Breakthrough!

I decided to stop being careful. I just needed to push forward and land a decisive blow on Helion.

Helion looked furious. The electricity radiating from his body kept intensifying, restricting the player’s movement, but not mine, since I had mastered EtherCode Volta.

I charged straight toward him, gripping my sword, [Earth Divider], tightly.

Helion lashed at me with his cables. I slashed through the thick ones that tried to slam into me.

SLASH! SLASH!

I managed to cut several of them, but even so, they kept sprouting from Helion’s body and quickly attacking again.

“Damn it, they’re endless!”

After a while, I noticed something. I realized the pattern Helion was using.

Once I saw it, I increased my speed, determined to slice through every cable in this opening.

Helion struck at me again with all of his cables and lasers. I tightened my grip on my sword and prepared to strike.

“Down, left, right, right, down, down, left, left, up, down, up, up, right, left, down, down, up, right, left, up, up, right, down, left, left, up, down, up, up, left, right, right, down, left.” I spoke as I slashed through the cables one by one.

I realized Helion was using the same pattern as before, except he’d reversed the order — from the last move to the first. It was simple, but I had only just caught on.

BZZZTTT!!

Helion looked cornered.

While all his cables were cut and he was trying to regenerate them, I didn’t give him the chance.

I moved to strike, but he suddenly fired a laser bigger than anything before.

BAM!

“Ugghh!” I blocked the laser with [Earth Divider].

I started pushing against his attack, but cracks began forming in my sword.

This sword’s going to break!

“Damn it!! AAARRRHH!” I roared as I kept forcing my way forward.

Without realizing it, Helion had extended small, sharp cables that stabbed into my legs, slowly draining my HP.

I endured the pain. He was trying to stop me from walking, but I kept running toward him.

I wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

If I feared death, I would lose...so… to hell with death!

“Take this! [Skill EtherCode Terra: Quake Slash, Maximum Output!]”

I unleashed the sword’s skill with all my strength, bringing down a devastating Terra-infused slash.

It cut straight through Helion’s attack, like a boulder smashing forward with unstoppable force.

BAM!

My strike hit Helion dead-on, crushing his body into the floor. Sparks of electricity slowly faded from him.

His HP hit zero. He was destroyed.

[Congratulations! You have defeated Helion the Pulse Tyrant!]
[You have gained 40,000 EXP]
[You have obtained drop item: Core of the Helion]

I was shocked at how much EXP I’d earned, and that I’d also gotten his core. I’d once used that to craft the [CircuitCleaver] sword.

Looking at my hands, I realized [Earth Divider] was badly damaged. It couldn’t be used again unless repaired by a high-level blacksmith.

“Haha… fair trade.” I stored the sword in my inventory.

“Thank you, Ayane…” I said with a smile.

…

I remembered the time she showed me how to defeat this boss in one blow.

“[EtherCode Skill: Hellfire Slash!]” Ayane unleashed it, easily burning through all of Helion’s cables and his body in an instant.

She won without a scratch.

“Wow, amazing, Ayane-san! That brutal attack of yours is like a berserker!” I praised her, half joking.

She laughed, but replied, “That’s right! I’m a beautiful and strong berserker! CrimsonAyane!”

She said it so enthusiastically, maybe she really did have a bit of chuunibyou in her.

I held back my laughter and said, “Hahaha, Ayane-san, you actually take that as a compliment.”

“But I agree… you are beautiful and strong.”

The moment I said that, Ayane froze. Her face slowly turned as red as a tomato.

I didn’t understand why she reacted that way until I realized I’d just genuinely complimented her. “Beautiful” and “strong” together must have made her react like that.

That should’ve stayed in my head, but I’d said it out loud!

Panicking, I blurted, “Ahhhh, sorry! I-I mean, you really are like a beautiful and strong berserker, hahaha.”

I tried to cover it up, but her face stayed red.

“…Thanks… for the compliment, Kyou…” she said shyly.

Ahh, the way she got flustered like that was adorable.

“Mm… you’re welcome, Berserker-chan.”

“Pffttt, what’s that? Hahaha.”

We kept laughing together, growing closer. Being with her was always full of moments like this.

…

“Wait for me, Ayane! Hang in there!” I said, clenching my fist tightly.

After that, I checked my status.

Username: [Kyouze]
Real Name: Mikazuki Kyouya
Level: 8 / 10
EXP: 365,000 / 500,000
Class: Saber
Ascension Class: Hidden Class
EtherCode: Volta, …..
SystemCore: Hidden Core
Title: 《Legendary Player: Azure Reaper》

-------

Core Attributes

STR (Strength) =240

AGI (Agility) = 230
INT (Intelligence) = 112
VIT (Vitality) = 100
SYS (System Sync) = 90

Total Stat Points Distributed: 772
Unallocated Points: 0

-------

System Resources

HP (Health Points) = 6,000/6,800
ST (Stamina) = 130/160
EP (EtherCode Points) = 652/772
CT (Core Threads) = 6/6

--------

Not bad. I only needed 135,000 more EXP to level up. Hopefully, I could hit level 9 after clearing a few more floors.

Reaching level 9 might unlock a new feature or new power I could use.

I recalled the unlocks players received at each level:

Level 2: Unlock EtherCode
Level 3: Unlock SystemCore
Level 4: Advance Class
Level 5: Ascendant EtherCode
Level 6: Ascendant SystemCore
Level 7: Ascendant Class
Level 8: Exclusive Title

I didn’t yet know what would happen at level 9 or 10.

I swore I would be the first to reach them. I had to defeat the final floor boss.

After that, I prepared to continue my dungeon conquest.

My HP had dropped by 800, my ST by 30, and my EP by 120. Not much. I decided to drink ST and EP recovery items. I had to recover quickly and move on to the next floor.

“No more long breaks… I have to clear floor 3 as fast as possible!”

I ran into the gate leading to floor 3.

And then, I froze.

The monsters were nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on?!”

...

..

..