Episode 200
Crash!
Bahamut pierced through the armor of the one-eyed warrior, driving straight into his heart.
“Ugh!”
The one-eyed warrior clutched the blade impaling him and shouted, “Kill that bastard!”
The other dark elf warriors charged at Zeke.
Releasing his grip on Bahamut, Zeke unleashed an endless chain of attacks.
Crash!
Wearing Hershion, his every move was a weapon in itself. Warriors struck by Zeke’s martial arts and acrobatics were either buried into the ground or sent flying into the walls.
“Seven left.”
The one-eyed warrior, with Bahamut still embedded in him, made a final desperate charge at Zeke.
“Die, human!”
Zeke spun around, channeling a powerful shockwave into a kick aimed at the warrior.
Bang!
With a sound like air exploding, Zeke’s strike obliterated half of the warrior’s body.
“Ugh!”
Only then did the one-eyed warrior collapse completely, slowly turning to ash. Even as she vanished, her gaze remained fixed on Zeke.
“Such deep hatred for humans.”
Zeke shook his head at the intensity of her glare and surveyed his surroundings. Assessing the situation, he deactivated Hershion and faced the remaining dark elves with Bahamut in hand.
With the death of their leader, the other warriors seemed to lose their morale. Yet, they still charged at Zeke.
Swish—
Zeke cut down the advancing warriors with Bahamut.
Finally, he stood face to face with the last remaining leader.
“You’re strong, human.”
“Dark elf, why did you come here?”
“We were on the battlefield, hiding from the human army. We’ve been here for about two weeks now.”
“Two weeks?”
The dark elves perceived only two weeks had passed, not the 2,000 years that had actually elapsed.
“Have they been trapped here in a suspended state?”
Zeke recalled the message that appeared when he defeated the orcs and dark elves.
“It said the cursed souls had left the domain.”
It seemed the souls of the orcs and dark elves had been bound here to create this trial.
At that moment, the dark elf leader drew her sword. The twin blades she held were unlike any others, crafted from a material that gleamed like black gemstones.
The dark elf leader spoke to Zeke.
“Human, my name is Anexi, the greatest warrior of the Black River tribe. What is your name?”
Zeke replied to Anexi.
“Zeke Draker.”
Anexi nodded at his response.
“Draker, a descendant of the Sword Saint?”
“It’s more accurate to say I’m his successor.”
“Zeke Draker, if what you say is true, and the Sword Saint’s power has been passed down even after 2,000 years, then it seems we lost the war.”
“Anexi, are you referring to the battle between the orc army led by the Demon King and the human army led by Kaishir?”
Anexi raised her sword and replied, “Do not equate us with filthy orcs.”
She pointed her raised sword at Zeke.
“Whether your words are true or not, it doesn’t matter. I, Anexi, will uphold the honor of the Black River tribe as a warrior to the end.”
Whoosh—
Anexi whistled sharply.
Zeke advanced, unleashing a shockwave.
Buzz!
The vibration of the shockwave deflected Anexi’s whistle. In that state, Zeke swung his sword at Anexi.
Whoosh!
Anexi leaped into the air, her movements fluid and strange as she swung her sword.
Clang!
Zeke noticed Anexi’s movements resembled the secret arts of Ishtar.
Whish!
She spun in the air, continuously slashing with her twin swords.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Using the recoil from clashing with Zeke’s sword, Anexi remained airborne, relentlessly attacking.
The rapid, unpredictable assaults left Zeke feeling his stamina waning.
“Such powerful, breathless attacks.”
There was no time to catch his breath. When he had infinite stamina, it wasn’t an issue, but now every breath was precious.
Then Anexi spun in the air, delivering a powerful kick with her entire weight behind it.
Whoosh!
The forceful kick struck Zeke’s chest.
“Ugh!”
Reeling from Anexi’s kick, Zeke fell backward.
“Huff, huff.”
But he quickly rose, gripping Bahamut.
His stamina and mana were nearly depleted.
“I have to end this here.”
Focusing his mind, Zeke raised his sword.
Buzz!
Zeke’s sword emitted a faint hum. Anexi, holding her twin swords, aimed at Zeke.
She charged at him first.
Swish, swish, swish!
In an instant, her form split into multiple images, creating clones.
A technique born of pure skill, not magic.
With his mastery of the Gale Technique, Zeke saw through Anexi’s clone technique.
“They’re all real.”
All three clones were not mere illusions but the real Anexi.
Zeke infused his sword with power.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
Channeling his last reserves, Zeke focused his aura blade.
The flickering aura blade calmed, its surface smoothing out.
Soon, Zeke’s aura blade appeared as if it were a thin layer over his sword.
It rippled like a serene lake, compressing further.
Swish, swish, swish!
All three of Anexi’s clones swung their swords at Zeke simultaneously.
Zeke assumed his stance and executed the Dragon Slayer Technique.
But it felt different than usual.
“What is this sensation?”
It was so quiet, as if he were alone.
Zeke let the sword guide his hand, rather than using the Dragon Slayer Technique.
Whoosh—
He felt no resistance, as if slicing through air.
“What is this…?”
When Zeke lowered his sword, Anexi stood before him, holding a dagger, looking at him.
She spoke to Zeke.
“That was a magnificent strike. I’m glad I could uphold my honor as a warrior to the end.”
Sss—
Anexi gazed at Zeke as she slowly turned to ash and vanished.
Only after she disappeared did Zeke relax, collapsing to the ground.
Having exhausted all his strength, he glimpsed a new realm.
“I’ve found a clue to becoming a Black Knight.”
Zeke felt he finally understood what Rex Turn had meant.
Catching his breath, he rose and examined the spot where Anexi had vanished.
Left behind were two daggers and a flute.
—Flute Information—
Description: A flute made from ancient spiritual wood
Unique Ability: Spirit Suppression
Special Note: The better the performance, the stronger the spirit suppression effect.
—Dagger Information—
Description: Daggers made from an unknown mineral
Unique Ability: Indestructible
Special Note: Passed down to the strongest warrior of the Black River tribe among the ancient dark elves
Zeke was astonished by the dagger’s information.
“Indestructible? I didn’t expect another weapon with such a trait besides Bahamut.”
Even the system couldn’t identify the material of the daggers, which was intriguing.
Examining the daggers closely, Zeke felt he had seen this material before.
“Could it be…?”
He retrieved the dragon statue, an Elder Dragon relic, from his inventory.
The dark dragon statue.
Zeke compared the dragon statue with Anexi’s daggers.
“They’re made of the same material?”
The indestructible daggers and the dragon statue were crafted from the same substance.
If the daggers were made from the same material as the dragon statue, which housed the spirit of an Elder Dragon, they were no ordinary artifacts.
“Perhaps Golyn might know what this is.”
Zeke swung the daggers experimentally.
They were slightly heavy, but perfectly balanced.
“They’re a bit different from the daggers I use, but… I’ll get used to them with practice.”
Zeke stored the daggers and flute in his inventory.
He then scoured the battlefield, collecting the unique swords left by the other dark elf warriors.
Unlike the orc axes and armor, the dark elf swords were well-crafted and balanced.
After some thought, Zeke decided to keep two and sell the rest.
[You have gained 220 points.]
Unlike the orc weapons, which gave 10 points, the dark elf weapons provided 20 points each.
“Not bad.”
With limited inventory space, converting them to karma points was more beneficial than carrying them out.
While searching, Zeke found something else where the one-eyed warrior had fallen.
“I thought something was missing. It’s armor, Hershion.”
It resembled the Hershion he had obtained from the goblin warrior.
Zeke tried on the Hershion left by the one-eyed warrior.
Swish!
Though similar to elf armor, the dark elf version was black and clung more tightly to his body.
Zeke checked the armor’s information.
—Armor Information—
Description: A light armor favored by dark elves
Unique Ability: Stealth
Special Note: Extremely lightweight and easy to move in.
While it didn’t offer the same protection as elven armor, it seemed advantageous for nighttime excursions.
“This is a decent artifact. Since I can’t use stealth here, this will be a useful substitute.”
Zeke added the dark elf armor to his inventory.
Just then, a bright light flashed from somewhere nearby.
Zeke headed toward the source of the light.
Moving swiftly in the absence of dark elves, he soon found a place resembling an altar, where a beam of light shot up to the ceiling.
“This must be the destination.”
Zeke stepped into the light.
A message appeared before him.
[You have successfully conquered the hidden stage.]
[The Realm of the War God is impressed by your capabilities.]
[Rewards will be given for successfully completing the stage.]
[Evaluating rewards.]
[Rewards are being delivered to the participant.]
Four random boxes materialized in a flash of light before Zeke. One of them looked different from the usual ones.
“Gold?”
The random boxes he’d seen before were bronze, but this one gleamed with a golden hue.
[As a reward for surviving the hidden stage, you receive 1,000 experience points.]
[As a reward for surviving the hidden stage, you receive three regular random boxes.]
[For your remarkable performance in conquering the hidden stage, you receive one special random box.]
“A special random box, huh.”
He wasn’t sure what it contained, but it seemed promising.
Zeke decided to open the regular random boxes first. Out came two medals and a bow.
―Medal Information―
Description: A medal imbued with the power of the ancient Orc race.
Unique Ability: Battle Cry
Special Note: Can boost the morale and abilities of allies based on the user’s capabilities.
―Medal Information―
Description: A medal imbued with the power of the ancient Dark Elf race.
Unique Ability: Taming
Special Note: Allows the taming of difficult creatures.
―Bow Information―
Description: A bow favored by the ancient Elf race.
Unique Ability: Piercing
Special Note: Can penetrate targets even with small arrows.
The medals, infused with the power of orcs and dark elves, and the enchanted bow were impressive finds.
“Not bad. The Orc medal has a buff function. If I absorb it with Gluttony, I could amplify the area buff even more. And let’s see… Taming? Is that how Arthur Draker managed to ride a wyvern?”
Zeke recalled Arthur Draker flying through the air on a wyvern.
While Bucephalus could fly, it wasn’t suitable for long distances, and the transformed Richmond couldn’t maintain its form for long.
If taming monsters was possible, it could significantly reduce travel time.
“Good. Now for that special random box…”
Zeke swallowed hard and slowly opened the golden box.
A dazzling light burst forth from within.
‘Quite the spectacle.’
Once the light faded, Zeke examined the item inside.
“What is this?”
Inside the special random box was an unusual necklace.
Zeke picked it up and inspected it closely.
The circular metal pendant bore a pattern resembling an eye.
Zeke immediately checked the necklace’s information.
―Necklace Information―
Description: The Third Eye of Shambhala
Unique Power: Eye of Truth
Special Note: The wearer of the necklace can awaken their spiritual sight to discern the truth.
Zeke was taken aback by the necklace’s information.
“A power to discern the truth?”
This was the first artifact Zeke had encountered that contained such a power.
He put the necklace on.
There was no change, likely because powers couldn’t be used inside the inverted tower.
‘I’ll have to go outside to see what it can really do.’
With anticipation, Zeke stored the necklace in his inventory.
A new message appeared.
[The structure of the trial is changing.]
[You will be moved to a hidden stage corresponding to the trials from floors 51 to 90.]
[Due to the arbitrary adjustment of difficulty, rewards will be given for passing the hidden stage.]
Once again, the Realm of the War God had whimsically altered the stage.
Zeke’s body was enveloped in light.
In an instant, the scenery changed.
‘Where am I now?’
Having experienced this twice, Zeke was somewhat accustomed to it and surveyed his surroundings. It was a completely different atmosphere from the dark elf ruins.
A labyrinth, enclosed on all sides, unfolded before him.
As Zeke activated the map to understand the maze’s layout, he heard something approaching from down the corridor.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy footsteps that shook the ground. It could be a large monster.
Soon, the figure at the end of the corridor came into view.
Zeke was shocked by what he saw.
‘Is that… a demon?’