It was finally time to start a long dive into the dungeon. Bags were packed with enough rations for several days, and the knights prepared themselves, feeling anxious.

Ark didn't enter the dungeon after the first day, so he was behind the others who could teleport straight into the eighth floor.

In fact, the malfunction that brought him to the seventh floor didn't give him the qualifications to enter again, so he actually had to start from the second floor.

His current abilities meant it was easy, though. Traps were especially useless against him, as he detected the intent and breezed through the floors.

Unlike when Silvia and Scarlet brute-forced their way, Ark's approach was faster and easier.

“This is like my own turf.”

He himself almost forgot, but Phantom truly shone against the covert and the unknown.

“Phantom.”

The intent behind every trap was sensed. Not just on the level of knowing the trap's functions, but also why it was placed and what it was meant to test. Information of that kind, that couldn't be perceived with the five senses, flooded into Ark's brain.

Phantom. It's a skill that transmitted intent. Normally, it was used to intimidate monsters or reinforce the realness of an illusion.

Sensing intent? Nope, that's actually the opposite of the skill's functions.

So how did Ark do it?

Was he a genius that reverse-engineered his skill?

No.

Monsters live in every habitable place in nature, but normal wild animals were far from extinct. Despite being preyed upon, animals adapted and managed to avoid extiction by developing keen senses and the ability to detect danger.

For beings without Phantom, the intimidation and danger vibes they emitted were tied to their level of strength.

Ark's first encounter with a B-rank monster, a formidable level, was at the age of eight. From then on, the enemies were increasingly stronger.

Basically, his shitty luck gave him the perfect environment to sharpen his senses, and the mold of Phatom resulted in a quicker grasp of the ability to sense intent.

Yes, it would not be wrong to compare Ark to a weak rabbit.

“Take this, you piece of shit slimes!” Finding the slimes, Ark slashed their cores without hesitation, taking the time to annihilate every slime on the floor.

The comparison is correct, but maybe it's better to never mention it.

Ark caught up with the group on the ninth floor. It was midway, so he decided to hide himself and only appeared shortly after they descended to the tenth floor.

“Oh, you guys are here!” He faked genuine surprise.

“Wow, that was fast.”

“So he can really sense traps. We were slow because of them.”

“As expected from the leader, he passed through the slimes without a scratch.”

Hearing the murmurs of respect, Ark sneeked a quick smirk. (Timing sure is important. Let them marvel at my strength!)

“Ark, it's good that you are here.” Silvia welcomed him. “There's something I am wondering about.”

“What is it?”

“This floor...” she side-eyed the others, then whispered, “is big. Also, the mana flow is a bit weird.”

Immediately Ark activated his own senses. The maze-structure of the floor prevented him from grasping the scope, but it was certainly bigger than the other floors but by a huge margin.

“The mana flow, it's carrying intent,” Ark whispered, “one different from the other floors, but... Phantom.”

An influx of information threatened to melt his brain, but Ark delved deeper into the intentions he felt.

Exhaling, he said, “Well, this is utterly boring.”

Walking away from Silvia, Akr sauntered as if he were the king of this place.

“You guys, stick with me,” he said, beginning to synchronize with the magic power of the floor. “Because my way is the royal road.”

Activating Mind Acceleration, Ark took over the magical mechanism this floor was subjected to: a moving labyrinth.

With a smirk, Ark moved forward. It was a relaxed gait of someone out for a walk.

No wall blocked his path. Instead, the walls relocated to clear the way, as if submitting to his will.

It was clearly different from the first floor, where projectiles were showered like heavy rain.

Ark created a straight path, bringing the group to the end.

All the knights were speechless.

The world moved according to Ark's will.

***

“Clarent Style: Heavenrend.”

Ark watched from the sidelines as Silvia and the other knight battled the sole monster hiding in the room beyond the labyrinth—a giant slime with the battle prowess of S-rank.

Tearing the atmosphere, tentacles were severed and dissolved into a watery mucus. Silvia quickly pushed forward while cutting the regenerated tentacles.

Sensing the peril, the slime spat an extremely fast shot of acid. It was incomparably more potent than that of the slimes on the seventh floor, enough to melt skin and bones.

“Gale Shroud.”

The wind swirled around Silvia like a suit of armor with enough intensity to disperse the acid.

However, that was merely a diversion. With the bilndspot created, the slime thrust a spear-like tentacle, hardened with magic power, faster than the speed of sound.

Even from the side, Ark momentarily lost track of its movement.

Silvia perceived the attack too late, barely dodging with her reflexes and intuition. The tentacle scratched her cheek like a razor. Blood dripped.

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“Stop messing around and finish this already,” Ark shouted with annoyance. “We don't have all day.”

The opponent wasn't easy. It emitted a pressure that made most unable to breathe, but Ark seemed to expect Silvia to finish this faster.

And to such expectations, Silvia smiled smugly.

“Ventus Potentia.”

Her genius was capable of reproducing the best wind-attribute-strengthening magic even with little exposure.

Green energy resonated with the silver energy inside her, granting it a metallic gleam.

(Wings?)

The illusion of that flashed for an instant and disappeared after a short moment, but by that time, Silvia was already behind the slime.

Its core torn in half.

Ark clapped his hands. “Good job. Your speed was incredible.”

His immediate reaction broke the daze everyone else was subjected to. They were all mesmerized by the majestic aura Silvia radiated.

A smile blossomed on her beautiful face. “Thanks. We can't have all the burden placed on you, Ark. Especially after you exhausted yourself opening the path for us.”

“So you noticed...”

The words came in a soft murmur. When they entered the room, Silvia shot a glance, asking to fight the slime on her own, but only now did Ark understand why.

Green flickered in his sight, furrowing his brows. “Anyway, turn it off. Conserve your mana.” He gestured.

Nodding, Silvia attempted to cancel Ventus Potentia. However, as seconds flowed by, panic grew on her face.

“Silvia?”

“W-what should I do?” Her voice rife with panic. “I can't turn it off.”

“Yup, as expected.” Ark seemed to have expected this, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Terra Potentia.”

He saw the twitch of pain in her expression. The brown energy of earth collided with the platinum-green energy of wind, the pain going both ways. Even so, Ark pushed forward.

The clash ended shortly; both spells were canceled.

“Let's advance,” Ark called, pointing with his thumb on the staircase that appeared, and walked away.

He knew the others followed him, but ignored them and fell for rumination.

(It was fast, too fast.)

The last move Silvia showed was something he couldn't follow with his eyes alone. He immediately thought of measures to block her speed, but it was a difficult conundrum.

When it came to their full scale of their powers, Ark was using Quadra Elementum Potentia, and as a result, he couldn't use other spells to increase his perception. His balanced physical abilities were ideal in battle, but it meant he would be unable to beat Silvia in speed due to her affinity.

His reaction speed was still superior, but it was possible his body wouldn't be able to move in time.

“In the end, that's the only solution.”

Ark recalled Darius, the Knight of Black. His spirit encircled him like a domain, slowing down everything inside. It was a great power that required a deep understanding of one's attribute and traits to implement.

(Maybe if I use Aqua Potentia to supplement the water attribute...) He began drafting experiments for a later date.

A tap on his arm caused him to jolt.

“Ark, your arm is in a terrible state.” Scarlet came to his side, her face grave.

Seeing the easy-going Scarlet with a serious face, Ark realized his arm might be in that bad of a state. He only now noticed how numb it was, and the lightest tough roused sharp pain.

“Can you fix it?”

She shook her head. “I can heal physical wounds, but you need to do something about that energy. Otherwise it won't end.”

Upon close inspection, primordial wind and green energy permeated Ark's body and tore his blood vessels. It was like a ticking bomb, difficult to detect due to the microscopic scale. Scarlet must have sensed the stir in his blood.

“I recommend holy magic.”

Certainly, that would be an effective measure. But Ark didn't go straight to the healers in his group.

“Can you fix my arm regardless of the damage?”

“Well, maybe if it was your left arm, but the right is... too much damage would make it difficult for natural healing. It may become deformed.”

These were the limits of blood magic. Vampires and dhampirs may have extraordinary regeneration abilities, but their magic was far less effective on others.

“What's special about my left arm?”

“It's as if there is a guideline, I think.” Scarlet gazed at it with curiousity. “Following this guideline, I can perfectly heal it without any deformity. Were you unaware of this, Ark?”

He shrugged. “What about reconstruction?”

“Seriously, don't. Just get rid of that before it ruins your arm.”

Ark hesitated. It was painful, but there was a lot to learn from the resonance of wind energy and primordial wind. Just a bit of research could potentially advance his understanding of wind magic by leaps and bounds.

Also, there was something else. Greed. Fighting to tear his insides, he still felt insatiable greed to keep this power to himself. The thought of ridding of this harmful energy was laced with deep reluctance.

It was his useless greed, as well as his anxiety. He manifested his spirit and focused his senses on his arm.

“There is a lot to be gained. I will take the risk,” he concluded.

The price of his right arm was worth it. Even if not, Ark noticed when he asked about reconstruction that it was indeed possible. Scarlet tried to avoid this subject because destroying one's own arm is beyond reckless.

“I won't say anything, then.”

She was a playful individual who did not fight or hunt. But Scarlet was the healer of the Solitary Wolves. The sight of an injured comrade bothered her greatly.

(So bothersome.) Ark sighed, stopping in his tracks.

He turned around and went to one of the healers from the third order. “Hey, you, can you heal my arm?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, right away.”

Did Ark just show consideration to his comrade's feelings of concern?

(It's more painful than I thought, and it messes with my ability to cast magic.) He sensed holy power snuffing out the microscopic force tesring through his blood cells. (Maybe I could get some stored with my mana... damn, it fucking hurts.)

The answer is no.

“I have finished,” the healer said, retracting her holy power. “However, the damage is severe. You may want to refrain from exerting the arm for a few hours.”

Ark nodded shortly.

The healer smiled at him calmly, but their intent flared inexplicably.

“...Anything else?”

“May the goddess bless you with her presence.” A graceful bow.

Shivers ran down Ark's spine.

(This is exactly the type I hate the most.)

Religious fanatics.

“What's your name?”

“Helena Sinclair,” she said, and the information of her profile vaguely appeared.

('Mildly fervent' my ass, nothing mild here.)

He decided to keep his distance.

***

“Do you see what I see?” Ark rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the bizarre sight that awaited them at the end of the staircase.

A grand hall with five pedestals forming a circle.

Like the legend of the sword in stone, blades were firmly resting in the slots, the hilt comfortably waiting to be pulled out.

“What do you see?”

Ark squinted his eyes. A man stared at him intently. It was suspicious to witness a person here in the deep layers of a dungeon that is currently being monopolized by the kingdom.

Moreover, no one else other than Ark had his focus on this mysterious man. Their focus either lied on the pedestals or each other.

As he returned the gaze, the mysterious man flinched, disappearing like a mirage.

“Nothing.” Ark gestured to the scouting group with his eyes. “Let's check the pedestals. Meanwhile, everyone else can take a short break.”

The stamina of the non-combatant isn't high, and taking mental fatigue into account, their performance will naturally drop if not for regular breaks.

Ark showed consideration as a capable and attentive leader.

(Weakling losers.)

And mocked them every step of the way.

“So, what did you find?” he asked.

“Yes, the mechanism is really complex. We can't tell if it will open a passage or teleport us. There seems to be some language written on the pedestals. Should we send these to scholars to translate it?”

They handed Ark a notebook that copied all the texts.

“Anything else?”

“The blue one reacted to me, and I think it's because I have the water attribute. Oh, but I couldn't pull it out.”

Now that he looked, Ark noticed the pedestals were each colored differently: red, green, blue, brown, and white. The same was true to the hilts of the respective swords, unlike the jet black of their blades.

If the blue one reacted to someone with the water attribute, it would be logical to assume the rest is true for the other swords. The only question was what attribute the white sword needed.

Only one in ten thousand would be born with an attribute outside the common four. It's common sense that natural light attribute did not exist.

So what element was the white sword?

“Whatever, I will deal with that later.” Ark ignored the white sword and went to the red sword first. “Ignis Potentia.”

Inscriptions on the sword glowed red on the black blade, radiating dazzling light. When he pulled the sword out, Ark felt his own body temperature rising. Once beads of sweat ran down profusely, clusters of fire element became visible to the naked eye.

As the clusters coalesced to form wavy flames, surrounding Ark and indistinguished from the red energy of his own spell, it began to feel like the time Liliana's magic power burned him grom within.

This was bad. He tried to deactivate the spell, but his mana continued to burn fiercely.

The less mana he had, the hotter his body burned. Once it's depleted, Ark would burn to death.

(Shit! To think I would have the same problem Silvia had a second ago.)

In a matter of seconds, he was left with a tenth of his mana. With how meager his magic power was, he had barely a second. Finally regaining his senses, he dropped the sword and dashed away.

“Let's be more careful going forward,” Ark said.

However, there was no answer.

Even before turning around, the silence of sounds and intent was already making it obvious.

He was alone, teleported again into an unknown space.

The words inscribed on the wall were of the same foreign language, but the intent behind the words contained the meaning.

Test of Firepower. To return, clear the test and score 10,000 in a single magic spell.

Snorting, Ark eyed the target like a wall of old sheet, ready to shatter at the faintest touch.

“This is gonna be easy.”

Yeah, right.