Chapter Fourty Four:[Regeneration] and [Monster Summoning]

The black Goliath, its bloodied face twisted into a malicious, almost human-like grin, seemedly intrigued by the fact that it didn't smashed Aisha into a bloody pulp with a single punch. 

Its enormous fist lifted again. Aisha tried to stand, but the bones in her legs were fractured by the previous blow.

Alicia dashed forward, circling to Goliath's side, slashing a shallow red wound on the giant's calf.

"Tsk, its skin is too hard," she muttered.

Goliath swung its arms, trying to grab Alicia, but the nimble elf easily dodged. 

After forcing Alicia back, the giant lifted its leg and kicked Aisha, sending her flying through the air, at the same time, its mouth opened wide. 

Magic began to gather in the giant's mouth- 

"Boom!"

Wind and light orbs struck the side of the giant's head , diverting Goliath's [Roar Blast] to the side. 

Simultaneously, Shirou also shot a magic sword at Goliath's head before rushing toward where Aisha landed.

"Hurry, drink the high potion!" he urged.

Aisha, had turned into a broken doll, her right arm limp as if it's boneless, and her left leg was entirely twisted.

"Tell Haruhime... to use... that magic... or else..." Aisha tried to speak, but no words came out-only a gush of blood. 

Aisha had lost consciousness and passed out.

….

"It's very durable...and its movements agile, completely different from a normal floor boss."

Rushing to the side of the giant, firing off her magic, and delivering a swift slash before quickly backing off, Ryuu's normally composed face under her hood became more serious.

The Goliath on the 17th floor was usually equivalent to a Level 4. Ryuu had defeated many with her companions in the past. But based on that past experience, the Black Goliath they were currently facing was far from normal.

Its raw power was so strong that Aisha, a Level 3 Amazon, could barely take a single hit, had defense so strong that Ryuu's hands went numb from a single attack, also having a ranged [Roar Blast] attack, which it normally shouldn't possess. However, worst of all, it had agility and reaction time which were completely disproportionate for such a massive monster.

Just now, realizing Ryuu's magic could harm it, the black Goliath had quickly raised its arm to block the remaining magic, leaving only some shallow wounds. Her attacks no longer struck its head.

—This Floor Boss' potential Level reached Lv5.

Ryuu made this assessment. At the same time, she pushed away any pessimism or despair, and focused on how they could defeat it under these circumstances, searching for a breakthrough.

Running away was pointless. The moment they turned their backs on this giant or let even a trace of fear enter their hearts, they would become its prey. Ryuu's years of battle experience and instincts made this clear to her.

"I can't cast any more magic for now. My mind needs to stay sharp."

Ryuu's magic had long casting times and great power, but it also consumed a lot of her mental strength. If she used it a third time, exhaustion would begin to set in. 

In a fight against this kind of monster, any lapse in focus could be fatal.

Alicia realized this too, reducing her own use of magic. The two elves, one on each side, circled the Goliath with their swords, staying agile.

Even though this Goliath was more agile than usual, its enormous size still limited its speed. The black giant swung its arms furiously, but it couldn't catch the nimble elves.

However, both Ryuu and Alicia were drenched in cold sweat. Their slashes barely cut through the giant's skin, while even a single attack from the black Goliath would be too much for them to endure.

"Whoosh!"

As Ryuu slashed another wound into the giant's leg, the sound of arrows flying through the air came once again. Shirou, having moved Aisha to a safe place, began his barrage. A magic sword precisely pierced into the fresh wound and exploded.

"Roarrr!"

Shirou shot another arrow, aiming directly for the giant's eye. 

However, the giant merely closed its eyes and slightly tilted its head, causing the arrow to explode harmlessly against its skull, without penetrating its tough black hide.

Shirou's attacks gave Alicia an idea. "Ryuu! Focus the explosions!"

"Got it!" Seeing the magic sword in Alicia's hand, Ryuu quickly understood what she wanted to do.

"Shirou, keep firing!" Alicia commanded.

Gritting his teeth to fight off the mental fatigue from the excessive consumption of his mana, Shirou projected arrow after arrow. 

Pouring even more mana into [Fake-Nine Lives], enhanced by the bow, his arrows reached the power of a Level 2 adventurer.

Their sole target: the black Goliath's eyes!

Faced with the sudden barrage of arrows, Goliath raised its right arm to shield its face, giving Alicia the opening she needed.

The emerald green and golden figures of the two elves intertwined as they moved. 

Ryuu slashed behind the Goliath's right knee, and Alicia immediately followed, stabbing a magic sword into the wound and adding a second strike. Then, they switched positions, and Ryuu plunged a second magic sword into the same spot.

In quick succession, six magic swords were thrust into the same area. As the final flaming magic sword was driven in, Ryuu activated the magic within.

"Boom!!!"

All the magic swords exploded simultaneously. The combined power of fire and lightning magic created a chain reaction, sending Ryuu flying backward from the force of the explosion.

"Roarrr!!!!"

For the first time, the black Goliath let out a scream of pain. This was the most severe injury it had sustained since the battle began. 

Its tough black skin had been torn apart by the internal magic explosion, and its coarse, powerful muscles were scorched to ash by the raging flames. When the explosion subsided, its right leg was nothing but blackened, exposed bone, barely holding up its massive body.

Ryuu rolled acrossed the ground, her once-clean hood now covered in dust.

She struggled to stand on her feet, kneeling on one knee, her breath heavy and labored. Her left arm hung limp at her side, the skin from her elbow down scorched black, with blood seeping out.

"I overestimated my speed... I should've let Shirou remotely detonate the swords..." Ryuu instinctively reflected. "But at least it's my left arm...I can still use my sword with my dominant arm. Trading one arm for Goliath's leg... it was worth it!"

With the black Goliath's right leg destroyed, its mobility was significantly reduced, making it easier to fight. More importantly, they had finally found an effective way to deal real damage.

The balance of victory seemed to be tilting in the adventurers' favor.

"Freeze, binding chains of winter!" Alicia cast her short-chant magic, sending icicles shooting toward the black Goliath's mouth, once again interrupting its [Roar Blast]. Short-chant magic wasn't as powerful as long-chant spells, in exchange, they were much quicker and more flexible.

"Shirou, keep projecting magic swords!" Alicia shouted while attacking. "Ryuu, I'll hold the line here. Go to Shirou!"

Shirou's magic swords, fired from his bow, couldn't pierce the Goliath's tough hide.

They needed the two Level 4 elves to physically deliver the magic swords into its body.

"Trace on!" Shirou gripped his head with one hand as he projected a deep crimson flame sword with the other, his face twisted in pain from the intense headache.

The mental exhaustion was overwhelming. Even though he had been downing high-grade magic potions like water, Shirou still felt as though countless needles were stabbing into his brain.

"Hang in there, I need to help Ryuu and Alicia."

Skill [Oath under the Snow] activate.

-When acting to protect others: increased strength, durability, and enhanced magic and skill effects.

-When there is a bond with the protected target: greatly boosts strength, durability, agility, and magic and skill effects.

"Trace on!"

Shirou threw the projected magic sword to the ground, then struggled to pull out the last bottle of high potion from his pouch.

Ryuu rushed to the boy, grabbing the magic swords and was about to leave, but Shirou held her hand and poured the healing potion on her injured left arm.

"—Shirou."

"Just… let me treat it a little…"

Seeing the elven girl's originally fair skin now a bloody mess, Shirou couldn't help but feel a pain in his chest. His headache also worsened.

"It's fine. For adventurers, this kind of injury is nothing. Thanks to your projections, we've found a way to win—"

"ROOOAAAARRR!!!"

An enraged roar far more intense than before interrupted Ryuu's words, echoing throughout the spacious chamber. Haruhime even had to cover her ears to avoid passing out from the sheer sound.

The terrifying soundwaves forced Alicia back as she felt like her eardrums would burst.

This time, the black Goliath's roar wasn't just a release of emotion, nor was it using its magic attack, [Roar Blast], for a ranged attack.

As the roar continued, the black Goliath's once solid, metallic skin began to dull and wither, as if it aged decades in mere seconds. Meanwhile, the muscle and skin on its right leg were rapidly regenerating.

"It's consuming its life force to heal its injuries. Why the hell does it have that ability?!" Alicia felt a sense of despair rise within her.

Crippling the giant's right leg and destroying its mobility had been a critical success for her and Ryuu.

With its movement impaired, the Goliath's massive size would become a disadvantage, turning it into a sitting duck. Even if their attacks were lacking, they could eventually wear it down.

But now, with the Black Goliath's unexpected regeneration, Alicia's entire plan was ruined.

If this battle were viewed through the lens of a video game, the Goliath's current life force (HP) hadn't increased. In fact, forcibly healing its leg had likely drained even more of its energy(HP).

But real combat isn't a game. "Crippling a leg" and "HP reduction" are two entirely different things!

Even if the black Goliath's overall abilities, especially its defense, had diminished due to life force loss, that paled in comparison to the strategic value of losing a leg.

What drove Alicia further into despair was the sounds that followed.

"Moo!!!" 

"Roar!!!" 

"Awooo!!!"

Beyond the massive chamber's entrance, the calls of various monsters could be heard.

In this room, only Goliath could spawn—this was a fact. It was why adventurers had to fight Goliath here.

However, other monsters can move, and now, they were responding to the Black Goliath's summon.

In addition to [Roar Blast] and [Regeneration], the black Goliath revealed yet another unique ability, one that ordinary Goliaths lacked—and perhaps the most disastrous of all for adventurers: [Monster Summoning]!

With a Level 5 potential, combined with [Roar Blast], [Regeneration], and [Monster Summoning].

There was no doubt about it—this Black Goliath was a Floor Boss with a raid difficulty of Level 6.

——

(Original AN: A Potential Level and Raid difficulty are two different evaluations measure.

For example, the two-headed dragon Amphisbaena had the Potential of a Lv5, and its stats is still Lv5 even in a water battle, but adventurers would face significant limitations in such an environment, raising the difficulty of the raid to Lv6 in water.

In the case of the Black Goliath, its base potential is Lv5, but once its Monster Summoning ability is activated, the raid difficulty increases to Lv6, due to having to face several hundred Lv2 monsters and a Lv5 Floor Boss at the same time.)

Smiling Giant

https://images.app.goo.gl/uJKgi6RaR8Kdskob9

Goliath Roar

https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/DanMachi_Manga_Chapter_78?file=DanMachi_Chapter_78.jpg