Aiden POV:

A spear parried a sword. Both weapons clashed against one another until Jyusil’s lips curved into a content smile.

“You’re not half bad, eh?”

The distance between us increased to 30 metres. The barriers fell with a flick of her chin, and 5 Armoured Sentri Knights rushed into the arena.

Jyusil had repeated this pattern 7 times since the battle began. Instead of armour, she wore a modified Uwagi in the form of a long jacket. Purple eyes, thick purple highlights in her grey hair, and a concealed body that garnered over twenty times more attention than Kiyuj.

‘Are they related?’

The spear spun around my fingers, blocking the combined strikes heading toward me. Defence turned into offence once optimal opportunities presented themselves. A succession of powerful thrusts shot the 5 Armoured Sentri Knights out of the arena.

‘That’s not important.’

I broke through to mid Jikki the moment Jyusil flashed in. She believed it was an opening, but it wasn’t. The Cute Spear tore into her shoulder before an explosion shattered the barrier.

Another high-speed assault was laced with a feminine voice. Sparks flew; they danced around the arena at a comfortable pace. Our blows forced away the dust clouds, and the cheers from the Sentri increased.

‘...’

“...You’re not much of a talker, eh? You’re making me a little sad here, Aiden.”

I twisted my neck, but the slight change in angle allowed her sword to graze past my cheek. Blood spurted out of the wound when Jyusil’s palm shot forward.

‘No gaps. She has a seamless transition in her movements, so why does she rely on using the Armoured Sentri Knights?’

A cannon wave of Ki fissured the stone floor until 4 Cute Shields stopped its advance. They projected out of the spinning Cute Spear and bought me extra time to add to the calculations.

That was what I had planned.

But the Armoured Sentri Knights rejoined the fight the second I blocked Jyusil’s attack. Sweat rolled down my forehead from the concentration needed to weave through their strikes and track Jyusil’s movements.

“...Jyusil.”

“What?”

I stared into her bright purple eyes. Spears and swords moved in a systematic manner that benefitted me.

“I’m going to get very serious soon.”

Jyusil’s reaction was similar to Kiyuj: her eyes popped, and the accumulation of blood rushing to her cheeks darkened her complexion.

“...L-Like how serious? Right here?? Right now???!!!”

“...”

The 6 Armoured Sentri Knights were blasted back in unison from a pink blur. Precise thrusts drew blood that energised the Deadmin Spear.

‘The behaviour of these monsters is far too irregular from the norm. Is it really just because it’s an Arcane Dungeon?’

I struggled to accept that as the only answer to the abnormalities our party encountered. These changes reminded me of the Shadow Monsters Shun would often deploy. Whenever he used them, I observed them from afar and understood that his ability went beyond simple necromancy.

Their movements differed from the usual patterns compared to when they were alive. Based on Shun’s reaction time in battle, it didn’t seem like he controlled them manually either. He could have given them simple orders, but they appeared to have personalities of their own.

‘The way they look at Shun after certain statements shows a hidden intellect.’

Jyusil’s intense strikes were parried with efficiency. However, her overwhelming power ignored the accurate thrusts of the Deadmin Spear.

‘Isn’t it reasonable to assume Shun could train them?’

I slid back before spinning through the air. Flashes of light exploded the surrounding area then coated the glowing blade again: a result of Jyusil’s Ultimate Sword Blitz. Half of the damage it caused was added to the next strike. Jyusil exploited this benefit to its limit by aiming at the environment as well as the target.

Cute Shields supported the pink spear, clashing against an empowered sword. My back smashed into the barrier when Jyusil’s palm sunk into my abdomen. The Deadmin Spear reached her neck, forcing her to exert less than half of the force she had wanted to.

Blood splattered everywhere. I manipulated the air and avoided her relentless follow up. The arena cratered more than two dozen times from the flickering bodies amidst the clouds of dust.

‘...Is it too much of a stretch to assume that Shun could train dungeon monsters as well? Is that why... he wants to be alone in dungeons so often?’

I shook my head at the thought.

‘He’s a friend. I shouldn’t be so suspicious of him.’

The Cute Spear blasted Jyusil into the barrier, resetting the battle once more. She wiped the blood from her nose until one side of her thin lips curved upward.

“You need some motivation, eh?”

Jyusil unzipped the long jacket and threw it to the side. The expected Uwagi was underneath but so was a figure and moderate breasts that made the male Sentri go wild. Eyes rolled before the female Sentri angled their bodies away from the arena.

An image of Sanura’s bewitching form drifted to the forefront of my mind. She was unrivalled; no amount of calculations could describe her transcendent beauty. It was a beauty that came from the soul, just like Katherine.

“...You don’t seem impressed?”

“If you saw my... woman, you would understand why.”

The chants dropped with Jyusil’s eyebrows until a solemn silence took its place. Her eyes narrowed to thin slits that cut through the space between us.

“Are you saying... she looks... better than me? Jyusil?”

The flames flickered twice as fast as before, but their light had no effect on the shadow that fell over her face.

“I... Jyusil is inferior in looks? To a human??”

‘I can’t attack.’

Two purple eyes glowed through the darkness, stopping my intention to behead Jyusil in her moment of denial. A thick bloodlust painted the ceiling black, and death stared at me.

“I AM JYUSIL! THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SENTRI TO HAVE EVER LIVED!!!”

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‘Again.’

My equation didn’t account for the possibility of a Sentri Guardian improving; this oversight was a result of their specialisation. Based on the calculations I had made from the lower Floors, their growth rate wasn’t a factor that needed to be considered, yet...

An eruption of Ki brought Jyusil to upper Enryo.

The spear fell to the sword’s laceration.

“!”

Clouds blurred the vision that zoomed in on a sliced open stomach. Its contents attempted to spill out with the staggering of steps until a hand pushed everything back in. Fire cauterised the wound without a moment of hesitation, saving a life that would have been lost if the action happened 4 seconds later.

I splayed my pale hand and created hundreds of wind walls. Blood loss attempted to destabilise the focus I had built, but...

The conditions were sufficient. The preparations were complete.

I raised the flame, and it burned the dark blue colour away. Pain signals only travelled a quarter of their normal distance before crashing into a thick blockade.

“Steelflare.”

I moved my hand down to reveal the two steel gray eyes underneath. The same coloured Ki exploded out of me. It didn’t climb. This time, it soared. It flew past Jyusil’s level in an instant.

A wall she couldn’t see over.

A dense forest she couldn’t see the end of.

Yet the shadow over her face remained. She stepped forward under the weight of a Ki Pressure that prevented the Armoured Sentri Knights from setting foot in the arena. Jyusil’s reaction was within my calculations.

“Steelflare: Spear Formation.”

Steelflare was a unique ability that could only be used through a resource called ‘Braced Focus.’ This limitation extended to all techniques, and every 30 seconds, a small portion of Braced Focus would be depleted.

I grabbed the steel gray spear that formed in front of me before locking eyes with the Sentri Guardian.

“...You are not Aiden.”

I stepped forward, and the gap closed. The activation of Steelflare raised every aspect of my being based on the total amount of Braced Focus I had accumulated, while Spear Formation increased all physical attributes by half of that.

“!!”

Jyusil tripled the distance between us; a puddle of sweat coated the stone tiles beneath her. The Sentri rose to their feet, but all that left their open mouths was silence.

“...Jyusil, this is what it means to brace yourself.”

I pointed the spear tip toward the middle of her forehead.

“And this is what it means to explode.”

A thin light trail segmented. It faded with the shaking of several Dungeon Floors. It vanished at the sight of the obliteration. All the Armoured Sentri Knights had rushed to strengthen the arena barrier, but cracks still spiralled across its surface until it shattered.

“Keuk!!”

Once the dust cleared, Jyusil remained. She coughed up blood, and messy hair clung to her forehead. 4 of Jyusil’s unique Sentri Barriers had met the conditions to save her life.

“Your ability perfectly suits you, eh?”

The Sentri Barriers fragmented from the force they had struggled to defend against. Jyusil spat out another mouthful of blood before cracking her neck.

“Ready for round 2?”

“...”

I shifted into a stance, and she did the same. We flickered out of view, but amidst the clash that quaked the Dungeon Floor, there was something different about Jyusil.

***

Gerard POV:

I peered down at the defeated Sentri Guardian. His blue-tinted armour wasn’t what bothered me. The thousands of arrow holes across the arena did.

‘Since when did Sentri use bows?...’

I wiped the sweat away from my forehead and added a few more notes to the Sentri Style report. Apart from Katherine, I was probably the worst match up for this Sentri Guardian.

Anyway, the Sentri did seem to prefer close combat despite the flexibility of their Style. It was also easier to use a spear or sword compared to a bow.

‘!’

The Sentri’s claps soon turned into loud cheers. They chanted my name and gave me a spotlight that was somewhat overwhelming; I wasn’t used to being the centre of attention.

“Gerard! Gerard! Gerard!”

I scratched the back of my head when an Armoured Sentri Knight entered the arena. Once her feet came to a stop, the Sentri’s cheers faded.

“Impregnate me.”

She bowed her head and held the flagpole in open palms as if it was some sort of treasure. I suppose it was since we needed it to ascend to the next Floor.

“...What?”

It took me a few seconds to register the words that came out of her mouth. It was an obvious misunderstanding that the Armoured Sentri Knight would rectify soon enough. She raised her head, but her eyebrows pressed together.

“Impregnate me, please.”

Sweat rolled down my forehead. I really hadn’t misheard this strange monster. That was when the pit shook from a unified laughter. A laughter directed at the Sentri standing in front of me. Their fingers pointed toward her, ignoring the quiver of her lip as she offered them a new form of entertainment.

“...This. You. Please.”

Her gaze fell to the ground, and I was left stunned. How could even monsters be so similar to humans in this aspect too? I... didn’t have the answer to that question, but I did have the opportunity to fix this.

“Why are you all laughing at her?!”

“Because she’s an idiot! Never in the history of our species has a dumbass like her existed. If she wasn’t so strong, she would have died long a—“

Ki exploded out of my body with enough force to silence everyone present. The Sentri loved the strong, regardless of their mental faculties. So someone had introduced this new ideology of ostracisation to them.

Another Armoured Sentri Knight stepped forward.

“Gerard, what are you doing? You beat Crulik, so take the flag and go.”

Livil slapped the back of the Sentri’s head, but even that was met with no resistance. All she did was stare at the ground amidst the public embarrassment when I saw the slight tremble of her body.

“Dumbass. Hey, someone get Yulzi a children’s book. Apparently, she didn’t graduate from learning the alphabets. At least her parents died in batt—“

Livil’s fingers latched onto the knuckles pointed toward her face. Her palm contained the force of my fist until it dispersed through the shaking arena.

‘Did she hide her strength? Is that why she was so eager to escort me here?’

The torque of her body accelerated, and a spinning heel crashed into my chest.

‘Keuk... What was that??’

I slid back across the stone floor.

‘It felt like her foot was drilling a hole right through me, but did Sentri ever have those kinds of techniques? And why does her armour extend to... grey high heels?’

“As sexy as you are, Gerard, please leave.”

‘...’

I raised an eyebrow before holding my hand up.

“Wait a minute. You think I’m sexy?”

“...Obviously?”

Livil placed a hand on her hip while I was left speechless again. All the other female Sentri looked at me with eyes of intrigue and a slight hint of bashfulness.

‘Ah... It’s because I beat Crulik. Well, I’ll still take the compliment anyway.’

“Livil, do you have to treat Yulzi like that?”

“Are you my father? I can treat this trash how I want. Isn’t that what you humans do with monsters?”

I needed to report this to the guild. Maybe this was the norm for some monsters who gained the Will of Independence, but it was worrying. These guys... were way too self-aware.

‘How should I handle this?’

I folded my arms and decided on a solution within the next few seconds.

“Yulzi is my favourite!”

That sentence alone had a greater effect than I thought it would. All the Sentri stared at me with wide eyes. Livil recoiled backwards before struggling to stay upright, and Yulzi’s gaze finally left the ground.

“...HOW CAN SHE BE YOUR FAVOURITE? ARE YOU BLIND?!!”

Livil’s Enryo Ki exploded out when a raised hand stilled her emotions.

“Is anyone here going to hurt my favourite?”

She clicked her tongue before looking away in defeat. The other Sentri’s reactions were less intense, so I guessed Livil was the one pushing for this kind of treatment toward Yulzi.

‘Was it jealousy?’

Yulzi’s large eyes shone with a vibrance that no Sentri had. By her own kind’s standards, she would be regarded as beautiful. Maybe she was also stronger than Livil, but the mental difficulties made it difficult for her to use her strength like a normal Sentri would?

‘...This is Aiden’s specialty, not mine.’

Anyway, Shun had left some of his Shadow Monsters on the 5th Floor. They would be able to provide Yulzi some support.

‘Which one was it again?’

I scrolled down the rows of Ki Artifacts stored in Purple Dimension. They were sorted into complete Armour Sets for convenience. Once I found a spare shield, I gave it to Yulzi and took the flag in exchange.

“A gift? A GIFT FOR YU—“

“Do you want one too? Or are you going to keep throwing a tantrum?”

Livil bit her lip. She looked to the side, but her complexion made the accumulation of blood darkening her cheeks noticeable.

“...I want one too. Ahem... please.”

I couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle as Livil twirled her hair around her finger. I threw her a larger shield, and that was enough to make her eyes light up. Livil ran out of the arena to show her friends the gift she received.

‘This really is concerning.’

“Yulzi, head to the 5th Floor and show the Shadow Monsters your Ki Artifact. They’ll know you’re not an enemy.”

Her vibrant yellow eyes shifted toward the ceiling. She tilted her head for a few moments before parting her full lips.

“Why? Everyone. Happy. Not. Laugh.”

‘Guh! To think a monster could be this innocent!’

“Happiness doesn’t last forever. They might hurt you again, so trust me. Alright?”

Yulzi’s head bobbed up and down fast enough to leave faint afterimages behind it.

“Go. Now?”

“Yep.”

I grabbed her by the waist and launched us out of the pit with a pillar of earth. Once we landed in the hallway, I rubbed her armoured shoulder.

“Go.”

Yulzi didn’t budge. She gazed into my brown eyes for a long time before tapping her palm against my stomach.

“Friend.”

A bright smile left a faint trail of radiance behind her disappearing back.

“...Why my belly though?”

That was the only thought I had in mind. I shook my head and jumped back into the pit.

“Livil, take me to where I’m supposed to put this.”

“Sure, sure! Follow me, Gerard the Great!~”

Beads of sweat rolled down the sides of my temple at the sight of Livil parading around with the Ki Artifact above her head.

“...I miss Byeol.”