Not wanting to give the group time to assess the situation, Sol launched towards them while wielding the Lipon with a fire cartridge and used [Storm Blitz]. With each step Sol took, his spinning sword's speed increased exponentially. The fire of the sword began to form a vortex of fire, about to collide headfirst into the adventurers.
Urian, seeing the approaching mass of fire, yelled at one of the adventurers who were originally resting behind him.
"Ray! Stop him!"
The short but built adventurer named Ray brandished their thick shield and used [Destructive Charge] to collide headfirst into the fire.
'This shield has a fire resistance skill! I can hold him easily!'
With confidence, Ray slammed right into Sol and was met with a terrible bang.
"GAH!"
Ray was launched barreling into the group of adventurers behind him, knocking two down with him who were unluckily in his path. Ray looked at his shield in shock; it was completely bent and twisted out of shape. This wasn't because of the sharpness of the fire sword but because of the sheer force of Sol's [Storm Blitz].
After colliding, Sol didn't stop spinning and continued into the group, burning all those nearby him. Even though Ray sacrificed his unique shield to stop Sol, it only slowed him down temporarily.
"AGH!"
"IT BURNS!"
Two adventurers who were closest to the blazing tornado died without being able to retaliate. While Sol wanted to take their skills, they had to, more importantly, capitalize on the surprise attack before they reorganized.
Sol was going to continue spinning, but he could feel himself losing more and more control as each second ticked by. With no other choice, Sol used the last of the moment to launch towards two nearby adventurers, killing one and injuring another before he stopped spinning.
Now having a good opportunity, Sol quickly siphoned the dead adventurers' skills before the dungeon took the body.
[Piercing Lunge] leveled up! (5 -> 6)
[Ground Shrink] leveled up! (2 -> 3)
Sol ignored the injured adventurer as he was already out of commission and focused on the more important enemies.
"[Light Spear]!"
Two rods of pure light appeared above Urian, and without waiting a second longer, he launched them towards Sol. He wasn't the only one to attack, as all the adventurers saw this as the best time to strike.
"[Blood Vines]!"
"[Torrent]!"
Aside from mages who had to audibly recite the spell, the remaining archer shot empowered arrows, and the two melee fighters took position in front of the ranged allies to protect them just in case.
Sol saw the attacks all heading towards him and didn't worry as he used [Terra Spikes] to create a protective wall around him. Pumping more mana into the spikes than usual, they were extra durable and could be deployed near instantly without having to recite any spells beforehand.
Upon contact with the spikes, explosions occurred, creating a thick dust cloud that spread in all directions. As the dust settled, half of the spikes were still standing, and Sol was safely in the middle of it, protected.
"[Harden Earth]!"
While enduring the attacks, Sol was also casting a spell at the same time.
'I'm not gonna let the dungeon get any more bodies before I use [Siphon] on them.'
Seeing Sol unharmed made a few adventurers begin to regret their decision of fighting Sol. One of them noticed the mood changing and tried to keep them motivated.
"That has to be an item; he can't use it again so soon!"
Urian nodded and yelled as well.
"He can't take on all of us; we outnumber him 6 to- huh?!"
When Urian turned to rally his allies, he noticed the other two mages lying on the ground dead. The other adventurers also realized now and couldn't believe they died without making any sounds.
Urian's face paled as he realized he was next.
"[Shimmer Shield]!"
A barrier of light took form around him, and just in time, as the moment it finished forming, Amber appeared behind him with her dagger, hitting the barrier causing cracks to form.
"[Revealing Light]!"
The light appeared above him as he glared towards Amber furiously. A second sooner and he would have died along with his other companions. Now with the magical light shining above him, Amber could no longer go invisible, but that wasn't a problem anymore.
"AHH!"
"GUH!"
"HELP-!"
While Urian was busy with Amber, Sol made quick work of the remaining 3 adventurers and finished off the wounded one from earlier.
[Counter] leveled up! (5 -> 6)
[Barricade (Variant)] leveled up! (9 -> MAX)
[Barricade (Variant)] reached MAX level, evolve skill?
Sol put away the system notification for now and turned his gaze towards Urian. His barrier was barely holding on, and with one attack, it would easily shatter.
Amber raised her dagger, and with a normal slash, the barrier broke. Sol neared with his blazing sword ready to take his life.
With Amber on one side and Sol on the other, Urian knew he was screwed if he didn't think of a way out of this.
"Wait! Please! You can gain a lot from not killing me!"
Sol paused. "Yeah? How so?"
"I can- I can get you a lot of money! I have a stash back in my house!"
"Is that all?"
While Sol needed money, he didn't think he needed to keep him alive just to steal his life's savings.
"I'll do whatever you want! Light mages of my level are rare. I have a lot of good spells you could use, and they are especially effective against the undead of this dungeon."
"You're right; your magic would be useful."
Sol chuckled at his morbid joke.
Urian saw a glimmer of hope.
"Right? I promise I'll follow you obediently if you give me a chance!"
STAB
"W-what?"
Urian looked down and felt the burning sensation of the elemental sword in his chest. He looked up at Sol, shocked, as he uttered his final words.
"Why…"
Urian's body slumped as it lost its final signs of life.
Learned [Intermediate Light Magic] Lv 7!
Learned [Multicast] Lv 6!
[Mana Efficiency] leveled up! (9 -> MAX)
Sol cut off the mana supply to the Lipon and put it away as he answered Urian's question.
"I killed you because I couldn't trust you."