ALL NOVEL Chapter 13
Chapter
“You’re also being annoying, you know!”
It was Undine saying this while watching Rionne sneakily follow Enok.
Rionne ignored her and fixed her gaze on Enok’s retreating figure.
With a small but proud back, he was marching ahead with a bouncy stride.
‘Go for it, Enok…!’
*
Enok headed straight for the dungeon without being distracted by anything else.
As he repeated the things Rionne had said multiple times, it wasn’t long before he reached the dungeon.
Before he knew it, the entrance was right in front of him.
‘Sometimes there are strange characteristics, but most of the time, there aren’t…’
If the rules inside the dungeon differ from reality to the extent that they can be called characteristics, then it’s safe to say it’s a small world of its own.
Of course, it wouldn’t be simple for such small worlds to be created.
Dungeons with special characteristics were that rare.
‘Conditions are perfect. No, even better than usual.’
Could it be that the good dream he had last night was the reason?
Perhaps being able to experience an eternity with Rionne, even if just in a dream, pushed Enok’s condition beyond its limits.
If he wanted to, it felt like he could easily produce any martial arts technique.
‘Oh, right.’
Come to think of it, it’s soon.
The duel with the blue flies that happened about once a month.
Rionne always watched that duel closely and gave Enok the advice he needed.
Of course, she wouldn’t stop there, sometimes teaching him new things if necessary.
That day was particularly exciting, as it would be a day he could stick closely to Rionne, so his heart was racing.
Boom—!
A heavy noise cut through his excited mood.
Regaining his focus, Enok hurried his steps.
*
The concept of the enemies coming out of the dungeon seemed clear.
Golems.
They could all be collectively referred to as such for the time being.
So far, anyway.
Carnage
A mud golem, appearing to be made of slime, got struck by lightning.
Kwahzzzh—!!
In an instant, the wide-area attack obliterated the golem’s core.
Enok didn’t celebrate; he turned his back on the golem and surged further into the dungeon.
His still-thrumming heart urged him onward to the next level as quickly as possible.
Next.
A steel golem made of iron.
It was tougher to destroy than the mud golem, so Enok took his time to break it down.
First, the arms.
Crunch—!
As Enok swung his hand, half of the steel golem’s arm was torn off.
Creek—!
The golem swung its remaining arm, but it was slow.
Enok twisted his body in mid-air.
With a clap, he pushed off the swinging arm and spun around.
Using that braced hand as a pivot, he kicked out his feet in a flurry.
Boom—!
One of the golem’s arms flew off.
It would regenerate quickly, but until then, the golem only had one arm left.
A spark jolted in Enok’s eyes.
Swish—!
Electricity coiled around his hand.
Using every ounce of time, he compressed the lightning.
Carnage – One
He drew a neatly compressed trajectory, and as his hand touched the golem’s body—
Flash—!!!
The unleashed electric current brightened the surroundings.
The steel golem looked unharmed, but Enok shrugged off the dirt as if it were nothing.
Boom—!
Sure enough, the steel golem collapsed just as Enok had confidently expected.
The current that flowed through the metallic body destroyed its core.
Next one.
Wood, glass, ore, shadow, and so on.
He took down various golems made of different materials.
His exhausted body gasped for breath.
But Enok’s eyes were sharper than ever.
Fueled by that will, his muscles found strength once more, and he began moving again.
“This is….”
What he faced next was unexpected.
He thought it would be another golem, but instead, something entirely different greeted Enok.
“A Spirit?”
White, blue, and red.
It looked like faint lights of different colors were floating inside the cave.
However, they were different from Undine.
According to the blue fly’s words, she was a ‘great body’, or rather, a high-level spirit.
Spirits of that caliber were rare, even in the Spirit Realm where spirits lived.
The spirits present here were low-level spirits, lacking even self-awareness.
Closer to natural phenomena than living beings, they floated gracefully like beautiful lanterns in the air.
Enok thought deeply.
Sometimes, acting on instinct is advantageous, but in most cases, it’s better to think things through.
Having realized this while fighting the golem yesterday, Enok observed his surroundings.
‘Nothing has changed. Still a cave. It’s just that the enemy has shifted from golems to spirits.’
To be more precise, spirits weren’t necessarily enemies.
They were simply drifting aimlessly in the air without any self-awareness.
Enok cautiously proceeded, keeping his guard up.
At the end of a straight path devoid of branches was a vast chamber.
In its center lay a glass sphere that stood out remarkably.
‘Is this the end of the dungeon?’
He couldn’t tell.
However, most dungeons are unique phenomena caused by excessive or entangled mana.
Whatever is at the center usually contains something that bears the full brunt of that influence.
It could be a potion that instantly boosts one’s mana, a material for excellent weapons, or sometimes an item that exhibits strange abilities.
Whatever it became, it could potentially help elevate Enok’s level, so he didn’t hesitate.
He advanced straight toward the center of the chamber and touched the glass sphere.
“Huh?”
He thought it was just an ordinary glass sphere, but upon closer inspection, it was something different.
Faintly gleaming inside it.
Something seemed to be curled up within it.
‘An egg?’
For a moment, doubt crossed his mind.
Rumble—!
The chamber shook with a thunderous noise.
Enok swiftly moved his body to dodge the falling rock fragments.
His eyes quickly scanned for any signs of change.
“Oh….”
What he thought was just a wide chamber, turned out to be golems bursting through the walls.
There were many varieties as well: rock, iron, ore, shadow, and so forth.
It seemed like a complete collection of all the golems he had seen so far.
Enok panicked for a moment, but soon he broke into a bright smile.
So many enemies?
That simply meant more opportunities to fight, which also meant a greater chance to reach a higher level.
In conclusion, it meant the day he could spend eternity with Rionne was a little closer.
“Okay.”
Nodding seriously, Enok once again drew forth lightning.
*
“Oh, what do I do…! Isn’t this dangerous…!?”
“Hey! Let me do what I want!”
“There’s too many…!”
“Seriously, why did you even mention the real deal then!?”
“B-but still…!”
“Ugh, you should really just stop talking.”
*
Around Enok lay countless fragments of golems.
His already exhausted body began to sag, and even the lightning that usually flowed from him flickered faintly.
“Ha… ha….”
Breathing heavily, Enok quickly scanned the area.
There were still many golems left.
His stamina was at its limit. His mana was also running low.
But his will remained unyielded.
A higher level.
An eternity with Rionne.
The strength of will, which is merely a deception to an outsider, filled Enok’s body with power, and he grinned with fervor in his eyes.
“Uwaahhh…!!”
With a rumble—! Enok’s body became enveloped in lightning.
But the enemies didn’t wait.
Two massive golem fists came crashing down.
Boom—!
The two fists slammed into the ground.
Leaping to evade, Enok kicked off the arm and charged forward.
Right before him was a golem made of ore.
He couldn’t tell what kind it was.
It had a faint green hue.
Zap—!
Lightning compressed in his right hand.
Carnage – One, his hand plunged two palms deep into the golem’s chest.
Creeeeek—!
The golem reacted instantly, swinging its arm.
He could feel the wind behind him.
It was probably its fist.
Crunching his teeth, Enok twisted his body.
The wind pressure ruffled his hair.
But there was still the fist coming from behind.
There was no time to turn his head.
Rely on instinct?
With that thought, he envisioned the trajectory of the fist that was out of sight.
Whoosh—!
As Enok reacted, the fist grazed his hair.
Grinning from ear to ear, he didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt everything around him moving in slow motion.
Perfect evasion; he transitioned into an attack.
Sizzle—!
Squeezing the nonexistent mana out of him, he wrapped his hand in lightning.
Carnage – One, just as he was about to thrust forward, an epiphany struck.
‘Do I have to?’
He compressed the form of Carnage and unleashed it.
That was Carnage – One.
However, to do so, he had to undergo two stages: ‘Carnage’ followed by ‘Compression.’
He completely revamped the techniques from the start to suit his instinct.
The result was to maintain the conclusion while creating a more refined process.
The outcome.
Piercing Kill
The second technique of the Heavenly Death practition emerged.
Whoosh—!
A flat finger pierced through the golem.
Focusing on one point to pierce the opponent was the crux of the second technique.
As soon as he withdrew his finger from where he had pierced the core, the golem crumbled to dust.
“Phew…!”
Without skipping a beat, Enok immediately leaped forward.
Whoosh—! The golem’s fist fell where he had just been standing.
A surge of rage and frustration bubbled within him.
He stifled the madness of Heavenly Death threatening to explode.
His head remained cool.
Raging was a last resort.
Why?
Because Rionne had told him so.
Swoosh—!
A faint electric current brushed through the space.
Simultaneously, everything around him imprinted vividly in Enok’s mind.
‘Ah.’
So that’s why.
He suddenly realized why he could see everything so clearly.
With this realization, Enok became even bolder.
He maneuvered between three golems,
Boom—!
He evaded every attack with slight movements.
Simultaneously, the core of the golem, perceived through minuscule currents.
Instinctively sensing the minimum necessary power, he unleashed Piercing Kill.
Whoosh—!
Another golem returned to nature.
As for the remaining golems…
Crack—, Enok chuckled.
Was there a need to conserve mana?
After all, just breaking them all would suffice.
Zap—!
Once again, Enok’s body ignited with lightning.
*
“Haah… haah….”
Enok trembled as he barely held himself upright on two legs.
He couldn’t muster any strength throughout his body.
Having exhausted his mana, his torn muscles cried out in pain.
Just standing still felt like a miracle.
“Hehe….”
But Enok smiled.
He felt his growth.
If he were to fight against himself from yesterday, he was confident he could win a hundred times without losing even once.
Staggering— Staggering—
Enok shuffled forward.
The glass sphere he had seen when entering the chamber remained intact amidst the chaos.
‘Is it alive?’
He couldn’t be exactly sure.
But seeing something curled up inside, it seemed like it could be an egg?
At that moment,
Crack—
A crack appeared on the glass sphere.
Startled, Enok gathered his last bit of strength.
He didn’t know what would spring forth next.
To be honest, he didn’t feel threatened, but still, he thought it would be best to kill it before it could emerge.
Without hesitation, he swung his fist…
[You idiot!]
Enok’s body shot through the air.