"What does it mean to be strong?"
"Hahaha. What a question! To be strong is to be able to face problems without giving up; to be strong is to be able to confront your enemies without hesitation. There are so many ways to define it, and it also depends on perspective..."
Liam watched the golems approaching him.
At that moment, he was recalling a conversation he had once had with his master.
His muscles ached, and he was exhausted; the sheer number of golems was draining.
Through his magical perception, Liam sensed the golems drawing near amidst the fog.
The beautiful witch took it upon herself to shield Sirem and Vivian whenever necessary.
Even so, she never stopped keeping a close watch on Liam—especially since he was still suppressing his power.
She felt a surge of worry, her heart racing as she saw the man she called her husband being set upon by hundreds of golems while he stood motionless, a pensive look on his face.
The beautiful witch's eyes glowed with purple mana, allowing her to see through the fog.
"I remain trapped in my past; I'm still clinging to the time when my efforts counted for nothing—when I felt weak. Perhaps I'm afraid of becoming weak again," Liam thought, and sighed.
As dozens of Crab Princes, Imperial Generals, and numerous other golems closed in, he smiled and glanced at the beautiful witch who was watching him with a worried expression.
"No, I can't look pathetic—especially not in front of the beautiful women I adore so much." Liam walked toward the golems.
The golems' blows grazed his body, but they caused only superficial wounds.
With precise strikes, he severed the golems' vital cores.
The moment the golems attacked, Liam would instantly slice through their vital cores.
He did all this while continuing to walk toward the spot where the dark red Crab Golem was located.
"Being strong... no, I should just enjoy myself with the women by my side until the very last moment. Letting them suffer so they can grow stronger? That makes no sense—unless they happen to be masochists." Liam chuckled briefly at the thought.
Boom!
An imperial general launched a powerful "aquatic strike" right next to Liam.
He dodged the imperial golem's attack at the precise moment and accurately severed its life core.
Liam, his body aching, walked far enough to notice the bluish-black Golem Crabs and the Dark Red Golem Crab.
Liam, his Rank still suppressed, gathered all his remaining mana into a swirling spell in his right hand and fixed his gaze straight ahead.
He ignored the other golems closing in on him.
He focused.
Slash!
A single horizontal magical slash cut right through the mist.
Boom!
Even the dungeon wall was sliced through.
Every blue-black crab golem was cut down in one stroke; even the dark red crab golem was severed in two.
The mist swirled and wavered.
That floor was about to be cleared.
Drained of mana, he murmured with a satisfied smile:
"This is how I used to feel after finishing a training session; I'll bury my past doubts right here."
Many golems still remained near Liam, and they did not hesitate to attack.
"Liam!" Margaret couldn't help but scream the name of the man she loved in anguish.
She was terrified; she didn't want to lose him.
She was on the verge of unleashing a powerful area-of-effect spell, but before she could act, dozens upon dozens of magical slashes dispersed the mist and tore every golem surrounding Liam to pieces.
"Master, I think I'll be missing the academy for a few days," Liam muttered.
He knew that he would have to serve the penalty for not clearing the dungeon in the allotted time.
Liam looked at the women facing the remaining golems.
Liam moved both hands, launching dozens and dozens of magical cuts while he ran towards other golems, eliminating them with a single cut.
"Rank B-," Margaret murmured.
Liam only stopped suppressing his Rank a little and the golems in the dungeon were no longer a threat to him.
All the golems were annihilated.
"Husband!" the beautiful witch jumped into Liam's arms.
He received her in his arms surrounding the beautiful witch's waist and they both kissed deeply and passionately.
[Host fluids increase sensitivity in the woman's body]
[Quest: Clear C-Rank Dungeon]
[Dungeon Floors: 90/100]
[Play Points earned: 3600]
[Play Points: 1855]
...
The next level was a resting floor.
But this time, the surroundings were not pleasing to the eye.
Instead, it was a gloomy place.
The "wooded zone" was filled with withered trees laden with dry leaves.
The ground was dusty and dirt-strewn, while the walls and ceiling were rocky and greyish in hue.
The once-deep lake had been replaced by a large crater marked by erosion cracks.
An unsettling atmosphere now sent shivers down one's spine, creating the eerie sensation of being watched by thousands of eyes.
Liam glanced at Sirem and Vivian.
Both appeared slightly anxious.
He wrapped his arms around their waists, which helped to calm them.
[-100 Play Points]
[Play Points: 1755]
"Each of you drink half of this potion; then follow us."
Liam swept the beautiful witch up into his arms and headed toward one of the camping tents.
"That pervert," Sirem said mischievously after drinking half the revitalizing potion.
She handed the potion to Vivian and was the first to run toward the tent where Liam was waiting.
...
"Ha ha ha. That manual had a great impact on him," the primordial said in an amused tone.
He held in one of his hands a glass sphere the size of a softball.
Through that sphere you could see what was happening in the dungeon, but to anyone else it just looked like a crystal ball with a beautiful snowy theme inside.
At the time, the Primordial was on a "float" in the middle of a large pool at a luxury hotel.
"Is that good or bad?" asked the charming female voice that was always aware of the primordial's actions.
"That fits the system I gave him; whether it's good or bad we'll know in the future," the primordial let out a chuckle the moment he released the crystal sphere onto the pool water.
For him, the dungeon no longer represented a risk for his disciple.
"Ha ha ha, what kind of hellish training should I impose on him?"
"You are quite cruel"
"Don't say that, you'll break my heart."
"..."
♡ End of Volume 2 ♡
Thanks for reading.