His eyes widened in disbelief.
Thousands of monsters lay scattered across the battlefield, their wooden bodies broken and torn apart. The massive wooden wall that had once surrounded the area was no longer intact either. A gaping hole had been carved through it, large enough for someone to escape.
The observer stared at the destruction, struggling to make sense of what he was seeing.
That hole in the wall... If he wanted to escape, he could have done it at any time.
Yet the young man standing among the corpses hadn't escaped. He remained where he was, his clothes torn, his body covered in blood, and his expression strangely numb. Even from a distance, the observer could tell that the boy was barely standing.
But how? He couldn't possibly have defeated all these monsters by himself!
Then his gaze fell upon a particular corpse.
The body had been cut apart, its head separated from its torso. Unlike the other monsters scattered across the battlefield, this one had possessed a strange energy that made it stand out from the moment it appeared.
The observer recognized it immediately.
It was a Special-class monster.
He stared at the corpse before letting out a disbelieving laugh.
"You... You even defeated a Special-class monster?"
If this young man had truly killed such a creature on his own, then his strength had to be comparable to a Fourth-Moon combatant.
But the observer didn't know the whole truth.
The young man hadn't been standing for the entire battle.
He had already lost consciousness once.
And even after his mind had surrendered, his body had refused to stop fighting.
---
Before the Battle
"Huh? That monster just came out?"
My attention shifted toward the creature that had emerged from the spell.
Something about it felt different.
Unlike the other monsters, it hadn't immediately charged at me. Instead, it stood a short distance away, its long, sword-shaped hands planted firmly in the ground as it stared in my direction.
Its appearance was strange, even by the standards of this place. It had a long, banana-shaped head that stretched backward into a thin point, while both its hands resembled swords. There were no actual blades attached to its arms, just wooden limbs sharpened into deadly weapons.
What are you supposed to be? A walking vegetable with swords for hands?
Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of standing around and examining it.
The other monsters were still attacking.
A massive creature suddenly leaped toward me from above, its enormous body blocking out the light.
"Am I your bed or something?!"
I released a burst of wind and shot sideways just before it could crush me. The monster slammed into the ground, sending wooden debris flying in every direction.
But before I could regain my balance, another enormous hand closed around me.
"Shit!"
A second giant monster had caught me while I was avoiding the first.
I twisted my body and tried to free myself, but my attention kept drifting toward the strange creature standing in the distance.
That thing was bothering me.
The others attacked as soon as they saw an opportunity. Their movements were crude, their intentions obvious. But this one was different. It had been standing there, watching me, as though it were waiting for something.
And I couldn't shake the feeling that the moment it decided to move, I would be in trouble.
I cut through the giant monster's fingers and escaped its grasp. Before it could attack again, I sent a wind blade straight toward its face.
The strike landed, tearing through its wooden head.
At least these things aren't particularly durable.
Despite their enormous size, most of the monsters had bodies that were surprisingly easy to cut. Their wooden limbs broke under sufficient force, much like branches snapping beneath an axe.
But that didn't make them harmless.
There were simply too many of them.
Even if I could defeat them one by one, I would exhaust myself long before the battlefield ran out of enemies.
And that was precisely why the strange monster concerned me.
My gaze returned to it.
Still standing.
Still watching.
What exactly are you waiting for? An invitation?
Before I could think any further, a familiar snake-like monster came rushing toward me. Its long body twisted through the battlefield, and its head shot forward with frightening force.
I tried to dodge, but I was a fraction too slow.
BAM!
Its head struck me squarely, sending me crashing into the ground.
Pain exploded through my body. I rolled across the broken wood before finally coming to a stop, coughing blood onto the ground.
"Am I getting distracted?"
I wiped my mouth and forced myself to stand.
The strange creature was still there.
I couldn't explain the feeling it gave me, but ignoring it was becoming more dangerous than facing it. If I continued fighting the other monsters while keeping half my attention on that thing, I would eventually make a mistake. And if it chose that moment to attack, I might not survive.
There was another problem.
Even if it waited until later, I would be exhausted and injured by the time it finally moved.
That left me with only one reasonable option.
Deal with it now.
I gathered wind beneath my feet and launched myself forward. In a single burst, I crossed the distance between us and landed directly in front of the strange monster.
"Hello!" I called out, pointing my sword toward its face. "Do you speak? Or am I supposed to guess what you want?"
The monster remained silent.
"Fine. I came here to get rid of a distraction, and I think you might be the problem."
I tightened my grip on my sword. Wind curled around the blade, gathering into a dense, twisting current.
"Let's get this over with. Then I can find my way out of this miserable place."
I lunged.
The monster finally moved.
It pulled its sword-like hands from the ground and crossed them against my blade.
CLANG!
The collision sent a shock wave across the battlefield. Dust and wooden fragments scattered around us, and the surrounding monsters hesitated as though the force of our clash had startled them.
My eyes narrowed.
That's some strength.
I pushed harder, but the creature met my attack without giving ground. Our weapons clashed again and again, each collision sending another wave of force through the air.
I changed the angle of my strikes, switching between quick slashes and heavier blows. Yet no matter how I attacked, the monster seemed to anticipate my movements.
Whenever I tried to cut around its guard, it twisted its body at the last moment. When I aimed for its torso, it shifted aside or countered with one of its sharpened hands.
It wasn't merely strong.
It was precise.
Wonderful. A monster that actually knows what it's doing.
I increased the pressure around my sword, allowing the wind to accelerate my movements. This time, when our blades met, I immediately shifted my weight and redirected my attack toward its side.
The monster twisted to avoid the strike.
But instead of retreating, it suddenly drove one of its sword-shaped hands toward my shoulder.
I tried to deflect it.
I was too late.
SHK!
Its sharpened hand pierced my shoulder.
"Dammit!"
I pulled away, barely managing to escape before it could drive the weapon deeper. Blood ran down my arm, and a sharp pain spread through my shoulder.
I retreated several steps, breathing harder than before.
That wasn't good.
The monster's movements were becoming increasingly difficult to follow. Worse, its body was far more durable than those of the other creatures. My wind-enhanced blade had barely managed to cut through its skin.
I needed to find a way to slow it down.
So I changed my approach.
Instead of concentrating all my wind around my sword, I spread it around the monster's body, creating pressure that interfered with its movements. The currents tightened around its limbs, slowing its next attack just enough for me to slip past its guard.
My blade finally reached its side.
A shallow cut appeared across its wooden skin.
I immediately withdrew before it could counter.
There we go.
It wasn't a deep wound, but it proved that the monster could be injured. If I continued applying pressure and controlled its movements, I might be able to wear it down.
Of course, it had managed to cut my shoulder in return.
So much for an easy victory.
I adjusted my grip and prepared to attack again.
Then the light above us disappeared.
A massive shadow fell across the battlefield.
I looked up.
The enormous monster from earlier had leaped into the air once more. Its body was descending toward us, and its enormous limbs were spread wide enough to crush both me and my opponent.
"Dammit! I was so focused on you that I forgot about that thing!"
I glanced at the strange monster.
It was still standing directly beneath the falling giant.
An idea struck me.
If I protect myself, maybe the impact will take care of both of us.
It was a terrible plan.
It was also the best one I had.
I swept my arms outward, drawing the wind around me into a spherical barrier. The currents twisted over one another, forming a protective shell just as the enormous monster crashed down.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact shook the battlefield.
The giant's body slammed into the ground, crushing everything beneath it. My wind barrier shuddered violently, its surface bending inward under the tremendous force.
For one terrifying moment, I thought it would break.
Then the impact began to fade.
I had survived.
More importantly, the strange monster had been caught beneath the falling giant as well.
Good. One problem solved.
Except the giant wasn't finished.
A massive wooden hand swept through the collapsing debris and struck my barrier before I could reinforce it.
CRACK!
The protective sphere shattered.
The blow struck me directly, sending me crashing into the ground. Pain surged through my body as broken wood and dirt buried me beneath the rubble.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
Then I gritted my teeth and forced the debris away.
I pushed myself upright, coughing and struggling to draw breath. Blood covered several parts of my body, and my injured shoulder throbbed with every movement.
The pain should have been unbearable.
Strangely, it wasn't.
Not because I hadn't been hurt, but because the heat rushing through my body was dulling the worst of it.
I had been relying on my natural elemental energy to keep myself moving.
Alysa had warned me against using it carelessly. She had made it clear that forcing my body beyond its limits could have consequences I didn't fully understand.
She wasn't wrong.
But right now, I didn't have the luxury of worrying about what might happen afterward.
This was one of the few advantages I possessed, and I needed every one of them.
I took a breath and looked toward the giant's hand.
Something was wrong.
The blow had been far too powerful for a creature of that size. The giant itself was strong, but its movements had always been clumsy. It shouldn't have been capable of delivering such a precise, devastating strike.
Then I noticed the fingers.
The hand wasn't attached to the giant anymore.
It was being held by the strange monster.
Somehow, while the enormous creature had fallen, my opponent had severed its arm. It had then taken hold of the detached limb and used its immense weight to smash through my barrier.
I stared at it.
You cunning bastard.
The monster discarded the severed arm and turned toward me.
I no longer had time to play around.
My shoulder was injured, my body was already struggling, and the surrounding monsters were beginning to move again. If this fight dragged on, I would lose the advantage I had left.
I gathered the remaining wind around my sword.
The currents tightened, becoming sharper and more concentrated. I fixed my gaze on the monster's head and steadied my breathing.
One clean strike.
That was all I needed.
The monster charged, dragging the enormous severed arm behind it before suddenly swinging the limb toward me.
I moved forward instead of retreating.
For an instant, the world seemed to narrow until there was nothing left but the monster, my sword, and the distance between us.
"Wind's way!"
I released everything I had gathered into a single attack.
The monster's borrowed weapon swept toward my body, but I didn't aim for it. I focused on the creature's neck, committing to the strike even as the massive arm rushed closer.
My blade cut through the incoming wooden limb.
Then it continued forward.
A flash of wind passed across the monster's neck.
For a brief moment, neither of us moved.
Then its head fell to the ground.
I landed several steps away, my sword lowered at my side.
"...It's dead, right?"
I almost turned toward the surrounding monsters.
Then I stopped myself.
No. Absolutely not. I'm not making that mistake again.
I turned back toward the fallen creature and raised my sword.
"Maybe you're still alive."
I unleashed several more wind strikes, tearing apart its torso and limbs until its body had been reduced to scattered pieces of wood.
Only then did I lower my weapon.
The strange energy that had surrounded the monster began to fade. As it disappeared, the remaining pieces of its body weakened, becoming no different from the ordinary monsters littering the battlefield.
So that was the secret.
Whatever that energy was, it had strengthened the creature's body beyond the limits of ordinary monsters. Once the energy vanished, its body could no longer maintain that unnatural durability.
I took a long breath.
Good. At least I won't have to fight that thing again.
There were still countless monsters around me, but I had no intention of fighting every single one.
I needed to escape.
My gaze swept across the battlefield, searching for anything that might lead me out of this trap. The wooden wall had been damaged, but the number of monsters surrounding it made a direct escape far too risky.
Then I remembered the spell.
What if I reach it? Could I teleport out of here?
I turned toward the spell and narrowed my eyes.
There was something there.
A faint trace of energy, almost too subtle to notice. I had never seen anything quite like it before. It might have been mana, or perhaps something else entirely, but I could feel a connection between it and the spell.
I didn't understand what I was sensing.
Still, I had a hunch that reaching the spell might give me a chance.
It was better than staying here until the monsters tore me apart.
I gathered wind beneath my feet and shot into the air.
I hadn't even crossed half the distance when several wolf-like monsters leaped toward me. Their powerful legs propelled them far higher than their size suggested, and their jaws snapped at me as I passed overhead.
I twisted away from the first, but the sudden evasive movement disrupted my flight.
My balance faltered.
Then I felt that familiar presence again.
You're kidding me.
The snake-like monster had returned.
It surged toward me, its head drawn back before launching forward with enough force to shatter a tree trunk.
"Can't you find someone else to bother?!"
I had no time to regain control of my flight.
Instead, I let the wind beneath my feet collapse and dropped sharply out of its path. The monster's head rushed past me, missing by a narrow margin.
As I fell, I twisted my body and swung my sword.
My blade sliced through its neck.
The monster's head separated from its body, and I landed hard on the ground.
I didn't stop to admire my work.
The surrounding monsters were already rushing toward me.
I released a burst of wind that swept outward in every direction. The pressure tore through the wooden creatures closest to me, crushing several and sending others tumbling across the ground.
Then I ran.
I cut down anything that blocked my path, pushing through the chaos as I headed toward the spell.
I was almost there.
Just a little farther, and I might finally—
My heart stopped.
Something had emerged from the spell.
Another monster.
At first glance, it seemed almost ordinary. Its body was roughly my size, and it lacked the long, unusual head and sword-shaped hands of the creature I had just defeated. Instead, it carried two wooden weapons: a sword in one hand and an axe in the other.
But then I felt it.
That same strange energy.
The same oppressive presence that had surrounded the first Special-class monster.
I stared at the newcomer.
"...You're kidding me, right?"
The monster tilted its head.
Then it smiled.
At least, I thought it was smiling. Its wooden face barely had any features, but something about its expression made me feel as though it were laughing at my misfortune.
Oh, wonderful. Now they're making fun of me.
I tightened my grip on my sword.
The monster didn't wait.
It vanished from its position and appeared directly in front of me, its wooden weapons striking toward my chest.
I barely managed to raise my sword.
CLANG!
The impact forced me backward, but my invisible wind barrier held firm, preventing the weapons from reaching my body.
Fast!
The monster immediately withdrew.
Before I could counterattack, it disappeared again and reappeared behind me.
I spun around, raising my sword just in time to intercept another strike.
CLANG!
The force drove me back another step.
Unlike the previous monster, this one didn't possess overwhelming strength. Its attacks weren't as heavy, and its body didn't seem nearly as imposing.
But it was fast.
Far too fast.
It moved in short, explosive bursts, appearing from different angles before I could properly follow its movements. Each time I tried to predict its next attack, it changed direction and forced me to defend again.
My invisible wind barrier bought me time, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. Maintaining it required constant control, and every strike placed more pressure on its defenses.
The monster vanished once more.
I raised my sword and turned in a full circle, searching for it.
Nothing.
For several seconds, I could hear only the groaning of the surrounding monsters and the distant sounds of wood breaking beneath their feet.
Then—
A faint sensation brushed against my back.
My eyes widened.
It wasn't an attack against my barrier.
The monster had already passed it.
SHK!
Pain ripped across my back as its weapon cut through my clothes and opened a deep wound in my skin.
I stumbled forward, barely managing to keep my balance.
The monster had vanished again.
I couldn't see it.
I couldn't hear it.
And for the first time since this battle began, I felt something that I had desperately tried to ignore.
Fear.
...What is this?
My hands were trembling.
Am I afraid of dying?
The question sounded ridiculous inside my own head, but I couldn't deny what was happening. My body was exhausted, my wounds were accumulating, and every time that creature disappeared, I wondered whether its next attack would be the one I failed to stop.
I didn't have much real battle experience.
Or perhaps I had once possessed more than I remembered. There were things about myself that remained buried somewhere in the depths of my mind, beyond my reach.
But whatever I might have forgotten didn't matter now.
This was the fight I was facing.
And I intended to win.
For Alysa and Gray.
If I died here, the people behind this trap wouldn't simply stop. They would continue hunting the others, and I couldn't allow that to happen.
For Bell, too.
I had promised to become her contractor. I had promised to win this ridiculous tournament.
And I wanted to stand before Master Ben afterward and tell him that, for once, I hadn't disappointed him.
I wanted to survive long enough to keep those promises.
I couldn't lose here.
Not now.
I released a tremendous burst of wind.
The force exploded outward, tearing through the surrounding monsters and sending broken branches flying. Several creatures were hurled across the battlefield, while others were crushed beneath the sudden pressure.
The ground trembled beneath my feet.
For a brief moment, the area around me was cleared.
I stood in the center of the destruction, breathing heavily.
My body ached from head to toe. My heart hammered against my chest, then began to slow as exhaustion crept deeper into my limbs. Every breath felt heavier than the last.
I was reaching my limit.
No.
I had already passed it.
A strange burning sensation spread through my body, growing more intense with every passing second. It was as though something inside me had caught fire, consuming what little strength I had left.
My eyes began to glow a brilliant blue.
I didn't understand why.
I only knew that the power surging through me felt different from anything I had experienced before.
If I could enter a Creator's Energy State, this might be easier.
But I couldn't summon bell here without a contract, and even if I could, bringing her into this battlefield would mean dragging her directly into danger.
That wasn't an option.I had to do this myself.
I gritted my teeth and forced the wind to spread farther.
The currents surged across the battlefield, rushing between broken branches and weaving through the scattered monsters. I pushed my control beyond what I thought I could manage, letting the wind sweep across the ground in an expanding wave.
Then the currents touched something.
A presence.
The second Special-class monster.
I could feel where it was.
Not clearly. Not as though I could see it with my eyes. But the wind passed around its body, revealing its position through the slightest disturbances in the currents.
My eyes widened.
There you are.
The burning sensation intensified, yet something about my control had changed. The wind responded to me more readily than before, as though the distance between my intentions and my element had grown thinner.
I didn't have time to question it.
The monster was still moving.
I gathered the wind high above the battlefield, compressing it into a long spear. The currents twisted around one another, narrowing and sharpening until the weapon became a deadly point of concentrated force.
Then I released it.
The wind spear plunged toward the monster's position.
A violent impact shook the battlefield.
For an instant, I thought I had hit it.
Then the monster moved.
It dodged the attack and looked upward.
I was already there.
I had used the moment of impact to propel myself through the air, closing the distance before it could disappear again.
My sword came down.
The blade struck its body, cutting deep into the wood.
"I've got you now!"
The monster staggered, but it refused to fall.
Its sword and axe flashed toward me.
I blocked the first strike and twisted away from the second. Then I counterattacked, forcing it to retreat before it could vanish from my sight.
For the first time, I was keeping up.
Our weapons clashed repeatedly. I blocked, countered, and attacked, using the wind to reinforce every movement. The monster was still faster than me in short bursts, but the currents revealed its position whenever it moved through the space around us.
I could anticipate its attacks.
Not all of them.
But enough.
A wooden blade grazed my side. My sword cut across the monster's arm. It struck toward my head, and I ducked beneath the attack before driving my shoulder into its chest.
The creature stumbled backward.
I followed, refusing to give it room to disappear.
My body was in terrible shape. Every movement sent pain through my wounds, and the burning inside me continued to grow. Yet beneath the exhaustion, I felt something unfamiliar stirring.
A threshold.
A feeling that I was approaching something I had never experienced before.
I didn't know whether it was a new awakening, a change in my control, or simply my body desperately adapting to survive.
I only knew that I couldn't stop now.
The monster suddenly changed its target.
Its blade flashed toward my hand.
I tried to pull away, but it was too late.
SHK!
Pain burst through my fingers.
My grip failed, and my sword slipped from my injured hand.
For one terrible moment, I watched it fall.
No. Not now!
The monster immediately pressed its advantage, raising both weapons for another attack.
I moved on instinct.
My uninjured hand caught the sword before it struck the ground. I twisted my body and brought the blade around in a desperate counterattack.
The monster's weapons missed me by inches.
My sword cut through its neck.
Its head separated from its body, and the creature collapsed at my feet.
I stood over it, gasping for breath.
The strange energy surrounding the monster began to fade. Its body weakened, losing the unnatural strength that had made it so dangerous.
This time, I didn't have enough strength left to destroy the corpse.
I could barely stand.
My injured hand throbbed, my back burned, and the rest of my body felt as though it were being torn apart from the inside. I forced myself to breathe slowly, trying to gather enough strength to continue toward the spell.
Two Special-class monsters.
I had defeated two of them.
Surely that was enough.
Surely I had earned the right to leave this place.
I raised my head and looked toward the spell.
Then I felt it.
Another presence.
My expression froze.
Slowly, I turned toward the source.
The spell was glowing again.
A shadow stood within it, much larger than the creature I had just defeated. Its silhouette was broad and muscular, its shoulders wide, its arms thick enough to resemble tree trunks.
It was roughly six or seven feet tall.
And its physique reminded me of someone I knew all too well.
Master Ben.
My sword trembled in my hand.
No.
Not another one.
The monster stepped out of the spell.
The same strange energy surrounded its body.
It carried no sword. No axe. No weapon of any kind.
It didn't need one.
Its enormous fists were more than enough.
I stared at the creature, unable to hide the exhaustion on my face.
You've got to be kidding me.
The first monster had possessed strength and unusual durability. The second had been fast enough to slip past my defenses.
And now the third one had appeared.
A monster built like Master Ben, radiating the same ominous energy as the other two.
I had already used nearly everything I possessed.
My hand could barely hold my sword. My body was covered in wounds, and I could hardly stand without forcing wind beneath my feet.
Yet another monster had appeared.
I looked at its enormous frame, then down at my trembling hand.
A laugh escaped my throat.
"Of course..."
The monster rolled its shoulders.
The sound of its wooden joints cracking echoed across the battlefield.
I let my sword fall to the ground.
"Of course, there's another one."
And then it began to walk toward me.