Days of Dungeon: From Simple Quest to Strange Adventure

A warrior, even taller than Arezu, wielded a spear in his left hand and a far larger, heavier lance in his right. Both weapons glowed with intricate bluish-green crystals, shining like beacons in the darkness—that was who the Crystal Blade adventurer once was.

The Visage took its stance, brandishing the weapon in its left hand to imbue mana into it and activate its combat skill, Ballista, before throwing the spear.

In the blink of an eye, the glowing spear shot forth at blinding speed, crossing the few dozen meters between the Visage and Arezu's group. But the Visage failed to hit its target.

Arezu leapt backward and caught the destructive spear mid-air. The overwhelming force pushed him back, yet he landed on both feet and steadied himself before colliding with the wall of trees behind him.

The spear in Arezu's right hand vibrated, releasing a screeching sound—as if screaming in pain—as all its contained force was unleashed.

"So she really is a Visage of your Envy," Brandon murmured, watching Arezu perform the same technique as the Dungeon Master of Crystal Mirror Dungeon—catching a spear mid-air, thrown with an advanced combat skill—so flawlessly, as though he had done it a thousand times before.

Arezu spun the spear in his hand, overpowering the force the Visage had imbued into it and taking full control of the weapon. He took his stance, brandished the weapon to extend his mana into it, and activated his combat skill the moment he threw the spear—

'Ballista'

—challenging the Visage of the Crystal Blade adventurer.

The Visage deflected the spear with a swing of its lance, causing the warehouse behind it to crumble upon impact.

"I'll hold him off. You all go and find where the Dungeon Core is," Arezu said as he walked past everyone, spinning his already cracked halberd-axe with both hands to gauge its remaining durability.

"Then I'll fight with you—"

"No."

Arezu flatly refused Lynn's offer to help, then looked at her with a wistful smile and told her why.

"I need you to do something I'm not capable of… Please, save everyone, Lynn."

If there was one thing Arezu was sure about Lynn—aside from her audacity to be rude, her vanity in being overly proud of herself, and her hidden good nature—it was that she was far more capable than she let others see. After all, she bore the same eyes as the person he admired.

Lynn understood Arezu's resolve, and even though she didn't want to leave his side—

"Don't you dare do anything stupid until I get back, Mr. Arezu!"

—she shouted in frustration before running ahead, leading her group toward the town square to search for the hidden Dungeon Core.

"Mhm—" For a moment, Arezu felt like saying the rest of that familiar phrase, grinning at the nostalgic memory. Though, that would be rather inappropriate.

"0201"

Those words again, Lynn thought, hearing Arezu mutter the incomprehensible phrase she couldn't understand.

To Lynn, it may have sounded like gibberish. Yet to Arezu, it meant he would fight not only with his own strength but also by borrowing the strength of his fallen comrades.

Arezu vanished from where he stood, rushing toward the Visage in an instant to prevent it from chasing Lynn and the others.

'Cleave'

He swung his weapon, activating his combat skill, aiming to break the less durable lance of the Visage. But his halberd-axe didn't have much durability left either, as the cracks on its blade grew larger with each clash.

A battle between a halberd-axe wielder and a lancer—both weapons massive and heavy, unsuited for close-quarter combat—yet both fighters wielded them skillfully, aiming to overwhelm and defeat the other.

Arezu spun his halberd-axe, retaining as much momentum as he could after every strike, letting it build up to increase both the speed and power of his next attack.

Each strike of his weapon that hit the ground shattered the stone road, creating large craters.

Each slash the Visage dodged unleashed a cleaving aura that cut through the buildings around them.

Although Arezu fought at a level that could match a gold-rank warrior, the Visage of the Crystal Blade didn't falter either. It wielded its lance with deadly precision, determined to prove its rank and title.

Each swing of its lance that Arezu blocked sent shockwaves reverberating through the air, damaging him from the impact even when he wasn't directly hit.

Each thrust he evaded released a piercing aura that bored large holes through the surrounding walls.

As their fight continued, the intensity of their attacks grew even more powerful.

Every strike that hit the ground caused tremors that could be felt throughout the central district and the town square.

Every shockwave reverberated through the air with an explosive sound that echoed across the entire town.

The cleaving aura shredded the buildings around Arezu and the Visage, while the piercing aura obliterated the remaining debris and rubble.

Every attack the Visage unleashed with its lance—though Arezu blocked and evaded them—still caused internal damage due to the relentless shockwaves.

Yet every strike and slash from Arezu's halberd-axe that the Visage deflected caused new cracks to spread along its lance.

If Arezu could break the Visage's lance before his body gave out, it would be his victory.

He spun his halberd-axe, building up speed and power to unleash one final attack—one that would shatter both his opponent's weapon and his own.

With one powerful swing, Arezu unleashed four consecutive strikes, as if four halberd-axes had manifested at once, all crashing against the Visage's lance as it tried to block. And just as he had planned from the very start, he broke his opponent's weapon—along with his own.

Arezu had won. Now, all he had to do was keep the Visage occupied until Lynn found the Dungeon Core and destroyed it, saving the townsfolk and everyone from the Annual Caravan.

Or so Arezu thought.

The Visage grabbed the crystal blade of its broken lance before it hit the ground, then lunged at Arezu, aiming for his heart.

With the damage the Visage's body had taken from the shockwaves of both their attacks, just one final strike could finish it—shattering it into mirrored shards.

Arezu drew his dagger. He couldn't deflect the crystal blade anymore—it was too close. There was no way to dodge, and hitting the Visage with his bare hands wouldn't stop it either. All he could do now was kill his opponent.

But as Lynn had realized—Arezu had never once aimed his weapon at any human opponent, not even at the undead Visages of the townsfolk—holding to his belief that they could still be saved.

"I'm sorry for doing something stupid, Lynn."