Level Question Mark, Mysterious Crystal Shard

Amid the howling wind, the sharp katana gleaming with cold light slashed horizontally down at the Ghost Leader.

But suddenly, the descending blade stopped eerily one centimeter away from the Ghost Leader's body.

Wu Yan gritted his teeth and pressed down hard on the Kusanagi Sword, yet he still could not reach the Ghost Leader's body of bones.

Wu Yan could clearly see strands of Black Aura swirling beneath the Kusanagi Sword's blade. Though each strand was no thicker than a hair, they were like the sturdiest walls of copper and iron, blocking Wu Yan's slash.

Before he had time to be surprised, a bony hand larger than a fan swatted at Wu Yan. He quickly tapped off the ground and leaped back, widening the distance. The bony hand struck the floor with a bang, smashing out a small crater.

Halting his retreat, Wu Yan dashed forward. He swung his sword with both hands and fiercely slashed at the Ghost Leader's chest before it could retract its bony hand.

Just as Wu Yan was about to land the attack, the Black Aura around the Ghost Leader stirred again, rapidly turning into threads of black silk that coiled around the blade.

At that moment, Wu Yan felt as though he was not cutting through gas, but soft leather. All the force behind his strike was instantly dispersed, and the sword stopped one centimeter before the Ghost Leader, unable to advance another inch.

What was going on? This Black Aura...

He quickly lowered his head to evade another swipe from the Ghost Leader. Twisting the blade, Wu Yan thrust his sword into the Ghost Leader's shoulder. Just like before, the Black Aura wrapped around the blade and halted the attack.

"Damn it!" Wu Yan shouted coldly, shoving hard with his sword and pushing the Ghost Leader away.

Wu Yan ran a hand along the blade and focused on the Ghost Leader—or, more accurately, the Black Aura around it.

Originally, Wu Yan had thought that with the Common Armament Kusanagi Sword, Swordsmanship Proficiency for attacking, Perfect Memory for finding weaknesses, and Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance as a finishing move, he should have been fully capable of matching an opponent even one level above him.

The slash from before, which even the Ghost Leader had been unable to react to, had proven his assumption. Yet unexpectedly, that Black Aura could actually protect it!

It was completely unlike ordinary defense. Instead, it acted like a force-dispersing barrier, completely neutralizing the power of his attacks.

After several fruitless attacks, Wu Yan could not help growing secretly annoyed. He was faster than his opponent, yet his attacks were useless. At this rate, he would be the first to tire out.

No wonder it's from the same family as those skeletons and Wandering Corpse Souls. Even alone, it still plans to exhaust me to death. So damn sneaky...

"Hehehehe..." The Ghost Leader crooked its neck with a strange laugh. Its jaw snapped rapidly open and shut, making a series of rattling sounds, before it floated into the air and charged at Wu Yan.

Twisting aside to evade the Ghost Leader's collision, Wu Yan slashed at it as it passed him, cutting into its back. Once again, the attack was dispersed by the Black Aura.

But the Ghost Leader abruptly turned around and shot toward Wu Yan like a missile. Wu Yan bent down awkwardly to avoid the impact, and the Ghost Leader twisted around once more...

For a moment, the Ghost Leader was like a bone-made homing missile, constantly ramming toward Wu Yan. He could only keep dodging. The situation had completely reversed—Wu Yan, who had held the initiative before, could now only defend and evade passively.

Watching the Ghost Leader continuously rush at him, Wu Yan's expression grew uglier and uglier.

I can't attack, but I can't not attack either. What am I supposed to do?

Wu Yan kept his eyes fixed on the Ghost Leader, trying to use Perfect Memory to record all of its attack patterns and find its weakness.

As the Ghost Leader's bony body smashed about, more and more craters appeared across the ground. Explosions echoed through the underground hall as dust scattered everywhere.

"Pant... pant..." After dodging another missile-like charge from the Ghost Leader, Wu Yan began breathing lightly. His opponent clearly was not afraid of his attacks, and its puppet-like movements were impossible to predict. If Perfect Memory had not recorded its movements, Wu Yan would probably have been hit already.

The countless craters in the ground made one thing clear: getting hit was definitely no joke!

If I don't change the situation, I'm dead for sure. No choice—I can only attack!

He gripped the sword hilt tightly. The air around him began to ripple, turning into tiny gusts of wind that curled around the Kusanagi Sword's blade. As more and more wind gathered, it became increasingly solid. At a certain moment, the gathered air turned into a halo surrounding the sword.

Wu Yan stomped off the ground and charged straight at the incoming Ghost Leader. Only when he was about to collide with it did he raise his sword and slash down!

"Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance!!!"

"Bang!!!"

Arc-shaped sword energy enveloped the Ghost Leader. At the same time, a massive muffled boom erupted, and the Ghost Leader was sent flying backward by the curved sword energy. It crashed into the wall, knocking down countless chunks of stone and burying itself beneath the rubble...

Did it work?

Wu Yan stood with his sword planted before him, watching the falling stones and the slowly growing pile of rubble while breathing faintly.

Honestly, if even Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance had no effect, Wu Yan would truly be out of options. Other than running away, he could only search the system for a solution.

Unfortunately, he had already searched. Either the available options did not suit him, or he did not have enough points. So this Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance had also been a gamble...

Though hope showed on his face, Wu Yan knew that perhaps the attack really had not worked. The pressure he had felt ever since the battle began had not lessened in the slightest...

Suddenly, Wu Yan's pupils contracted, and he gave a bitter smile.

From within the pile of rocks, the Ghost Leader slowly crawled out like a worm. Once it emerged, it simply dropped onto all fours, raised its head with a strange chuckle, and slowly crawled toward Wu Yan.

His body taut, Wu Yan raised the Kusanagi Sword toward the Ghost Leader, determination flashing in his eyes.

No one was unafraid of death. Wu Yan was afraid too—very afraid. But in order to keep living, in order to one day set foot again on the land known as the Sparlier World, in order to return and cook for the Student Council President...

He could only fight!

Wu Yan lowered his body, preparing to charge. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. Surprise flashed across his face, followed by a delighted smile.

"Hehehehe..." Completely defying gravity, the Ghost Leader flipped over from its four-limbed stance. Its body twisted mechanically in midair before returning to an upright posture, while the Black Aura around it churned violently.

Although it looked no different from before, Wu Yan, with his Perfect Memory, clearly remembered...

Compared to before it had been hit by Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance, the Black Aura around the Ghost Leader was now a little thinner!

In other words, this Black Aura protection had its limits too!

Smiling faintly, Wu Yan straightened his chest, held his sword in both hands, and stomped off the ground as he rushed forward...

In the blink of an eye, Wu Yan arrived before the Ghost Leader. A cold glint flashed through his eyes as the sword blade lit up and swept out in an arcing slash!

"Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance!!!"

A fierce collision rang out. The Ghost Leader was blasted backward by the force, and just as it was about to smash into the wall again, Wu Yan appeared before the flying Ghost Leader once more. The halo-wreathed sword came crashing down again!

"Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance!!!"

The curved sword force drove the Ghost Leader into the wall. It let out a strange cry as its entire body slammed into the stone, leaving only its skull exposed outside.

A glowing katana appeared above the Ghost Leader's head again. The moment it looked up, the sword chopped down onto its forehead...

"Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance!!!"

The wall exploded. Chunks of stone, large and small, flew through the air before smashing heavily onto the ground. Dust rose everywhere, and countless new craters appeared, leaving the floor—which had already been battered by the Ghost Leader's impacts—even more devastated.

Wu Yan panted heavily as he looked at the Ghost Leader lying before him. Though its bones were completely intact, the Black Aura that had originally surrounded its body had vanished without a trace. With only its bones remaining, the Ghost Leader lay there helplessly. Wu Yan smiled tiredly.

In less than five seconds, Wu Yan had used Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance three times in succession. Though it was a pure sword-slashing technique that required no battle aura, magic power, or anything of the sort, it still consumed a great deal of Wu Yan's stamina.

But none of it had been wasted. That force-dispersing gas, like a sponge, had completely vanished. It had been worth it.

"Ding! Congratulations, user! Your level has increased! Current level: 30!"

A level 30 Ghost Leader had raised Wu Yan, who had only just reached level 29, by another level! He had reached level 30—the equivalent of the fourth tier in the Sparlier World!

Flexing his arms, now filled with strength again, Wu Yan felt all his fatigue disappear. He nodded in satisfaction. Gaining two levels in one day was something that had not happened in a long time, especially now that each higher level required more and more experience.

Holding the Kusanagi Sword, Wu Yan walked over to the Ghost Leader. Looking at it, now unable to move, he was speechless.

It seemed that the Black Aura was the force supporting its movements. Without it, the Ghost Leader could not move at all. That was really...

Wu Yan could only spread his hands helplessly and smile. "Buddy, sorry about this. We don't have any grudge against each other, but you're a ghost and I'm a human. Humans and ghosts walk different paths. For my mission, I can only let you die one more time. Don't blame me. Remember to be a 'good' person in your next life..."

Huh? Why did I feel like I'd said the exact same thing before? Never mind!

His helpless expression hardened. Wu Yan raised his sword in a backhand grip and slashed down with all his strength, completely severing the Ghost Leader's skull!

"Ding! Mission Two complete! Received 10,000 Equipment Points, Item Points, Ability Points, and Summon Points each!"

"Ding! Obtained one Mysterious Crystal Shard!"

"Ding! Mission Three unlocked!"

Hearing the system notifications, Wu Yan froze.

Monsters could drop loot? That made no sense. Why had that never happened before?

A heavy sensation suddenly appeared in his empty hand. Wu Yan quickly opened his palm, and a beautiful white crystal lay there, radiating a golden glow that made him stare at it absentmindedly. Unfortunately, it was only a fragment.

Mysterious Crystal Shard:

Instance World: Hayate the Combat Butler!

Mission One: Enter Hakuhou Academy and become a high school student at Hakuhou Academy;

Mission Reward: 1,000 Equipment Points, Item Points, Ability Points, and Summon Points each;

Mission Two: Slay the Ghost Leader in the Old School Building of Hakuhou Academy;

Mission Reward: 10,000 Equipment Points, Item Points, Ability Points, and Summon Points each;

Mission Three: Find another Mysterious Crystal Shard and combine them into a complete Mystic Crystal;

Mission Reward: Randomly draw one reward from equipment, items, abilities, and summons;

Find another crystal shard? How the hell was I supposed to know where it was!

Forget it. I should go back and cook for Hinagiku, or she'll fly into a rage again.

With a helpless sigh, Wu Yan stored the crystal shard in his Space Ring and quickly left...