Liang Yue ignored the girl's dazed and bewildered gaze, avoiding any escalation of the situation. He raised his blade once more, and with a swing, unleashed a slash that easily cut down the monster.
[Exp +239]
There it is—that familiar feeling!
When he had first ventured into the dungeon, he encountered a Minotaur on the 5th floor.
Killing it had yielded a generous amount of experience points. Now, as he looked ahead, the sight of the countless monsters before him momentarily stunned him.
"Whoa… that many Minotaurs?!"
In the spacious cavern corridor, an enormous number of Minotaurs filled the area. While not quite at the level of a full "Monster Feast," every single one of them possessed stats on par with a Level 2 adventurer…
This large-scale gathering likely occurred after the Loki Familia had been returning from an expedition—and before long, he had stumbled upon them.
From an objective standpoint, Liang Yue judged the fight to be far more troublesome than expected. Yet strangely, there was no sense of pressure.
Instead, facing such a massive number of enemies, he felt an intense surge of anticipation!
A giant pile of EXP.
"Take care of yourself. Leave the rest of this battle to me."
Liang Yue's hands itched for action. He released the white demonic hand that had been holding the girl's waist—though it offered no real sensation to speak of—and drew his weapon in his left hand.
He longed for a battle that would leave him exhilarated, one that would temper his abilities through sheer intensity…
"I want to fight too!"
Using a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the blood from her face, Mikoto drew her katana with both hands, her eyes full of resolve.
Their sparring match last night had made her realize… just how far apart their convictions were.
As for the fact that he had saved her life, she hadn't had time to dwell on it. Right now, the most important thing was getting out of danger.
Noticing Liang Yue's expressionless face, she felt an odd sense of awkwardness, and quickly added, "Thank you for your guidance last night, Liang Yue."
"That's why… I want to change!"
Of course, a big part of her reason was that she didn't want him to end up in danger just because he had saved her.
That was something she could only keep buried deep inside.
"…"
"Um…?"
Her heartfelt words received no response. She looked at his back as he faced the herd of Minotaurs alone.
And for some reason… she felt like his fighting speed was getting faster.
———
The most important thing for a Sword Soul was to constantly refine one's selfless sword aura through battle.
That's exactly what Liang Yue was doing—merging this unique power with his understanding of the Minotaurs before him.
Their strong physiques, their generous EXP drops, and their harmless attack patterns…
They were the perfect training dummies!
What Mikoto had said was, in truth, an obstacle on his path forward. But he couldn't exactly tell her, Please let me have all the EXP to myself, could he?
So the only thing he could do… was go faster!
Keeping his body in peak condition, knowing this was a battle that would push his stats to the limit, he activated his War Enthusiasm magic.
Then, he triggered Flowing Heart.
His aura shifted in an instant. His well-built foundation of stats was now unleashed to its full potential without holding anything back.
Stepping forward, he performed three consecutive advancing slashes, the sword aura tearing through the Minotaur's thick body with ease!
A fatal strike—its body disintegrated into gray dust on the spot.
"Still a bit slow…"
Pursuing a speedrun pace, he kept his footing steady and, instead of backstepping to dodge an incoming attack from a Minotaur ahead, he crossed his blades.
With a flash of steel, a massive arc of sword aura swept out—his own handmade, weaker version of Draw Sword Slash—cutting down every monster in his line of sight.
The stacking effects of War Enthusiasm, along with the surge of adrenaline, let Liang Yue completely ignore his stamina and mental drain.
"Only this kind of training… can really boost my stats."
All he needed to think about… was how to fight.
But for Mikoto, watching from the sidelines, there was a lot more to think about. Her eyes gradually turned vacant.
From their sparring, she had clearly felt his relentless sword path. Even when facing such an overwhelming number of Minotaurs…
He still chose to fight. That was the thing she lacked.
"So… during our sparring match last night… Liang Yue wasn't even going all out?"
"Just how big is this gap between us?!"
Battle techniques flowed endlessly. Using his agility to dodge their attacks, he struck with clean, decisive swordplay whenever an opening appeared.
But what truly shook her was the visible sword aura that ripped through Minotaurs without even touching them.
"Swordsmanship…"
"How… how does he do that?"
Confusion rose in her heart—but more than that, an indescribable mix of emotions.
At last, she understood why Liang Yue had insisted on using a tree branch during their sparring. If he had used a real weapon…
She might have ended up just like these slaughtered monsters.
———
Sensing the Minotaurs' roars—and remembering that Mikoto had said she wanted to fight—a bad premonition wrapped itself around Kashima.
Something's gone wrong!
With no way to contact his companions and Liang Yue having left too quickly for him to catch up, his only choice was to hope for the best… while ensuring the safety of the supporters in the party.
Hurrying as fast as he could…
When he finally found Mikoto in the tunnels, her bloodstained figure made his heart sink.
"Mikoto!"
"Leader, I'm fine…" she turned her head toward him, shaking it slightly. She didn't seem particularly tense.
"That's good."
Before the expedition, Kashima had promised Takemikazuchi that he would protect the safety of the other members.
After confirming several times that she was unharmed, he finally let out a breath of relief.
But when he looked around and didn't see Liang Yue anywhere—and noticed the faint look of disappointment on Mikoto's face—his mood tightened again.
Now that they knew each other, and knowing that Liang Yue had gone to save Mikoto, there was no way he could leave him behind, no matter the danger.
"Where's Liang Yue?"
"…Over there." Mikoto's smile turned a little bitter as she glanced into the distance ahead.
Following her gaze, Kashima was met with a sight he would never forget—
The once-formidable herd of Minotaurs was now in full retreat, scattering in every direction, with Liang Yue chasing them down.
His face stiffened, and he muttered hesitantly, "…Is this…?"
"I'm wondering the same thing."
After a long pause, Mikoto swallowed her swirling emotions, forcing out a strained smile.
"Sometimes… I really can't tell…"
"Which one of them is the monster."
It was hard to admit, but before meeting Liang Yue, their familia's dungeon expeditions almost always ended the same way—
They were the ones running from the monsters.