Chapter 203: Your Sword... It’s Truly Beautiful

Jake slowly lowered his fist as the remaining red aura crackled around his arm.

Yet instead of looking satisfied, his brows remained slightly furrowed.

Something about Samu’dra’s reaction before bothered him.

...But this wasn’t the time to think about it as Aria was still surrounded.

Jake immediately turned his attention toward her.

Several nagas were still attacking her from every direction, forcing her to constantly swing her sword just to keep them at bay.

Jake’s eyes narrowed.

Without wasting another second, he pushed off the ground.

BOOM!

His body shot forward like a bolt of lightning, leaving a trail of red aura behind him.

The nearest naga didn’t even have time to react before Jake appeared beside it and slammed his fist into its head.

BAM!

The impact sent its body flying sideways.

Before it could even hit the ground, Jake had already reached the next one and drove his fist straight into its chest.

BOOM!

The naga was sent tumbling across the cavern.

Another naga suddenly lunged toward Aria from behind, but Jake appeared between them before it could reach her.

His arm swept across with terrifying speed.

SLASH!

A concentrated blade of red aura tore through the naga, dropping it instantly.

Aria looked toward him with brightened eyes.

"Jake!"

"Don’t worry."

Jake stepped forward as his red aura flared around his body.

"I’ll take care of these."

The remaining nagas hesitated, but then Jake disappeared.

BOOM!

He tore through the group in a blur of red light.

One naga was punched into the ground, while another was struck across the jaw and sent crashing into the cavern wall.

A third tried to attack Jake from above, but he leaped up and drove his fist straight through its guard before sending it crashing back down.

BOOM!

CRACK!

THUD!

Within moments, the nagas that had been attacking Aria were scattered across the ground.

The remaining nagas finally realized what had happened.

Their leader had been defeated, and now another terrifying opponent had joined the battle.

The hunger that had driven them forward moments ago was suddenly replaced by instinctive fear.

One of the nagas slowly backed away.

Then another followed.

A third finally turned around and rushed toward one of the tunnels leading deeper into the cavern.

That was all it took.

The remaining nagas immediately broke apart and scattered in every direction, rushing toward the various tunnels surrounding the cavern as they desperately tried to escape.

Some didn’t even bother looking back.

Within seconds, the cavern that had been filled with their roars and furious attacks became strangely quiet.

Jake watched them disappear into the darkness, but he didn’t bother chasing them.

There was no need as their leader had been defeated, and their will to fight had completely collapsed.

Jake then turned toward Aria.

"Are you alright?"

Aria calmly nodded and gave him a soft smile.

"I’m fine."

Jake gave a small nod back before turning his gaze toward the other side of the cavern.

Samu’dra was still there.

And that was the real threat.

But then Jake’s expression suddenly tightened, and his hand moved to his abdomen.

Even though he was still standing, the pain from the previous attack hadn’t disappeared.

"Ugh..."

Jake rubbed the spot where the greatsword had struck him.

The armor he had created had absorbed most of the impact, but the remaining force had still traveled through it and into his body.

Aria noticed his movement and asked worriedly, "You were injured? Is it serious?"

"It’s... nothing serious."

Jake looked down at his abdomen and saw a faint purple bruise was already forming beneath his skin that traveled to his shoulder.

"I managed to block the attack, but that thing’s strength is ridiculous."

In the instant before Samu’dra’s attack landed, Jake had realized there wasn’t enough time to properly adjust his stance and use his sword to block it.

Trying to reposition the sword would have taken too long, and against an attack that powerful, even a small delay could mean death.

So Jake had made a different choice.

He destroyed the sword of light.

Then, using Lightshaping, he immediately created the plate around his body.

Lightshaping could only maintain one object at a time.

That limitation had seemed inconvenient when Jake first discovered it, but he was beginning to realize that it could also be used to his advantage.

Instead of trying to repair or reposition an existing object, he could simply destroy it and create something completely different whenever the situation demanded it.

And he could create that object anywhere around his body as long as he reacted quickly enough.

This time, Jake had deliberately shaped the object differently from his sword.

He vaguely remembered some of the basic principles of protective equipment from his old world, including something he had learned in one of his classes.

Making something extremely hard didn’t necessarily mean it would absorb an impact well.

If a rigid material took a powerful blow without being able to distribute the force, much of that energy could still pass straight through it.

That was why real protective equipment often used multiple layers and structures designed to spread and absorb impact.

The outer surface took the initial hit and spread the force across a wider area, while the structure underneath absorbed as much of the remaining energy as possible.

Jake had used the same basic idea when shaping his plate.

He made the outer surface incredibly durable while giving the interior enough flexibility and structure to disperse the force of the impact.

It wasn’t perfect.

The plate had still been damaged, and Jake’s abdomen and neck was still hurting.

But considering the force behind Samu’dra’s attack...

’It worked... somewhat.’

Jake took a slow breath before looking ahead.

Then his eyes narrowed.

From within the lingering dust, a massive figure slowly emerged.

...Samu’dra.

The giant naga stepped out of the crater, dragging his greatsword behind him.

But Jake immediately noticed something.

Samu’dra wasn’t unharmed either.

The thick scales across his chest had been badly damaged, and part of his chest was visibly caved inward from the force of Jake’s punch.

Right now, blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth and dripped down his chin.

Yet despite his injuries... Samu’dra was smiling.

His single eye remained fixed on Jake with an intense excitement that made Jake’s expression grow more serious.

The naga was standing there with blood running down his chest, yet he looked as if he couldn’t have been happier.

Jake couldn’t help but admire the monster standing in front of him.

Even after taking a direct hit from his aura-enhanced punch, combined with his superhuman strength, Samu’dra was still standing.

Jake understood precisely why that punch had inflicted such significant damage.

It wasn’t merely due to him putting more force behind it.

The crimson aura enveloping his body wasn’t solely an energy enhancement; it possessed the ability to penetrate.

That was something Jake had come to understand after reaching Elite Class and gaining Aura Perception.

Before that, he had only known that aura could strengthen his body and attacks.

Now, he could actually perceive how it interacted with an opponent’s body.

Instead of stopping at the surface, the aura could force its way through an opponent’s defenses and carry part of the impact deeper inside.

That was what made it so dangerous.

Normally, a powerful physical attack would first have to break through an opponent’s scales, armor, or hardened body before the force could reach their flesh.

But Jake’s aura could bypass part of that protection.

It seeped through the point of impact and struck what was underneath.

His physical strength provided the overwhelming force, while the red aura pushed past Samu’dra’s scales and carried that force deeper into his body.

That was why the punch had caused so much damage.

To be honest, even Jake wasn’t sure he would still be standing if he had taken an attack like that directly.

Jake immediately glanced toward Aria with a serious expression.

"Stay back."

Aria looked at him for a moment before giving a small nod.

She understood the situation very well.

"Becareful."

Jake turned his attention back to Samu’dra.

The red aura around his body began to flare again.

At the same time, he raised one hand as light gathered around his palm and rapidly took shape.

In the blink of an eye, a familiar sword of light formed in his grasp.

Jake tightened his grip.

’Alright.’

He lowered his body slightly, preparing to rush forward.

But then—

Samu’dra’s massive body suddenly swayed.

Samu’dra tried to take another step, but his enormous body barely moved before his legs suddenly gave out.

THUD!

The giant naga collapsed forward.

His massive body slammed into the ground hard enough to shake the cavern, sending dust erupting into the air around him.

Jake’s eyes widened.

He stared at the motionless naga in disbelief.

A moment ago, Samu’dra had still been standing there, grining and smiling as if he could continue fighting.

And now... he had simply collapsed.

Jake lowered his sword slightly.

"...Did he just faint?"

Aria also stared at Samu’dra.

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.

Jake’s expression slowly became strange before he released a small breath.

But even as he watched the naga’s motionless body, he could still sense a faint presence coming from him.

Samu’dra was still alive.

’Looks like we’re both in worse shape than we thought.’

It seem Samu’dra hadn’t been pretending to be tough.

He had genuinely pushed himself until his body could no longer move.

And somehow...

That made Jake respect him even more.

But respect didn’t change the situation.

Jake slowly walked toward the fallen naga, each step echoing quietly across the cavern floor.

When he reached Samu’dra, he stopped beside the massive body and looked down at him.

"..."

For a moment, Jake simply stood there.

He couldn’t deny that he respected this monster.

Samu’dra had fought him head-on without hesitation, endured his attacks, adapted to his fighting style, and even forced Jake into dire situations.

Even when Aria was nearby, Samu’dra had never tried to use her as a distraction or interfere with the duel.

He had simply focused on Jake and fought him fairly, as if nothing else in the cavern mattered.

For a monster like Samu’dra, that almost felt... honorable.

It was strange, but Jake couldn’t help but respect him for it.

It had been a battle that Jake knew he would remember for a long time.

But... respect didn’t change reality.

They were enemies, and if Jake left Samu’dra alive, there was no guarantee that the naga wouldn’t recover and come after them again.

Only one of them would walk out of this cavern alive.

Jake slowly raised his sword of light, allowing the brilliant blade to point toward the ceiling as his expression gradually became calm.

He looked at Samu’dra one last time.

"...Sorry."

His voice was quiet as he tightened his grip around the sword.

"Your sword... it’s truly beautiful. I really would’ve liked to fight you again."

Jake took a slow breath and forced those thoughts aside.

Then, without any further hesitation, Jake brought the sword down toward Samu’dra’s head.