Danmachi – Infinite Mana System

[Chapter Size: 1633 Words.]
Lucius POV
Dungeon, Eighteenth Floor.

...

...

Dungeon, Seventeenth Floor.

*ROOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!* The giant roared.
Bell and the others were still uncertain about obeying my request.

"Wait, Lucius! If you're going to fight, we can help!" Bell shouted.

"Mr. Lucius, you can't face that thing! We should run for the exit!" argued Lili.

"Please let me handle this alone. You just sit there while I face it alone. I want and expect this!" I said firmly, making everyone stare at me, even Riekling mumbled something like "Heeee."

"Let's wait for him to fight!" Finally, Welf broke the silence, and I thanked him. He was the oldest and the most sensible, so he saw my determined eyes to face Goliath alone.

Still uncertain, Bell walked to the entrance of the room, pulled by Welf.

"You stay there too, Riekling." I said to my goblin.

"Heeee?" He said.

"I know, but this isn't a fight we've faced before. You should stay away because the fight will affect the entire room..." I said and saw my goblin cautiously move away.

With them stepping back, I began to walk to the center of the place.

*Heavy Steps*
*Heavy Steps*
*Heavy Steps*
*Heavy Steps*

The ground cracked with each step of Goliath after he fully emerged from the wall.

"Interesting..." I said excitedly as I looked at the titan staring at me and approaching.

"Let's see what you're made of, Goliath!" I shouted to the huge humanoid in front of me, thrilled.

I drew my sword from the sheath with my right hand; it would be a fight of weapon and magic. I might have an advantage by casting various spells, but Goliath is large and resistant. Continuously casting magic with both hands would only get me killed, as even if I cast it like a machine gun, he will still reach me and attack.

[- STRENGTH BOOSTING SPELL!] A blue light shone around my body.

[- SPEED BOOSTING SPELL!] A green light shone as well.

As my stats entered a degree even stronger than a freshly leveled 02, I shouted again!

[- LIGHTNING SPELL, LIGHTNING WEAPON!] An aura of fine lightning appeared, covering the sword.

Goliath and I stood 10 meters apart, staring at each other; I could feel the tense gaze between Bell, Lili, Welf, and even Riekling. I don't blame them; I'm level 01, after all.

In theory, I would never defeat Goliath as I am now, even though my stats have started to enter Rank SS, but I'm only facing him because I have my advantage in magic!

Then, I felt the vibration in the air, Goliath's arm moved, and he swung it to punch me to the ground. With great difficulty, I managed to dodge, and the ground where I was exploded with the sudden punch.
*CRAAAAACK*
As I jumped in the air, still feeling some of the impact, I quickly aimed with my free left hand at the head of the floor boss. Then, my magic surged steadily.
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!* Goliath roared in anger amidst the flames.

More punches started coming my way as I put strength in my legs to dodge the punches and impacts produced.
*CRAAAAACK*
Dodging that and taking advantage, I cut his arm in the opening.
*stab*
I saw blood spurt out, that is until another punch came my way.

*dodge*

*CRACK*
"LUCIUS!"
"LUCIUS-SAN!"
"EHHH!"
"AHHHH!"
I let out a repeated scream as I was sent crashing into the wall; I couldn't dodge the impact of the second punch, which threw me away. I started spitting out a bit of blood and quickly conjured healing magic, getting back up again to face the titan who, with heavy footsteps on the ground, was approaching me every second.
"DO NOT DARE TO COME HERE!" I shouted angrily as I saw Bell entering the battlefield at this moment. I would never let this fight be interrupted by another, no matter the intention.
"THIS FIGHT IS MINE!" I roared, making the level-two adventurer freeze.
*Heavy Steps*
*Heavy Steps*
Goliath's footsteps began to be heard, with the ground cracking a bit; he was walking toward me with his face a little smeared with burned skin, he was still very angry.
"COME, GOLIATH!" After getting up and making sure the fight wouldn't be interrupted, I challenged him with an arrogant smile, while blood was dripping from one corner of my mouth.
*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
I launched endless fireballs as he ran towards me, trying to crush me with his feet now.
*CRACK*
*dodge*
*stab*
*CRACK*
*dodge*
*CRACK*
*dodge*
*stab*
[- MINOR HEAL!]
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*CRACK*
*stab*
*CRACK*
[- MINOR HEAL!]
The fight was at its climax as the giant tried to crush his opponent like an ant. Lucius was torn between cutting his legs and launching fireballs at the upper torso.

Third Person POV
Dungeon, Same Location.
"Is he really level 01?!" Lili asked, not believing the fight happening in front of her.
"This is really happening, isn't it? He can fight against this monster equally, despite being all battered up. He's casting healing magic endlessly..." Welf said, looking at the fight, amazed.
"Hey, wait! How can he cast so many spells too? This doesn't make sense. Bell gets tired after casting no more than 10 of those fireballs, but Lucius has already cast more than 50, along with other spells!" Again, Welf voiced his thoughts.
"He always said he was special..." Bell said, watching the fight too. He wanted to go in and help Lucius, but he prohibited it. It was a fight that only Lucius wanted to face alone, just like Bell did with the Minotaur on the eighth floor, so he had to understand.
'Mr. Lucius...' Bell thought, about how Lucius is getting stronger.
"I leveled up to 02, but he's even stronger than me and is growing even faster from what I can see. I have to get stronger before our distances only increase..." Bell thought, determined to grow even more after what he went through and witnessing what's happening.
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*CRACK*

*BOOOOOM!*
*CRACK*
*BOOOOOM!*
The room shook with the explosions. Firebolt wasn't very powerful on its own, but a large number of them charged and launched at the same time became a destructive ability.
"Heee..." Riekling spoke next to the group.
"Is your master going to be okay?" Welf asked the goblin.
"HEEEE!" He said determinedly.
"I guess that's a yes." Lili said with a sad smile.

*SLASH*
*ROOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!* They heard the monster roar indignantly and turned to see what happened in the fight.
"He cut and managed to sever one foot tendon!!" Welf exclaimed, watching the fight as Goliath could no longer stand and fell, forcing him to kneel to avoid collapsing directly to the ground.

Lucius POV
Dungeon, Same Place.
Seeing Goliath kneel, I couldn't help but sigh a bit; my breathing was completely irregular. I may have an inexhaustible mana reserve, but still, I can lose my stamina.
"If I didn't focus on increasing my physical prowess, I would be in serious trouble here." Looking at myself, I saw my sorry state. I had dislocated or even broken my arm; I could only cast fire magic with a lot of pain when I forced it to lift. My healing couldn't do much for it yet, so I had to endure my discomfort.
Stepping away from Goliath, my sword began to crack and break; knowing it was useless now, I dropped it and pointed with the still functional arm, starting to launch charged firebolts, which were an even greater concentration of fire if I charged the spell for 1 second. It was a new skill I picked up when I entered the intermediate floors, a very pleasant surprise when I saw it; after a minute charged, its attack power increased 4 times.
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
[- RAAAAAAAAAAH!]
Goliath, unable to run anymore, began to throw himself at me, but I didn't stop launching charged fire bursts while dodging, putting more force into my leg.
*ROOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
*BOOOOOM!*
Then, amidst the smoke and fire, Goliath started to collapse on the ground.
*BOOOOOOMMMMM!*
I could finally kneel down while casting minor healing magic and watched Goliath disintegrate in front of me.
"YOU DID IT!!!" I heard a celebratory voice.
"HEEEEEEEE!"
They ran to me to celebrate my victory; the fight took a total of 15 minutes.
"I still can't believe it, you scoundrel!" Welf said, smiling with pride.
"Mr. Lucius is really strong!" Lili couldn't help but confirm.
Taking the water Riekling handed me, I drank relieved, that finally my boss mission was completed with so much risk. But I wouldn't care about the message that appeared in front of me now; I want a bed first, as I've never exhausted myself so much in a dungeon fight since my memories returned...
So, we finally departed; after picking up Goliath's crystal, I was limping a bit and still had an exhausted face and a hanging arm, where the healing took a while to take effect.

Third Person POV
Dungeon, Same Location.
On the other side of the room, shadows revealed themselves watching the group leave.
"It was him, wasn't it?" said an incredulous male voice.
"No doubt." said a female voice.
"I wonder how Lucius-kun, who was that failure, became so strong!?" said a frustrated third voice.
"I don't know, but it seems he joined another family, and it looks like he's with that new rookie, record-breaker, The Rookie." Another female voice spoke.
"Interesting... we should inform our God about this." said a fifth male voice.
After that, they disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, without anyone noticing their presence.

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