[75] Its Time To Shine!

After landing, Aiden imitated Vergil's gesture by flipping his bangs and gesturing towards Durandal, then sighed, "Sigh, disappointing."

Before Aiden could even lower his bangs, the roar of a new monster quickly approached.

The creature emitting the roar was about one meter and sixty centimeters tall, standing on two short legs with sturdy claws on its forelimbs. Its body was covered with segmented armor, resembling a suit of armor with scales extending from the back to the head, adorned with angular shapes resembling a helmet.

Shaking its entire body, two armored armadillos rushed straight toward Aiden.

These were the Hard Armored that began appearing from the 11th floor.

"Hey, Jerry, good evening~" Aiden casually greeted without any change in expression, letting down his bangs.

The characteristics of these monsters, similar to the Killer Ants, included having a hard shell. However, unlike the fully armored Killer Ants, their abdomen and chest, unprotected by the shell, were soft and vulnerable. Although their vulnerabilities were easier to attack compared to the Killer Ants, their shell hardness far exceeded them.

The defensive capabilities of Hard Armoreds were unparalleled among monsters from the 11th to 12th floors. In other words, they possessed the strongest defense among upper-level monsters. It was generally considered nearly impossible for a Level 1 adventurer to defeat such monsters alone in melee combat.

Among them, Jerry curled up its body and fiercely charged like a spinning wheel.

The shell on its back served not only as a sturdy shield but also as a weapon. The high-speed rotating body contained the power to overwhelm Level 1 adventurers.

"Jerry's spinning charge? How delightful." Aiden smiled, crossing his arms.

As Jerry's spinning charge rapidly approached, and the distance vanished in an instant, Aiden silently recited in his mind.

"Firestorm."

The raging flames engulfed Jerry's spinning charge, causing it to emit a painful wail.

But the other one remained unfazed, still relentlessly raising its claws to charge at Aiden.

Watching the Hard Armored getting closer and closer, Aiden drew Durandal, then leaped into the air, disappearing from the Hard Armored's sight in an instant.

Leveraging the recoil from the emergency brake, Aiden charged toward the Hard Armored from the blind spot, then made a gentle swing.

With a seemingly casual strike, Aiden effortlessly bisected the Hard Armored, which boasted the strongest defense among upper-level monsters.

Looking back, the Firestorm had also dissipated, leaving behind a lifeless lump of charred coal emitting a strong burnt smell. Jerry, who had been spinning, was already defeated.

Before Aiden could even tidy up the spoils of war,

A monster that had shone brightly in the anime was quietly approaching.

Muscular and covered in white fur, reminiscent of a gorilla, with only its hair presenting a dark silver hue, extending all the way to its back like a tail, and its crimson eyes emitting a chilling glare.

It was none other than the Silverback monkey, the monster that had once pushed Bell to the brink in the anime, only to be slain by him in the end.

"Lots of hair means weak to fire; heavy armor means vulnerable to thunder; large body means weak to concentrated attacks and in the groin~" Aiden murmured with a smile.

Just as Aiden was reciting the quote from a certain souls game, a particularly large withered tree in the grassland ahead made a noise, and another Silverback monkey landed with a bang.

This time, Aiden didn't wait for the Silverback monkey to attack; he chose to take the initiative.

Aiden raised his right hand and shouted.

"Firestorm! Firestorm!"

Unlike the orcs, the Silverback monkeys were well-balanced in all attributes. They were renowned as the signature monsters of the eleventh floor alongside the Hard Armored. However, that didn't matter.

Two Firestorms shot out from Aiden's hand one after another, and the Silverback monkey couldn't even dodge before being hit.

"Indeed, lots of hair means weak to fire~" Aiden looked at the flames burning even more vigorously than before, revealing a satisfied smile.

After burning down waves of orcs, jerrys, and monkeys, Aiden finally stepped into the grassland of the eleventh floor. The infant dragon was not too far away now, and he eagerly gripped the hilt of Dragon Slayer.

Through the dense gray-white mist, Aiden could vaguely see several people being chased by the infant dragon.

"Seriously, why is it always you showing up in front of me chasing people? Is this fate?" Aiden continued to walk slowly towards the infant dragon. "Destined for me to kill you."

As he got closer, Aiden could finally see clearly. There were six adventurers being chased by the infant dragon. Bringing up the rear was a tall, muscular young man with short hair, wielding a long spear. Next to him was a beautiful girl with a side ponytail, wearing a sword at her waist, and in front of them was a petite support girl with long bangs covering her eyes. There were also two men with various weapons and a girl with her head wrapped in a scarf.

"Oh, two infant dragons, huh? No wonder this group is running for their lives."

"Hmmm, black hair, brown eyes, and that attire; it's really Japanese typical appearance. There should only be one familia with such a distinctive appearance, the Takemikazuchi Familia. What are they doing here all this time?"

In the anime, a member of the Takemikazuchi Familia was awarded the same title as Bell in the same familia. But the current Takemikazuchi Familia certainly couldn't handle two infant dragons.

With Dragon Slayer in hand, Aiden strolled leisurely through the dense fog, watching as the Takemikazuchi Familia was pursued by the infant dragons.

"I remember in the anime, these guys pulling all the monsters chasing them towards Bell and his group, will they do the same with me now?" Despite understanding the actions of the Takemikazuchi Familia's captain, Aiden had no intention of rushing over to help them right now.

At this moment, the girl with the sword at her waist in the Takemikazuchi Familia seemed to spot Aiden and shouted, "It's the infant dragons, run!"

"Run!" The rest of the members also shouted, including the youth with the spear.

"Oh, well, I guess they're not looking to trick me." Aiden's lips curled into a smile.

In reality, Aiden had jumped to conclusions. The members of the Takemikazuchi Familia were not inherently bad people. The captain, Kashima Ouka, had made the decision to lure the monsters to Bell's group in a desperate situation to protect the familia, driven by his sense of responsibility as their leader. Although it was indeed unethical, it was the right choice for a leader.

Later, under Kashima Ouka's leadership, the entire familia went to apologize in person, and he was willing to pay any price, even with his life. They had also made every effort to rescue Bell and his group.

So, they deserved Aiden's assistance. Besides, they weren't trying to trick him now.

___

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my pat reon: 

https : // www .pat reon. com /XElenea