CH 23

"Um?"

As Su Hai approached the entrance of the dungeon, he suddenly felt an intense, burning gaze fixed upon him. The overwhelming passion in that gaze instantly put him on alert.

Looking up toward Babel Tower—the colossal skyscraper at the heart of Orario—Su Hai searched for the source of the gaze. But the moment his eyes scanned the tower, the feeling vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

After a few moments of fruitless observation, Su Hai shook his head and continued toward the dungeon.

Soon, he arrived at the square in front of the dungeon entrance, where Liliruca Arde stood waiting with her oversized backpack strapped to her small frame.

"Sir Su Hai!"

The moment she spotted him, Liliruca's face brightened, and she stepped forward with a smile.

Su Hai returned the smile and nodded in greeting before the two of them headed into the depths of the dungeon.

Far above, within Babel Tower, a goddess radiating unparalleled beauty and irresistible charm clutched her chest, her face flushed with excitement.

"Oh… what a beautiful soul… I must have him… I must make that child mine!"

Her breath quickened as she whispered to herself, overwhelmed by the brilliance of Su Hai's soul that had briefly revealed itself.

Over the next five days, Su Hai fell into a steady routine: every morning, he would meet Ais Wallenstein at the eastern city wall to continue teaching her Enhancement Magic. Then, he would descend into the dungeon with Liliruca, delving deeper with each passing day.

"Sir Su Hai, are we heading to the 16th floor again today?"

Standing at the dungeon entrance, Liliruca asked cheerfully, her trust in Su Hai now absolute after several days of adventuring together.

"Something like that," Su Hai replied. "But today, I plan to head down to the 17th floor and take on the floor boss."

Liliruca's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly relaxed. Given Su Hai's strength, the challenge didn't seem impossible.

The night before, when Su Hai updated his status, he found that all his abilities had reached 2000 points—an SSS rank in every category. Now, all that remained for him to advance from Level 1 to Level 2 was to achieve a sufficiently remarkable feat.

Taking down Goliath—the floor boss of the 17th floor—would certainly qualify.

Without any unnecessary delays, the pair swiftly traversed the dungeon's upper floors and soon arrived at the entrance to the 17th floor.

Unlike the previous floors, this level was a massive, enclosed square with thick walls and only two entrances: one leading in and the other leading down.

As the solitary ruler of this floor, Goliath was the only monster that spawned here—and its strength was equivalent to that of a Level 4 adventurer.

However, Su Hai had no doubts that he could defeat it.

Stepping forward without hesitation, Su Hai led Liliruca onto the floor.

"Stay behind me, Lily."

The moment Su Hai finished speaking, the walls ahead of them began to crack and crumble with a thunderous rumble.

First, a colossal arm burst forth from the debris, followed by the massive figure of Goliath—standing over five meters tall, with a body as solid as stone and eyes burning with primal rage.

With a roar that shook the entire floor, Goliath charged straight toward them, its footsteps shaking the ground as though the mountain itself were collapsing.

The sheer force of its presence made Liliruca instinctively take a step back in fear. But seeing Su Hai standing tall and unyielding before the monster quickly restored her confidence, and she clenched her fists to steady her nerves.

Su Hai, however, showed no signs of panic. As Goliath charged closer, a golden and white holy sword materialized in his hand—the Sword of Promised Victory: Excalibur.

"Ex… calibur!"

Though Su Hai could have defeated Goliath without Excalibur, dealing with its massive frame would have taken more effort. This was the perfect opportunity to unleash the legendary sword's power.

Lifting the sword high above his head, Su Hai began charging its ultimate attack. Countless golden particles of light gathered from all directions, coalescing around the blade as its brilliance grew more intense with each passing second.

Within moments, Su Hai's entire body was bathed in golden radiance.

"This… This is the radiance of the gods…"

Watching from behind, Liliruca could feel the warmth of the golden light, as if all the good intentions and blessings of the world had converged into a single moment.

Her eyes widened with awe, and she couldn't help but whisper in admiration.

With a final surge of energy, Su Hai swung the Sword of Promised Victory, unleashing a blinding wave of golden light that streaked across the floor like a divine judgment.

The ground shattered beneath its power, and Goliath was instantly engulfed in the torrent of energy.

When the light faded, a long trench stretched across the floor, surrounded by debris and scorched earth.

Of Goliath, not a trace remained—not even its magic crystal had survived the devastating attack.

Su Hai exhaled slowly, lowering Excalibur as the golden particles of light faded into the air.

"Guess I'll have to avoid using Excalibur in the dungeon from now on," he thought to himself.

After all, wiping out the magic crystal along with the monster meant losing valuable resources—and that was less than ideal.

"Congratulations to the host for defeating Goliath and obtaining a three-star treasure chest."

Su Hai's thoughts were interrupted by the familiar voice of the system in his mind.

Surprised, he recalled noticing a faint glimmer above Goliath's head when it first appeared—the telltale sign of a treasure chest waiting to be claimed.

"Open!"

Without hesitation, Su Hai commanded the system to unlock the chest.

"Congratulations to the host for opening the three-star treasure chest and obtaining: One-time True Name Liberation of the Longinus Spear (Gungnir)."

A faint glow appeared in Su Hai's system space, where a card depicting a scarlet spear now rested.

"The Longinus Spear…!"

Su Hai's eyes lit up in excitement, but the next moment, his enthusiasm was tempered by the system's clarification:

"Note: This item can only be used once."

"Tch, only once, huh?"

Though a bit disappointed, Su Hai quickly shrugged it off. After all, acquiring such a legendary weapon—even as a single-use item—was an extraordinary boon. And if used at the right moment, it could undoubtedly turn the tide of any battle.

Sliding Excalibur back into his system space, Su Hai turned to Liliruca with a smile.

"Let's head back. I think today's adventure was more than enough."

Liliruca, still mesmerized by the brilliance she had just witnessed, quickly snapped out of her daze and nodded eagerly.

"Yes, Sir Su Hai!"

With that, the pair began their journey back to the surface, unaware that the intense gaze from Babel Tower had returned—this time, burning with even greater desire.

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