Supreme Swordfiend

He was obliged- three raptors, each individual slightly stronger than those who had came prior. These level three raptors still looked weak, though if the pattern of the waves held their numbers would soon pose an actual threat to Leon. Sheathing Wavecutter, he took a slower approach, patiently waiting for his foes rather than meeting them in a charge , blade at the ready. The creatures reached him, flailing through the air whilst lunging for his head.

One lost its own head in the ensuing clash, the other two escaped with no injuries, sailing past Leon as he dodged. Leon wasn't as lucky- he'd been hit, a raptor's claw had torn across his cheek, slicing a bloody laceration into his skin. A glancing blow, though no less bloody for it. His own blood now fell into the sand, the crowd's cheers rising as the more perceptive amongst them spread the news- the arrogant gladiator could bleed.

The two surviving raptors were slow to turn, another losing its head as Leon channelled his pain into his sword strikes. The last raptor had enough time to lunge once more, before being bisected with a savage slice, two halves of the raptor landing in the blood soaked sand, Leon forced once again to mop blood from his brow.

"You have slain a Level 3 Velociraptor!"

"You have slain a Level 3 Velociraptor!"

"You have slain a Level 3 Velociraptor!"

"Level up! You are now a Level 2 Swordsman! +2 Power, +2 Speed, +2 Constitution."

Leon grit his teeth, resisting the compulsion to scream as the level up tore his body apart.

Despite the agonising pain he continued his refrain.

"Come on, this is too fucking easy- another!"

Four raptors, all level three- this fight went much the same as the last, Leon cutting through the lizards with minimal difficulty. Their simplistic instincts only guided them to attack in one way, their leaps leaving them exposed and easily countered or avoided. Driving his sword into the heart of the fourth lizard he basked in the mana, feeling his facial wound already beginning to close.

The sensation was uncomfortable, he could physically feel his skin knitting itself back together, the process slightly faster following his level up. He also noticed the effect of his increased stats as he fought, his body moved faster and his sword hit harder than before.

The crowd had begun to turn in his favour as he piled up more bodies. The fifth wave, five raptors, level four. Leon focused, knowing that these would be his foes come tomorrow, he aimed to fully understand these creatures and learn the most effective method to kill them. So far, decapitation was effective and the beasts followed a simple combat approach- leap, turn and leap again until their prey was dead.

There was no longer any challenge to be found with these beasts.

Wave six, seven, eight and nine all passed him by, the kills blurring together in his head. Leon ruminated as he fought, considering the dungeon from a design standpoint. These raptors were similar to the blue slimes, creatures placed here to fuel growth. Slightly more challenging, due to their speed and aggressive nature, but still fodder at the end of the day. This was a warm up- the boss would be the true challenge of the dungeon.

Under the near constant combat Leon felt his instincts sharpening, his stance lowering to better leverage the muscles in his legs and waist as he struck, his grip shifting and his sword position changing in accordance. There was something there beneath his instincts, something intangible just beyond his reach that he couldn't quite grasp yet, the gap slightly too wide for him to bridge.

Dispatching the last level five raptor of the ninth wave rewarded him with another level up.

"Level up! You are now a Level 3 Swordsman! +2 Power, +2 Speed, +2 Constitution."

Drawing his arming sword back from the raptor's corpse Leon examined his surroundings. He'd sunken into his instincts, allowing his unconscious mind to do the work of moving his body while he thought on the dungeon's purpose. The arena was caked in blood, raptor corpses littering the sands. Their deaths had been uniform, heads cleaved from their necks. The pain of a fresh level up was ignored as Leon examined his sword.

The edge had been dulled, the raptor waves had exchanged their flesh and bone to de-claw the swordsman. The tip retained its point leaving Leon with a way to fight, however the crack in the centre of the blade's body was growing deeper and longer. An ill omen.

His sword gleamed in the harsh sunlight, his fair hair streaked with crimson viscera, the wound on his cheek gone, leaving not even a scar. The crowd now fully backed Leon's struggle, chanting for more, more blood and more death. He answered in the language they understood best- brash overconfidence.

"Send ten, send fifty, hell- send a million! It doesn't matter anymore, these tiny dinos can't challenge me! Hurry it up back there, send another wave!"

The tenth wave, ten raptors all level five. The leader went down, its corpse blocking the assault of its followers as Leon dived to the right, circling around the pack of lizards. With each attack they lost one of their number until something gave on the eighth lizard.

With a crack, Leon's sword snapped as he attempted to wrench the blade out of another raptor's neck, the beast falling to the sands with half a sword lodged in its throat, the last uninjured raptor tearing into Leon's upper arm, chewing into the hardened and boiled leather vambrace that protected his flesh.

The broken sword was then thrust into the raptor's face, Leon caving in its fragile skull with the force behind the blow. Leaving the now useless blade in the raptor's destroyed face, Leon took a a quick glance at his arm and armour.

It was still intact, only some light tearing on the vambrace. He thanked himself for checking his armour before he'd left for the dungeon- if it had shifted or been knocked loose he could have ended up in dire straits.

Not that the current situation wasn't dire- he would be facing down a much bigger lizard with a sword that dulled the longer it was drawn. He hadn't practiced iai style techniques before and he wasn't foolish enough to believe he could successfully execute them with no training. Without a reliable sword in hand, Leon felt the spectral hand of Death reach out towards him, eager to claim his life.

His instincts rebuffed him- of course he could win! He was a swordsman, one who would stand against armies and monsters alike, facing them all down with only his blade. A simple quick draw was nothing compared to the techniques he would master in the future! No, this stupid lizard would die beneath his blade- end of story.

The rational part of Leon's mind once again returned to crying and curling up in a ball while his instincts took the reigns. His inner turmoil was masked completely as he shouted loud enough for all the crowds to hear over their own raucous din.

"Done and dusted- send out the big boy and let me finally test myself!"

The now routine raising of the arena door took on new tension as the carnotaurus slowly emerged from the darkness. A hulking beast of considerable size, Zerasos hadn't exaggerated- Leon really only came up to the creature's knee.

It had dark black scales covering its back and lower legs, though the shade of the scales shifted as they crept down, lightening to a coppery red which half- covered the creature's chest and face. A pair of useless arms splayed out from its chest, too short and stumpy to be usable.

Atop its head, a pair of short, curved horns kept the sun out of the creature's eyes, its slit pupils locked on Leon as it fully emerged. In them Leon saw something far more frightening than mere animal aggression. Intelligence, primal and small as it was, the lizard's rapid appraisal of Leon was obvious, from the way it cocked its head while observing him, to the bellowing roar it loose with once completed.

It had marked him as prey, Leon's own [Inspect] flashing the creature's info before it charged.

"Level 10 Carnotaurus Sastrei- A dinosaur that has adapted to hunting smaller prey. Utilises swift bites and bursts of speed to run down foes."

A glance to the side, reading that box, was all the opening the carnotaurus needed. It took quick advantage bursting forward with all the speed its powerful legs could muster. Leon's dodge came at the last second, the jaws of the beast snapping shut just as he dodged out of the way, rolling to the side, across the sand and under the creature's legs, both man and beast now running as one, the carnotaurus' bull rush was unstoppable once begun.

Had he not increased his speed by levelling up twice, the carnotaurus would have been able to catch him!

Drawing Wavecutter, Leon knew he needed to make this opening strike count- he'd need to use a slash, a thrust risked his sword becoming embedded in bone or the creature shifting and tearing his weapon from his grasp. Thinking quickly he identified a weakness- the legs.

If he could cut a key muscle in the creature's legs he could topple it, leaving it open to follow up strikes. Acting without restraint or further thought, Leon pivoted on his heels, converting all his momentum into a slash aimed at the creature's right leg.

Wavecutter cut deep, tearing through scale and skin as though they were paper, the blade's path forward only halting at the creature's dense bones. The carnotaurus stumbled, roared and kept on trucking. Wavecutter was yanked back just as the beast impacted against the sturdy arena walls, the vibration rumbling through the ground and reaching Leon's position a few feet away from the beast.

While the beast turned, Leon turned his eyes to his blade, noting with some surprise that the blade had transformed. Gone was his sharp cutting blade, replaced by a flat edgeless metal stick.

"That enchantment really wasn't kidding about 'rapidly dulling' the blade!"

Turning his waist to line the scabbard up with his sword, Leon barely managed to sheathe his blade before the carnotaurus had finished turning around to face him. Staring down the beast Leon saw anger in its eyes- he'd hurt it with that attack. A shame the dino still stood unhindered, he'd fix that with his next strike. The beast didn't charge straight away, eyes still boring into Leon's and the impromptu gladiator took the chance to stoke the crowd up.

"You just gonna eyefuck me, you overgrown gecko- or do you wanna dance? Wish I had a cape and a rapier, I'd give the crowd a proper bullfighting show. I'll settle for cutting your legs off this time but the next gecko I fight won't be so lucky."

Another roar, the beast close enough to leave Leon's ears ringing as it rushed towards him, tongue thrashing around in its mouth, salivating at the thought of getting the arrogant swordsman between its teeth. Another last second evasion from Leon, close enough this time that he felt the stinking heat of the lizard's breath, close enough he swore he could taste the foul smell that came from its gullet- that of rotten meat.

Beginning to draw Wavecutter once again, Leon felt something click into place in his head- a technique he wouldn't have considered using before he now felt he could attempt. It was risky, potentially deadly. He didn't care- hamstringing this big lizard was too boring. This was a chance to really push his limits.

The barest hint of Wavecutter's metallic blue sheen was exposed before Leon decisively re-sheathed the sword, dashing out from beneath the rampaging beast, allowing it to turn once more, the third and final clash imminent.

"Once more with feeling- let's give the crowd a real show!"

This time as the giant lizard charged Leon made no move to evade. Placing his left foot back and his right foot forward, his left hand firmly grasped his scabbard, while his right held onto the handle of Wavecutter.

As the beast drew within range, teeth bared, ready to bite Leon in two, Leon's sword exploded outwards, carving through flesh and bone until it reached the beast's thick skull. Just a swiftly, the blade was returned to its sheathe, only for Leon to send it out once again in a downwards slash!

The initial strike had torn open the dinosaur's face, exposing the skull beneath. The second, shattered bone and split brain, the creature's last impulses firing off, forcing the beast's jaws shut. As key muscles failed and the beast toppled forwards, the closed mouth provided Leon a platform, with which he leapt atop the now dead beast, surfing the corpse along the gritty sands.

His arm was in serious pain, it felt like he'd torn every muscle and nerve apart in his reckless pursuit of a technique he'd never even practiced. Letting out a low whistle he sheathed his blade for the final time, wiping the carnotaurus' grey matter from his sword as he did so, his breathing laboured and ragged as he sucked in fresh air.

"High Tide...that move actually forced me to use up more than 1% of my true power. I seriously doubt I'll ever find something strong enough to take that attack more than once... that's the coolest thing I've ever done and no one was even here to video it..."

The blue boxes came alongside the combined applause and cheers of the crowd.

"You have slain a Level 10 Carnotaurus Sastrei!"

"Level up! You are now a Level 4 Swordsman! +2 Power, +2 Speed, +2 Constitution."

"You have cleared the Reptilian Arena!"

"Once is luck, twice is skill- you had their curiosity, now you have their attention.

Fame +1!"

"Sword Technique Learnt- High Tide!"

"Quest Complete- The Shoulders Of Giants

Reward- Common Skill- [Swordsman's Eye]!"

Resolving to view his status sheet once he was back at camp, Leon reflected on the dungeon, standing on the back of a dead dinosaur with his right arm limp and useless, ignoring the agony of another level up.

The climactic fight had exceeded Leon's expectations. Every kill in this arena had honed him and advanced his swordsmanship by leaps and bounds. The thrill of the kill, the stats, the levels, the constant influx of mana fuelling his growth- all this served to sharpen his skills.

The loss of his arming sword was lamentable, though he expected he'd have needed to use Wavecutter on the carnotaurus regardless- the beast's scales were thicker, its skin harder and its bones denser than the velociraptors'. His old sword would have struggled to inflict damage on the hardier foe.

Still, he remained eager- what more awaited him in the coming days? What new and interesting creatures would he slay?

Addressing the crowd for the final time, Leon's arrogance was no longer mere bravado- he truly felt overwhelmingly confident.

"It's been a blast guys- time for me to go though, people to meet, places to see, things to kill- not necessarily in that order. I'll be back though- count on it!"

As if the dungeon had been waiting for his proclamation, the world began to bleed colour before his eyes, rapidly shifting to a washed out greyscale version of reality. A loud pop, the confetti showering him once again while a chest materialised in the centre of the arena, almost identical to the one he'd looted in the Slime King's Court. The only difference being that this new one was slightly wider.

Hopping off the dead carnotaurus, Leon cracked open the chest, his exclamation the only sound in the frozen world.

"Score!"