Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 191 Senis

Continue along the path, taking a short rest along the way, and then break through the large room filled with Crimson Spiders.

When faced with a large number of enemies, the Yue people will use ice magic to freeze them, and then use wind magic to turn them into dust.

He's recently taken a liking to this move.

Using magic in such terrain requires careful consideration. Fire magic is forbidden, as it may cause carbon monoxide poisoning; attacking the top is also inadvisable, as it can easily cause collapse; and water magic should be avoided as it will render the ground unusable for movement...

The first level ends in a room filled with spider nests, with two magic circles side by side at the depths.

It looks larger and darker than any magic circle we've seen before.

Based on his understanding of the transfer magic circle, Yue Ren clearly knew which one was the real magic circle that would transport him to the next level.

If someone without relevant knowledge comes here, they are likely to make the wrong choice.

Step onto the magic circle.

Starting from the second layer, the small spiders on the ground disappeared, the spider nests also decreased significantly, and the soil on the ground was finally exposed.

However, what replaced them were giant steel caterpillars—"steel crawlers"—that began to appear everywhere.

This steel reptile, which is one meter tall and two meters long, gives people a short, stout impression.

It is as sturdy and tenacious as it appears, yet its movements are surprisingly agile.

This speed is more reminiscent of a centipede than a caterpillar.

Furthermore, the Steel Crawler and the Crimson Spider seem to be allies, with the Steel Crawler acting as a shield in front while the Crimson Spider hides behind and attacks with its sticky spider silk.

Once entangled in spider silk, one will suffer the ravages of a steel reptile that may weigh up to a ton.

The combination of different monsters can often produce unexpected results, making it doubly troublesome for invading adventurers. This is also a problem that needs to be faced when conquering dungeons.

However, with the Yue people's ice spike Gatling gun, his firepower was obviously superior, and he easily passed the level.

There are three types of enemies on the third floor. In addition to the Crimson Spider and the Steel Crawler, there is also the Mad Skull.

The Mad Skull is an A-rank monster.

It appears as a headless mud giant, about 2.5 meters tall, and also incredibly wide, giving it a solid and sturdy appearance.

A skull is buried in his chest; that's his weakness.

However, these are not the reasons why Crazy Skull was rated A.

It's not because this guy is able to lead a group of low-intelligence monsters, including a Crimson Spider and a Steel Reptile, as his servants.

Although it resembles a golem in appearance, the Mad Skull possesses a high degree of intelligence. It can form a formation with steel reptiles as the vanguard, crimson spiders as the center, and itself as the rearguard to attack enemies, making it a commander-type monster.

Crazy Skull is very afraid of water because its body is made of mud, and too much water will cause the mud to be lost.

Or you could use fire; as long as the mud dries, that thing won't be able to move.

For the Yue people, fire is their forte.

Fourth floor.

The spider has disappeared, and a new monster has appeared—an armored monster with four arms is gradually approaching.

It is "Armored Warrior".

These armored monsters seem to be considered undead.

In this world, the spells effective against undead monsters are Divine Strike and Rock Attack.

If you throw a large, heavy rock projectile at the opponent, you can usually shatter them into pieces with one shot. Rudeus should be well-suited to deal with this thing.

Yue Ren didn't intend to use magic, not because his rock magic was bad—he had emptied Rudeus's coffers during their previous journey—but because the armored warrior knew the Water God Style swordsmanship, and he wanted to give it a try.

Water God Style... a very interesting school of swordsmanship that focuses on neutralizing attacks and counterattacking when the opponent has an opening.

Moreover, for some reason, these techniques are also effective against magic, so sometimes when a mage rashly uses attack magic against a master of the Water God style, it might be directly deflected, which is simply absurd.

Moreover, this humanoid monster wields four swords, making it a monster that even elite adventurers find extremely difficult to deal with.

Armored monsters are strong and highly skilled with swords, but they are slow-moving. In addition, because their armor is heavy, they can easily get stuck in the mud.

He summoned his weapon and stepped forward to fight. He could clearly feel that the other party was using his fighting spirit in combination with a special kind of skill to try to neutralize and counter his moves. However, unfortunately, the other party's swordsmanship was not good enough. According to the standards of this world, it was at most a superior level of swordsmanship, which was not enough to cause trouble for Yue Ren.

Once their methods were figured out, they were easily cut into several pieces.

Starting from the fifth floor, in addition to the Mad Skull and Armored Warrior, the Gluttonous Demon also appears.

A demon with a huge mouth and sharp teeth, long arms and legs, and sharp claws that can climb to the ceiling.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be very similar to the alien from a certain work.

The Yue people, who had been terrified by this thing when they were young, would not let go of this perfect opportunity. They even abandoned the use of magic and dismembered it one by one to avenge their hatred.

The sixth floor was full of these things. After killing a few to satisfy my craving, I used a large-scale freezing spell to wipe them all out.

At the deepest part of the sixth floor, in the room leading to the magic circle, lies the lair of the Gluttonous Demon.

The room was crammed with gluttonous demons, and there were countless eggs in the corners.

The slender, black, slimy demon egg looks very much like the egg of some elusive black insect, and it sends chills down the spine of ordinary people just by looking at it.

Yue Ren frowned slightly, then without hesitation, he immediately unleashed a large-scale frost spell, causing these unborn monsters to vanish into nothingness once more.

The next location was a spacious stone room.

The layout is square, with a magic circle near each wall that does not face the entrance, and nothing else in sight.

"That's really quite perverse. Are all maze designers like this?"

This question arose in the minds of the Yue people.

By switching magic eyes, it became clear that the magic circle that actually led to the next level was not one of the two chosen in front of them, but seemed to be in another hidden door on the ground.

Isn't this just setting a trap for people? That's why he lamented the maze designer's twisted sense of humor.

He casually summoned a blade prototype and began tapping the surrounding ground, quickly discovering areas where the sounds differed.

A flash of light, and the stone floor was cleaved in two, leaving a hole in the ground with a loud thud.

With a wave of his hand, wind magic cleared away the rubble, revealing the stairs below.

Upon entering, a teleportation magic circle appeared in the room at the end... Judging by its type, it was a two-way teleportation magic circle.

It seems this is indeed the place, the entrance to the next level.

With such a unique design, is it the last floor?

With this in mind, Yue Ren stepped into the magic circle.

With a flash of white light, he arrived in an extremely spacious area.

A rectangular hall, about the size of a baseball stadium, resembling a palace.

Several thick pillars stood in the corner, and the ceiling was so high that you had to tilt your head back to see it clearly.

The ground was covered with something resembling tiles, each engraved with intricate relief patterns. If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be that it looked very solemn and dignified.

"Whoa whoa...

The sound woke the intruder, who looked ahead.

It was obvious that a monster lurked deep within this gray palace.

A gigantic monster, about twice the size of the red dragon.

Even from a distance, you can see its shimmering emerald green scales, its short and stocky build, and its nine heads.

"Nine-Headed Dragon"

But it doesn't matter. What truly attracts Yue Ren's attention is the deepest part of the room behind it, which it guards.

There was a magic crystal, an exaggeratedly large, green magic crystal.

It is about two meters tall and shaped like a crystal pillar.

However, this doesn't matter; size is completely irrelevant.

Most importantly, inside the magic crystal... a completely naked woman is being sealed inside.

He didn't recognize that face, but it seemed somewhat familiar... Rudeus, could it be!

The Yue people thought of a possibility.

Could she be Senes, Rudeus's mother who was teleported away?

Unlike Lilia, whom I rescued in the Kingdom of Xilong, Senis is Rudeus's real mother, the mother who gave birth to Rudeus's body. I promised to help find her, and yet she's here.

Whether it is or not, we'll know once we actually get to know it.

Without hesitation, he summoned "Abyss Rainbow" and charged forward.

"Ice Strike"

As he sprinted forward, he extended one hand forward, and the cold air condensed into a block, flying towards the nine-headed dragon at the speed of a sonic boom created by breaking through the air.

grumble--!

However, before it hit, a screeching sound like glass being scraped was heard.

"Were you bounced off?"

The nine-headed dragon did not dodge; it should have hit the target, and it should have been a direct hit.

However, the nine-headed dragon stood calmly, as if nothing had happened, and remained unharmed.

Is it immunity magic? No, the effect is more like absorption. In that case, let's use melee attacks.

In the blink of an eye, the situation was analyzed, and Yue Ren swung his sword with one hand.

The nine-headed dragon twisted its neck like a snake to meet the Yue people, who dodged it with minimal movement.

In the next instant, one of the nine-headed dragon's heads flew into the air, while the other head that missed the Yue man was already decapitated.

One!

Next, Yue Ren's figure flickered, a flash of white light appeared, and the other head of the nine-headed dragon spat out blood and severed instantly.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!"

In the blink of an eye, the nine-headed dragon had lost two heads, and the intense pain caused the remaining heads to let out miserable roars.

Enraged by this humiliation, the dragon twisted its other heads, surrounding the Yue people from all sides.

The latter remained unmoved, and with a few backhand swings of his blade, three more heads were severed.

Now the guy finally realized that the "ant" in front of him was not to be trifled with, and fear appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, it seems you're quite intelligent."

As they were talking, another strange thing happened: the incision that had severed the head began to bulge and elongate, with flesh emerging to form a head, which gradually healed.

This guy has been reborn.

It seems that simply cutting off its head is not enough to inflict effective damage.

"I see. Hmm, you are indeed qualified as the floor master. Ignoring magic and having such exaggerated recovery ability, you are indeed suitable as the gatekeeper boss."

With such insane stats, it's really difficult to deal with a team without a melee main DPS character of similar strength to Rijrud to tank in front of them.

Unfortunately, it is now facing the Yue people.

As the sound of flames burning rang out, "Yuanhong" was engulfed in flames.

"There are many ways to limit regeneration; how many surprises can you give me?"

After saying this, Yue Ren's figure disappeared from the rapidly contracting pupils of the "Nine-Headed Dragon".

Thirty seconds later—

Looking at the motionless "Nine-Headed Dragon" with all nine heads severed, Yue Ren shook his head in disappointment.

Simply cooking it is not enough; its regenerative ability is only so-so.

I thought it would be a great toy, what a disappointment.

Having dispelled his slight disappointment, Yue Ren stepped forward to investigate.

After the nine-headed dragon completely stopped breathing, the magic crystal behind it also shattered, and Senis fell to the ground inside.

The Yue man went forward to check on her and found that she was still alive.

Although he did not regain consciousness, he was still breathing and there was nothing unusual about his body.

There were dozens of huge magic crystals around, and a large number of magic stones that formed the scales of the nine-headed dragon were scattered all over the ground. Deep inside the room, there were also a lot of magic-related items, which could be sold for a large sum of money.

Without wasting any, the Yue people moved it all into their own barrier.

I've already checked them; those are special magic stones that can absorb magic power. They should be able to make some good things as materials.

Then, the Yue people took out spare clothes for the woman who might be Senis to wear, picked her up, and prepared to leave.

After all, this environment is really not a suitable place to check injuries.

The journey back was exceptionally smooth. After all, this maze had already been conquered and cleared out. Apart from some traps, the monsters and such would take at least a year to recover.

Once the Yue people spread the news that the monsters have been cleared out, this place will probably be occupied by merchants and profiteers. Even if the magic concentration here is high, it will be very difficult for the monsters to recover to a certain scale.

Returning to the city did attract some attention.

After all, given his Yue identity, it was normal for him to be recognized on the street with his familiar attire. Under normal circumstances, he would have admirers come to greet him, let alone in this situation where he was carrying someone on his back.

Some sharp-eyed people noticed that the Yue people came out of the most difficult S-level maze, and immediately began to make bold connections.

Could it be that the "Flower Magician" has already conquered the "Transfer Maze," and the woman-like figure behind him is his final "prize"?

"The highest honor for a hero is to win the heart of a beautiful woman"?

At first, not many people believed it, but as more daring people went to the maze to observe, they found that the monsters had been completely cleared out, and the Yue people maintained the habit of not leaving the maze without conquering it.

Such rumors gradually came to be believed by the public.

Within a few days, Yue Ren's reputation soared, and he became a household name in the city.

However, he paid no attention to her at all, and instead talked to the woman he had healed, who was sitting in a chair in front of him.

"So, your name really is Senis Greirat?"

"Yes."