Episode 247
With a fierce shout, Zeke launched a powerful punch at the oncoming golem, sending a shockwave rippling through the air.
Boom!
The golem, crafted from solid material, shattered into pieces, scattering debris in all directions.
Zeke frowned as he sifted through the remains of the broken golem.
“Once again, no core,” he muttered to himself.
Typically, a golem would require a core to function. Yet, every golem they encountered in the labyrinth lacked this essential component.
Zeke recalled the golem he had faced on the island of the Deep Sea Tribe. That golem, too, had no core, as it was a product of sorcery.
“This is strange. Even after trying to devour it, nothing was replenished,” he thought, noting that neither his karma points nor his mental and physical strength had been restored. This led him to a single conclusion.
“Lady Yellin, I don’t think these are real,” Zeke said, turning to Yellin, who looked taken aback.
“What do you mean, not real?” she asked, bewildered.
“These bizarre creatures and golems are all illusions,” Zeke explained, his suspicion rooted in the lack of a core and the ineffectiveness of his devouring ability. While artificial constructs like golems could vary greatly depending on their creator, the monsters were a different story. No matter how many he defeated, the system didn’t respond, which was inexplicable.
If they were like the spectral beings in the Inverted Tower, they should at least yield experience points, but there was nothing. Yet, the monsters attacked as if they were truly alive, even inflicting real wounds.
“Such vivid illusions… Could this be the power of a dragon?” Zeke mused, pondering the nature of these illusions when a sound interrupted his thoughts.
Thud!
Yellin, who had been dozing off, accidentally hit her head against the wall, snapping back to attention with an embarrassed expression.
They had been in the labyrinth for three days now. While Zeke, with his boundless stamina, was unfazed by the lack of sleep, Yellin was not so fortunate. Under normal circumstances, she could endure this much, but the constant tension from fending off monster and golem attacks was taking its toll.
Zeke stood up and suggested, “We should set up a temporary camp and rest for a while.”
Yellin shook her head, protesting, “There’s no need! I’m fine!”
“Proper rest is crucial if we want to continue exploring the labyrinth. I’ve found a suitable spot nearby. Let’s go,” Zeke insisted.
Reluctantly, Yellin followed him. The labyrinth’s structure was reminiscent of the Inverted Tower, with endless corridors and occasional rooms.
Zeke chose a secluded room where a golem had previously appeared and began setting up camp. He summoned ghost soldiers to stand guard in their ethereal form and started preparing for the night.
As Zeke efficiently unpacked his field equipment, Yellin watched with curiosity.
“Where does all this come from?” she asked.
“An artifact from an ancient ruin. It has a large subspace, so it can hold quite a lot,” Zeke replied, the lie slipping out naturally after so much practice.
He set up a camp bed for Yellin and urged her to get some sleep. After several refusals, she finally lay down and fell asleep almost instantly.
Watching her sleep so soundly, Zeke chuckled, recalling the Ishtar warriors he had known.
“Not all Ishtars are as rigid as I thought,” he mused.
The Ishtar warrior he had known in his past life was akin to an assassin or a southern hitman, skilled in poisons and weaponry, their attacks stealthy and deadly.
Ishtar warriors were called mystics because they trained their bodies from a young age using special herbs, not through illegal drugs or human experimentation like the Empire’s stimulants, but through traditional methods.
The Ishtar warrior who taught Zeke about poisons and ancient Eastern languages had spoken of opening the body’s ‘chakra’ through this training. At the time, Zeke hadn’t fully understood, but as a black knight now, he had a better grasp of its meaning.
“Perhaps it meant enhancing the body’s adaptability and reaction speed to mana, making it like a warrior’s body through special training,” he speculated.
Even the valiant knight Tyr had reached a level beyond a black knight without a specific aura cultivation method. Ishtar, too, seemed to have found a way to build strength through body training and constitution improvement, different from aura cultivation.
While lost in thought, Yellin awoke.
“How long was I asleep?” she asked, stretching.
“About two hours,” Zeke replied.
Feeling refreshed, Yellin got up, and Zeke handed her some prepared rations. They ate together, facing each other.
Then Yellin spoke, “Sir Zeke, may I ask you something?”
Zeke looked up, meeting her serious gaze.
“As a knight, what is your goal?” she asked.
It was a difficult question to answer on the spot. After some thought, Zeke replied, “I’m content with fulfilling my duties as a knight of my family.”
Yellin shook her head, “I mean your personal goal, not as a family member.”
Zeke pondered her words before answering, “To become the strongest on the continent.”
He met her eyes, “That’s been my goal for a long time.”
Yellin clenched her fists unconsciously, nodding.
“I knew it… My instincts weren’t wrong,” she said, looking at Zeke with admiration.
“I’m glad to meet someone with the same goal. If I could break the shackles of the covenant… I, too, would like to pursue the path of the strongest on the continent, like you.”
“What do you mean by ‘pursue the path’?” Zeke asked.
“Traveling the continent, broadening my horizons, meeting renowned warriors, testing my skills, and finding new paths through exchange,” Yellin explained.
“I didn’t know Ishtar had such a tradition,” Zeke remarked.
“Our ancestors migrated from the Eastern Continent to the Northern Continent long ago. Back then, they exchanged with other tribes in this way,” Yellin said.
“Indeed, in the past, it must have been difficult to travel freely, making such exchanges rare,” Zeke agreed.
“Now, the covenant’s shackles make it hard to go outside, but if they were lifted… I’d love to pursue the path of a warrior. And… one day, I’d like to compete with you for the title of the strongest on the continent,” Yellin declared.
Zeke admired the pure determination in Yellin’s eyes. For him, becoming stronger was a matter of survival, a means to gain freedom from any constraints. But Yellin’s desire to grow stronger was driven by a pure passion for martial arts.
“A high elf dreaming of becoming the strongest on the continent… It’s unusual,” Zeke thought.
Just then, the ghost soldiers signaled that they had detected something unusual.
Zeke quickly stood up, “Lady Yellin, something’s coming.”
Yellin swiftly drew her weapon, readying herself.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They moved to the entrance of the room, hiding themselves.
—I’ll go check it out first.
Zeke communicated telepathically, surprising Yellin, who quickly composed herself and nodded.
He crouched low and moved forward, focusing on the sounds with his dragon’s senses.
But this was different from the other monsters or golems they had encountered.
“A black knight?”
A figure clad in black armor, face hidden beneath a helmet, wielding a massive greatsword, was approaching.
The moment their eyes met, the black knight’s helmet glinted ominously.
He swung his sword towards Zeke, who was hiding his presence.
Boom!
Zeke dodged the greatsword with his phantom step, noting the devastation left in its wake, reminiscent of his own powerful strikes.
Screech!
The black knight dragged his sword along the ground, sparks flying as he charged at Zeke.
The greatsword swung upward with tremendous force.
Whoosh!
Zeke evaded the powerful strike, searching for an opening.
“Is this an illusion too?” he wondered, but the knight’s movements and the force behind the sword felt all too real.
Suddenly, Yellin leaped out, twin swords in hand, spinning towards the black knight.
Clang!
Her blades struck the knight’s back, but he remained unfazed.
The knight turned, raising his greatsword to strike at Yellin.
Boom!
Yellin deftly flipped backward, avoiding the attack.
The black knight extended his hand towards Yellin, who was momentarily caught off guard.
Buzz!
Yellin felt herself being pulled towards the knight. She quickly regained her composure, but it was too late; she was within the sword’s reach.
Clang!
Zeke intervened just in time, blocking the black knight’s greatsword with Bahamut.
He unleashed a surge of energy, deflecting the Black Knight’s massive sword upward.
Whoosh!
Zeke lunged forward, unleashing his Infinite Sword Technique against the Black Knight.
Blades surrounded the knight, striking and piercing his vital points from all directions.
Boom!
The impact of Zeke’s sword caused a magical sigil to glow on the surface of the Black Knight’s armor.
Vroooom!
It seemed the armor absorbed the force of Zeke’s strikes, remaining unscathed despite the relentless assault.
Simultaneously, a magical sigil appeared on the Black Knight’s greatsword, and soon, light burst forth from the blade.
The Black Knight swung his light-enshrouded sword at Zeke.
Zeke countered with an aura blade of his own.
Crash!
The light from the greatsword and Zeke’s aura blade collided, canceling each other out.
Seizing the opportunity, Zeke dashed forward.
In an instant, he was cloaked in Hershion.
He charged directly at the Black Knight with Bahamut in hand.
Boom!
The force of his charge, amplified by his energy, sent the Black Knight crashing into the wall.
Screeeech!
The surface of the Black Knight’s armor began to glow once more.
Zeke unleashed his Infinite Sword Technique at the knight pinned against the wall.
Infinite Sword Technique.
Relentless Strikes.
Eight-Directional Slash.
Whoosh!
Zeke’s sword relentlessly attacked the Black Knight’s body, pinned against the wall.
The magical sigil on the armor tried to absorb the strikes, but the attacks only grew stronger.
Gradually, the once-impenetrable armor began to buckle.
Screech!
The Black Knight struggled to evade Zeke’s onslaught, but the relentless Eight-Directional Slash left no openings.
Zeke capitalized on his boundless stamina, perfecting his unyielding assault.
Crack!
Just as the Black Knight’s armor started to crumple, the entire labyrinth began to tremble and shake.
Startled by the sudden change, Zeke took a step back.
At that moment, Yellin approached him.
“Why is the labyrinth reacting like this? There’s nothing like this in the records.”
The walls of the labyrinth, once enclosing them, dissolved and reformed into a new scene.
Before Zeke and Yellin, a vast cavern unfolded.
Yellin, bewildered by the labyrinth’s sudden transformation, muttered to herself.
“What on earth is happening?”
In contrast, Zeke calmly surveyed the surroundings.
He recalled a place similar to this.
‘The lair of the Gold Dragon Uranos beneath the Sanctuary of the Sky People.’
Zeke realized the structure resembled the lair where he had once found the Chronos Kingdom’s seal.
Suddenly, the Black Knight, who lay crumpled on the ground like a broken doll, began to rise into the air.
Zeke and Yellin watched as the knight ascended, their gazes following him upward.
Then, from what they thought was a solid black wall, two violet eyes emerged.
Grrrrr—
The eyes glared at the crumpled knight, exhaling a harsh breath.
Slowly, the creature revealed itself.
‘What is that…?’
A massive Black Dragon stood before Zeke and Yellin.
At the same time, the dragon’s voice echoed in their minds.
『■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■!!!』