[Ding! Strength +5, Constitution +5, Spirit +5]
[Obtained Skills: Swordsmanship Lv.2, Great Strength Lv.2, Hard Bone Lv.1]
The system's notifications finally chimed in his ears.
His right arm also quieted down.
A surge of power continuously welled up from deep within his body, and his bones underwent a transformation, becoming tougher, smoother, and clean-white.
At the same time, his strength increased by a wide margin, and his soul fire became more condensed and vigorous.
Simply put, he felt his body overflowing with power.
He even felt like he could arm wrestle Pound.
Then, a gust of cold wind blew, and he couldn't help but shrink back into Ilu's embrace.
It's so damn cold. Raising my Constitution by five points feels like it did nothing at all.
Well, he was still the same weakling.
With Li Xiuman's help, the Glacial Seal Sword seemed to sense a familiar aura; its resistance grew weaker and weaker, and more of it was drawn out.
Meanwhile, Keith stood off to the side as if facing a formidable enemy, chanting spells and stacking buffs on himself.
Buffs like Strength of God, Magic Armor, Super Reflex Boost, Super Stamina Boost, Super Defense Boost, Protection of the Goddess of Light...
Every single chant started with “Great Goddess of Light…” “Goddess of Light above…” “Your loyal believer, Goddess of Light…”
Li Xiuman felt that if he were the Goddess of Light, he would definitely give this bastard a slap across the face sooner or later.
Stop annoying me if there's nothing important.
As the buffs piled on, his body began to glow with a kaleidoscope of colors, making him look like a pay-to-win player from an online game with severe light pollution.
It was as if his inventory slot was overflowing with all sorts of flashy gear.
“Whoosh!”
The freezing wind died down.
The ice sword was drawn.
The ice-like blade shone with a dazzling light as Ilu held it with both hands.
The famous sword of the Lantes United Kingdom, the Glacial Seal Sword, was finally drawn.
“My apologies, but this sword belongs to the Church!”
Keith rushed forward, throwing a massive sphere of holy light.
Ilu bent her knees slightly and raised the Glacial Seal Sword to meet the descending sphere of holy light, slicing it clean in half.
Then, without losing any speed, she charged straight at Keith.
Keith reached his hands into the empty air. Holy light flowed into his palms, turning into a massive, shining holy greatsword.
As the ice sword and the holy sword clashed, both of them were sent flying backward, evenly matched.
But Keith lost his composure.
“How is this possible?! Even with that kid's help, a portion of your strength should still be sealed!” Keith shouted.
“That's why I'm using such girly strength right now. I feel completely weak all over.”
Keith: ...
Li Xiuman: ...
Redefining “girly” and “completely weak.”
The two “girly” figures—one man and one skeleton—were left utterly speechless.
“Hand over the Glacial Seal Sword!”
“It's mine!”
The two clashed once more. Their blades collided again and again, sending gold holy light and icy-blue sword qi flying in all directions, nearly tearing the crystal palace apart.
Li Xiuman had to run for his life with his head in his hands, escaping the demolition-site-like scene.
Not long after he rushed out of the palace, the entire structure collapsed.
Then, a streak of purple light and a streak of gold light shot upward, repeatedly colliding with one another.
A fight between gods... Why am I always present whenever gods are fighting?!
Li Xiuman felt like he had returned to his previous battlefield.
Only this time, the guys who had stood on the same front line were now engaged in a fierce internal struggle.
With a massive boom, the golden figure was smashed down from the sky. The holy light shattered as he crashed through a large expanse of crystal.
“Leave. I won't kill you, but this sword is mine.”
“We agreed on a fair competition, and now I've won.”
Ilu descended, resting the blade of the Glacial Seal Sword against Keith's neck.
Both of them had consistently abided by the rule of fair competition.
Keith hadn't used Li Xiuman to threaten Ilu, nor did he strike while she was pulling the sword. In turn, Ilu did not deliver a fatal blow to Keith.
“…How about I wish you two a happy marriage for a hundred years?”
He was instantly pierced through the shoulder, letting out a painful wail.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch... That hurts!”
“My bad! I'm leaving right now! Damn it, Goddess of Light above, she's practically a T-Rex.”
“Kid, take my advice. You can't handle a monster like—”
“Fine, fine, fine, I'm leaving, I'm leaving!”
Seeing Ilu raise her sword again, Keith grumbled and cursed as he made his exit.
Only Li Xiuman and Ilu were left on the spot.
“Thank you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to obtain this sword.” Ilu expressed her gratitude to Li Xiuman.
Afterward, she returned to the collapsed palace and retrieved her original greatsword.
Even though the palace had collapsed, not a single scratch was left on the sword, proving it was also an excellent weapon.
“Is there anything you want?”
“Or do you have any wishes? I'll do whatever is within my power to fulfill them.”
It was obvious that Ilu was in a very good mood.
But Li Xiuman didn't really want anything right now. He had already gained massive benefits from this trip.
If he asked for gold coins or something at a time like this, it would make him seem too lacking in ambition.
“You can take your time thinking about it. I'll wait for you in White Bear City. You can find me at this address.”
Ilu tore off a corner from the back of the map she had drawn earlier, wrote down an address on it, and handed it to Li Xiuman.
“Do you want me to help drop you off at the fifteenth floor?” Ilu asked, gesturing as if to pick him up.
“Wait! There's no need! I have a way back!”
Damn it, what if someone sees us? What about my great reputation?
“Alright, then I'll carry you to a safe spot first.”
“...”
He was still moved while being held in a humiliating posture.
Damn it, this dark history must absolutely never be known by a third person.
Furthermore, being held like this offered absolutely none of the pleasure of being embraced by a beautiful woman.
All he could feel was the painful clashing of his bones against her hard armor.
This wasn't taking advantage of Ilu at all; this was torture.
Once they reached a safe place, Ilu carefully put Li Xiuman down.
After all, she often struggled to control her strength, and since Li Xiuman was so “skinny,” she was terrified that applying too much force might crush him to death.
“Alright then, see you in White Bear City.”
Ilu waved her hand and vanished from sight.
Li Xiuman, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief. Staying with Ilu was far too stressful.
Next up was the main business.
After all, he had promised to help Tedela collect Octagonal Fire Crystals... Wait a minute, shouldn't he have just asked Ilu to drop him off on the twenty-something floor to gather them on her way out? That would have solved everything!
Damn it, I took the long way around.
Li Xiuman felt a twinge of regret. He had had the perfect opportunity, but he hadn't cherished it.
Forget it. He was diving into the dungeon with the intention of grinding levels anyway; relying on an “exploit” like Ilu wouldn't align with his goal of tempering himself.
Spreading his Bone Wings, he flew toward the place where he had fallen. After flying for a while, he reached the cliff he had jumped off from.
Only a few lizardmen were wandering around. The lizardman king and the other lizardmen were nowhere to be seen.
It seemed the lizardman king had already left, only leaving a few lizardmen to keep watch.
If that was the case, he would gladly accept this experience.
Flapping his wings, Li Xiuman rushed toward one of the lizardmen with lightning speed, drew his bone sword from his chest, and stabbed it into the lizardman's neck.
The sword sank in with precision. As he pulled the blade out, hot blood spurted out in a torrent.
[Ding! Slain Fire Lizardman Lv.15. Experience +300]
Without waiting for the remaining lizardmen to react, Li Xiuman thrust his magic staff into the ground.
“Quagmire!”
A dusty-yellow magic circle opened precisely beneath the feet of the lizardmen, causing the ground to sink.
“Tier 1 Magic, Fireball!”
Multiple fireballs swallowed the lizardmen.
With a one-time boost of 5 points to his Spirit, the speed, power, and precision of his magic casting were all vastly enhanced.
Satisfied, Li Xiuman threw the staff in his hand, pinning the last lizardman trying to escape against the stone wall. Then, he raised his hand.
“Tier 1 Magic, Fireball.”
[Ding! Slain Lizardman Lv.15. Experience +300]
[Level increased to Lv.17]
[Constitution +1, Spirit +1]
[Free Stat Point +1]
Rate on N.U.
