Boom—!
The ground shattered, dust rose, and strong winds howled. Debris scattered like bullets. With just one palm strike, a deep, massive handprint was left on the rocky ground.
If Eiji had taken that hit head-on, even if he didn't die on the spot, he would have been close to death.
Sword Step!
The moment the giant's hand descended, Eiji activated his Absolute Godspeed ability, setting his evasion speed to be absolutely faster than the giant's palm strike.
Before the giant's black palm could land, Eiji's figure had already slipped away from the spot, moving as swiftly as lightning, leaving behind a blur that was hard to follow.
Thud!
He landed ungracefully on the ground, rolling twice to dissipate the sudden increase in momentum.
But it was fine.
"My legs are okay!"
His physical abilities had improved more than two or three times since the beginning, especially his leg strength, which had greatly increased due to his agility breaking through its limits. This met the minimum requirement for using Sword Step.
With this, he could fight!
Eiji resolutely raised his head and looked toward the giant.
The giant's light gray-brown skin was as rough as stone. Although its legs were short, its muscular upper body made up about 60% of its height, and its entire frame was as hard as steel. A few strands of black hair hung down its slightly hunched back.
The giant, standing about seven meters tall, was completely naked. Its roar was as mournful as a wail, and the sound waves hit Eiji like a physical force, exuding a terrifying sense of oppression in the wide rock chamber.
"Goliath? How could it be such a coincidence!"
The two-meter-high passage was very safe; the giant couldn't enter. Line hid there, looking at the massive floor boss with disbelief.
Goliath—that was the official name of the first floor boss born on the 17th floor of the dungeon. Its strength was undeniably Level 4, far beyond what second- or third-rate adventurers could handle!
"Run!"
Lefiya was so shocked that she lost her voice. Only when the strong wind mixed with dust hit her face did she snap out of it and shout toward the battlefield.
In their eyes, Eiji had narrowly escaped death under Goliath's palm. The two girls' hearts were practically in their throats.
But after a while, they noticed that the boy in the field not only showed no intention of running but instead stood up and faced the terrifying giant head-on.
What was he planning to do?
Was he actually planning to fight the floor boss?
Was he out of his mind?
Thud!
The gray-brown giant roared, then hunched over and stomped the ground with both feet.
As the ground cracked once more, Goliath, with a look of pure ferocity, charged toward Eiji like a speeding train, stirring up a fierce gust of wind.
So fast!
Its momentum was like a high-speed train, and facing it head-on was enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.
But it still wasn't as fast as Tiona.
"Sword Step!"
As the giant moved, Eiji also positioned his katana at his side and activated Sword Step once more.
Clang—!
In that instant, a small black shadow shot out with speed no less than the giant's.
Using his small size to his advantage, Eiji instantly dodged the giant's sweeping palm and drove his katana straight into the side of Goliath's ankle.
In that moment, sparks flew like welding flames.
The exchange happened in an instant, and the two passed each other.
"So hard!"
Eiji's face turned pale.
Upon closer inspection, his arms were trembling violently, and his grip on the katana was nearly numb.
On the right side of Goliath's ankle, a deep cut had been made, and blood was pouring out. The strike had not only broken through the giant's skin but also damaged the blood vessels beneath.
With Eiji's current strength, even cutting through a Minotaur's muscles felt like cutting through rubber. There was no way he could have broken through Goliath's skin defense. It was only the Absolute Godspeed that greatly increased his speed, and the kinetic energy generated by that speed was not to be underestimated.
"Ooooooh!!!"
Goliath let out a roar filled with rage, its blood-red eyes bulging larger than a human head, its face contorted with frustration and anger.
It could sense that this little insect's strength was nothing special, yet it had repeatedly escaped its grasp and even managed to injure it. This caused Goliath's already limited rationality to boil over completely.
Thud!
Goliath stomped the ground again, its body shooting forward like an arrow. It spread its arms wide, trying to grab Eiji with both hands.
It had no long-range skills—Eiji confirmed this.
"And it has almost no combat technique!"
Next, he assessed Goliath's movement patterns.
This monster was simply relying on its overwhelming stats to dominate. Compared to ordinary monsters, it wasn't much different.
It could be defeated!
Whoosh!
Activating Sword Step once more, Eiji didn't run toward the gap between Goliath's hands but instead darted toward its side.
This was a very unwise choice.
The rock chamber was only about twenty meters wide. With Goliath's massive size, even if Eiji ran toward the wall, the giant could catch up in just two or three steps.
And that's exactly what happened.
Eiji instantly escaped Goliath's grasping hands but soon ran into the wall. His back slammed hard against the rock, knocking the wind out of him.
Fortunately, his endurance had improved significantly, and he was wearing armour. Otherwise, that impact alone would have injured him.
But now, Goliath had also turned around, facing the wall. Its eyes glowed with murderous intent, and it immediately swung a fist toward Eiji!
The wind blew fiercely against Eiji's face, making it hard to keep his eyes open.
But he didn't need to see. Guided by his intuition, he quickly darted to the other side of the chamber. The absolute evasion speed of Sword Step made it impossible for Goliath to catch up.
Tap!
As soon as he darted away, Eiji stomped the ground, using his foot as a brake to stop himself abruptly. Then, he spun around and positioned his katana at his side.
Bang!
In the next moment, his figure shot forward like lightning once more.
Clang—Ssssh!
This time, Eiji used up the remaining 40% of his mana in one go, pushing himself to the limit of Lightning Flash, shooting forward at near-lightning speed.
The sound of steel clashing lasted only for a moment.
Then, the sound of flesh being torn apart followed.
"Ooooooh!!!"
Goliath let out a wailing roar, its voice filled with shock and terror.
The tendons at the back of its legs had been severed, leaving its massive body unable to support itself. The rock-like giant collapsed uncontrollably, barely managing to kneel on the ground with its arms.
On the other side.
Eiji, with a breathtaking momentum, bounced off the ground several times before finally coming to a stop after crashing into the wall at the entrance of the chamber.
"Cough... hah..."
Eiji gasped for breath, his eyes immediately checking Goliath's condition. Seeing that it had indeed fallen, he subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
Then he assessed his own condition.
Thankfully, only his wrists and right foot were fractured.
Not feeling any damage to his internal organs or muscle tears made Eiji feel a wave of relief.
***
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