The stone man charged at him, its massive fists raised to strike.
Niveus darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature's crushing blow as its fist slammed into the ground where he had just been standing.
The impact sent a shockwave through the earth, cracking the ground, bursting blue flame, and sending debris flying in all directions.
Moving swiftly, Niveus circled around the stone man and slashed at its legs with his sword. The blade struck true, but the stone was tough, and the attack only left a shallow cut in the creature's thick hide.
'Tch, it doesn't work?'
The stone man roared in anger, swinging its massive arm toward Niveus in a wide arc.
Niveus leaped back, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the sheer force of the attack sent a gust of wind that nearly knocked him off balance.
He quickly assessed the situation. The stone man was strong—far stronger than anything he had faced recently, like the Ittey.
If the Ittey was classified as tier 4 according to Omnibus, that stone man was higher—possibly tier 2 or even tier 1.
The ranking or tiering system by the Alliance was sometimes confusing. Some were using ascending order, and some were in descending order. Also, they were fond of using different terms for different categories.
Anyway, the stone man's body was nearly immune to his blade, and its raw power made it a dangerous opponent.
If it were Niveus before reincarnation, he would have been running away in fear. But, after living in this world for almost 20 years and receiving training under the best unit in the Chrysantheus Kingdom, he became someone who never backed down from a fight until he deemed it impossible.
Seeing how Niveus stood his ground meant he could handle the stone man. He just needed to find a way to exploit the environment and its weaknesses.
'Does it have a core like a golem?' Niveus pondered as he examined the stone man.
However, the stone man wouldn't let him.
As the stone man prepared to charge again, Niveus took a deep breath.
'Hah... I should have practiced to materialize my aura and expand my magic capacity.'
Calling upon the power within him, the faint warmth of divinity began to spread through his body. This time, Niveus concentrated the energy on his sword.
'Let's finish this quickly,' Niveus thought.
Niveus heard a sigh somewhere in his head but ignored it.
'Sorry, Nono, I don't have much of a choice here.'
["I understand. I'll help you as best I can."]
The stone man roared and charged.
Dashing forward, Niveus moved like a flash, aiming for the creature's weak points—the cracks in its stone armor, the glowing line marks that pulsed with mysterious energy.
With each strike, Niveus chipped away at the stone man, his sword cutting deeper into the stone with every blow. He cut through the hard rock body as if he sliced tofu.
Finally, Niveus's sword managed to cut through the stone man, decapitating and ripping it apart into pieces.
"Huff... only its body is massive and looks tough, but it's actually kinda squishy," Niveus remarked, looking at the scattered stone remains. "Don't judge a book by its cover, huh?"
Indeed.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
As soon as he spoke those words, the scattered stones rumbled and rolled toward one spot. Then, they gathered and resembled a previous stone man.
Seeing the stone man return to its initial state, towering over him once again, Niveus let out a forced chuckle.
"I'm fucked..."
["You're fucked."]
...
Outside the Monolith realm...
Two knights rode very fast, passing through trees and uneven terrain covered in snow. Moreover, the weather was getting worse the closer they were to the fortress.
"He will be okay, right?!" Eliana shouted as she caught up to the other riders.
Glancing sideways briefly, Alphonso shouted back.
"Focus on the road!"
"Woah?!"
Eliana and her horse almost crashed into a tree but avoided it narrowly, thanks to Alphonso's warning.
"Just trust him," said Alphonso before galloping his horse, increasing his speed.
"Hey—"
...
After an intense ride, Alphonso and Eliana reached the fortress in a few hours when it almost took them 12 hours using a carriage from the fortress to the village.
Several knights greeted them as they ran hastily in the corridor.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I thought you two were on a mission? Where's Niveus, though?"
"Don't run in the corridor!"
However, they ignored them.
Thud!
As soon as they arrived in front of the Commander's office, they pushed the door so hard it thudded loudly.
"Commander!!"
"We have an emergency!!"
The young knights shouted at the same time, making their voices inaudible.
The Commander, Starling, who was occupied with mountains of paperwork, slowly raised her eyes at the entrance. A small smile crept in as she found two familiar knights.
"Oh, Alphonso and Eliana, welcome. You have returned? Is it just scouting? Are you two here to report?"
Starling's eyes darted between the two knights, then she leaned sideways, trying to find a particular person.
"Is Niveus going straight into his room? That kid..." Starling shook her head.
Looking back at the young knights, Starling said, "Let's hear your report then."
Alphonso and Eliana exchanged glances and started explaining in turn.
Starling listened closely as they explained. At first, she maintained a straight face when it was about the village's situation and the Monolith's monsters, occasionally making a note in the paper.
Then, as the report reached the part of the second Monolith's emergence, Starling's expression contorted.
"A Monolith appeared within a Monolith? Are you certain you're not seeing it wrong?"
Eliana nodded.
"We're very certain. Because..." Eliana paused for a moment. "Niveus had entered the second Monolith alone..."
THUD!!
"WHAT?!!"
Starling slammed the desk. The impact of her strength caused the papers on it to scatter, making the already messy office messier.
Grabbing the uniform that was hanging on her chair, Starling strode toward the door as she wore the uniform. Glancing behind her shoulder, she looked back at Alphonso and Eliana.
"What are you two doing standing there? Hurry up and come follow," Starling said, her voice low and commanding authority.
As she walked in the corridor, her expression turned cold and grim.
With a deep breath, she shouted, "Glacend Knight! Gather at the main gate!!"
Closing her eyes, Starling recalled a particular face, one she couldn't forget until now.
'Stupid brother of mine... let's see what excuse you will give me this time.'