The First Floor (4)

Kicking the ground with full force, I sprinted toward the knight army.

The magicians were at the rear of the army. I need to find a way to take care of them before I battle with the bulk of the army.

Before I could reach the army, three assassins appeared around me. At once, they swung their daggers at me.

By rotating my body, I was able to block most of their attacks. But, one of the assassins managed to slightly graze my cheek.

The three assassins landed on the ground around me and lunged toward me again, all at once.

Anatomical Liberation!

I ducked and rolled out of their way. Then, getting back up, I threw the wolf's fang at one of them.

But it was just a clone.

Tilting my head sideways, I dodged the strike aimed at my head by the assassin who had already teleported behind me.

Without turning behind, I dislocated my right shoulder and thrust my dagger at the assassin's neck. This time it wasn't a clone.

I summoned back the wolf's fang. Even though it was just a fang, the Tower somehow saw it as a dagger. So the fang, lying on the ground, made its way back to my hand.

The other two assassins appeared before me and tried slashing at me. I ducked, dodging their attacks, and used the momentum I got while getting up to uppercut their jaws.

Fortunately, the assassins didn't have much of a defence.

Not wasting another second, I closed the gap between myself and the knight army. Then, kicking the ground with full force, I took to the air.

I jumped on top of one of the knights, using my body weight to crush his head. Then, from on top of the knight, I jumped on top of the next knight in front.

Using the knights' helmets as stepping stones, I moved forward, dodging the occasional sword slashes that came my way.

One of the magicians was only 10 metres away from me.

From on top of one of the knights, I leapt towards the magician. I performed a front flip and used its momentum to launch the wolf's fang at the magician.

But, the fang was blocked by an invisible barrier in front of the magician.

I landed on the ground and launched toward the floating monster, thrusting my dagger at it.

Just before the moon dagger could reach the monster, it was blocked by the barrier.

Perceiving, I slashed at the barrier from different angles, moving around the magician.

This wasn't working. I need to do something new.

"HAAA!!" I yelled, charging my dagger with all my arcane.

Arcane, which looked like black fog, enveloped the dagger completely.

[The Moon Dagger is reacting vigorously with the dark arcane of the user]

[The attack power of the arcane has been temporarily increased by 50%!]

I didn't understand what was going on. I knew that my dagger felt sturdier and stronger than ever before. I felt sturdier and stronger than ever before.

Gripping my dagger with both hands, I leapt and thrust it at the magician's head.

*shatter*

The defence field around the magician broke down, leaving it vulnerable. With ease, my dagger drove into the monster's head, slaying it.

[You have levelled up!]

Inhaling all the air around me, I called back the wolf's fang.

"I can do this!" I mumbled.

A group of knights and assassins charged me without a chance to rest.

I don't have much arcane left. I needed to take care of these pests as fast as possible.

I closed my eyes, gripping my daggers tightly. Calm down. Only a calm mind can win a war.

Feel the presence of everything around you. Feel what everything is made up of.

Even with my eyes closed, I was able to see the arcane particles floating around. Likewise, I could sense the arcane of the monsters charging at me.

I was able to sense the incredible arcane that the magicians possessed.

I now understand. Arcane was the basis of everything in the Tower.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of two arcanic bodies behind me.

Turning back, I sliced through one of the presences and threw the fang at the other.

Finally, I opened my eyes.

Two assassins lay on the ground in front of me. My dagger was stuck on one of their heads.

[You have learned a skill on your own!]

[You have obtained the skill: Arcane sense]

[The proficiency of 'Mana Manipulation' has exponentially increased]

Arcane sense? I see.

I summoned the wolf's fang and relaunched it at one of the assassins.

Crouching, I dodged the sword slash of one of the knights. I then slashed his neck. Somehow, my dagger was able to completely cut off his head.

The other knights stepped back a little, seeing their companion's head separate from its body.

Using this opportunity, I launched myself at a pair of knights. Is body was able to slay them with ease by crushing one of their helmets and driving my dagger into the other's throat at once.

[A debuff has been placed on you by a low-tier magician!]

[Your strength has decreased for 1 minute!]

[A debuff has been placed on you by a low-tier magician!]

[Your agility has decreased for 1 minute!]

[A debuff has been placed on you by a low-tier magician!]

[Your perception has decreased for 1 minute!]

"Tch," I scoffed unintentionally.

These magicians were a real bother.

A group of knights swarmed me at once.

One of them slashed at me from above, but I could barely dodge it and pierce its throat. The other knight slashed at me from the side. I crouched, avoiding it, and punched the knight's helmet.

But, I was only able to momentarily push the knight back instead of crushing its helmet.

Taking advantage of the monster losing its balance, I threw my dagger at its neck, killing it.

"AHHH!" I screamed as a knight punched my back. Stumbling, I was able to regain my balance in a moment.

I couldn't sense the punch before it hit me. It looks like the perception stat decreasing was the worst.

Calling back the moon dagger, I launched it at the knight who had punched me, slaying it.

I was still not proficient in 'arcane sense', so constantly using it was near impossible. I had to concentrate hard to use it. I couldn't depend much on it here.

One of the assassins appeared in front of me and tried to thrust at me with its dagger. I was barely able to dodge its attack by flinging my body back. Although its dagger had slightly grazed my chest.

[The flaw of 'Shadow-light armour' has been activated!]

[The user will experience 400% of the attack damage received!]

Shit!

Suddenly, it felt as if my chest had been cut open. It felt like a thousand needles were being put in and taken out of my chest.

Even though no blood gushed out, the pain was intolerable.

Unable to control the pain, I yelled at the top of my voice.

Clenching my tracksuit, I tried to calm myself down.

Taking advantage of my distress, one of the knights sprinted toward me and kicked me.

Unable to dodge, I was sent crashing into one of the pillars.

Blood gushed out of my mouth as I fell to the ground.

Was this my end?

No!!! I still had work to do!

Still gasping for air, I got up, taking the pillar's support.

[The debuff has ended!]

[The debuff has ended!]

[The debuff has ended!]

A mixture of sweat and blood had started dripping from my forehead.

The pain had finally subsided, allowing me to stand straight without the pillar's support.

An assassin suddenly appeared behind me.

I grabbed its head and crushed it into the pillar without giving it the chance to strike.

[You have levelled up!]

"I am really pissed," I mumbled, throwing the assassin's corpse toward the army.