After fighting the armoured phantom, a few more of its kind appeared. I dealt with them as they came, allowing my companions to rest.
Sometimes my foes came alone, and sometimes in a group.
"I'll deal with them myself. Continue preserving your strength, we're going to need it later." I whispered to my companions to back off.
The image of three consecutive slashes landing on my body appeared before my eyes. I was able to parry one slash, but the other two were too difficult and powerful to stop with a dagger as light as mine.
In response, I shifted my stance, forcing another image to appear. Injuries still befell my body, but I was able to observe the intricacies of the armoured phantoms' sword style.
I spotted a window in their strikes, and I moved to exploit it.
Their swords thus slashed past my body, cutting only through my garments, and leaving my skin intact.
[ Dodging by a Hair's Breadth ].
Such was the technique that I was developing with every encounter that I fought through. My Hyperfocus, Mana Vision, and Foresight all combined into the ability to see more than any other being.
With it, I was able to execute three swift strikes without having to adjust my stance from defence to offence. I pushed back two of the armoured phantoms with the tip of Aventine's blade.
The last one was bathed in a cone of fire and scattered across the floor.
I then made quick work of the other two before finally taking a sip from the mana potion in my other hand. I walked past the remaining embers along my path and continued my advance.
After several more battles, I eventually arrived at another room.
Reflection Ambrosya stepped forward at this moment and frowned. He looked at me and we began to do a bit of improv acting.
"This room should be housing a monster whose name is Vlønn." Reflection Ambrosya started, "If we defeat him, we can get a blacksmith's treasure, the Starlight Anvil."
"Your tone signifies that there's a catch," I spoke, knitting my brows and acting sceptical. The eyes of our companions alternated between the two of us.
"Yeah, there is. Weapons and items aren't affected by the Equalizer Card, right? Although most are weakened because their own wielders become weak, some items will still have quite a lot of their effects... Especially Vlønn's creations."
"Er... what are Vlønn's creations?" King squeezed into the conversation.
Reflection Ambrosya glanced back at him, "They're robots made out of bones...It's easier to just show you. Vlønn is... eccentric, for the lack of a better word." He then scanned our motley crew, "Everyone, I suggest you prepare for battle."
Then, he faced our only C ranker here. "Sir Han, if you may be so kind, please protect me. I am a noncombatant." Reflection Ambrosya made a humble smile.
"You can count on me!" Han grinned, unsheathing his blue scimitar with a sinister,
Shiiiing—!
...
We rushed in, slamming the door open and creating a dull thud that resonated across the room. I tapped the Equalizer Card, and an invisible force swept across, forcing all living beings down to Rank E.
[ Rushing Shadow Art ].
[ Blur ].
[ Silent Being II ].
[ Decrease Presence ].
I led the charge, plunging straight into an army of puppets and golems made out of beautiful white bones.
[ Vlønn, the Mechanical Necromancer ].
Such was this unique monster's full name. He was a mix of blacksmithing, necromancy, and engineering. He was a monster who could be said to similar to Aventine in the sense that he was not a being of Emerallia.
I sprinted forward, heading straight for the hulking mass of flesh and muscle. Vlønn, who looked like a mix between a giant, a dwarf, and a bull, was currently working the forge. His steady strikes had mixed perfectly with the slamming door, masking our entrance.
Clang—!
"What—??" Vlønn paused, shocked that his body felt much too weak to handle the material on his anvil. His arm fell to the ground, incapable of carrying the heavy hammer he so loved to use.
It was in this moment of vulnerability that I sprung out from within the army of motionless puppets. My movements were a silent blur, difficult to notice with the perception of a typical E ranker. Aventine was heading straight for Vlønn's heart.
But it was at this sudden moment that a vision of the next three seconds appeared in my mind.
I watched as a mechanism was triggered upon my arrival, flinging a lethal spike that would embedd itself in my skull. I watched my own death.
I hurriedly changed strategies just as the monster coincidentally looked my way.
[ Explosion (Conical) ].
A familiar eruption of flames consumed Vlønn's figure.
"Bah! What kind of lunatic attacks a blacksmith with fire!?" He roared.
In reply, I let out a cackle, "Flames don't always have to burn, Vlønn. Sometimes, they can be used to obscure."
With this opportunity, I stepped into the monster's workspace, unaffected by the traps he had laid upon the area. I slashed at Vlønn's tendons, but Aventine could barely cut through his rigid body.
Even though we were both at Rank E, the difference in our physiques was as clear as day.
It was the difference between a tank and an assassin.
"Out of the way!"
Camellia's voice reached my ears, and I had to scramble out of the space I was in. Not a half-second after I escaped the blast zone, there was a bombardment that fell upon Vlønn's nine-foot-tall body.
Boom— Crash— Crack—!
A block of ice, a spear of earth, and the sound of gong, all fell at once.
"Graaaaaah! What do you want from me?! Insolent bastards!"
Click—!
A subtle sound echoed throughout the room. It was easy for me to figure out what this was as I had watched Vlønn's giant hand fall upon an iron lever.
Something had been activated just then.
"Get out of my room!"