Golden light erupted from my solar plexus as I channeled my Mana into the deepest part of my core. The energy spiraled outward in elaborate patterns, ancient runes flickering to life in the air around me. Through my flesh emerged a hilt that practically radiated indignation at its undignified storage method—pitch-black grip wrapped in leather darker than a moonless night, crowned with a pommel shaped like a dragon trying to swallow its own tail. The dragon's jeweled eyes gleamed with intelligence, currently rolling in exasperation. The golden crossguard was shaped like wings spread in flight, with scenes of our victories etched into its surface that seemed to shift and move when caught in the right light, as if the metal itself was reliving those moments of glory. A constant pulse of power emanated from the ornate metalwork, making the air shiver with anticipation. Despite its grand appearance, there was no blade attached—the crossguard ended in nothing but air, as if a mere physical blade would be beneath its dignity.

"You insufferable brat!" A voice erupted from the hilt the moment it fully manifested. "Did you really plan to keep me locked inside your disgusting flesh forever? Being stored inside a man is just gross! Why couldn't you be a beautiful maiden? Even that stuck-up princess would have been better!"

Mille's eyes widened at the talking weapon, while Sugar's eternal grin somehow managed to stretch even wider with intrigue.

"Also," the hilt continued, his voice dripping with aristocratic disdain, "who exactly are you calling 'Antipucker'? I have told you a thousand times—I am the Grand Archblade Omnislayer, Sovereign of Steel, Devourer of Demons, He Who Cleaves the Very Heavens! Would it kill you to show some respect to the weapon that saved your worthless hide countless times?"

"I missed you too," I said dryly, gripping the bladeless hilt. Despite his complaints, I could feel his eagerness to fight again—the runes etched along the crossguard pulsed faster, like an excited heartbeat, ready to channel whatever Mana I chose to feed through him.

"Hmph! As if I missed being manhandled by a graceless oaf who can't even properly announce my arrival. Where was the ceremony? The gravitas? The ten-minute introductory speech about my legendary deeds?" He paused, finally noticing our opponent. "Wait... are you seriously summoning me, the greatest of all blades, to fight a carnival mascot? Have you finally lost what little mind you had?"

"Don't underestimate him, Anti. There was a reason I summoned you. I don't want to get stuck in that jelly," I said, pausing as the sword finally pointed toward Mille.

"Who is this, hmm? Care to introduce us?" the hilt's aristocratic voice dripped with sudden interest.

"If you help me defeat this giant bear, maybe," I replied. "For now, would you be so kind as to let the crowd know they should clear some space? We don't want anyone getting hurt when the bear starts moving."

"I will make sure no one gets in your way," Mille said. "Just... don't you dare die on me. I don't want to face His Holiness otherwise."

"Don't worry, I have no plans that involve my death," I said as I raised the sword. It took only a few minutes for the crowd to move to a relatively safe distance from the gate.

"Well, Mr. Bear, shall we start?"

"Yes, yes, Sugar wants to play!"

I had some experience fighting large opponents. First challenge: I couldn't just crush him with my Gravity Mana like I had with smaller foes. With his size, I needed to create enough gravitational force to affect hundreds of tons of mass to have even the slightest effect. He might be level 666, but there was no mistake—compared to humans, even those focusing on raw power attributes, large beings like him would naturally be more powerful in absolute terms. The disadvantage of such a large body would be speed, but... that was only in relative terms. And anyway, it seemed that the barrier itself made me unable to affect him.

I could feel that most of his power was based on System runes, marking him as a creature created by the System. However, there was also perhaps less than 5% of energy different from the System's—and that worried me most. It gave me the same feeling I'd had when watching Mr. Chuckles' cartoon. With that sort of power, anything could be possible.

When facing an Enigma-type being, caution was essential. I surrounded myself with Air Mana while simultaneously activating Lightning Surge.

I used Gravity to pull myself aside as Sugar's giant paw crushed into the ground, sending debris flying in all directions. Despite his colossal size, the bear could hardly be called slow—as expected of a Tier 5 being. A normal person wouldn't even be able to react before being crushed, and even Tier 3 humans would hardly escape.

"Hey, it doesn't look like you're trying to bite me, Sugar!" I taunted. "Are you sure you're playing by your own rules? Maybe I'll bite you after I turn you into pudding."

The bear laughed. "You're right! You'd probably be tastier if I catch you first. Thanks for the tip!" As he spoke, the golem tried to catch me with his paw like someone catching a fly.

There was no point in staying on the ground—I’d have a much better chance of getting close to him in flight. I dodged another attempt to catch me and shot upward before diving between his massive legs. Using the momentum, I curved my flight path sharply around his torso, aiming for the critical spot where shoulder met neck—a natural blind spot for any large creature. Except Sugar's flowing features had already begun sliding across his form to track my movement. But Sugar's features simply traveled across his gelatinous form, his eyes, mouth, and expression flowed from front to back like a ripple through water, leaving his front face blank before reappearing behind.

"You can't get behind me!" His smile grew even wider, stretching impossibly across both sides of his head.

As if this display wasn’t creepy enough, streams of pink gummy substance shot from his body like tentacles at a surprisingly fast speed—on a whole different level compared to his earlier movements. I pulled myself back just in time to avoid being touched. Something told me it would be very problematic if he managed to catch me with those sticky, candy-like appendages.

"You sure are tricky, but Sugar is trickier!" the bear said with glee as he waved his paw. Dozens of gum balls shot at me from different directions. Even as I avoided them, I barely had time to notice with my Mana Sense that the balls that landed on the ground bounced back up, targeting me again.

"How long will you continue to dodge? Just let me taste you! Sugar is hungry!" the golem said, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"The monster isn't wrong—you can't dodge forever," my sword chimed in. "Why did you summon me if you aren’t even using my powers, huh?"

"Well, I want to figure out my opponent's abilities first. Learn where the traps and weaknesses are."

"Like always, so cautious," the hilt chuckled.

"If I weren't, I would’ve died countless times already," I replied, dodging another volley. "Well, there’s no harm in trying to strike now. Also, there’s something else I want to check."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Just as I evaded another gum ball, I activated my Virtual Interface—the innate ability granted by my Gamer Archetype. The holographic overlay sprang to life in my vision, highlighting predicted trajectories but no weak points. Obviously, the ability was too weak to find any openings against such a powerful opponent. As for the display itself, while it wasn’t particularly impressive against an Enigma-type being, it at least helped me track the multiple projectiles better.

With my Virtual Interface and Lightning Mana stimulating my visual system, I studied the gum balls' trajectories carefully. Sugar's main body was protected by that adaptive barrier, but what about his projectiles once they left his form? A plan began to form in my mind.

Focusing on one of the gum balls, I wove my Gravity Mana around it in a complex pattern—not just pushing or pulling, but creating a spherical field that gripped it from all sides. The candy projectile struggled against my hold, its own momentum fighting my control, but Gravity was absolute. Layer by layer, I compressed the field until I had complete control, then drew it toward myself. As the piece of gum approached, I noticed my suspicion was correct—unlike Sugar himself, it lacked the protective barrier that adapted to attacks. A smile tugged at my lips as I opened my mouth and took a careful bite.

No messages appeared.

"You thought this would count?" Sugar laughed. "You should bite through Sugar, not a part of Sugar that no longer is Sugar, even if it contains sugar!" The bear's laughter echoed across the arena.

I grimaced. If it had worked, I would have won the easy way. Despite his role as a Tutorial guardian, there was something endearing about the childlike golem.Now, I wasn't so sure about my options anymore. The rules said I needed to bite Sugar himself, not his projectiles, but getting close enough to do that seemed increasingly difficult. His body was protected by that adaptive barrier, and those gummy tentacles would probably trap me the moment I got within range. There had to be a weakness—every Enigma had one; you just had to figure out the trick...

"Hey Sugar," I called out, "if something happens to you... do you revive like the Tutorial participants?"

"Sugar doesn't need revival!" he giggled. "Sugar is forever! Sugar is eternal! Master made Sugar strong! Now let Sugar taste you!"

This doesn’t explain anything. Is he just overconfident, or is there something deeper behind his words? Whatever. If he doesn’t want to play nice, I’ll just focus on killing him. I don’t want to use my greatest trump cards on a mere door guardian, so I’ll have to get a bit creative. And I already have an idea that might just work... though I doubt it will be pretty.

My thoughts were interrupted as Sugar's assault intensified. The bear spread his massive paws wide, and suddenly the air was filled with hundreds of gum balls, creating a deadly web of bouncing projectiles. Each one that hit the ground or walls would rebound with even greater speed, their paths becoming increasingly unpredictable.

"Sugar thinks you need more motivation to play!" the bear giggled, his voice echoing from multiple directions as his features flowed across his form.

I found myself in an elaborate dance of evasion, using every trick in my arsenal. Air Mana reduced resistance around me, while Gravity Mana allowed me to make sharp turns that would have torn a normal person apart. My Virtual Interface highlighted the most dangerous trajectories, but even it struggled to keep up with the chaos of rebounding projectiles.

"Are you quite done testing your opponent?" The hilt's aristocratic voice dripped with sarcasm. "Because I, for one, am tired of being a mere spectator."

He had a point. I channeled Air Mana through the ornate crossguard, watching as the ancient runes lit up one by one. The power condensed and extended beyond the hilt, forming an invisible blade of pure wind—a technique we'd perfected during our battles in Luminosa. With a thought, I could extend this air blade to slice targets from a distance.

"About time!" The sword's voice held equal parts excitement and disdain. "Though I suppose watching you dodge like a terrified rabbit was somewhat entertaining."

I channeled more power through the ancient runes and swept the blade in a wide horizontal arc. A dozen gum balls split cleanly in half, the cuts so precise they seemed to hover for a moment before falling. Not waiting for them to hit the ground, I spun into another strike, angling the wind blade upward. More projectiles fell into quarters, their momentum completely nullified by the precision of the cuts.

"Get ready," I muttered to my weapon as I spotted a particularly dense cluster of incoming balls.

"Oh please, I was forged ready!"

Focusing my Air Mana into an even finer edge, I launched into a series of techniques we'd perfected in Luminosa. Each swing of the hilt left multiple invisible slicing planes in the air—a variation of the technique we’d used to turn a charging manticore into diced meat. The gum balls flew into these aerial nets of wind blades and emerged as confetti.

Sugar's attacks grew more frenzied as I systematically destroyed his projectiles. I danced through the rain of pink fragments, the wind blade singing as it carved precise geometric patterns through the air. Three balls approaching in a triangle formation? One diagonal slash reduced them to perfect sixths. A wave of projectiles trying to box me in? A circular sweep of the blade turned them into perfectly symmetrical pink crescents.

Within moments, the ground was littered with precisely cut pieces of gum, none larger than a fingernail. Each slice was geometrically perfect—a testament to the control we’d developed over years of partnership, even if my companion would never admit it.

"Oh? The human has teeth after all!" Sugar's eternal grin somehow grew even wider.

"It seems you lost your balls, Sugar," I smirked as I flourished the wind blade in his direction. Even with nearly a hundred feet between us, the technique's range meant I could still strike his body. But as the invisible edge met his form, the result was exactly what I'd expected—the blade of condensed Air Mana, which could slice through steel like butter, produced nothing but an excitation sound against his barrier.

"Sugar is protected... and Sugar has caught you!" His grin turned predatory. Before I could react, all the scattered pieces of bisected gum balls split into thousands of smaller pieces and shot toward me like a storm of candy bullets. They filled every possible escape route, creating a sphere of pink death around me.

I moved to create a barrier, but Sugar's roar shook the air itself, the sound wave forcing me to split my focus. That moment's distraction was all it took—hundreds of tiny gum pieces slammed into me from all directions. Even with my Gravity Mana reinforcement making my body nearly invulnerable and my Air barrier deflecting most projectiles, I couldn't prevent them all from sticking.

This wasn't ordinary gum. A simple burst of Mana couldn't dislodge it, and as I struggled against the sticky substance, more balls launched from the ground, their trajectories too numerous for even my Virtual Interface to track. I redirected most with precisely controlled Gravity fields, but enough got through. The gum already stuck to me shot out tiny tendrils toward the new pieces, growing and spreading like some kind of candy infection.

I tried to slash through the gummy restraints with my wind blade, but the substance caught my sword arm mid-swing, quickly engulfing both my hand and the hilt. The sword's indignant protests were muffled by the sticky prison.

Sugar didn't even need to approach. He raised his right paw, stretching it toward me like taffy, creating a bridge of gummy substance that connected to my bonds. With agonizing slowness, he began reeling me in toward his waiting maw.

"Thank you for the meal!" the bear laughed, his crystalline teeth glinting as his mouth opened wider and wider, revealing an endless tunnel of pink darkness. The sword and I were now completely at his mercy, drawn inexorably toward those waiting jaws.

"Hey, Sugar," I called out, somehow maintaining a casual tone despite being slowly dragged toward him. "Are you really this hungry? You seem like someone who appreciates fine cuisine."

"Oh yes!" Sugar's voice bubbled with enthusiasm as his crystalline teeth sparkled. "Sugar loves trying new treats! Though Sugar really prefers sweet food to non-sweet." His massive tongue emerged to lick his lips. "And you, my special friend, look very sweet indeed!"

"You know, there's something I'd like to let you taste first." I smiled, even as the sticky bonds pulled me closer. "Have you ever eaten volts?"

"Volts?" Sugar tilted his enormous head, curiosity overtaking his hunger for a moment. "What are volts? Is it candy? Sugar loves trying new candy!"

"Well..." I focused on the sword's runes, watching them shift from blue to crackling gold. "I don't know if it's sweet, but I've heard it's incredibly spicy. Hot enough to light up your whole day."

"Ooooh!" Sugar's eyes sparkled like a child offered a new treat. "Sugar has never had spicy candy before! Is it like cinnamon? Sugar loves cinnamon!"

"Trust me," I grinned as Lightning Mana began coursing through the hilt, making the ancient runes blaze like captured stars. "This is going to be way hotter than cinnamon."

"Now I really want to try!" Sugar exclaimed, pulling me even closer to his waiting jaws. "Feed Sugar! Feed Sugar!"

"As you wish." The runes pulsed with building power. "Let me demonstrate..."