severe internal bleeding...
This wasn't a game or a sandbox world. It was real. That truth hit Kai hard as he crashed into the ground.
"Ugh..."
Barely able to grip the rapier, Kai coughed blood, looking utterly wretched.
From victorious hero to a bloodied wreck in mere moments.
The Dungeon had played a small trick, and Kai had paid dearly for his arrogance.
Nearby, Hestia's pained face came into view. She wanted to help but was stopped by a narrow-eyed man in a hat.
That must be... Hermes?
Struggling, Kai used the sword to push himself up.
Across from him, the mutated Goliath — a reinforced version of the "Labyrinth's Lone King" — looked at him with a mocking expression.
As if laughing at his foolishness.
"Hu... man...!"
The Goliath's massive lips moved. Its voice was rough, but its pronunciation was oddly clear.
It looked down on the battered Kai with disdain.
"Thief!"
Done speaking, the monstrous Goliath seemed to tire of words. It stepped forward, charging at him.