Rotate. Dodge. Swing the blade.
For some reason, in Isagi's line of sight, the [Pale King] before him appeared somewhat "small".
It was he himself who had become taller and larger.
Isagi confirmed this. Fortunately, the discrepancy in body size did not bring any sense of abnormality to the battle. Even though he could feel his limbs becoming longer, he could execute various movements and reactions with even greater speed.
"Huu..."
The breath exhaled from his mouth blended together with the surrounding white mist.
The long blade in his right hand would vanish the instant it was swung, subsequently replaced by small weapons like short swords or daggers. With angles even more sharp and bizarre, they sliced across the Goblin's body.
After all, he had experience.
Isagi knew that when facing the [Pale King], the larger the weapon, the less effective it was. Conversely, one had to use this kind of short, small weaponry.
One just needed to find the right opportunity.
Countless repetitions. Ceaseless dodging. Finding the opening. Dealing a certain amount of damage to the opponent.
Last time.
It was just like this, repeatedly continuing for the entire night. That was the limit of his endurance, and also a level of focus that reached incredible heights.
But now, Isagi felt only relaxation.
That clear pressure and pleasure that would even make his body tremble had all disappeared without a trace.
Just like when he slaughtered [Monsters] before, inside his brain, aside from a bone-piercing coldness, nothing else existed. The [Pale King] before his eyes was, to him, just like any ordinary, common [Monster].
The purity brought about by this.
That calm, emotionless illusion, still as a lake's surface—[Void].
It seemed he had touched upon some indescribable realm once again.
Does becoming a [Shura] also represent a further step in some kind of "Martial Path"? That is an existence even more powerful than a "Sword Saint".
Even if what it represents is only slaughter, flames, destruction, and the never-ending resentment from the dead and their kin, there is no doubt: to be able to slaughter eternally and ceaselessly, one must first stay alive.
[Shura] is the [Victor].
If one is slain by another, then they cannot be counted as a [Shura].
In this instant, Isagi seemed to finally understand something. The clouds and mist that were usually vague and impossible to grasp within his mind suddenly dispersed completely, finally freezing into a single frame—
[Playing games is about winning!]
[Fighting is also about winning!]
The Great Dao is simple!!
Suddenly, he kicked the Goblin King before him, sending it flying.
Inside this thick, heavy white mist.
Vision would actually be severely affected, but Isagi no longer needed to rely on vision to capture the existence of the [Pale King]. Instead, he relied on the flowing aura and sensation.
In just the blink of an eye.
He arrived at the opponent's side again. The iron claw in his hand clenched into a fist, smashing down ruthlessly. Simultaneously, his left hand had already drawn a short sword, slashing toward its throat.
His two hands performed completely different actions, as if they were two entirely independent people.
The long sword in the Goblin King's hand reflected a gloomy, dim luster within this heavy fog. It pressed forward with indomitable will, just as it had in the past. No matter what, he had to dodge it; he could not touch it.
[Troublesome].
But Isagi was already used to it.
The attacks of his two hands changed direction once more. Following the movement of his body, the original fist and short sword had turned into a long blade held in both hands, slashing down head-on.
Immediately following that, it shifted once again, transforming into other weapons.
Far, far away.
Watching all of this, both Ais and Riveria were focused incomparably, observing the battle inside the cavern room in the distance.
For both of them, this was a first.
The young man before their eyes at this moment felt incredibly unfamiliar—no, he had become even stronger.
It was like growth visible to the naked eye. The originally small sapling had grown much taller again, becoming more lush and upright.
Leaving Ais aside for the moment.
Riveria had also seen Isagi fight.
Back when they fell into the Deep Floors together, although it was very brief, she saw the figure of Isagi fighting alongside Ryuu against the Floor Boss on the 37th Floor.
At that time...
In Riveria's view, Isagi was a senior adventurer with incredibly rich experience.
He coordinated tacitly with his companions, understood tactical arrangements deeply, and executed them to the end. He did not advance rashly, nor did he display individual heroism. He simply and perfectly did what he was supposed to do, while simultaneously reserving spare energy to cover his companions.
If combat were viewed as an "exam", then Isagi was the guy who could score 100 points while also helping his deskmate find a way to score 100 points.
He was too perfect, perfect to the point where one couldn't pick out the slightest problem. He could even make up for his companions' shortcomings. But because of this, when placed among "top-tier" adventurers, the boy's performance couldn't actually be considered outstanding.
That was what Riveria initially thought, because everyone could score "100 points", after all.
But now.
Isagi had completely broken through the concept of "100 points". He had reached a realm that was somewhat unintelligible and inconceivable.
[Is this a battle between Lv.5s?]
Riveria couldn't help but think this.
As a Lv.6 adventurer, no matter what, she shouldn't be unable to understand the situation before her eyes or the way the two were fighting.
It wasn't purely speed, strength, or slightly advanced techniques and psychological gaming.
It was something deeper. What exactly was it?
Regarding this.
Ais's feelings were a bit deeper, because she could realize that Isagi, compared to before, wasn't emitting any aura at all. It was as if he didn't exist, as if he had thoroughly "disappeared".
The boy of the past would always be very excited during battle.
That was a pleasure surging from the bottom of his heart, hard to suppress. Just one look would let people know that he was in a very, very good mood at that moment.
But now, it was completely different.
Why was it like this? Was this better?
Ais began to ponder this question.
She could feel from before that if there wasn't a difference in Levels, she and Isagi should be "very good opponents". Therefore, quietly following him all this time was also due to a small thought deep in her heart.
That was to have a battle with Isagi, holding nothing back.
But what made Ais hesitate a little was...
She didn't like fighting. Her pursuit of strength was also to be able to better kill [Monsters]—
[But Isagi isn't a Monster].
Would fighting him really be useful for honing her own skills?
When such questions floated up from her heart, they made Ais start to halt her steps slightly.
But fighting the boy was also a true desire in her heart.
That was why she fell into distress, wanting to think properly about the answer. And now, she seemed to realize that there was some kind of commonality within.
Or rather.
Ais realized that the gap between herself and Isagi seemed to be not just in Levels, Ability Scores, weapons and equipment, Skills, and Magic, but in a more internal, deeper existence.
Isagi had also chatted with her about many things regarding "technique".
Regarding what the boy said—whether it was the insights during battle or entering some inexplicable "state".
She actually couldn't understand any of it.
[Miss Ais seems to be the type of person who can naturally do many things, so she simply won't research why they exist or how she can do them.]
[To put it simply—the Instinct School.]
That's right.
Ais was a very talented fellow.
So, if originally everyone only scored "100 points", Ais was the guy who looked like she didn't understand anything and never studied, yet could also score full marks every time.
But once the upper limit was no longer "100 points", the problem appeared.
The Ais of this moment.
She completely didn't understand Isagi's current state. She only instinctively felt that it was better, stronger. But why it was like that, and why it was stronger than her current self, she simply couldn't get an answer.
For the first time, the young girl had the thought of wanting to "learn".
Not just instinctively learning from the back of her father swinging his sword in that dream repeated countless times.
For the first time in her life.
Ais began to seriously recall the words Isagi had said to her in the past about "technique" and "feeling". Then, she tried hard to understand, wanting to learn something from them.
Absolute strength could indeed crush all techniques.
But when strength had an upper limit, technique could let one's power go to a stronger level.
These complemented each other; they were not opposing existences.
Ais understood that if she could be like the current Isagi, she could become stronger—the pure maiden quickly arrived at such a pure answer, and subsequently began to move forward...
The process of the battle was even faster than imagined. Even Isagi himself was somewhat caught off guard.
Originally.
In the battle that lasted the whole night last time, this time it was visibly accelerated.
For him, the strengthening brought by the increase in numerical stats was comprehensive.
Because he was faster, he instead controlled the rhythm of the battle. Before, he was constantly dodging the [Pale King]'s attacks, and only in extremely rare circumstances could he seize the opportunity to counterattack once.
And that incomparably precious counterattack opportunity brought damage to the Goblin King that was miniscule. Only by continuous accumulation could he truly cause damage to it.
But now, it was completely different.
The one actively initiating attacks was him. The guy defending had instead become the [Pale King].
It could only constantly wave its long sword, attempting to block his attacks, but every time it did so, it revealed an opening. In the end, it was always hit by his short sword, fist, dagger, or long blade.
And every attack.
Because of the stat increase brought by leveling up, the actual damage caused was far higher than before—unknown by how much.
The efficiency of such improvement was simply unknown times greater than before.
Isagi even felt that the [Pale King] was rapidly becoming weak. If this just continued like this—
But as luck would have it.
Things obviously wouldn't be that simple.
Very quickly, in a very sudden instant, in a place that neither Isagi nor Riveria and Ais watching from afar realized.
The entire Upper Floors of the Dungeon, from the 1st Floor to the 12th Floor.
The spawning of all [Monsters] stopped completely. Furthermore, the [Monsters] that had already spawned were all "recycled" by the Dungeon.
In this unknown deep night.
The entire Upper Floor region of the Dungeon turned into an [Empty City] where nothing existed.
____
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