Chapter 111.1

111 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 111

Let’s Defeat The Black Knight!

Haruki got excited to see Karen holding the mask with her two hands as her body trembled.

— She really does seem pleased with equipping that mask, huh?

— Did she want to have a mask that hides her presence!?

— You should have told me earlier!!

Haruki decided that he would give Karen the mask as a gift.

He was sure she would love it.

— Anyway…

Haruki changed his focus of attention.

After being hit by a lightning strike, a thick, smoldering smoke started to emanate from the black knight’s body.

Karen’s series of lightning bolts had certainly reduced its health in a big way.

However, the less health it had, the more the hatred that filled its armor grew.

Even Haruki, who had the advantage of being faster than the knight, couldn’t easily attack the knight.

However, Haruki had seen Karen’s attack.

Haruki couldn’t simply stay calm after seeing Karen’s success, the huge leap in her abilities, and her growth as an adventurer.

“Ha… Haha!!”

— This is good.

— This is really good!!

Her position, standing with her gaze fixed in what would come next.

Her excellent timing, following up on Haruki’s attack.

Karen’s attack had been a beautiful display of power that didn’t rely in a single magical attack.

On top of that, the speed at which she had followed up with her lightning and how she retreated instantly after that.

Karen had definitely turned the tide of the battle.

And even after getting the best possible result, she never let her guard down.

The fruits of her training with Akane were definitely starting to show.

Just as he was impressed with Karen’s growth, something frustrated Haruki.

— She stands out so much! I’m so jealous!!

Haruki laughed fiercely.

As a fellow adventurer, Haruki could only say good things about Karen’s performance.

Haruki, who wished for a strong presence, couldn’t allow himself to remain silent in this situation where only Karen was standing out.

Haruki had seen Karen’s attack.

He had perceived all of it.

Then, he would…

— I’ll stand out more, way more than Karen!!

Haruki bolstered his focus.

The knight stood in front of him, slowly preparing its greatsword.

Its murderous intent flickered, more poisonous than ever.

In the blink of an eye…

The knight approached Haruki.

It swung its greatsword horizontally.

Haruki avoided the roaring greatsword.

Then went around the knight for an attack.

However, Haruki’s attack was blocked by the armor.

The knight turned instantly.

Haruki took a step back.

Another slash…

And the greatsword’s tip nearly scratched the surface of his mask.

The knight was speeding up, getting closer to Haruki’s speed.

That ability it had to show its full potential when cornered was almost human-like.

— But this is good.

— This is really good!!

“Ha… Haha!!”

His brain accelerated.

His body heated up.

His enjoyment started to surface.

Laughter, laughter, laughter.

Concentrate, integrate, imagine, and assume.

Recall the input image and overlay it on your body.

Haruki had already stored the knight’s movements into his memory.

Stored and understood.

A slight preliminary movement, which was a force of habit.

It would move the tip of its greatsword sideways, about 3 millimeters.

That would be the knight’s cue.

He could tell the angle from the position of its elbows and hips, and the momentum from its knees and ankles.

It was a matter of calculating where such an attack would hit, and avoid it based on that calculation.

He would always get his prediction right.

Everytime he was right, Haruki would get pins and needles in his chest.

The knight was still more powerful than him.

But Haruki was faster.

Therefore, the knight’s attacks could never touch Haruki again.

The greatsword cut through the air several times.

Haruki’s evasion was still at the last possible moment.

But at the same time, there was an unavoidable gap.

To the knight, it might have seemed as if Haruki was walking on a tightrope.

However, Haruki was enjoying it.

It would grow faster in a short amount of time.

Moving at such speed was fun.

Haruki was completely absorbed in his speed.

He thought it would be at the level of Kagemitsu, Shigure, or maybe even Masatsugu.

The top rankers would definitely be able to reach these superhuman levels of speed.

— More.

— More!!

Haruki seemed happy.

The slightest mistake would be fatal.

Even so, Haruki was laughing.

Haruki matched the knight’s movements as he laughed.

— Alright! It’s my turn now.

Haruki poured his energy into his Magic Sword.

The way to pour one’s energy into something was to get the feeling the first time you try it.

Then, the rest was easy.

Just imitate Karen.

That’s all there was to it.

As Haruki tightened his grip, energy flowed into the Magic Sword.

The blade became sharper as if to please Haruki’s energy.

The sword itself would become heavier if it exceeded the amount of energy put into it inside the dungeon.

The actual weight of the sword didn’t change.

In order to hold a weapon charged with energy, one would need to have the same amount of energy.

If you put all your heart into it, your weapon would become too heavy to be able to use it for attacking.

Haruki steadily put his energy into the Magic Sword while searching for the right place to stop.

At one point, the Magic Sword let Haruki know that he had reached that place.

So Haruki stopped pouring energy into it at that moment.

It felt quite heavier.

But that was exactly why it was good.

A blow with this would certainly be heavier, too.

— This is good.

— Amazing!

Haruki’s grin grew bigger.

For the first time, the knight was alert of Haruki’s movements.

— It would have been great if he wasn’t this alert, though…

Apparently, it wasn’t that easy to land a fully-energized attack.

However, Haruki wasn’t disappointed.

His preparations were almost done.

Haruki approached using his Shukuchi.

His short sword flashed on the knight’s chest, who couldn’t match his movement quickly enough.

But the knight dodged the hit.

Then, it counterattacked.

Haruki had no room to avoid it.

Esta jumped from Haruki’s waist and collided with the greatsword again.

At that moment…

The knight’s greatsword sustained so much damage at its base that it broke in two.

The knight seemed upset about having lost its weapon.

It didn’t have a face, or even a head for that matter.

But its humanlike aura was shaken on a grand scale.

The knight wouldn’t have expected his weapon to be destroyed at the moment Haruki stabbed at it.

However, Haruki had predicted that that would happen.

That was because not only Rhea, Karen, and himself, but also Esta… all of them were wearing themselves out during the battle.