part1 · 074-ep74

Episode 74: The Path of Ten Years 4

Past floor 80, Ren went deeper still.

Time and again, Ren had pushed past his limits. Battles with monsters. Training. Learning magic. And again and again, the line between life and death.

All of it piled up into strength beyond any comparison with his old self. His swordsmanship. His physical abilities. His handling of magic. His read on how monsters moved.

Any way you looked at it, he was a different person from the Ren of the past. And yet, to him, all of it had simply become normal.

Just how strong had he become? Even Ren couldn't say precisely.

There was one thing he did know. Enemies that once demanded everything he had, he could now handle calmly.

And—

he could still get stronger.

That much, he could feel.

　　　　　◇

Floor 81.

The moment he stepped in, Ren narrowed his eyes.

"...It's blinding."

Nothing like the floors before it. The whole space was drowned in white light — so intense that even with his eyes open, he could see nothing.

"...Can't go anywhere like this."

Ren stopped. For fighting monsters alone, he had 《Presence Detection》 — he could place them by their presence. And if they cast magic, 《Magic Perception》 would feel it coming.

But—

he couldn't find the way. With his eyes useless, he had no way to judge where to go.

Ren concentrated on 《Magic Perception》, spreading his awareness outward.

But—

"...Nothing."

Almost no response from magic at all. Where the walls were. Which way the passages ran. What was where.

Even with 《Magic Perception》, he couldn't map his surroundings.

"...Can't go anywhere like this."

His eyes were useless. 《Magic Perception》 couldn't read the area. 《Presence Detection》 gave him the monsters' positions, but not the path.

Ren stayed where he was, thinking. How could he get through this place?

He used 《Magic Perception》 over and over. No answer came.

He tried walking, again and again. But he couldn't tell where he was heading. Dead ends. Pauses at forks.

"...This is a problem."

Ren stopped. On this floor, everything he'd relied on until now wasn't enough. Even so, he had to go on.

Once more, Ren focused his awareness into 《Magic Perception》.

And—

《Survival Adaptation activated.》

In that moment, a new sense was born inside him.

"...Send my own magic outward?"

He tried it — releasing the magic inside his body, a little at a time, letting it spread into the space around him.

And—

it touched something.

"...!"

Ren caught the response with 《Magic Perception》.

A wall.

"...I can read it."

He spread his magic further. This time, responses came back from elsewhere. The wall nearby. The passage beyond it. A wall further out still.

Little by little, the layout around him came into focus.

"...So that's how it works."

Send his magic out. Catch the responses from whatever it touched with 《Magic Perception》. Repeat, and he could map his surroundings without eyes.

Ren kept spreading his magic — as if drawing a map he couldn't see.

"...I can see it."

Where the walls were. Where the passages ran. Where he needed to go.

The structure of the dungeon rose up in his mind, piece by piece.

"...I can do this."

Ren began to walk. Even with the light stealing his sight, moving forward was no longer a problem.

　　　　　◇

From then on, Ren fought his way through the light-drowned floors.

He tracked monsters with 《Presence Detection》. Sensed spellcasting with 《Magic Perception》. Sent out his own magic to map the structure around him.

Without relying on sight, he could fight — and he could advance.

And as the battles piled up, Ren's attention turned to the light magic the monsters used. The instant light was born, the flow of magic changed.

He felt that change, over and over.

"...This flow of magic."

Ren tried moving his own magic. Trying again and again, he reshaped it, using the monsters' flow as his guide.

Then—

a small light kindled at his fingertips.

"...Light."

The pale light wavered at his fingertips. Ren concentrated harder and sent it flying — the small light shot off in a straight line.

In that moment—

《Survival Adaptation activated.》

Inside Ren, the sense of creating light snapped into clarity.

《Skill 《Light Magic》 acquired.》

"...Got it."

Ren murmured quietly.

A new magic. One more layer added to the way Ren fought.

　　　　　◇

Floor 81 to floor 89.

Through spaces filled with light, Ren kept moving.

Fighting monsters. Reading presences. Feeling magic. Sending out his own to map his surroundings.

And wreathing his magic sword with elemental magic.

Fire. Water. Wind. Wood. Earth. Lightning. Light.

Drawing on every power he'd gained, Ren fought on.

When a fight ended, he trained. Load from the 《Gravity Shoes》. Power suppressed by the 《Magic-Sealing Gloves》.

Walking in that state. Running. Swinging his sword. Casting spells.

When his body grew used to it, he raised the load again.

In battle, he protected his life. In training, he pushed his limits. Nothing but that cycle, over and over.

When he rested, he poured magic into the 《Magic Storage Bracelet》. But he couldn't burn MP recklessly. In the dungeon, anything could happen at any time — a powerful monster might come out of nowhere.

So he always kept a certain amount of MP in reserve. Only when he had room to spare did he move magic into the bracelet, a little at a time.

What it could hold at once was small. But stacked up, it became a real well of power.

That was how Ren kept preparing, even in the hours without battle.

And—

he made it to floor 89.

　　　　　◇

Floor 89.

Having cut down the last monster, Ren sheathed his sword.

His eyes still showed him nothing through the light. Even so, it no longer mattered.

He could place the monsters. He could feel the movement of magic. He could map everything around him.

Ren spread his magic out into the space around him.

And—

"...There."

He caught the stairs leading down.

Ren started walking toward them.

To deeper floors still.