-Swish!!
Eclipse sliced through the neck of the stone golem, though not without resistance. The blade met dense, compacted stone before finally breaking through.
Ash used the moment the golem began to collapse to his advantage, kicking off its crumbling torso and propelling himself backward. His body twisted smoothly in midair, movements refined through countless battles, and with a controlled downward motion, he brought his sword down in a wide arc. The second golem split apart far more easily, its stone frame breaking into heavy fragments that crashed into the ground.
"Huff...that makes it thirteenth...."
His breathing was slightly rough, but it was far from exhaustion. There was still a considerable amount of stamina left in him, and his recovery remained unnaturally fast. Over the span few months, Life energy had flooded his body more times than he could count, thus accelerating his natural recovery to a level that most warriors could only envy.
"But...I can’t go on like this..."
Ash took in his surroundings while tightening his grip on Eclipse. Broken stone littered the ground, and the number of trees had dwindled to almost nothing. In their place, rusted swords jutted out from the earth at irregular angles, some half buried, others fully exposed, creating an eerie landscape that felt heavy with history and death.
If I continue to fight them like this...I’ll tire myself out and waste a lot of time...time that I don’t have...
These golems were not weak enemies. Their defenses were thick and stubborn, demanding a significant amount of strength to shatter. While their movements were slow and predictable, their raw power made every blow dangerous.
What truly made the situation unbearable was the noise.
Each clash echoed loudly through the dungeon, stone grinding against steel, vibrations traveling far across the Sword Tomb. And with every fight, more golems responded, drawn toward the sound like predators sensing blood.
I need to find a way to move forward without fighting them....but the question is how...?
Even as his mind raced for solutions, Ash did not stop moving. He ran along the edge of the mountain range, deliberately choosing a path cluttered with massive rocks and uneven terrain. The landscape provided natural cover, allowing him to slip behind boulders or tuck himself into narrow gaps whenever he sensed a cluster of monsters nearby.
So far, the strategy was working. He avoided several unnecessary encounters, conserving both stamina and time.
But there was a price.
From the subtle shift in terrain and the thinning concentration of swords, Ash could tell that he was gradually drifting away from the main route. If this continued, he would eventually have to abandon this safer path and relocate toward another mountain range to maintain his progress.
...lets see what happ-
Before the thought could fully form, the entire dungeon trembled.
The ground shook violently for a brief moment, enough to disrupt his footing. Ash staggered slightly, but his body reacted on instinct. After reaching First Mastery in weapon arts, his senses had sharpened dramatically, and his balance adjusted almost immediately.
Without waiting to see if the shaking would worsen, Ash sprinted toward a narrow crack in the mountain wall. He slipped inside with practiced ease and crouched low, pressing himself into the darkness and controlled his breathing.
He reached into his space ring and retrieved a small pouch, tearing it open and dumping its contents over his body.
Scent erasing powder.
Ash possessed an absurd number of items at his disposal. Even without mana and the ability to use his skills, he could still compensate through preparation and experience.
And this was not the first time he had used the powder. He had already relied on it once earlier in the dungeon. Still, he used it again without hesitation....because a deep sense of unease had settled in his chest.
He refused to gamble in this situation.
Moments later, the shaking stopped.
And in the very next moment, everything was swallowed by deep, unnatural shadows.
-GRRRAAAARGH!!!
-SCREETCH!!!!!
-GRRRAAAARGH!!!
Brutal roars ripped through the dungeon, crashing into one another and echoing endlessly, turning the entire space into a living nightmare. In that moment, every assumption Ash had made was confirmed. The violent shaking from earlier had not been natural at all. It was caused by the arrival of a massive demon force, their sheer presence enough to make the dungeon itself groan in resistance.
Even so, there was something Ash had never accounted for.
W-What...the hell are....those numbers...???
The sky was completely swallowed by demons. Winged figures filled every direction he looked, their silhouettes overlapping until there was barely any space left between them. Countless eyes glowed as they searched the land below with cold precision, sweeping over rocks, and shadows.
Many of them descended without hesitation, spreading out to search the ground more thoroughly.
Ash’s face hardened, a deep sense of unease settling in his chest.
Damn it, they are going to be extremely annoying and dangerous....
From the pressure they released, he quickly evaluated their strength. Most of the demons were at early to Peak Grandmaster rank, strong enough to overwhelm almost anyone trapped inside this dungeon. Mixed among them were roughly a hundred Legendary rank demons, though their auras felt incomplete and unstable. They were pseudo Legendary, powerful but not fully evolved.
That realization steadied his breathing.
I don’t care why they are like that...as long as they aren’t true Legendary...
It was not hope that calmed him, but logic.
Other than them, he did not sense any presence that crossed into a higher realm of power, and that alone kept panic from taking over.
If they are only around this level, then I think I can somewhat manage...
It sounded arrogant, almost foolish, especially when spoken against thousands of demons while still trapped inside a dungeon. But Ash was not planning to fight them head on. His confidence came from something else entirely.
Demons had invaded the dungeon.
That meant the dungeon would react.
To the dungeon, demons were no different from humans. They were intruders. Once they crossed paths with the native monsters, conflict was inevitable.
...They will fight each other.....their numbers will slowly drop on both sides....and I can move forward while they are distracted.....
It was not a flawless plan. It was improvised, risky, and filled with uncertainties. Still, it was the safest and most technical option available to him in this moment.
More importantly, he had resources.
Items gathered from the black market, tools meant for survival rather than glory, and enough concealment methods to vanish as long as he did not actively draw attention to himself.
Alright...I’ll follow this plan....but I need to move fast.....people get randomly teleported into different dungeons based on their strength.....
That meant this might not be all.
There’s a high chance the demon numbers are even greater than this....and their strength could be higher too..
And he could not have been more wrong, because just as that thought crossed his mind...Lilith appeared near the final boss, standing completely alone, without the presence of even a single demon near her.
***
"Hmm....There are no life signals around me....."
"The only living thing present near me is..."
Her gaze slowly travelled forward. At a far distance, she could see a pair of massive closed doors standing silently before her. They were colossal in size, radiating an ancient and heavy aura that pressed against the surroundings without restraint.
Two swords were carved crossing each other at the center of the doors, surrounded by countless battle scenes etched deeply into the surface, as if recording wars that had taken place long before time itself was remembered.
Above, the dungeon was shrouded in night. A crimson moon hung in the sky, bathing everything in an eerie red glow. The only path forward was formed by an endless sea of swords, easily numbering in the millions. They were embedded into the ground, tilted at different angles, some broken, some intact, all carrying traces of long forgotten battles.
Swords filled everything. The mountains themselves were pierced and layered with blades, as if the land had been forged from war alone. The only place untouched by them was a simple, clear road that led directly toward the colossal doors.
The only thing alive is behind that door....the dungeon separated me from everyone else, and the only reason I can think of is my strength...
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she analyzed the situation.
This is an SS rank dungeon, and from the surroundings alone, along with the presence I am sensing from behind those doors, I can confidently say that I am standing right before the True Boss of this dungeon....
A faint smile curved her lips.
"Hmmm, this is actually quite convenient....If I kill the boss monster, the dungeon will be cleared and everyone inside will be ejected automatically."
Her eyes gleamed with cold certainty.
"This way, I will not have to wait for those far behind me to reach this level.....and I can capture that rat without any delays....it will save me the trouble of finding him myself...."
She could not have asked for a better situation.
With a calm and leisurely pace, she began walking forward, her steps echoing softly as she moved toward the ancient doors.
****