Although staging a scene like "If you do not abandon me, I, Bu, am willing to acknowledge you as my sworn father" wasn't entirely unacceptable to Roland, the dungeon could at least show a bit more generosity, right?
Such a shabby gift would be embarrassing as a reward, not to mention asking Roland to work hard. What is the identity of the dungeon, and what is Roland's status?
Compared to the black mother who separated the original magic energy from the beginning, and generously gave the human evil directly to Roland, she didn't even have to ask Roland to do anything. It can be seen that this is unconditional love.
In comparison, the dungeon is too stingy.
After Roland clearly expressed his refusal, it did not get angry and did not directly give birth to a powerful monster like it did to a god. After all, Roland did not have the divine power to make it angry.
However, it still expressed its dissatisfaction with Roland's arbitrary destruction of its body, and the restriction on the birth of monsters around it was lifted again.
The remaining fire patterns in the dungeon walls also lit up, causing far more monsters than normal to begin to emerge from the walls one by one.
"You really are a stingy guy... You know these things can't possibly be of any use to me, but you still plan to make things worse?"
Roland sighed and grabbed Est's hand.
"Then let's solve it quickly."
——
A small team quickly reached the twelfth floor at a speed far exceeding that of other adventurers.
It was a two-person team. Although their numbers were far less than those of other teams, the identities of these two people were well-known throughout Orario.
"The thirteenth floor is ahead. As the first group today, we will encounter more monsters than usual. Be careful, after all, we are not wearing fire dragon armor."
The tall elf beauty with long green hair looked at the beautiful girl with shiny blonde hair and a pitiful appearance who gave people a cold feeling and was rushing forward alone, and gave helpless instructions.
"Riveria, you're being long-winded."
But facing Riveria, who had such a powerful title as the Nine Hell Princesses and was known as the strongest magician in Orario, the blonde girl named Ais didn't even turn her head, but just uttered a brief complaint.
But only those who are familiar with Ais know that this answer is the girl's proof of closeness.
"So, kid, you are always so careless and rush forward without thinking. You will eventually learn a lesson."
Riveria looked at Ais with a rather helpless look, "It is because you always have this attitude that Loki is worried about you going into the dungeon alone."
"I know the twelfth floor poses no threat to you, but magic is beginning to exist here after all. If something unusual happens and you get hit, you'll inevitably get into trouble. You can salvage yourself in this middle level, but can you still do that when it comes to the expedition?"
"I know..."
Hearing this, Ais also lowered her head and answered softly, but her expression was still a little disappointed.
"Is that kid that good? It's normal for a hero selected by the immortals to be strong, but I'm a little curious that he was able to defeat you on our first meeting."
Of course, Riveria knew the reason for Ais's condition. She had complained about the frivolous Lord God for a long time yesterday, so she took Ais on a casual mission to relax in the dungeon early this morning.
"He is...strong, as strong as a hero."
Ais, who is not good at speaking, recalled the figure from yesterday with a dazed look in her eyes.
"Like a hero..."
Riveria repeated the word, and was somewhat moved. As the princess of the elves, she knew as much secrets and history as many gods. She also had some vague guesses about Ais's life experience, and she was very clear about the weight of this word.
"If possible, I would like to meet him."
With these words, the two of them officially stepped into the thirteenth floor. Then, before they could vigilantly greet the monsters that might be hiding in the cave, waves of horrifying roars continued to come along the walls.
"boom--!!!"
As if something had exploded, a powerful vibration came from the depths of the cave.
"Someone is fighting..."
Ais drew her blade and looked in the direction of the sound.
"There shouldn't be such a big commotion on the thirteenth floor. Let's go take a look. It might be related to our mission this time."
Riveria also frowned and walked towards the place where the sound came from with Ais.
The closer they got, the more they could sense the unusual situation. On this short road, not only did no monster appear, but the horrifying roar also showed no sign of stopping.
Finally, when they arrived at the next open cave, even Ais, who was rushing ahead, stopped and looked at the scene in front of her, falling into a state of astonishment.
In this shaking cave, the source of the chaos is the army of hellhounds.
"What happened in the dungeon?"
The expression on Riveria's face suddenly became serious.
The hellhound is the iconic monster of this layer. Its fire-breathing magic is the symbolic difference between it and the monsters on the upper layers. Many adventurers have died here because they were unprepared.
But in Riveria's impression, these monsters were not what they look like now.
It was the size of a calf, with a violently twisted face, scarlet eyes flashing constantly, and sharp claws hooked deeply.
They landed on all fours without even needing to accumulate strength, and rushed out as swiftly as cheetahs.
More hellhounds stood on the periphery of the army, opened their mouths wide, and let the scorching flames condense inside, turning into flames that spewed out.
With a number of over a hundred and their unusual posture, even for the two senior adventurers of Loki's clan to deal with them, it would be a tough battle in which they could get seriously injured if they were not careful.
But at this moment, Riveria didn't even have the time to complain that she didn't bring equipment like the Fairy Spirit Armor. She just stared blankly at the monster army that was constantly retreating in front of her.
And the young man holding the holy sword and laughing wildly.
"It's useless, useless, useless, useless, useless!"
The young man with black hair and red eyes danced gracefully and lightly, harvesting the lives of monsters in the army of hellhounds as if he was strolling in the garden. There was no unnecessary movement, as if he had calculated every step. He used a subtle angle that would make people applaud, and brushed past the attacking hellhounds, causing those monsters to let out fierce and violent roars.
Huge hellhounds kept pouncing on Roland, but whenever they were unavoidable, the silver holy sword would flash by and cut the hellhound's body in two.
For a moment, Riveria could only see a sword light flashing back and forth among the hellhounds. Every flash was accompanied by wailing sounds and corpses that were broken in response.
This fighting style made Riveria look at Ais beside her.
"Dancing... It's like dancing."
As if she didn't notice Riveria's gaze, Ais watched Roland's actions in fascination.
Every swing of the blade harvests lives, and every movement seems better than the one before.
Ais already understood what Roland meant that day. Compared with Roland now, her fighting style was the inferior one.
The gorgeous realm before her, a perfect combination of strength and technique, was the true meaning of the swordsmanship she had seen in her childhood.
A dangerous yet fascinating sword dance.
She watched Roland's every move intently, eager to learn something from it. Her clear pupils widened slightly, and a different emotion emerged.
"Roland..."
"I see, he is the hero..."
Riveria also showed an expression of admiration: "Among Loki's Familia, I'm afraid no one can be stronger than him. Even that fierce warrior Freya can't fight so easily."
Before Riveria could finish her words, the situation on the scene changed again.
After Roland killed hundreds of close combat hellhounds in less than ten seconds, the remaining hellhounds did not continue to rush forward, but instead let balls of brilliant fire illuminate the entire cave. Countless fireballs gathered in front of Roland, bursting with dazzling light.
"Boom!!!!"
But Roland just looked at these scorching flames with amazing impact with indifferent eyes, gently raised the holy sword in his hand, slowly poured magic power into it, and a magnificent sword light was cut out by him, rushing straight towards the hellhounds that released the fireballs in a half-moon-like posture.
The next moment, the howling gale turned into a physical impact, blowing away everything around. In the dazzling sword light, the flame was directly cut in half. The fierce flames shot out in all directions and sprinkled in the space, as if to vent the energy within.
"not good--!"
The sudden violent force changed Riveria's expression. She subconsciously raised her wand and was about to chant the protective magic, but the expression on her face was soon replaced by surprise and doubt.
"Why, there was no explosion?"
The radiant flames seemed to be forcibly interrupted. After burning unwillingly, they went out directly. The hellhound's magic had already taken shape and been released. This situation could only mean one thing.
"Did the sword remove the magic?"
Riveria's smile suddenly became forced. The holy sword that could directly cut off magic was an irresistible nemesis for magicians like them.
She once had a glorious record of wiping out an entire city with magic, but in front of this hero holding the holy sword, she was just a powerless mortal.
"The magic has been lifted..."
Ais stared at the magnificent sword light in a daze. After cutting off the fireball, it did not stop, but instead took in all the hellhounds in one breath.
They no longer had the strength to even roar, and fell dead one after another, leaving behind a pile of magic stones and smoke.
In the blink of an eye, the previously powerful army of monsters was reduced to ashes by this attack. Only the figure standing in the center of the cave, with a sense of holiness and security under the light of the holy sword, remained standing.
Looking at his masterpiece, Roland smiled with satisfaction.
"The potential of my sword skills has been explored to the fullest. At this rate, this power will soon truly belong to me."
While fighting the hellhound, Roland could clearly feel that under the instinct of his body, his possibilities were constantly evolving, from adaptation to gradual leaps. His powerful body was becoming more and more proficient in receiving and processing surrounding information, allowing Roland to gradually learn and know how to use his own strength to fight.
Until the talismans, substitutes, and magic energy can maintain that power easily even in normal conditions.
He just needed to work hard, and his body and consciousness would spontaneously understand and manipulate the power. The sword light he had just emitted was exactly the same as the one he had used to demonstrate to Ais that day in terms of magical power, but at this moment it killed hundreds of hellhounds with one strike, and its efficiency had increased by more than several times.
Thinking of this, Roland slowly raised his head and looked at the dazed Riveria and the serious Ais.
"Hello, Ais, and Miss Riveria, nice to see you again."
"Should I say it's an honor for me to have my name remembered by the legendary sword hero?"
When Roland's eyes fell on her, Riveria instinctively felt trembling and creepy. This was not because of her weak will, but from her body's instinct, as if she, as a princess of the elves, was just a delicious piece of bread in front of Roland.
Faced with a being that could take her life at any time, her survival instinct made her quickly move away from Roland, but Riveria suppressed her uneasiness and gave a sophisticated answer.
"Roland, you are so powerful."
Ais looked at Roland steadily and said seriously.
"Why are you so strong?"
"Aisi!"
Riveria scolded sternly. In Orario, everyone's skills and magic are secret. If they are spied on by others, there is no way to complain even if you are killed. Although Ais is a bit natural, it is okay to do this to her companions, but it is too rude to others.
Roland felt a little strange being praised by a girl who was better than him in skills yesterday.
"It doesn't matter. I have nothing to hide anyway. Although it may sound a bit boastful, this body was born with this power. I just learned it a little faster than others."
There is really nothing to brag about in this regard. His record of crushing the two men in a row yesterday was certainly dazzling, but to be frank, it was just like competing in strength with a centenarian or comparing skills with a primitive man. Even he himself felt that it was a bit despicable.
"Born this way... a born hero,"
Ais murmured Roland's words, and just as she was about to say something else, her eyes changed.
"careful!"
At some point, a new hellhound had emerged from the shadow wall, and without hesitation, it spit out a scorching fireball at Roland!
Although it was just an ordinary magic, an ordinary low-level adventurer would be blown into pieces if hit by it, and a first-line strongman like Ais would be in trouble if he was caught off guard.
But Roland didn't even turn his head. In front of the two people's astonished eyes, he stretched out his free hand towards the fireball, and the violent heat wave exploded and dissipated in the palm of his hand.
"Such a weak flame,"
Roland glanced at the hellhound with disdain, casually swung his sword to kill it, and shook the hand that caught the fireball. After the smoke dissipated, it was still white, without any scars or even signs of turning red.
After doing all this, he seemed to realize how shocking his actions were, and gave an embarrassed smile to the stunned Riveria.
"Anyway, that's it.
——The human body is amazing, isn't it? "