18

Chapter 18: The Army of Stone

The fifth floor of the Stone Guardian Ruins was enormous.

Subin stood at the bottom of the staircase and looked across the chamber. The ceiling was so high that the upper darkness was barely visible, while enormous pillars stretched toward it like the trunks of ancient trees.

But Subin's attention wasn't on the architecture.

It was on the monsters.

More than thirty Stone Guardians stood between him and the massive stone gate at the opposite end of the chamber.

Some carried swords.

Others carried spears.

Several held enormous shields.

There were even a few creatures that looked considerably heavier than the others, their bodies covered in thick layers of stone armor.

The system continued identifying them.

[Stone Guardian — Level 17]

[Stone Guardian — Level 18]

[Stone Soldier — Level 18]

[Stone Swordsman — Level 19]

[Stone Guardian Captain — Level 21]

Subin's eyes stopped on the final creature.

The Stone Guardian Captain stood nearly three meters tall.

Its armor was darker than the others, and it carried a massive stone greatsword.

Subin's grip tightened around the Silver Fang Sword.

He had expected a difficult floor.

He hadn't expected an army.

The monsters began moving.

At first, only the front line advanced.

The Stone Soldiers raised their spears.

The Stone Swordsmen spread out.

The Guardians moved behind them.

It wasn't random.

They were forming a formation.

Subin's eyes sharpened.

"Even monsters can cooperate this well?"

He wasn't worried.

He was interested.

The first spear thrust toward him.

Subin moved sideways.

Another followed.

He stepped between two weapons.

A sword came from his left.

He blocked it.

A shield slammed toward him from the right.

Subin jumped backward.

The shield struck the ground hard enough to crack the stone.

He landed several meters away.

The monsters immediately reorganized.

Subin smiled.

"Good."

He had been worried that the fight would simply become a mindless slaughter.

Instead, the dungeon was giving him something useful.

A battlefield.

He lowered his stance.

Fang Step.

His body accelerated.

He entered the formation.

The nearest Stone Soldier raised its spear.

Subin's sword flashed.

The spear broke.

Before the monster could recover, he struck its knee.

The stone shattered.

He moved immediately.

A Stone Swordsman attacked from behind.

Predator's Sense warned him.

Subin turned and blocked.

CLANG!

The impact pushed him sideways.

He used the force.

Instead of resisting, he rotated his body and redirected the sword.

Flowing Edge.

The Stone Swordsman's weapon moved past him.

Subin stepped inside its defense.

Stonebreaker Edge.

His Silver Fang Sword struck the creature's chest.

BOOM!

A deep crack appeared.

The Stone Swordsman collapsed.

[Stone Swordsman defeated.]

[Experience acquired.]

Subin didn't stop.

Two Guardians attacked simultaneously.

One swung downward.

The other attacked horizontally.

Subin crouched.

The first sword passed above him.

He jumped over the second.

While still in the air, he twisted his body and brought his sword down.

CRACK!

The second Guardian's shoulder shattered.

Subin landed behind it.

A Stone Soldier thrust its spear.

He turned.

The spear passed beside his waist.

Subin cut the weapon in half.

Then he struck the Soldier's throat.

Stone fragments scattered.

[Stone Soldier defeated.]

The battlefield had become chaotic.

Yet Subin remained calm.

His Sword Comprehension was constantly processing movement.

Every monster had different strengths.

Every weapon had different ranges.

The spear users controlled distance.

The shield bearers restricted his movement.

The swordsmen attacked openings.

The Guardians provided brute force.

Together, they were far more dangerous than their individual levels suggested.

Subin began changing his approach.

Instead of fighting the entire formation, he attacked its structure.

First, he eliminated the spear users.

Then he targeted the shield bearers.

Once their formation began breaking apart, the swordsmen became easier to handle.

His movements became faster.

More efficient.

Silver Fang Flow carried him from one opponent to another.

Flowing Edge redirected attacks.

Fang Step allowed him to change direction.

Stonebreaker Edge shattered defensive bodies.

His sword never stopped.

[Stone Guardian defeated.]

[Stone Soldier defeated.]

[Stone Swordsman defeated.]

One after another, the monsters fell.

But Subin's level wasn't increasing.

He was already Level 19, and the experience required for the next level was much greater than before.

That didn't bother him.

He wasn't fighting merely for experience.

He was learning.

The Stone Guardians were teaching him how to fight multiple opponents.

The Stone Swordsmen were teaching him precision.

The shield users were teaching him how to overcome defensive positioning.

The spear users were forcing him to understand distance.

Each enemy added another piece to his swordsmanship.

A massive stone axe suddenly came toward his head.

Subin ducked.

The weapon passed above him.

He immediately recognized the attacker.

[Stone Guardian — Level 18]

Subin stepped forward.

His sword struck the creature's elbow.

The arm cracked.

The Guardian attempted to swing again.

Subin moved behind it.

Stonebreaker Edge.

BOOM!

The Guardian's spine shattered.

The creature collapsed.

Subin turned.

A Stone Swordsman was already waiting.

Their swords collided.

CLANG!

Subin's eyes sharpened.

This one was different.

Its swordsmanship was more refined than the others.

It wasn't simply following the standard Stone Swordsman pattern.

It had adapted to him.

Subin's Sword Comprehension immediately began analyzing it.

[Sword technique analysis: 19%...]

The Stone Swordsman attacked.

Subin blocked.

Another attack.

He redirected.

The monster changed direction.

Subin followed.

Their blades collided repeatedly.

The Stone Swordsman's movements were extremely economical.

There was almost no wasted motion.

Subin recognized the principle.

Stone Edge.

But this version was more advanced.

He began incorporating it into his own movement.

The next time their swords collided, Subin didn't retreat.

He changed the angle.

The Stone Swordsman's blade slipped past his shoulder.

Subin's sword entered the opening.

CRACK!

The monster's arm broke.

Subin turned his wrist.

The Silver Fang Sword struck the creature's neck.

Its head separated from its body.

[Stone Swordsman defeated.]

[Sword technique analysis: 52%.]

Subin looked at the fallen monster.

"You're improving too."

The system responded.

[Swordsmanship Growth has detected repeated exposure to coordinated combat.]

[Combat Adaptation efficiency increased.]

Subin felt the change immediately.

His body was becoming more comfortable fighting multiple enemies.

His movements were beginning to happen without conscious thought.

He didn't have to think about where every foot should land.

His body was learning.

That was dangerous.

Not for him.

For everyone who would eventually stand against him.

He moved deeper into the battlefield.

Twenty monsters remained.

Then fifteen.

Then ten.

The stone floor was covered in broken weapons and shattered fragments.

Subin's breathing had become heavier.

Even with his increased Vitality, fighting dozens of high-level monsters continuously was exhausting.

But his eyes remained sharp.

The final five monsters stood together.

Four Stone Guardians.

And the Level 21 Stone Guardian Captain.

The Captain stepped forward.

The other monsters moved aside.

Subin looked at it.

"So you're the strongest."

The Captain raised its greatsword.

Subin raised his Silver Fang Sword.

The battle began.

The Captain swung.

Subin blocked.

BOOM!

The impact pushed him backward.

Subin's feet scraped across the stone floor.

He immediately realized something.

The Captain's strength was far beyond the Level 20 Guardian he had fought earlier.

He couldn't simply redirect every attack.

The difference was too large.

The Captain attacked again.

Subin moved sideways.

The greatsword struck the floor.

A shockwave spread across the chamber.

Subin jumped over it.

He landed and attacked.

His Silver Fang Sword struck the Captain's armor.

CLANG!

No damage.

Subin retreated.

The Captain followed.

Its swordsmanship wasn't particularly complicated, but every strike contained overwhelming force.

Subin watched carefully.

His Sword Comprehension activated.

[Analyzing Stone Guardian Captain's swordsmanship.]

[Analysis: 14%...]

The Captain swung horizontally.

Subin ducked.

The blade passed above him.

He moved toward the Captain's side.

Stonebreaker Edge.

His sword struck.

CRACK!

A small fracture appeared.

Subin smiled.

"It can break."

The Captain turned.

Its elbow struck him.

Subin crossed his arms and blocked.

BOOM!

He was thrown several meters.

He landed hard.

His body hurt.

But his Vitality absorbed much of the impact.

Subin immediately stood.

The Captain charged.

Subin didn't retreat.

He rushed forward too.

Their swords collided.

BOOM!

Subin's arms shook.

The Captain pushed him backward.

Subin changed his grip.

He stopped trying to overpower it.

Instead, he redirected the sword.

Flowing Edge.

The greatsword moved past him.

Subin stepped to the side.

Silver Fang Flow.

His sword struck the Captain's knee.

CRACK!

The Captain stumbled.

Subin attacked again.

The other knee.

CRACK!

The Captain dropped to one knee.

But it didn't stop.

It slammed its fist into the ground.

A wave of stone erupted.

Subin jumped backward.

The Captain stood again.

The cracks in its knees were slowly repairing.

Subin understood.

"I need to destroy the core."

His Predator's Sense wasn't designed to detect magical cores, but Sword Comprehension was analyzing the flow of mana.

He watched.

The mana flowed through the Captain's body.

Chest.

Shoulders.

Arms.

Legs.

Then back to the chest.

The pattern was similar to the ordinary Guardians.

But there was one difference.

The Captain's mana always returned to a single point.

Its chest.

Subin's eyes narrowed.

There.

The core.

The Captain raised its sword.

Subin didn't move.

The weapon came down.

At the last possible moment, he stepped sideways.

The greatsword crashed into the floor.

Subin entered the opening.

Fang Step.

One step.

Two.

Three.

His sword moved.

Stonebreaker Edge.

The Silver Fang Sword struck the Captain's chest.

BOOM!

A huge crack spread across its armor.

The Captain staggered.

Subin attacked again.

The Captain tried to block.

Subin changed the angle.

Flowing Edge redirected the greatsword.

His Silver Fang Sword struck the same location.

BOOM!

The chest shattered.

A glowing blue core became visible.

The Captain roared.

Its remaining strength exploded outward.

Subin felt the pressure.

He didn't retreat.

He stepped forward.

His sword moved.

A single clean thrust.

The Silver Fang Sword pierced the core.

Silence followed.

The Stone Guardian Captain froze.

Then its body collapsed.

[Stone Guardian Captain defeated.]

[Experience acquired.]

[Level 19 → Level 20.]

[Level 20 → Level 21.]

[Level 21 → Level 22.]

Subin stood among the remains.

Three level increases.

He slowly exhaled.

Then another notification appeared.

[Dungeon floor cleared.]

[Fifth Floor completion confirmed.]

[Dungeon guardian detected.]

Subin looked toward the enormous stone gate.

So that was why the army had been guarding it.

The gate slowly opened.

Beyond it was a small chamber.

At its center stood a pedestal.

A single object rested on top.

A sword.

Subin walked toward it.

Unlike the Stone Sword from the fourth floor, this weapon wasn't crude or excessively heavy.

It was elegant.

The blade was dark gray, almost black.

Thin silver lines ran along its length.

The handle was wrapped in black material.

Subin reached out.

The moment he touched it, the system appeared.

[Weapon detected.]

[Stone Emperor's Blade]

[Grade: Epic]

[Attack Power: +165]

[Durability: 350/350]

[Special Effect: Defense Penetration +15%]

[Special Effect: Weight Adjustment]

Subin stared at the information.

Epic.

Until now, Rare was the highest equipment grade he had personally obtained.

This sword was an entire level above it.

He slowly drew the blade from its pedestal.

The moment it entered his hand, Subin felt something strange.

The weapon was heavy.

Yet not heavy.

It seemed to adjust itself according to his movements.

When he swung slowly, it carried weight.

When he accelerated, it became lighter.

Subin made a few practice movements.

The sword responded perfectly.

The system appeared.

[Weapon compatibility detected.]

[Compatibility: 97%.]

Subin's eyes widened.

97%.

Even higher than the Silver Fang Sword.

He made another swing.

The blade cut through the air with almost no resistance.

Subin smiled.

"This is a sword."

He looked at his Silver Fang Sword.

It had been his first truly excellent weapon.

He wasn't going to throw it away.

Instead, he placed it carefully into his storage.

The Stone Emperor's Blade would become his primary weapon for now.

Then the system displayed another notification.

[High compatibility detected.]

[Sword Comprehension efficiency increased.]

[Swordsmanship Growth efficiency increased.]

Subin's expression became serious.

An Epic-grade sword had appeared on only the fifth floor of a C-Rank dungeon.

That meant equipment quality wasn't necessarily determined only by dungeon rank.

Rare materials.

Special weapons.

Unique techniques.

The world was much larger than the Association's current classification system suggested.

Subin looked around the chamber.

There was nothing else.

No treasure chest.

No hidden reward.

Just the sword.

He accepted it.

Not every dungeon needed to provide endless rewards.

One exceptional weapon was enough.

Subin opened his status.

[Name: Subin Vans]

[Level: 22]

[Class: Sword God]

[Strength: 38]

[Agility: 37]

[Vitality: 33]

[Intelligence: 21]

[Mana: 15]

[Unassigned Attribute Points: 15]

He had fifteen new points from the three level increases.

Subin considered them.

He decided to place five into Strength.

[Strength: 43.]

Five into Agility.

[Agility: 42.]

And five into Vitality.

[Vitality: 38.]

He closed the status window.

Then he looked toward the entrance of the chamber.

The dungeon wasn't finished.

A faint vibration passed through the walls.

Subin's Predator's Sense activated.

Something was changing.

The enormous stone gate behind the pedestal began to move.

Subin frowned.

The Association's information had said the fifth floor was the deepest confirmed floor.

Apparently, it wasn't.

The stone gate opened slowly.

Beyond it was not another ordinary dungeon floor.

It was a vast staircase descending into darkness.

Subin looked at it for several seconds.

Then he smiled.

The Association didn't know what was below.

That didn't matter.

He had come here to become stronger.

Subin tightened his grip around the Stone Emperor's Blade and stepped toward the staircase.

Behind him lay the fifth floor, covered in the remains of the stone army.

Ahead lay an unexplored section of the dungeon.

And for Subin, that meant only one thing.

Another place to sharpen his sword.