Chapter 112: The Dimensional Labyrinth’s Third Layer [2] — Securing The Relics

Giant fangs of light and sword energy intermingled within Gungnir, boosted by the Rune and the Soul Essence flowing through it. The giant crab tanked several hits before its armor cracked. The rest of its body quickly filled with dozens of holes until it could no longer fight. Its cores shattered, and its body slowly sank deeper into the abyss.

“Hm?!”

But it was not over. Shadows suddenly wrapped around Louis’s entire body. He found himself dragged toward the giant maw of the Shadow Manta Ray Queen—a massive manta ray the size of a plane. Her shadows manifested as countless black tentacles, paralyzing him completely as they pulled him toward her jaws.

“Hmph!”

Louis did not need to move. Channeling his Sword Energy and combining it with his Aura, he unleashed an invisible cutting attack made entirely of Sword Aura. He manifested part of his Fantasy Heart and slashed through the monstrous creature’s maw, tearing off a large chunk of its body.

SLAAASH!

“Hoh, not bad…!”

Louis realized the technique he had used proved incredibly effective in the sea. By concentrating sword energy into a single point within his Aura and releasing it as a cutting wave, he could eliminate foes more easily while conserving energy.

“Sword Aura Cleave.”

Naming it, Louis began using the technique repeatedly. The monstrous Shadow Manta Ray Queen could not resist the constant sharp, deep wounds. Groaning in pain, it tried to flee. But Zorba emerged and blocked its escape, swinging his bone scythes and slashing its face. Louis attacked from behind, using Sword Cleave three more times and finishing it off, destroying its two cores in the process.

“The two Colony Guardians are dead…!” Louis told Zorba. “Let’s quickly wrap this up!”

After that, the two and their Undead massacred the remaining Entities, leaving none alive until they finished. They gathered the Fantasium Cores and finally searched the Colony Corals for treasure chests. At last, they found one among the two.

“There it is…”

Louis smiled with immense joy as a Relic appeared inside the treasure chest! It looked like a golden seashell, likely from some kind of mollusk. He recognized it—these were called Mermaid’s Gold Seashells. By playing a song through them, it was possible to summon Maritime Monsters from this Layer.

These creatures, however, were not controlled by the user and could attack them. As a Level 2 Relic, the limit was up to twenty Maritime Creatures—all Dream Entities. It had its uses, but Louis felt content with his Skeleton-Summoning Ring and decided to keep it.

“Are we done then, master? Shall we leave?”

“Yes, we’re leaving.”

Louis had no interest in fighting another Boss Monster if it offered little reward. Perhaps another Relic or something, but he was not interested in a random prize that required swimming all the way to the Fourth Level of this Layer.

“I didn’t meet my Uncle, as I thought. He must be even deeper in the Dimensional Labyrinth. I might not be able to recruit him against Soma,” Louis sighed. “Still, Celestina is an option. I should be able to awaken her ahead of time by feeding her all these Fantasium Cores and the Divine Power I am cultivating using my Mother’s Legacy.”

Zorba and Louis made sure to collect as many Souls as possible before leaving completely. His shadows were nearly bursting with stored items. He needed a better storage spell—or better yet, a limitless storage item he could refine into a Soul Gear to bring through Death Loops. Such a thing seemed far from reality, and he would have to work hard to make it possible.

“To create such a relic, I would need Space-Attribute Materials, which are incredibly hard to secure,” he thought while swimming toward the staircase to the Second Layer. “No, wait—why should I make it? Is there no one I know who already possesses such an item in the game?”

Louis scanned William’s memories and discovered that some students from the Sinner Academy had incredible items. Among them was a certain young nobleman from Camelot—a Half-Spiritian Sinner possessing a Spirit Orb that held three powerful Spirits.

Among them was “Camelot’s Treasury,” a Mimic Spirit shaped like a treasure chest said to have a bottomless stomach. It allowed him to retrieve treasures and items from his country at will, always aiding his fellow countrymen.

“A mongrel from Camelot, huh? Noted. Once I enter the academy, I’ll simply take his Spirit Orb and leave him crippled.”

Louis cared nothing for people outside his country and had no interest in befriending any of them. He knew that in a few more years, everyone would turn against one another, and they would likely wage war on his country anyway.

There were countless ways to refine a stolen Spirit Orb into a special Relic or Item. Louis planned to refine the Spirit Orb itself—along with the three spirits inside—into a Soul Artifact. Implanting it might not work due to his lack of Spiritian blood, and it carried far greater risk than simple refinement.

♢♢♢♢

“Finally…”

After four more hours, Louis, Zorba, and the Undead reached the surface of the First Layer. Since teleporting back to the entrance was impossible, the return journey had been exhausting. Now outside the First Layer, Louis began searching for the Rift leading home.

“It should be here…”

But it was gone.

“Did they close it? Or is someone conspiring against me?” Louis wondered, rubbing his chin.

Zorba stood silently while the Antarctic winter raged as usual—snow and strong winds battering everyone. The Undead slowly froze and struggled to move.

“Tsk, oh well,” Louis shrugged. “We’ll go through the skies, Zorba. Can you follow?”

“Hm? What happened to the Rift you mentioned?” Zorba asked.

“It’s gone. They closed it, or someone else did ahead of time. It has been three or four days, after all,” Louis said. “Maybe my father thought I died. Whatever the case, let’s return through the skies. If we’re in Antarctica, we simply head north. If we hurry and use flight, we may arrive in four or five more hours.”

“I see,” Zorba nodded. “Wait a moment—let me make some adjustments.”

Zorba quickly transformed the undead, merging them into a giant bat-like creature of black bones with enormous skeletal wings covered in ghostly flames.

“This can carry us both to the Frostbane Kingdom, my lord!”

“Hoh, not bad.”

Louis chose to ride the giant undead instead of flying himself. Hecatoncheires took flight, soaring higher and higher, piercing Antarctica’s clouds and nearly reaching the stratosphere.

From that height, Louis admired the world itself and everything within it. He saw several distortions in space, giant craters spanning entire continents, and countless strange things floating even higher in the void.

“Have Entities reached this high in space?” Zorba wondered.

“Perhaps several Fantasy Fields exist up here,” Louis theorized.

“W-What? Is it even possible to fight then? If they’ve conquered even space…” Zorba looked slightly shaken.

“There is,” Louis said, eyes fixed on the horizon. “There’s a way.”

“…?” Zorba asked no more, sensing from Louis’s gaze that he was lost in deep thought.

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