One With The Abyss

Nothing much of interest occurred on the 8th or 9th floor, I fought some monsters, copied some talents, the usual stuff.

It was the tenth floor that was actually interesting.

Purely because it was just 1 room: A boss arena.

In the centre of the boss arena was an imposing foe: A 7ft tall knight, dressed head to toe in ominous black armour. Covering his face was a bucket helmet, from which 2 metal horns extended and glowing red eyes pierced into me. Although tall he was not exceptionally large.

He was big, but that was simply a matter of proportions, a 7ft tall man will be wider than a 5.5 ft tall woman.

Rather I would say he was lean, quite skinny given his size, and his blade matched this well.

It was a sword made fully of black metal with a deep red highlight running down its centre. While certainly large, its girth was far outshined by the sheer length of the sword, it easily 1.5 metres long and still only a single handed weapon, as the hilt was far too short for 2 hands to properly grasp.

To accompany the eyes, red highlights lined the knight's armour. It looked very much like a typical demon lord armour from the novels I had read on Earth, with the metal spikes jutting up imposingly along its side and dangerous looking gauntlets gripping the horrendously long sword, which radiated an unholy aura.

Before stepping into the arena and into the fight, I used my appraisal ring.

[Black Knight]

[A knight driven mad by his love of battle. He will search endlessly for a worthy foe]

"Seems like it'll be difficult." I said, my swordsman ship was still only a level 1 talent, I doubted it would be good enough to go toe to toe with this knight, "But oh do I smell the strength radiating off of him!"

I could tell the moment I laid my eyes upon him that within that metal casing was power like nothing I had faced on any floor before this. I was desperate for his talent, and I didn't hesitate to activate body strengthening, it was a matter of respect for my opponent.

I rushed forward at immeasurable speed, having been able to cultivate some more abyssal energy, and slashed down with my bladed hand. Organic metal clashed with metal; I pulled back.

Another slash.

It was blocked.

Another.

It was blocked.

Another, then another, then another after that.

Each was blocked and I could feel my blood pumping, beating a tune of war. Like a drummer marching alongside a great army.

Sparks flew where we clashed, yet the knight never made the move to attack.

Then I found what I thought was an opening; I clashed again with the knight, as I had so many times before this, but he had been forced to move his body in a peculiar way. The slit where his eyes looked down at me dismissively were wide open.

In that split second, when our weapons first clashed another phenomena occurred: From the side of my blade a tentacle charged straight at the knight's helm, a tentacle with a pointed tip travelled straight towards his eyes.

As I thought that the fight had been underwhelming, ending so soon, the knight moved again. For the first time his left arm grasped tightly onto my tentacle, and for a brief moment, we were stuck still like that; I didn't even take the opportunity to copy his talent as the disdainful look in the knight's eyes became something unfamiliar to me, respect.

And as that brief moment, where time had seemed to stop, came to an end; I found myself being lifted off of the ground, in just a few moments my sneak attack  had been interrupted and now I was flying through the air, the knight having used my tentacle as a whip to throw me into one of the stone pillars that held up the 10th floor.

I crashed into the pillar and rubble and dust fell, but my body only took on light bruises as I had continued to strengthen myself, gaining more talents for [Exalted Physique] on the 8th and 9th floor. I hit the pillar and through the dust I fell back to the floor, but I wasn't even given that as the dust dispersed, myself still falling, a few metres from the ground. In front of me, now was that black knight, his sword swinging to cut my neck and bring an end to this fight.

I had only a moment to think, it was now or never. I evaded the killing blow once again with a tentacle; grasping it around his leg in less than a second and pulling myself out of harm's way, attempting to cut up his armour and beginning the copying process.

However, as I swung towards the leg I was met again with failure as the black knight quickly pulled his leg back, resulting in my rolling along the floor; forced to let go of my grasp on his leg.

The only proof of my attack were the meagre scratches on his armour.

"GAH GAH GAH GAH!" A bellowing noise began to echo through the chamber, emanating from the knight himself, "Finally, a great warrior to test my might!"

The adrenaline from fighting stopped my amazement at meeting a talking monster for the first time in this dungeon. Instead I marvelled at his voice; he had a deep, grating voice that could command a room, but still had a distinct rasping noise as if he was unbelievably old. In that moment, I brought myself back to my feet, a sword reappearing at my arm and charged straight at the knight. We began again, clashing at one another, but now the knight was willing to attack back, considering me a worthy opponent. 

He parried my blow and with a large sweep left a horrible cut along my stomach. I quickly pulled out one of my health potions and downed it like a man stranded in a desert, the wound quickly healing and leaving yet another scar adorning my body. By this point my shirt was in tatters, holes and rips were everywhere. I may as well have not bothered to put it on in the first place, considering how much I was showing off. At the very least none of my other clothes were ripped, just dirty.

Back again, I quickly rushed toward my foe; desperately looking for a chance to grasp him tightly and finish the copying process. 

A thought came to mind and I acted on it. Discreetly, from my back another tentacle grew, I couldn't tell if he had noticed or not but soon the appendage had established a stable connection for me to copy. As the copying reached its apex, the knight seemed to have noticed something as it swung for a large attack.

I just barely managed to block the attack, but was sent flying in its wake. The talent had been copied, the fight could begin in full. Now, with distance I looked at what I had obtained:

[Spark of Life (0/7)]

[Manifest the spark of life within you. Coat your body in aura to enhance attack power and and defence]

"Shit that sounds powerful." I exclaimed, "At least I can foresee the second phase."

I immediately pushed forward, sending myself back into the clash. During these 10 floors I had learned I loved to fight, for so long I had been oppressed and pushed down, so to take that power and use it meant something to me.

As we fought I felt my movements becoming more refined, and as the black knight increased the pressure I could keep up. It was likely my talents, reacting to such great stimuli but it felt like a floodgate opening, letting loose my latent ability.

As I began to take on this experience, lean into the growth I was feeling I managed to land a hit.

I bypassed his block, prevented his dodge, leaving a large cut along his chest. The metal that made-up the breast plate was severed right in the middle and black blood leaked from the wound. I jumped back, more shocked at myself for landing a clean hit than the colour of the blood that fell from the wound. A smile crept along my face as I prepared to continue fighting, but as I had feared the second phase started.

"GAH GAH GAH GAH GAH!" That same laugh began again, and right as I reached the knight a powerful blast of crimson energy sent me flying away. Thankfully its purpose was more to gain distance than to damage me so I gained no further wounds, but could only watch what happened next.

The same crimson energy coated the knight's sword as it had blasted me away before.

"I suppose that's its aura then?" I said, not really expecting an answer as Abby usually left me to my own devices during boss fights, but she decided to add in her own thoughts.

"Yeah, it's a power belonging to the most dedicated of martial artists, it'll be important for you soon." She said, before tacking on, "I'm surprised you got it so soon, really, what is this dungeon?"

The last part she mumbled so it felt more like a complaint to herself than anything I should have heard but I still elicited a small chuckle from me. But my joy was swiftly interrupted by the sight before me.

When the sword became covered in aura I had expected that would be the end of it, but no. The horrendously long sword began to split, becoming multiple segments and with a crack of his hand a fully extended, aura-coated blade-whip now rested in the knight's hands.

"Damn. That was cool as shit." I muttered, getting reprimanded by Abby for not taking this seriously as the whip crashed down on me with the weight of a thousand boulders. 

In the floor where it had hit, missing me slightly, a gorge of at least an inch deep was left in the stone floor.

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at this terrifying display of power. What scared me even more was the control the knight had over the whip: Through the air it swerved and swiped like a snake, forcing me to jump around like a monkey dancing for its master.

When I tried to block it, I would be blown away so fast, dust would ripple through the air in my wake. 

"SHIT! *Cough*" I yelled out, coughing up blood as the last attempt at blocking slammed me back into another pillar, damaging my insides again. I was pretty stuck on how to deal with this but felt I could do something.

Instead of pulling myself from the dent I had formed in the pillar, various black vines extended from me, sending me flying in the direction of the knight. 

My ability with the mantis blade was good, but not nearly good enough. So, I would have to rely on my other abilities: The wide range of talents I held.

Barbed vines propelled me through the maze of blades, falling from my body like leaves in autumn. Unlike my tentacles I had no nerves in the vines, yet I could still shape them with blades, so when they fell I felt nothing but I could still use them to attack when needed.

Swaying masses of metal and plant flew through the arena, the aura-coated metal clearly the superior, but the plants so numerous it could keep up.

Best part is the vines are cheap as fuck! I laughed in my mind, losing yet another set of vines as they clashed with the whip.

Despite slightly regaining my footing I had still been unable to close the gap between the 2 of us. But I saw the opportunity, the boss was weakest at close range. This was clearly a magic whip, purely based on the lengths to which it extended, but even magic whips would be all but useless up close.

So, when a gap formed between the blades, swimming through the air, presented itself; I didn't hesitate to use the tiny gap and sacrifice almost all of my vines to get through. The gap was ridiculously small, forcing me to shrink my own body slightly with [Shapeshifting] to bypass the blades but I did it, and relished in the glowing red eyes shrinking back in shock as I made my way towards the knight.

It pulled its left fist back, trying to punch me in order to regain distance, but more vines sprouted from me, pulling me back to the ground. From there, I used a spin to gather speed and cut deeper into the black knight's chest. Unlike before where a small dribble of black blood leaked from the wound, this time it gushed like a fountain, spraying me and marking me with its metallic scent.

The knight staggered, but I refused to let up. Soul feeder tentacles extended from me, covered in blades and claws of all the monsters I had faced covering it such that I could barely see the tentacle itself. This drained me sure but it also tore into the knight's armour, I could've used vines, but they lacked that integrity the tentacles held. 

The greatest part, as the whip sword fell, losing its crimson lustre and returning to its original form were the knight's eyes.

There was no fear, no anger, no hatred. Just respect. It looked at me, from within my grasp, without pity or arrogance and spoke its final words:

"You are worthy, child." The same raspy, yet honourable voice spoke to me, "I am proud to have fought a warrior like thou before my life came to its end."

And with that the eyes lost their glow, looking so much more human, but I didn't falter. I felt far too much respect to even dare. My blade sunk into the black knight's heart and the battle was won and I stood as the victor.

My transformations were undone and I fell to the floor exhausted. The black knight dissolved as other mobs had before, leaving behind only 3 items: A crimson crystal, a key that would surely open the door behind this honourable knight, and finally the horrendously long sword; waiting for a new owner.

[Aura Stone]

[Advanced Mana stone, infused with concentrated and refined mana: Aura]

[11th Floor Key]

[Opens the door to the 11th floor waiting room. Necessary to open both the 11th and 100th floor]

[Crimson Infamy]

[The blade of a corrupted knight. Using the aura of its master it can extend to form a bladed whip]

Each of these prizes were exceptional, especially the sword. I doubted I would use it but it definitely would make for an excellent trophy, to honour this great knight.

The final order of business was to open the chest, gaining 2 items: A new shirt and a bag resembling a cute lion with a black mane, like a child's toy. I quite liked it as lions had always been my favourite animal

[Foolish Noble's Shirt]

[Comfortable and expensive shirt with a self-repairing function for nobles who cannot keep themselves out of harm]

[Black Lion's Magic Bag]

[A bag with a magically extended internal space. Also contains a self-repairing function]

I felt a little perturbed at the description of the shirt, though not any less grateful for it, but the bag was beyond useful.

Not only was it an adorable stuffed version of my favourite animal, it could hold a significant amount, it even extended to carry [Crimson Infamy], even though I placed it in sideways (to test if the bag hole expanded).

I was ecstatic at the newest piece of my gear, despite how it kind of interrupted the whole, serious, all-black noble vibe I had going. A girl's got to have something she enjoys.

I soon left, and after repairing my injuries I placed all of my belongings inside the bag. Not finding it to be full even then. When I wanted something I simply put my hand in and thought of it, then it would come to me; it was a marvellous bag.

Other than that I managed to evolve [Abyss Vein]. As it turns out, the means of evolving the talent was [Spark of life]; as soon as it was activated I gained the talent [Abyss Heart (0/7)]. Unfortunately, I would have to awaken my aura organically as it came from within me.

Still as I descended the dungeon the new ability came in handy.