The lizardman's greatsword came straight down at him.
On a floor this high, every one of these demi-human monsters possessed three or four troublesome sword skills. This vicious, brute-force chop was very similar to Falling Leaf Slash from the curved sword category, a heavy, swift strike. But an attack that was straightforward had been predicted long ago.
He merely turned his body sideways, without making any exaggerated evasive movement. The greatsword grazed past him and slammed into the floor, scattering sparks as the sound echoed through the dim labyrinth corridor.
That kind of high-risk, razor-thin dodge gave him plenty of time to counterattack.
The black curved sword he had been holding in a reverse grip began to gleam from the shadow beneath his swaying, ragged cloak. His undisturbed gaze met the lizardman's snake-like vertical pupils.
A violent, ear-piercing sound tore through the air.
He slipped past the lizardman, which stood two heads taller than him. The black blade flashed for an instant, and four or five shocking dark-red cuts appeared across the lizardman's chest out of nowhere. A low, guttural sound rolled from the monster's mouth as it turned and swung at him.
Clang.
This time, he did not choose that dangerous kind of dodge that brushed against the edge of the blade. The black curved sword in his reverse grip pressed tightly against his right forearm, blocking the blow head-on like an arm guard as thin as a cicada's wing.
The lizardman growled low in its throat. Its thick, muscular arms poured more strength into the greatsword, trying to crush him beneath it.
He leaned slightly to the left despite himself. He did not choose to blindly compete with the monster in raw strength, as if comparing whose Strength value was higher. Instead, his right arm, which was blocking the attack, pressed downward and guided the forceful greatsword along with it.
Deflecting force was far easier than taking it head-on. Strength did not know how to turn by itself.
Ssssh.
The black curved sword scraped rapidly along the greatsword, throwing off tiny sparks. Even though this would lower its durability, the deep black blade remained smooth as a mirror.
He stepped forward unhurriedly. The black curved sword had already slipped past the greatsword's defense, its edge aimed straight at the lizardman's chest. The lightning-fast sword skill that had cut open his opponent half a minute earlier was about to activate again.
Six Crimson Scars could leave a scar buff on an opponent after landing.
If a second Six Crimson Scars struck the same scars, the damage would increase sharply. He silently swept his gaze over the crimson wounds on the lizardman's chest, which were already beginning to fade, and prepared to execute it without joy or sorrow.
"Roar!"
At the instant the black curved sword adjusted its edge, the lizardman seemed to sense something. It kicked off the ground with agile force and abruptly retreated, its vertical pupils locked onto him as it watched his every move.
Did it sense death?
He gave a low snort and lowered the black curved sword he had raised, because the dark-red cuts on the lizardman's chest had already faded.
Its companion, another lizardman, had died to the second Six Crimson Scars two minutes earlier.
These monsters had no life. No matter how many times they were killed, they would reset and respawn. Even so, they had been given basic learning ability.
The higher the floor, the stronger that ability became. They could grow stronger through battle too, though only in terms of combat experience against an opponent. Their base stats did not increase.
Of course, after death, the combat experience they had painstakingly accumulated would not be passed on to the next respawned monster.
Even so, they became more and more troublesome.
Having witnessed its companion's death just now, its AI naturally issued a warning.
In a sense, even monsters batch-spawned from the same data had become unique existences after experiencing different battles.
Just like people.
Satoru impassively drove the black curved sword upside down into the ground. The floor of the Labyrinth Tower, which should have been impossible to destroy, was like sand before that black sword.
There were not many distractions around. Trying it again after so long did not seem bad.
Seeing his strange behavior, the lizardman appeared confused. It cautiously shifted its scaly feet and slowly circled closer to Satoru step by step. It had to faithfully execute its highest-order command, to kill any player who came here. Because of that, monsters could not run away.
It saw Satoru close his eyes for no apparent reason.
Once it could no longer feel that cold gaze pressing down on it, the lizardman seemed to lose its greatest source of pressure. As if injected with some wild drug, it let out a low, fierce roar. Its beast-like legs sprang forward, and with its solid base Agility, it reached Satoru in two or three bounding steps.
The greatsword swung down toward the man's forehead.
Then it saw those bright, ferocious eyes.
The learning AI it had been given immediately began operating with absolute loyalty. It started accumulating combat experience against this player.
Then, before Satoru's eyes, his black curved sword cut open a curtain of slashes like exploding stardust. That speed exceeded the upper limit of system assistance.
In the next instant, the sound of collapse and severing rang beside its ears.
From one instant of stillness, he reached godlike speed in the next.
The lizardman's pupils, the ports it used to gather outside information, collapsed almost immediately.
The type of weapon being used. The sword skill activated. The traces of movement. The damage values. There were too many things to calculate. A massive amount of data rushed in from that terrifying slash like a raging flood.
The lizardman shattered while howling, its voice seeming to carry fear.
What destroyed it ahead of time was not the damage value, but the storm of data that overwhelmed its processing ability. Compared to the companion killed earlier, this lizardman had been crushed from soul to shell into nothingness.
Clang.
Satoru's black sword plunged a second time into the supposedly indestructible ground. He hunched over, convulsing and gasping hard. It was as if a tearing pain from within his soul left him unable to stay calm. Every part of his body felt as if it were being pulled apart. He clenched his teeth and widened his crimson-gold eyes.
Everything in his vision was like a dreamlike bubble, both distant and close.
"Hah... hah..."
The struggling gold in his eyes gradually cooled, and his pain slowly subsided.
"Cough, cough!"
He gulped down the false air. Only when the cold breath entered his virtual body did he slowly begin to feel better.
When he raised his head again, only lingering exhaustion remained in his otherwise normal eyes. He swept his gaze around the Labyrinth Tower, pulled out the black sword, and slowly walked toward a safe area inside the Labyrinth Tower.
Only after sitting on the hard floor and leaning against the wall did he let out a long breath, silently watching the lizardman that had respawned not far ahead.
Without a word, he lit a cigarette as a reward for the exhaustion of the day.
He exhaled wisps of smoke. Only then did he have the spare attention to think.
One year ago, on the 36th Floor, Didos had died in front of him before the Forgotten War Statue. But in the end, the one who destroyed him had been Satoru himself. Enduring a burning sensation, he had finally broken through the Forgotten War Statue with one-third of its HP remaining, then pushed open the door as the final victor.
He had only wanted to see that girl once.
But that had also declared to the many assault team members outside that he was a criminal. Immediately afterward, he had teleported away.
What happened after that could be pieced together even from hearsay.
Rumors and negative stories about him quickly spread along the front lines. In the end, the embezzlement he had committed while serving as Vice Commander was also discovered, and he was directly expelled from the Divine Dragons Alliance.
The reputation of that major Guild, which had constantly pushed forward since the start of the game, plummeted because of that incident.
Quite a few players who suffered losses left. Even the Liberation Squad affiliated with them was affected. Players on the middle and lower floors were no longer willing to stay either.
While the exhausted Divine Dragons Alliance struggled to reorganize, the Knights of the Blood led by Heathcliff organized the raids that conquered the 37th and 38th Floors, gradually replacing the Divine Dragons Alliance as the largest raid Guild in the game.
Just as those people had planned, that open conspiracy shook not only him, but the front lines as well.
As for the person at the center of it all, the embezzling Vice Commander, he was fortunate to have relied on the frantic strengthening he had done during that period. Even wandering alone, he was still able to maintain his clearing speed and intensity. It was a choice that piled mistake upon mistake, but it had also been a kind of foresight.
Yurnero became a solo player.
He no longer belonged to the honorable assault team, but his shadow remained in the depths of the front-line Labyrinth Towers.
Some said he was a red player.
Some said he had already become one of them.
Those guesses were half right.
Now, he was.
A red player who hunted red players.
After doing all that, did they really think they could get away?
He smiled coldly.
He dropped the cigarette butt and let it shatter into data fragments, then stood up, intending to continue toward the pacing lizardmen.
But then he received a message.
How rare. The friends still left on his list could be counted on one hand. Someone must have sent it to the wrong person.
He tapped open the interface. After seeing it clearly, he frowned.
"Argo?"
"..."
He shook his head and chose the path opposite the lizardmen, heading toward the exit of the Labyrinth Tower.