Chapter 35: Draw Your Sword? Crafting an Illusory Sword Dance by Hand!

The adventure instincts honed from battling dungeon monsters allowed him to maintain a state of high mental composure, even when faced with a vast swarm of rare Blue Butterflies.

"Rare species..."
"The experience points should be decent, right?"

That was the key. Aside from the Minotaurs found in the middle floors, he hadn't encountered a real challenge during his recent dungeon explorations. Liang Yue hungered for a truly demanding fight. The massive swarm of Blue Butterflies before him perfectly matched his expectations. Even setting aside the experience points for the Sword Saint template, such a large number of monsters would allow him to improve his ability parameters in every aspect.

Moreover... this would be a magnificent and exhilarating feat!

"A rookie adventurer, faced with a massive swarm of rare monsters, fighting with all his might to find a path to survival in a desperate situation."

The only flaw was that he hadn't experienced any high-intensity combat before stumbling upon the Blue Butterflies. His calm gaze swept over the monsters slowly encroaching upon him. He had encountered them a bit too early. He couldn't yet confirm if his stats had reached the current level cap, but he at least possessed abundant physical stamina. Only then did Liang Yue feel the confidence to engage such a massive number of rare monsters!

"Let's try this."

...

He immersed himself completely in the combat state. Fully aware of the specific changes the "Flowing Stance" skill brought to his slashing damage and range, he waited until the butterflies—which were fluttering their wings and scattering scales—drew near.

Three meters.

Holding his breath, Liang Yue gripped his mithril short sword with both hands, interlacing his fingers. This allowed for a much wider range of motion, and as he swung, the sword's afterimage became impossible for the naked eye to track. A sword-energy slash, faintly shimmering with light, cut through the heavy air of the spacious tunnel in a diagonal cross, surging toward the Blue Butterflies.

The airflow generated by the sword energy instantly swept away the scales that the monsters were shaking from their wings, preventing them from engulfing the area. As a butterfly-type rare monster, the Blue Butterfly did not possess high physical defense; its only troublesome feature was the poisonous fog from its scales. The butterflies that entered the range of the sword energy were shredded instantly, dissolving into black dust in mid-air.

"Exp +201"

"The range of the sword energy, even with the bonus from the Flowing Stance skill, only extends to about three meters at most."

Based on the skills provided by the "Sword Saint Template," what Liang Yue was manually replicating was at best a simplified version; its range naturally couldn't compare to the original.

...

The air currents stirred by the slashes carried the butterflies along. Once the air stabilized, the monsters continued to flutter in mid-air, slowly advancing toward him. Having briefly verified the process, he realized that relying solely on "Draw Sword" was not the most efficient method of engagement.

"Illusion Sword Dance."
"Unleash a flurry of rapid slashes at the enemy from a stationary position, finishing with a sharp burst of sword energy that deals multiple hits."

The principle of the skill was easy to understand. With the "Sword Saint Template," executing it was easier, but to perform it manually... He looked down at the short sword in his hand. If he didn't even have confidence in himself, he didn't believe he would achieve anything significant on the path ahead.

Of course, all his confidence was built upon the foundation of his own strength. Standing in a bow stance, he adjusted his posture and breathing. His calm eyes were filled with anticipation for manually executing the skill. As the countless unique monsters closed in, his short sword, amplified by "Flowing Stance," moved with every slash, accompanied by shimmering afterimages.

The speed was incredibly fast—already at a level that ordinary adventurers could not track with their eyes. Liang Yue still felt it wasn't enough; only through constant self-transcendence could he reach the other side of the path of the Sword Saint he had chosen!

—

Lili, a supporter of the Soma Familia, was not carrying the usual giant pack. Her identity in the dungeon today was, strictly speaking, that of an "adventurer." As for acting with her Familia... she was destined to be exploited. However, Liang Yue, whom she had met by chance in the dungeon, remained fresh in her memory.

The main reason was that his perspective on solving problems was just too unique! If she were to encounter a situation where she was being exploited by her Familia, Liang Yue would first try to reason with them. Regarding that, Lili could only feel Liang Yue's naivety. If reasoning actually worked, the Soma Familia wouldn't be as chaotic as it was now!

"Use physical force."

She felt that, as a supporter, she lacked the strength to reason with those addicts. It was the final method he mentioned that had piqued her inexplicable interest.

"The working principle of toxins."

"Blue Butterflies..."
"I remember this type of rare monster is widespread in the 8th floor."

Thanks to her familiarity with the labyrinth, Lili had arrived in this area safely and alone. Her goal, of course, was not those Blue Butterflies, but rather the area where these rare monsters dwelled. She intended to exploit their sensitivity to air vibrations to lure the swarm elsewhere. The brief window of time she gained would be just enough to search for the scales that fell to the ground while the butterflies were in flight.

"Blue Butterfly scales have strong hallucinogenic properties. If the dose is high enough, it should be enough to buy me some time, right?"

Lili's plan was simple. To apply for withdrawal from her Familia, she needed to pay a prohibitively high amount of Valis, and whether she would actually be allowed to leave after paying was still an unknown! A better method would be to secure an opportunity to meet the deity Soma and use the scales to drug the Familia members who were addicted to his divine wine. As for the captain... she hadn't yet thought of a specific countermeasure.

For now, it was best to collect as many scales as possible and prepare thoroughly; if all else failed, she would use the money to hire an adventurer. With this in mind, Lili chose to take the great risk of entering alone as a supporter. As for why, it was because she had encountered them yesterday while passing through the wide tunnel on the 8th floor while being hired by another adventurer. That adventurer lacked the strength to fight them and had hastily retreated.

Today, her journey to this location was quite smooth, as if someone had cleared the monsters just a short while ago.

"It seems... someone passed through here?"

Out of habit, the cloaked Lili hugged the wall, muffling her footsteps as she moved toward the distant tunnel that was slowly aligning with her memory. The first thing that caught her eye was an adventurer's figure that felt inexplicably familiar. Since he was facing away from her, she couldn't immediately tell if they had met before.

Seeing that he didn't have any intention of retreating despite the massive number of rare Blue Butterflies, Lili stepped back to make room for his escape.

"Is this... good news?"
"Once this guy lures all the Blue Butterflies away, it will be a safe environment for me to collect the scales."

Her dark brown eyes were filled with indifference. But when she saw the highly recognizable, unique swordsmanship, the composure she was struggling to maintain shattered the moment she saw Liang Yue's profile.

"...?"
"Why do I keep running into this guy!!"