The only way to destroy a Dungeon was to break its Dungeon Core. Dungeon Cores were found at the deepest level of the Dungeon and were guarded by powerful monsters known as Guardians.

I was actually worried. We fought monsters that were almost A-ranked and Guardians were more powerful than the monsters in the Dungeon. That meant that the Guardian could even be SS-ranked.

Yuzu and Oga were pretty powerful. They could easily slay A-ranked monsters as if they were used to dealing with them already. I was completely falling behind.

Oga opened the door leading to the boss room and a light shone upon us. It died down and my jaws dropped.

All around us were huge crystals of Nokunium. The room was filled with Nokunium and I could already see the pile of cash that would come once we sell those.

“Mikage... Focus”, Oga said as Yuzu pointed his sword in one direction.

A giant blue golem walked towards us. Glowing blue lines were all over its body and it had a crystal core on its face.

“What monster do you think it is?” Yuzu asked.

“Hell if I know. It’s the first time I saw something like that”, Oga answered.

“Whatever it is, it’s coming after us!” I shouted as the golem ran.

Yuzu dodged to the right while I jumped to the left. Oga caught the golem’s punch with his two hands and was pushed back. While he was holding the golem’s arms, Yuzu and I charged at it and slashed it.

However, our strikes couldn’t scratch it. I’ve seen how skilled Yuzu was with the sword so it was surprising that he couldn’t cut the golem.

Glowing blue hands came out of the golem’s back and stretched towards us. Blue flames shot from its arms and Oga dodged out of the way. I cut the hands but they just regrew back into new ones. After backing away for a certain distance, the hands stopped and returned to the golem.

“It’s tougher than mithril... I don’t think I could cut it that easily”, Yuzu said.

“Its physical strength is quite strong too. Those hands are also annoying. What do you think we should do?” Oga asked.

“Oga... Bait it out. Mikage and I will try to find its weak spot.”

We nodded in response to Yuzu’s plan and Oga charged ahead.

“Fortress Howl!” Oga shouted and a red aura oozed out of his body.

If I remember correctly, Fortress Howl was a taunting magic. The user would look more dangerous for non-sentient beings and so they would focus all of their attention on him.

While Oga had its attention, Yuzu and I charged at its sides. I wrapped darkness around Anya and tried to cut it. However, I was only able to make a light scratch. Yuzu managed to make a deeper cut but it wasn’t enough.

Oga’s arms were coated in darkness and he tried to punch the golem. However, it didn’t even budge when Oga hit it. It countered with its barrage of punches and Oga managed to avoid them. Despite being large, it was fast.

Flames wrapped around Yuzu’s sword and he tried to cut the golem once more. I did my share of attempts but it wasn’t working.

A mask appeared from thin air and Yuzu wore it. I could feel his mana getting stronger and he became faster. Oga roared and he entered his demon form. It seemed that they were getting serious.

Things were going well when the golem started glowing. Light shone and when it died down, a barrier was surrounding Oga and Yuzu.

“I can’t break this!” Yuzu shouted as he tried to cut it.

Oga also tried to punch it but it was no use.

“Bastard... He’s aiming to take down Mikage. We can’t break out of this, no matter how hard we try!” Oga said.

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“What should we do?” I asked.

“Mikage! See the small crystal on its chest?”

I squinted my eyes and saw a very small crystal. It was the size of a 5-yen coin.

“Yeah! I see it!” I shouted.

“From what I can tell, this barrier is linked to that. Destroy it, then we’re free!” Oga told me.

Destroy it on my own? Could I do it?

Before I could even answer that question, countless blue hands came out of the golem and stretched towards me.

“Synchronicity release!” I shouted as my clothes changed.

Yoclesh’s Oni Rush wasn’t suited for many targets like this. It was more effective in dealing against a single opponent. That was why I tried to tap into another master’s power.

Merryweather... I need your help, I said.

Merryweather appeared right beside me, It's your first time doing this but you are correct in choosing my abilities. I shall do my best to resonate with you.

A sword made up of darkness appeared on my hand and I was dual-wielding them. Merryweather was a Royal Dual Wielder. From what he told me, he was an accomplished military general who specialized in using two swords.

I unleashed a fury of strikes as I cut down the hands while charging towards the golem. With my enhanced strength in Synchronicity, I was able to land deep cuts on the golem.

However, it wasn’t enough. I had to deal with the blue hands while keeping watch of the golem’s main body... What should I do?

Maybe Shadow Companion would be good. But I don’t think Anya was skilled enough to control the Shadow Companion to keep the hands busy... Wait a minute... A crazy idea hatched on my mind.

Anya! Can you do this? I explained my plan to her.

Are you insane? That will be pretty tricky to do! She told me

What an interesting proposal. In theory, it should work, Merryweather said.

I’m up for a challenge! Yoclesh told me.

Alright then. Although this would place a huge burden on your mana and you have to focus much harder on Synchronicity! Anya said.

Shouting a magic’s name would help in creating an image so I had one name in mind.

“Dark Synchronicity: Merryweather Shadow!” I shouted.

My shadow rose from the ground and turned into Merryweather’s form. Two swords appeared on its arms and it stretched around.

How was it? I asked.

It feels a bit weird but I can fight! Merryweather said.

Shadow Companion was a difficult magic. Normally, a mage would have to manually control the shadow while also controlling their own bodies. With Anya around, I could have her control the shadow as if a totally different person.

However, I was sure that Anya wasn’t that experienced in combat to be able to control the Shadow Companion efficiently. That was why I used Synchronicity to make Merryweather take control of the shadow instead.

“Let’s go!!” I shouted and we charged ahead.

With Merryweather supporting me, I was able to focus on the golem. The Merryweather Shadow dealt with the glowing hands while I dealt with the main body. It took around two minutes of exchanging blows when I managed to turn the tides of the battle. Using Yoclesh’s Oni Rush, I was able to break the small crystal on the golem’s chest.

Just in time too... I was forced out of Synchronicity and I would’ve collapsed to the ground if Yuzu didn’t catch me.

“Good job. We’ll take it from here”, Yuzu said.

“... Yeah...” I said as my eyelids were getting heavier.

###

When I woke up, the sun was already rising. My body still felt heavy but at least there were no headaches. Dark Synchronicity must’ve taken a huge toll on my body. At least I had a trump card when using Synchronicity.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We won. The Dungeon Core has been destroyed and we gathered all the Nokunium in the boss room”, Yuzu answered.

“We’ll evenly split the rewards. Don’t worry. With the Nokunium we have and the reward from the quest, we can live for a year without working!” Oga said.

“Thank you for accompanying us on this quest” Yuzu bowed his head.

“No. I’m sorry if I held you back”, I told him.

“You didn’t hold us back. I wasn’t sure if I could take on that golem alone. That’s why you managing to set us free is already amazing. Oga is right. You really are strong.”

I didn’t know how to reply to his praise.

“Anyway... Let’s go back to Westa already! I can imagine the money rolling in once we report that we finished the quest!” Oga said.

We rode on our horses as we went on our way to Westa. My first quest went pretty well and a lot of money was going to wait for me. Maybe I should treat Amelia. Should I buy her a good book or should I take her out for a meal?

While I was wondering that, I took out my Excellular. There was one message from Temma and when I read it, confusion appeared in my mind.

Mikage. Sorry to bother you while you’re on a quest but there’s something that happened while you were away. Do you know someone named Yogiri?