“Feels like your buffs are wasted,” Thomas said, his tone skeptical.
“Nah,” Ludwig denied, shaking his head. “Though they’re mostly physical-enhancing buffs, they’re still useful for maneuverability.” He raised his hands, his fingers crackling with magical energy. “[Fire Ball!]”
Ludwig knew he couldn’t use any of his sword skills without a sword, so he switched back to magic. Time was ticking, and he didn’t have much more time left in the clock.
A powerful explosive ball of fire shot forward from Ludwig’s hands, hurtling toward the lion with blazing intensity. The lion, now wary of Ludwig’s tricks, swatted the fireball away with a massive paw, bursting it apart into a surge of flames that harmlessly brushed past its stone body. But Ludwig wasn’t done.
“Explosive Mines!” he shouted, his voice filled with determination. Two small, glowing orbs materialized in front of Ludwig’s palms, crackling with unstable energy. He hurled them toward the lion with precision, the orbs streaking through the air like comets. The lion, still recovering from the fireball, wasn’t prepared for the two explosive mines that followed. The orbs detonated right in front of its face, the force of the explosion rattling its stone form. Cracks began to appear on its face, the first signs of damage Ludwig had managed to inflict.
“Looks like there is some hope,” Ludwig said, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He flexed both hands to the side, two more [Explosive Mines] manifesting in front of his palms. The glowing orbs hovered menacingly, ready to be unleashed. “Let’s see how well a lion can be cooked!” Ludwig said, his voice filled with a mix of determination and dark humor. He hurled the explosive mines at the lion, the orbs streaking through the air like comets.
The lion roared, clearly remembering the damage it had suffered from the last couple of explosions. It tried to bob and weave, its massive form surprisingly agile for something made of stone. But Ludwig simply snapped his fingers, triggering the orbs to blow up against its side. The lion was rattled, its stone body cracking further under the force of the explosions, but it refused to go down. It kept pursuing Ludwig, its glowing eyes locked onto him with relentless focus.
Ludwig, once again, found himself running. The timer kept ticking, and every time he heard the sound of the beacons echoing in the labyrinth, he felt the pressure mounting. “That’s the fifth one,” Thomas reminded him, his voice tense. Meaning he only had less than five minutes left, and the lion behind him wasn’t fully downed yet. No matter how many orbs he threw at it, the lion would simply bulldoze through them. Though cracks and fissures appeared on its face and body, it was still not to the point that it would break completely.
Ludwig remained calm and collected, his mind sharp despite the grit of his clenched jaw. He didn’t even realize he was doing it, his focus entirely on the task at hand. But just as he thought he might finally gain the upper hand, a wall not too far ahead burst open, revealing another lion that had just emerged, breaking through the stone as if it were made of paper.
Ludwig was caught in a long corridor without any chance of escape, two lions now closing in on him from opposite directions. He stood still for a moment, his eyes darting between the two massive predators. The lions reared up and roared, their howls bone-rattling, their massive feet cracking and breaking the floor as they bounded forward. The two of them jumped at Ludwig simultaneously, their jaws open wide, their claws extended, ready to crush him between them.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Thomas shouted, his voice filled with panic.
Ludwig waited for the last possible moment, his body coiled like a spring. “[Summersault Slam]” Just as the lions were mid-jump, he crouched down, the hilt of his broken sword clutched tightly in his hand.
Ludwig’s body flung upward, his movements a blur as he barely dodged both lions. Their claws struck empty air, and they collided with each other, their massive forms crashing together with a thunderous impact. Ludwig’s body spun in the air, his movements precise and calculated. As he came down, he realized he no longer had a sword—the blade had been shattered to pieces. But that didn’t stop him.
“Self Immolation!” Ludwig chanted, his voice filled with resolve. His right arm roared to life with incendiary flames, the heat intense enough to make the air around him shimmer. He struck down at the lion with the cracked head, his flaming fist slamming into its stone skull with devastating force.
Now, here, Ludwig with all these buffs—his strength amplified by [Galvanize] and [Vengeance]—believed that he would at least deal decent enough damage to the lion. But frankly, he was grossly underestimating himself. For an undead, his base physical strength was already far beyond that of a normal human. Coupled with the hundred-plus points he had invested in strength, he was at the level of a monster in terms of raw power. Not only that, Ludwig had also increased his physical prowess by seventy percent from [Galvanize] and [Vengeance].
The closed fist of Self Immolation that he thought would merely wound the lion ended up exceeding his expectations—to the point that even he didn’t fully understand the extent of his own power. As his fist landed on the lion’s head, a fraction of a second passed before a fissure-like crack spread like a spiderweb across the lion’s stone skull. In that moment, incredible amounts of fire mana surged within those cracks, causing a bone-rattling, ground-trembling explosion of raw power.
A notification appeared in front of Ludwig but he dismissed it immediately, he didn’t have time to waste with reading that right now.
The lion’s head blew apart, shattering into countless shards of stone and rough-cut boulders. The force of the explosion was so immense that the recoil struck Ludwig with several sharp pieces of stone, the damage notifications flashing in his mind.
[-112 HP!]
[-15 HP!]
[-88 HP!]
As for the unfortunate second lion, it was struck hard enough by the shards of its brethren that it winced away, giving Ludwig a moment to react. His face lit up as he saw the beacon lying amidst the rubble of the destroyed lion. He didn’t hesitate. He jumped at the beacon, his hand outstretched, just as the second lion recovered and lunged at him.
The moment Ludwig’s fingers brushed against the beacon, he felt the familiar sensation of teleportation. The lion’s massive arm passed through his afterimage as he was whisked away, leaving the enraged predator roaring in frustration.
Ludwig reappeared in a new section of the labyrinth, the beacon now securely in his possession. He took a moment to catch his breath, his mind racing with the implications of what had just happened. He had taken down a stone lion with nothing but his fists and sheer determination. The realization of his own strength was both exhilarating and terrifying.
“Well,” Thomas said, his voice filled with awe, “that was something.”
Ludwig smirked, his confidence renewed. “Yeah,” he said, his voice steady. “something indeed,” he replied as he looked around. The new section of the labyrinth was also similar to where he was, everything gave a sense of familiarity yet confusion.
Now that he became a prey, he still needed to be careful, there was still about a minute or so left, so he could still be taken down.
And just as his eyes were scanning the place, the sound of calm and confident footsteps echoed in front of him.
“Oh, you got your beacon back,” he heard. And that was Minerva’s voice. Only then did Ludwig remember, the last time he met here… she was a Hunter.