Levi was unaware that by using his magic just once, he had revealed so much to the Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
At this moment, with the increased fire resistance from the 'Hephaestus's Blessing' and the shield he had manifested, he could still hold on for some time against the Pitch-Black Goliath's attacks.
But if this continued, his defeat was the only possible outcome.
'I've pretty much figured out its attack patterns. Now, it's time to counterattack.'
Levi thought to himself.
After parrying another of the Pitch-Black Goliath's attacks with Wolf's Gravestone, a thought flickered in his mind. The 2000 ability points provided by Mana Burst: Wrap were instantly allocated to his Agility.
Then, like an arrow released from a bow, he shot out from the Pitch-Black Goliath's blind spot, appearing at its feet in less than half a second.
—Mana Burst - Cryo · Blade!
A torrent of mana surged through his arms and into the two-handed greatsword, transforming it into a frost greatsword over 10 meters long in the blink of an eye.
Subsequently, Levi planted his right heel firmly on the ground, twisting his body with force generated from his waist and abdomen.
He actually executed the ultimate technique of a single-handed sword style, 'Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki,' using a two-handed sword!
Faced with this ferocious attack, the Pitch-Black Goliath wanted to dodge, but as before, its physique was simply too large, and its muscular dexterity was clearly lacking.
By the time it lifted its right leg, Levi's icy Wolf's Gravestone had already completed the slash, severing its right foot and slicing halfway through the calf of its left leg.
"aaaaeeehhhhh!!!!!!"
The Pitch-Black Goliath roared, but having lost its balance, it collapsed forward onto the ground.
How could Levi possibly let such a golden opportunity slip by?
Releasing his grip on Wolf's Gravestone, he leaped directly onto the Pitch-Black Goliath's back.
Or more precisely, onto its lumbar region.
This was where the Pitch-Black Goliath's absolute core—its Magic Stone—was hidden.
As long as it was destroyed, any monster, no matter what kind, would instantly turn to black ash and disappear.
The Pitch-Black Goliath also knew its weakness.
It raised its hands and began frantically slapping its own back, trying to swat Levi off.
But it was obvious...
it failed.
No less inferior to Wolf's Gravestone, and in fact even more stable with its normal bonuses, the Primordial Jade Cutter was retrieved from Levi's inventory.
Next came the same procedure as before.
He imbued the weapon with mana and the ice attribute, giving it the power to pierce the flesh of large monsters.
And then, a move Levi rarely used.
—Hiryūsen!
Using the torque from his waist, Levi flung the frost greatsword from his hand.
It instantly pierced through the Pitch-Black Goliath's abdominal cavity.
But as expected of a monster with Lv.5 potential, perhaps?
Despite such a heavy blow, the Magic Stone embedded within had yet to shatter.
And as time passed, the surrounding flesh was constantly regenerating.
Levi executed Star-Treading Steps, diving directly into the Pitch-Black Goliath's body and switching his weapon to the Lithic Spear.
Then, the spearhead, empowered with terrifying mana and ice-attribute power, directly pierced the massive Magic Stone before him.
Outside.
The Pitch-Black Goliath, which had been roaring in agony, suddenly froze.
The next second, just like an ordinary monster, its flesh, skin, and bones all turned to black ash, accompanied by the clatter of Wolf's Gravestone and Primordial Jade Cutter falling to the ground.
[Levi Bright]
[Lv.3 (0%→100%)]
Levi bent his knees slightly, landing back on the ground.
Seeing the great feat progress bar on his status panel completely filled, he let out a slight sigh.
He bent down, picked up the Primordial Jade Cutter and Wolf's Gravestone, then walked a few steps further to toss a piece of leather and a heart that looked like it was made of red crystal—both dropped by the Pitch-Black Goliath and now exposed in the giant pile of black ash—into his inventory.
Only after doing all this did he run in Tsubaki's direction.
Four minutes later...
All the monsters drawn by the divine aura had been reduced to black ash.
Tsubaki picked up the Magic Stones from the ground, glancing occasionally at the young man not far away.
Levi was taking stock of his gains. Sensing the gaze of the one-eyed master craftswoman on him, he thought for a moment and guessed what was on her mind.
"You never asked before, so I never said anything. The status magic I've shown you many times is called 'The Goddesses' Loving Protection.' As for its specific effect... well, from the name, you've probably already guessed."
Everyone loves gossip, and Tsubaki was no exception.
After hearing this, she first nodded, then narrowed her eyes with a teasing expression and said.
"So, my goddess and you really have a thing going on?"
"We haven't gotten that far yet," Levi explained.
Unfortunately, Tsubaki didn't believe him at all: "Not now doesn't mean not ever."
"I'm completely devoted to Hestia!" Levi proclaimed his loyalty to his goddess, who wasn't present.
Completely unaware that he had, in fact, already been 'sold out' by her.
After picking up the last Magic Stone, Tsubaki stood up, dusted off her hands, and rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, you're the great loverboy, Hestia-sama's number one fan."
After saying that, she couldn't help but laugh. "If I didn't know the name of your magic, I might have actually believed you."
"You..." Levi opened his mouth, wanting to argue further.
But since he couldn't find the right words, he had no choice but to change the subject.
"The Pitch-Black Goliath's leather and heart, do you want them?"
"Yes." As soon as the topic turned to smithing, Tsubaki's attention was indeed captured. "Materials from a Divine Assassin... I've only ever seen them once before."
Levi raised an eyebrow. "When the Zeus and Hera Familias completed the Three Great Quests?"
Tsubaki nodded. "That's right. Unfortunately, back then, my smithing skills weren't at their current level. I could only assist Lord Hephaestus along with the other apprentices."
"Well this time, you can handle it yourself." Levi took out the two items he had just obtained.
Tsubaki raised her hand, about to take them, when the young man's voice quoted a price: "A special price for you, 65 million Valis."
"...[Dwarven Profanity]!"
In the end, Tsubaki grit her teeth and bought the two drops from the Pitch-Black Goliath.
Firstly, the price Levi quoted wasn't actually high; it was even slightly below the market price for drops from a monster of the same level.
Secondly, in Tsubaki's view, Levi was currently the only one who could obtain drops from a pitch-black monster through relatively safe means, and since he was heading back to the surface with her, it seemed he didn't plan on doing another similar hunt anytime soon.
As the saying goes, rarity increases value. She was just lucky to be there for these exquisite drops from the Pitch-Black Goliath. Otherwise, if they were put up for auction, they might have been bought by collectors for a high price, well over a hundred million.
It wasn't that Levi didn't know the market value, but it could be months between auctions.
The return on investment was too slow.
Besides, Tsubaki was one of Orario's top blacksmiths, and he might need her help sometime in the future.
Using two drops that offered him no direct benefit to maintain their relationship was, in Levi's eyes, a transaction that was guaranteed to be profitable.
____
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