Chapter 34: Rare Species Blue Butterfly, Manually "Inputting" Skills!
There was nothing unusual in the surrounding environment, yet a strong sense of crisis enveloped Liam's heart. He felt a slight tremor from the ground.
Almost instinctively, he leaped backward, casually slashing downwards with his short sword.
An unimaginably powerful sword aura slash left a ravine-like mark on the stone ground, sweeping forward with devastating force.
Perhaps it was Liam's illusion, but it seemed as if the sword aura slash he unleashed contained a hint of flowing light?
"Bang!"
Compared to the speed at which the slash swept through.
The monster that burst through the ground to attack the adventurer was clearly half a beat slower, and precisely because of this, it dodged the Backstep Cut attack.
Looking at the small-type monster that appeared before him.
"Needle-Head Rabbit."
"."
The monster's identity instantly surfaced in Liam's mind, no different from how he had imagined it.
A sharp spike on its head, its body like an enlarged version of a rabbit, covered entirely in white fur.
In the dim cave environment, the Needle-Head Rabbit's crimson eyes were exceptionally conspicuous!
"It's actually this kind of monster."
"Compared to the previous areas, the danger level has clearly increased significantly. If my perception were a bit worse, I could easily be ambushed!"
Liam's expression didn't change. His reaction when facing monsters was just a simple sword swing.
His right hand slashed diagonally downwards.
The slash, accompanied by a sweep of rich sword intent, directly severed the Needle-Head Rabbit's body.
「Exp +89」
After its body was severed, the monster instantly dissipated into black ash, dropping a slightly larger, dark purple magic stone onto the ground.
"The experience points are passable."
Deeper-level monsters, with their enhanced strength in all aspects, ultimately resulted in increased experience points.
In a sense…
This could also be considered the law of conservation of energy?
What truly concerned Liam was the Backstep Cut, augmented by the "Flowing Stance" skill effect. Waiting for the dust and smoke on the ground to gradually disperse.
What was presented before his eyes was a shocking sword mark that had turned into a shallow trench!
The attack power was significantly enhanced, and even the attack range of the sword aura had increased.
"Considering the stamina consumption..."
"Very worth it!"
These were the superficial improvements. Liam knew that the "Sword Soul Template" only provided him with a path for growth.
The specific effects still needed to be continuously developed by him during combat!
After encountering the "Needle-Head Rabbit," Liam's attitude during the subsequent exploration process clearly became more cautious.
Monsters that could burst through the ground to attack at any time.
He had to maintain a highly concentrated mental state to be aware of approaching danger in advance.
And the monsters encountered during the exploration process naturally included Killer Ants, a type he had already become desensitized to.
He could already easily cut through their armor.
With the effect amplified by the "Flowing Stance" state, battles would only become more one-sided.
No contest.
As for other monsters, Liam hadn't encountered any yet.
Logically speaking, the danger level of the 8th-floor area should increase linearly. Or was it that his stats were too high, entering an easy mode?
It felt a bit strange…
Looking at the spacious passage ahead, without a compass or map for reference.
Liam's exploration process was relatively conservative. His primary goal was to familiarize himself with the environment. He hadn't yet experienced any high-intensity battles.
Allowing his stamina to remain absolutely abundant.
Passing through a cave corner, he arrived at an open area. Still, he couldn't detect any trace of monsters, maintaining high vigilance.
Analyzing the situation had already become a habit.
Liam looked at the passage ahead and murmured softly, "If it's only this level of difficulty, pushing to the 10th floor shouldn't be a problem!"
"As for deeper floors..."
He would only choose to explore after gathering enough intelligence. It was precisely when this thought arose in his mind. The spacious, open cave passage environment ahead, illuminated by the fluorescent fruit on the cave walls, could no longer be completely lit.
In those areas shrouded in darkness.
Butterflies, their wings reflecting the blue light of the fluorescent fruit, detected the vibrations in the air and fluttered towards Liam.
Their speed was very slow.
But with each flap of the blue butterflies' wings, faintly glowing scales were scattered!
This form was clearly a monster, yet it was beautiful enough to be captivating, to make one dazed…
"Blue Butterfly."
Their translucent blue wings, and the characteristic of scattering scales when flying.
Liam instantly recognized the monster's identity. He had just set up a flag (jinxed himself), and then he immediately encountered a rare species monster in the Dungeon!
His impression of the "Blue Butterfly" monster from the original work was already vague, but since it could be called a rare species, in terms of strength…
It would definitely be trickier than Needle-Head Rabbits!
"."
"Did I just pull a gold card from a 10-pull in the standard gacha pool?"
Looking at the Blue Butterfly monsters dancing gracefully ahead, drifting towards him, this thought suddenly sprouted deep in Liam's mind.
He didn't feel it was dangerous, though.
Utilizing the "Flowing Stance" skill to amplify the range of his sword aura, the process of killing this Blue Butterfly would be easier than imagined.
He gripped the Mithril short sword in his hand, preparing for battle.
Wait for the Blue Butterfly to get closer, hold his breath, and launch an instant-kill offensive. And under the faint light of the wall's fluorescent fruit, what appeared along with it…
Was an innumerable number of rare species monsters behind it.
A swarm of Blue Butterflies!
The scales simultaneously shaken off by their fluttering wings, under the illumination of the faint blue light, were like an extremely splendid sea of flowers.
It made even Liam momentarily dazed.
Of course.
It wasn't the splendid scene before him, but the sheer number of the rare species monster, "Blue Butterfly"!
"?"
"Seriously?"
If just now was like pulling a gold card from a standard 10-pull, the current situation was akin to playing a DNF-like game and wanting to bomb the developers' homes.
Like the feeling of failing hundreds of equipment enhancements in a row?
He felt no joy at the appearance of the Blue Butterflies, because what was rushing to the battlefield next was a massive number of rare species monsters!
How dangerous the situation was.
Liam was, of course, clearly aware. He didn't yet have intelligence on the "rare species" monster, Blue Butterfly.
He had to calmly and rationally analyze.
The Blue Butterflies' attack methods were still unknown, but the scales shimmering and drifting in mid-air were highly likely to carry unknown toxins!
"Then…"
"I must resolve this quickly."
There wasn't the slightest hint of retreat deep in his heart. The extremely vast number of rare Blue Butterflies before him – the experience points from killing them all.
Was enough to drive Liam to try!
The distance was constantly closing, and the Blue Butterflies' flight altitude was also appropriately lowering. Holding his breath, he retreated while considering countermeasures.
He had to use large-scale combat methods.
"Drawing Sword."
It could be said to be the representative skill of the Sword Soul class, but learning it required the panel to reach level 35.
Currently, even if Liam wanted to use it, he had absolutely no chance. Seeing the Blue Butterflies carrying their scales, continuously approaching.
A thought suddenly sprouted in his mind.
"Level isn't high enough..."
"So I'll just manually 'input' the skill?"
The "Flowing Stance" skill he currently mastered could enhance sword aura slash damage and attack range. Maintaining a safe distance from the Blue Butterflies.
The advantage of dual-wielding short swords…
Attacks could erupt with double the sword aura. Relying on the faster attack frequency of short swords, could he kill this swarm of rare Blue Butterflies?
Thinking of this.
Liam felt no fear, but rather heartfelt anticipation. Looking at the monsters, he couldn't help but murmur, "This seems doable!"
(End of this chapter)