Chapter 592 - 592: Turned Into Gacha?! - 592

"Hmm? Lili?"

Following the direction of the flash of fire, an unexpected figure came into view.

No, Furina did remember that was the direction Lili had gone, but it was also the path leading to the floor above. Even if it wasn't the only way through, it wasn't impossible for an adventurer to have arrived from that side and stepped in to help.

However, the girl couldn't see anyone else in her line of sight.

Aside from Gentilhomme Usher—currently locked in a scuffle with the monsters—and Surintendante Chevalmarin, there was only Lili, brandishing a short black sword and pointing it straight toward her.

What kind of stance was that? It looked nothing like proper swordsmanship. Leaning slightly backward with both hands gripped around the hilt, she looked for all the world like someone holding a hose and spraying water.

Spraying water?

That flash of fire... it couldn't have been unleashed by that sword, could it?

"Lady Furina!"

Before the girl could ponder further, Lili's nervous cry snapped Furina out of her thoughts. At the same time, an impending danger instinctively forced her to dodge.

The Orc's heavy blow smashed into the ground exactly where she had been standing.

There was no time to dwell on it. She didn't know what had just happened, but her immediate crisis had been averted.

She didn't ask Lili how many more times she could use that attack, nor why she hadn't used it sooner. The answer was already obvious; such an attack clearly came at a price that made Lili's heart ache.

Otherwise, she would have used it from the start.

And the truth was exactly that. Having instinctively drawn the Magic Sword the moment her heart skipped a beat, Lili felt both a deep sting of pain for the cost and a wave of relief.

This was a weapon known as a Magic Sword, crafted by a blacksmith of at least Level 2 with "Forging" capabilities.

They cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of Valis, and top-tier versions could even briefly paralyze a Level 6 adventurer.

It allowed for instantaneous magic casting without consuming the user's own mana. It was a tool that transcended the user's level or magical aptitude, capable of unleashing powerful spells.

It wasn't limited to the shape of a sword, and one didn't even need to be an adventurer to use it—as long as you held it, it worked.

But high cost wasn't its only drawback; Magic Swords had a limited number of uses. Once that limit was reached, the weapon would self-destruct. At that point, it wouldn't just be useless for magic—it would be a struggle to even use it as a common blade.

Rather than a weapon to accompany you into battle, it was more like an expensive consumable to be used at critical moments.

Pursing her lips, Lili tucked away her precious treasure, which now had only a few uses left, and refocused her attention on the bats regrouping in the sky.

Meanwhile, Furina waded deeper into the swarm of monsters.

She had already steeled herself for the possibility of getting injured; there was no longer any expectation of a "no-damage run." Furina was confident in small-scale skirmishes and duels, but she was acutely aware of her own shortcomings.

She lacked the means for wide-range destruction.

Even though her swordsmanship was incomparably sharp, capable of effortlessly reaping lives wherever her blade passed, she still had to cut down the monsters one by one.

Rather than dragging things out and gambling on whether she could end the fight before her mana and stamina ran dry, it would be better to dive directly into the fray, turning the monsters into her own shields and blades.

Even if it meant putting herself in greater danger, it didn't matter.

Furina set her sights on the Infant Dragon. Given its massive size, if it moved without restraint, it would surely cause a fair bit of friendly fire. Monsters, after all, were not rational beings. As long as she could wound it and provoke its rage, the situation would tilt in her favor.

The girl's figure suddenly accelerated. Stepping with footwork as fluid as an opera performance yet filled with resolve, she charged straight for the core of the swarm—the constantly roaring Infant Dragon.

She slid low beneath the Orc's axe, her longsword slicing through the tendons of the Orc's calf.

The Orc let out a pained howl and dropped to its knees, its hulking frame conveniently blocking the Imps that had been circling to ambush her. Taking advantage of this brief cover, Furina lunged straight toward the Dragon's talons.

"ROAR—!"

Sensing the movement at its feet, the Dragon lowered its head and opened its massive, blood-thirsty maw.

The breath it exhaled left strands of Furina's hair curled and singed, but instead of retreating, she pushed forward. With a flick of her wrist, the Xuanyuan Sword pierced the soft membrane where the Dragon's forelimb met its torso.

She couldn't be sure how tough its defenses were, so she poured every ounce of her strength into this strike. The blade bit through the tough skin, sinking several inches deep.

A deafening howl erupted. Blinded by rage and pain, the Infant Dragon jerked its forelimb up, trying to crush her into pulp.

But Furina had already anticipated this. Using the recoil of the blade pulling free, she rolled to the side, barely avoiding the descending giant claw. Ignoring the crater and flying debris, she rose to her feet and immediately aimed for a Silverback Monkey flanking her.

Her longsword traced a streak of light, precisely severing the monkey's claws. The Silverback roared and scrambled back, only to slam directly into the enraged Dragon.

The Dragon, having already lost its senses to agony, went completely berserk after being rammed by the monkey.

It swung its spiked tail in a wild, chaotic sweep. The sheer force sent a Pig-headed Orc, caught off guard, flying; the moment the creature hit a tree, it dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.

Navigating the chaos, Furina wove nimbly through the horde. She no longer went out of her way to dodge every attack, instead using the Dragon's body as cover, causing the surrounding monsters to be repeatedly hit by their own kin.

Furina, having found a moment to breathe near the Dragon, was in much better shape than expected. She even had the leisure to side-step the Dragon's sweeping tail while simultaneously skewering a Lesser Devil that had leaped at her.

As her blade pierced the Imp's chest and it dissipated into smoke, she saw Mademoiselle Crabaletta's pincers clamping firmly onto a Hard Armored—the one dazed by the bubbles earlier. The creature was lifted bodily and hurled toward another Hard Armored charging in.

The two armored monsters collided with a heavy "clank," sparks flying from their shells. The impact forced them out of their defensive curls, exposing the soft meat of their bellies.

Seizing the chance, Furina covered the distance with a light step, her longsword stabbing out in rapid succession, precisely piercing the bellies of both Hard Armoreds.

The Hard Armoreds let out shrill, piercing screeches, their bodies convulsing violently before they finally dissolved into black smoke.

Above, the Bad Bats let out another high-frequency echo. A sharp, throbbing pain flared at Furina's temples, and her vision blurred for a moment.

Just then, a flash of fire illuminated the scene once more. Lili held the short black sword, aiming it at the swarm in the air. The flames roared, immediately wiping out most of the clustered bats.

The Pallum girl wore a stiff, frozen smile.

At first, her attacks had been enough to make the Bad Bats cautious, but after a few more times, the effectiveness had dwindled. They seemed to realize the bolts didn't pose much of a threat and had gradually begun to ignore her.

Was it a case of "once bitten, twice shy"? She had used the Magic Sword again in this situation.

To say she didn't feel the sting of the cost would be a lie.

As a Magic Sword starting at hundreds of thousands of Valis, every use was effectively throwing away over a hundred thousand coins. Was what she was doing really necessary?

However, Furina saw the complexity hidden within that smile.

Liliruca...

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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL