Pick Me Up!

“Uwooooo!”

The statue writhed, twisting its upper body.

I firmly planted my feet on the ground and twisted the hilt of my sword. The blade, hundreds of meters long, dug deeper into the statue’s body.

Crackle!

Crimson lightning sparked incessantly across my entire body.

I gritted my teeth until they nearly bled.

‘It’s still… not easy.’

Even though the penalties from Ascend or Black Dragon Scales had vanished, Dragon Soul wasn’t a skill I could use indefinitely.

There were clear limits. This skill amplified the sword’s gravity while requiring precise control on my part to handle it. If I made even a single mistake… everything near Pria, myself included, would be crushed.

The statue staggered and glared at me. Its massive eyes, resembling glass orbs, started to flicker white.

[The Ancient Statue is casting ‘Eye Beam’!]

Bzzzzz!

A blinding light shot out from its eyes, piercing toward me.

[This hero is immune to magic!]

[This hero is immune to magic!]

[This hero is immune to magic!]

[This hero is immune to magic…]

Crash!

The beam merely dissipated when it struck the barrier in front of me.

I sneered and tightened my grip.

With one swift stroke, I slashed across.

Complete dissection.

With a roar that sounded like an explosion, the upper half of the statue began to slide diagonally.

I flicked my sword. Swish. Bifrost instantly reverted to its original form.

“Han, just what are you…?”

“It’s not exactly a pleasant sight.”

I brushed off the dust from the blade.

Pria looked up at me with trembling eyes.

Reflected in her golden pupils was the image of me, a monstrous figure.

“That’s not it. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It was my choice. Let’s save the chit-chat for later. We need to get out of here first.”

Boom!

At last, the upper half of the statue fell to the ground.

A massive cloud of dust rose alongside a pillar of sand.

I swung my sword downward.

The sandstorm that had been sweeping toward us dissipated instantly.

‘…That’s the end of it.’

The ancient statue stopped moving.

On the sand, only its waist and legs remained, left there as remnants.

It had been taken down with a single strike. Thinking back to how I once struggled with a party of dozens just to defeat this thing… its end now seemed almost absurd.

Though the golem was easily defeated, the illusions were not yet over.

I looked down the slope.

A vortex of light was swirling violently.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah, understood.”

Pria grabbed my hand and stood up.

My hand was covered in scales, making it prickly to hold, but there was no helping it.

[Drag and drop your screen! Extend a helping hand to the NPC trapped in the illusion!]

Anytng swiped across the screen again.

[Slash!]

[A dimensional gate connected to the illusion has opened!]

‘I need to end this quickly.’

I clenched my fist.

I couldn’t maintain my Demonization state indefinitely.

I had to break through all the illusions within a certain time limit.

“No, it’s just a bit annoying.”

Yeah, just a bit of a hassle.

I took a short breath and moved toward the vortex of the third dimension.

The sensation of floating, which I had now grown accustomed to, enveloped my entire body.

Before long, I opened my eyes again.

Ding!

[Hero ‘Han (★★★★★)’ has entered the ‘Third Illusion World.’]

[A special mission has been assigned. If the mission fails, special NPC ‘Priasis al Ragnar’ will die. Master, monitor the situation carefully!]

I surveyed my surroundings.

Rippling waves and the sound of the sea.

I had been thrown onto a raft in the middle of a vast ocean.

‘This is it.’

There was still no sign of Pria.

I looked up.

“Is this all you’ve got? Don’t you have anything stronger?”

I smirked.

All that talk about ancient magic and now it had gone quiet.

A grinding voice echoed.

The source was beneath the water’s surface.

Rough waves surged, rocking the raft as if it were about to capsize.

I steadied my sword.

Well, this should be easy.

It seemed I was its target this time.

[Floor 35(?).]

[Mission Type – Subjugation]

[Objective – Exterminate the Water Dragon!]

Roar!

With a roar, a massive pillar of water shot up.

[Water Dragon Kraat Lv. 81]

A colossal, streamlined body emerged from the surface of the sea.

The water dragon, which had tormented me on the 35th floor, appeared, its red eyes gleaming.

Halkion sneered.

I had a similar expression.

I had a grudge against that thing.

‘You won’t be given an easy death.’

Even if it’s just venting my anger, I didn’t care.

I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword.

“Yeah, the hunt begins.”

Boom!

I kicked off the raft and launched myself forward.

The shattered pieces of the raft scattered through the air. I no longer cared whether it was the sea or the sky. I leaped toward Kaat, skipping across the water like a stone.

“You won’t die easily.”

Crash!

I pierced the water dragon’s nape as it tried to bite down on me.

And then, I slashed again and again.

Until the sea turned red with its blood.

“Whew.”

I flicked the blood from my blade.

Far off, Pria, who had been floating on the waves, looked at me with a dazed expression.

“So, what’s next?”

I smirked and looked ahead.

The vortex of light continued to swirl on the sea’s surface. But the light had dimmed noticeably since the beginning. It seemed the saintess’s magic was reaching its limit.

‘I’m at my limit too…’

But I couldn’t show it.

Taking Pria with me, I entered the next illusion.

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