episode_0088

Many hands make light work, sharing a single bean is better than nothing, too many cooks spoil the broth—ah, is that wrong?

No, is it right? Anyway.

They say there’s no such thing as a false proverb, and I’m actually reaping the rewards of that even in my next life.

What do you mean?

It means to help each other and combine your strength.

It means that what one person can’t do alone, two can easily accomplish together.

It was actually like that.

The Shadow Wolf’s evasive maneuvers, which had seemed insurmountable when I fought it alone…

…once I started a coordinated attack with Eve, its weaknesses started to become apparent.

Tsukang—!!

“Hey- hey, be careful! You almost ripped my arm off!”

“Just dodge, you know.”

Her magic sword, dripping with cold energy, pierced through the afterimage of the beast and flew towards me.

If I had let my guard down even a little, I would have genuinely become a one-armed swordsman.

“Krrruuk— I have to… I have to kill it…!”

Just when I thought I had a chance, it would vanish like a ghost.

When I looked around, wondering where it went, it would be behind me, aiming for a surprise attack.

That [Shadow Domination] ability, allowing for easy approach and retreat, was truly the ultimate in combat balance.

The Shadow Wolf, which had perfected such an ability mere minutes after its evolution, was a more than sufficiently strong magical beast.

But, we definitely escaped the disadvantage.

Although they were merely afterimages, the number of times the tip of my blade cut through them increased.

“Haap—!”

Ssuung—

Even though the beast easily evaded my sword strike, only the sound of cleaving air echoed.

“It went that way—!”

“-Got it.”

What I missed, Eve caught.

Puuk—!

“Krrruut—!!”

Finally, we succeeded in landing the first effective hit on the beast’s main body.

Thanks to the freezing magic spell Eve infused into her blade, the pierced leg was slightly frozen on the surface.

Accumulating injuries is the power that changes the tide of battle.

That’s also why dot damage is important in boss battles.

But what we were doing was on a different level.

I was the one who grabbed the Shadow Wolf’s tail as it tried to escape from Eve.

“You dodge this too—!”

This time, we landed an effective hit on it.

Shukang—!

Eve’s pure white sword light pierced the Shadow Wolf’s shadow, flying past her pupil.

She barely dodged by leaning her body.

“……!!”

“Don’t look at me like that. I was on the receiving end of that just now, too.”

At first glance, it looked like a combined attack.

But it was a little different.

“Hey- hey, that’s—!”

“…Try dodging this one too.”

Piing—!

[Absolute Zero], carried on a sharp sword light.

If I had activated my Ghostly Armor, I could easily escape, but right now, dodging was the right move.

Hwirik-

I spun around, deflecting Eve’s magic away from my waist, and plunged my Ghostly Blade into the dark shadow once more.

“Krrr… you punks, what exactly are you…”

“Aaah- so close, I almost got it.”

“…You’re dead today.”

The target of our attack was no longer the Shadow Wolf.

Eve and I, who hadn’t properly clashed since our formal sparring lesson…

We were now competing against each other, with a single prey in the middle.

In simpler terms, it wasn’t a ‘Eve & Nari vs. Shadow Wolf’ kind of matchup. It had somehow become ‘Nari vs. Eve (ft. Shadow Wolf)’.

A corner within a corner, a mini-game to take a break.

We had been clumsy when we backed each other up.

But when our blades clashed, we brought out the best in each other.

‘Where should I stab next?’

With the prey in the center, I keenly observed Eve.

Where would she aim her next attack?

The Shadow Wolf would definitely dodge to the opposite side, so if I aimed my strike in a different direction from Eve, I could land a successful hit.

So, I focused on her, giving it my all.

I could almost read her thoughts beyond her eyes.

『Trait, [Mana Lover] is activated.』 『Skill, [Mana Detection] is at maximum level.』 『While the trait is active, skills are automatically activated regardless of will.』

Was Eve intensely thinking of something, too? Her thoughts were mixed in with the waves of mana radiating from her.

‘Where would Nari aim?’

Ssiik-

For some reason, I laughed.

Yes, that’s right.

We were thinking the same thing.

My smile spread, carried by the pure white mana, touching Eve’s lips.

A faint smile appeared on her lips, too.

“Thinking about other things during a battle—?”

“You’re one to talk.”

We stopped bickering. We already knew we were on the same page.

With one mind, we swung our swords in unison.

Chwaak-

When I created a gap, Eve stabbed.

Skuang-

When Eve failed to attack, I succeeded.

Phut- Chwak- Sgeok- Ssukaang—!!

The lines drawn by our blades were so numerous they were now visible to the eye.

Our strikes collided, forming a surface.

“Keuhuk- Keuhueok—”

The Shadow Wolf’s condition was also different from before.

With wounds all over its body, it could no longer perform the same dazzling evasive maneuvers as before.

Even if it managed ultimate evolution, from the very beginning, it was never supposed to be our match.

The ‘advantage of the outnumbered’ only applies when the difference in power is not great.

We were two, but on the battlefield, we exerted the strength of tens, or hundreds.

It had no means to counter the power difference of nearly a thousand times.

Neither of us enjoyed toying with weaker opponents.

With a brief exchange of glances, we signaled to each other to prepare for the final blow.

“Hmm… how about ‘that’?”

“-Good.”

The Shadow Wolf, with its eyelids heavy with blood, was no longer quite right.

It wouldn’t have understood our words anyway.

Only three—no, four people in this space knew what ‘that’ meant.

“Krrurut… what the hell are you—!!”

With the blazing magical beast in front of us…

I was the first to create ten magical swords.

Then Eve created the same number, mirroring me.

[Shadow Domination] is magic.

Naturally, the ‘shadows’ extracted from its body using that magic ability are made of mana.

In simple terms, similar to Nix’s astral body.

Normal attacks wouldn’t work, which is why we kept swinging our swords into empty space.

However, Nix had also suffered damage to its astral body.

When attacked with the same mana-based power.

To summarize, attacks imbued with mana can definitively tear through the beast’s shadow.

That was something Eve also realized.

Taat—

We jumped at the same time, unleashing a total of twenty magical swords at the Shadow Wolf.

Ssut- Ssusut- Ssusseung—!

“As if you could dodge that…!!”

It was so obvious, the magical beast easily dodged every single one.

“—!!”

After the dust settled, the magical swords…

…were embedded in a circle on the ground. Forming a prison around the Shadow Wolf.

“Ready yourself, Eve—!”

“—Just as I hoped!!”

That day of sparring, a spectacular disaster etched into our memory.

Like then, we drew all the mana we could muster.

From our fingertips to our toes.

Without even the slightest adjustment in power.

And simultaneously, we extended our hands.

[Hell Flare]! [Freezing Storm]!

The Shadow Wolf, unable to move due to the magical swords imbued with intense mana…

Attempted to jump toward the only escape route, the ceiling.

But a massive explosion from the meeting of my raging fire and Eve’s freezing cold waited for it above.

‘Aaah… I’m finally dying.’

From the magical energy surging through my skin, I clearly felt it.

The dark ceiling of the cave that Shadow Wolf had seen all its life was obscured by the brilliant white explosion.

The last sight the beast saw was what it truly desired in its heart.

The wide, green meadow where it longed to run around with its brethren.

The mana of four attributes.

The power of nature that it had never felt.

Mixing together in colorful splendor, exploded beautifully.

Ttiring—!

『[Condition: Dungeon Break Completion] satisfied.』

…

…

…

The shockwave caused the cavern, no, the entire ruin to shake.

The explosion in an enclosed space amplified the effect.

Even with mana defense, we, the closest in proximity, were showered with falling rocks and dust from the ceiling.

“Kolrok- Kolrok—”

I was a bit worried about the party…

“Hu-uu… that was close.”

It looked like Nix, having recovered her strength, led the staff wielders to erect a magical barrier.

Wiping the black mist from her forehead, she held up her thumb.

Eve and I descended to the ground.

“Is it over?”

“Be careful, Nari. In case it’s still alive—“

“—That won’t happen.”

I saw the ground soaked in dense black magical energy, and crouched down, gently brushing the dust with my finger.

‘…This is.’

What I saw for a moment was mana… no.

I couldn’t tell precisely, it being my first time witnessing it, but it was probably similar to my attributeless mana.

The pristine white, unblemished substance slowly dispersed from the magical energy.

It flowed away, riding the currents of the upper layer, as if trying to tell me something.

Thank you-

-it said.