"No worries, this is just a warm-up—the real fight starts now."
As he made this declaration, Riezel charged forward, a raging cyclone wrapped around his body, and extended his hand.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow."
A deep golden magic circle spread beneath Riezel's feet, and the magical energy surged upward.
"!!!"
Ottar immediately sensed it—the surging magical energy rapidly approaching him carried a clear threat.
It was an attack power capable of bringing down a Level 7—it was a magic spell capable of defeating him.
People in Orario had long been spreading the story that the Loki Familia's monster rookie already possessed magic attack power on par with that of Level 7 while still at Level 5, and he had known of that rumor as well.
But it was only at this moment that he truly felt how overwhelming that magical ability actually was.
And it made him realize that he had overlooked an extremely important ability of Riezel until now.
"I thought that with battle skills of that caliber against opponents, you would naturally be a powerful swordsman. It seems I was mistaken."
Ottar spoke in a deep voice, both hands gripping the hilt of his greatsword.
"Your magic power is not inferior to your swordsmanship—that deserves praise."
Still speaking in such a low tone, Ottar assumed an offensive stance for the first time, pouring strength into his arms.
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."
Seeing Ottar's stance, Riezel did not waver at all and continued chanting the remaining lines of the chant, releasing the magic.
"Arcs Ray!"
*WHOOSH!*
A massive flash of light surged forward like a torrent, then transformed into a pillar of light, tearing open the ground and evaporating the air as it advanced.
As if it intended to pierce through the entire 9th Floor of the Dungeon, it filled Ottar's vision completely and blasted toward him. Before this enormous radiance, even his imposing body appeared small, like a fragment of rubble about to be swallowed by a flood of light.
Nonetheless, that fragment of rubble let out a furious roar.
"HUUURAAAHHH—!!!"
Ottar's battle cry was loud enough to shake the entire labyrinth.
It did not sound like something a human could produce, but rather like a demonic boar roaring toward the heavens.
In the next moment, the boaz who had transformed into a demonic boar swung his greatsword down toward the oncoming torrent of light, slashing straight at the pillar.
*BOOOM!*
In an instant, a deafening explosion that shook the entire labyrinth erupted across the battlefield as the torrent of light that collided with Ottar's greatsword burst apart, as if the two forces had clashed head-on with a living opponent.
The resulting shockwave swept in all directions, kicking up clouds of dust and sand, cracking the surrounding walls, the floor, and even the ceiling, with some sections of each shattering on the spot.
"!!!"
Ais and Bete, who were rushing toward the scene, were once again halted by the blast wave, completely unable to intervene in the clash.
A trace of barely perceptible anxiety appeared on the girl's usually expressionless face, while the werewolf youth twisted his features and cursed aloud.
As for Ottar, having collided head-on with the torrent of light, he was finally forced back for the first time. He was blown away by the explosion of light, skidding across the ground before slamming into the wall behind him and smashing it apart.
*PENG!*
Amid the crisp sound of destruction, the greatsword in Ottar's hands was rendered useless.
A First-Class Weapon had been destroyed in a single clash, leaving only shattered fragments of the blade scattered across the ground. Even the hilt he had been gripping disintegrated like powder.
Meanwhile, the armor on his body had been scorched by the astonishing magical attack power—it was either broken or cracked, making his appearance look rather disheveled.
"Impressive..."
Even so, Ottar cleanly pulled himself out of the shattered wall behind him and, ignoring the debris falling from his body, as well as his appearance and the nearly ruined armor, he stood upright without changing his tone.
Yes.
He had endured it.
Faced with a magic bombardment capable of defeating a Level 7, Orario's strongest had endured it with nothing but a single sword.
Such a nightmare-like sight left Ais and Bete, who were kept at bay by the blast wind, completely speechless.
However, Riezel, whose body had already turned into a streak of light as he sprinted toward Ottar, showed no change in expression.
As if what had been shattered was merely a warm-up performance, Riezel continued chanting.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow."
When this chant echoed out, not only did Ais and Bete widen their eyes, but even Ottar reacted sharply.
Because no one had expected that, after releasing a magic bombardment of that level, the magic Riezel began chanting next would be of an even higher magnitude.
Arcs Ray was ultimately just a short-chant, single-shot magic, and the reason it displayed such attack power was entirely due to his own MAG and the excessive strength of his development abilities, Mage and Magic Chant.
But at this very moment, what he was chanting was genuine wide-area annihilation magic, and it was a long chant.
Ottar could not possibly ignore this magic.
As the captain of a familia hostile to the Loki Familia, he knew very well how powerful this magic was, and who its original wielder had been.
It was the magic possessed by the one known as Orario's strongest mage.
"Don't think I'll let that happen!"
Ottar, no longer waiting for the magic to take shape, had his massive body stamp against the ground and leapt high into the air, jumping in Riezel's direction.
Midway through, Ottar pulled a greatsword out of the shattered wall.
It was a weapon that had been blown away during the fierce battle.
Originally embedded in the ground by Ottar himself, it had ended up lodged in the wall and was now yanked free in passing.
He traced a semicircular arc through the air and slashed his sword down at Riezel.
*DING!*
Amid the loud clash of blades, the greatsword that came down with overwhelming weight, like a mountain of swords, was knocked aside.
Riezel, his body a streak of light, swung the sword in his hand with force, deflecting Orario's strongest adventurer's full-power strike, which caused the impact to immediately burst outward and turn into a raging wind that informed all observers just how heavy Ottar's blow truly was.
But Riezel, his eyes shimmering with a transparent sheen, successfully used a technique for redirecting force. Targeting the weak point of the strike, the spine of the greatsword's blade, he swung his slash there and neutralized the crushing blow.
"!!!"
Ottar's pupils shrank.
Not only because Riezel had deflected a strike he was certain would land, but also because of the chant that followed.
"Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land."
"Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf."
Riezel's chant was so fast it sounded like the recitation of ancient script.
A level of proficiency that could be called High-Speed Chanting was displayed by the youth, who had just knocked aside a mountain of swords and released magic in an extremely short time.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
As the name of the magic resounded, the magic circle beneath Riezel's feet instantly shifted from deep gold to emerald green before three blizzards appeared.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous roar, the blizzards first struck Ottar, engulfing him, then continued forward, causing the temperature throughout the entire labyrinth to plummet at high speed.
*Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!*
Amid the teeth-grinding sounds of freezing winds, the already battered passage was completely swallowed by the blizzards, rapidly icing over at a visibly alarming pace.
"Ugh!"
"Bastard! Did he not see we're here too?!"
Ais and Bete were once again caught up in the aftermath.
Startled by the absurdly large area of effect produced by the ice magic, they both leapt backward, retreating even farther from the relentlessly advancing blizzards.
The three blizzards froze the entire passage, along with countless fragments of stone and other debris, enveloping the entire labyrinth in everyone's field of view and transforming the surroundings into a world of ice and snow.
Before this ice magic that rivaled a natural blizzard in sheer intensity, even the so-called 'Orario's strongest adventurer' seemed powerless, as Ottar's frozen figure stood utterly motionless within the frozen wasteland.
"Proud warrior, snipers of the forest."
"Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers."
"Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows."
"Tinge them with flame, the lamplight of the forest."
Even now, Riezel was still chanting.
A rapid chant.
A relentless chant.
As if he were determined to annihilate his enemy completely, the merciless, cold chanting echoed across the frozen land.
"Hey! Bastard!"
Seeing this, even someone as feral as Bete could not help but speak up.
"Wait—"
Ais also moved to stop Riezel.
Killing the captain of the Freya Familia here was no joke.
If that were to happen, the two already-hostile familias would undoubtedly plunge into full-scale war, turning Orario into a battlefield—something no one wanted to see.
Ais and Bete, however, did not realize that things were still far from decided.
Only Riezel, with that transparent gleam in his eyes, understood that his enemy had not yet lost, had not yet been defeated.
*Ka-cha!*
A sudden cracking sound rang out, heralding the horn of the enemy's counterattack.
*Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!* *Ka-cha!*
Cracks began to spread across the ice encasing the Boaz warrior, increasing in number and speed.
"Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages."
By the time Riezel's magic was nearing completion, the enemy had successfully broken free.
*BANG!*
Ottar shattered the ice binding him, bursting forth amid flying ice shards and snow, and once more let out a battle roar.
"HAAAAAAHHH—!!!"
He roared in fury and, like a rampaging wild boar, immediately launched a charge, violently crushing the ground beneath his feet as he shot toward Riezel through a storm of flying rubble and slashed out with his sword.
*Clang!*
A sharp clash of blades rang out as the thin crystal longsword and the thick greatsword collided with heavy force.
Riezel still swung his sword to block the crushing strike, but the power behind the slash was so great that he was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
Maintaining his backward trajectory, Riezel released the prepared magic the instant his chant was completed, which turned the emerald-green magic circles crimson before a torrential rain of flames descended from the sky and engulfed the entire battlefield.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
At last, the Dungeon's 9th Floor began to shake violently, making it seem as if the Dungeon itself were crying out in agony.
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: /VALRRR]