It Has To Work, Even If It Doesn't

"Cough----!"

Amidst the smoky, dusty pile of rubble, Leo, who had slipped from the shattered wall, stumbled and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His body felt as if it had been crushed, and waves of intense pain nearly made Leo collapse, vomiting blood.

"This... this is not good..."

Feeling excruciating pain throughout his body, Leo had no idea how serious his injuries were.

How many bones in my body are still intact?

How many of the internal organs in the body haven't been damaged?

He didn't know; all he knew was that he was barely holding on to his broken body and hadn't collapsed, all thanks to a desperate struggle.

The level 4 floor master, being a super-large-scale one at that, would be so powerful that even a level 5 level 1 adventurer, let alone Leo whose stats are barely comparable to a level 3 adventurer, would be unable to escape unscathed from a direct hit unless they were as thick-skinned and tough as Grandpa Gareth, whose "Durability" was trained to S rank.

This is undoubtedly a serious injury, and there are ways to kill it.

If it weren't for the cushioning effect of his combat suit and robe, which provided a certain level of protection, Leo was certain that he would already be lying in a pool of blood, unable to stand up again.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO--!!!"

Goliath was still roaring there, his furious cries turning into waves of sound that shook the cave.

It violently shattered the floor and rushed towards Leo, as if to leave him there forever. It mercilessly slammed its giant arm down again, causing the people watching from outside the cave to either gasp or lean forward, preparing to rush into the arena to rescue him.

"Is it still too much to push yourself?"

Even Finn murmured this, raising the long spear he had been holding.

He was also ready to step in and save the person.

Although Leo didn't witness this scene, he could roughly guess what the situation was like.

Therefore, he suddenly raised his blood-soaked head, exhausted his last bit of willpower, raised his hand, and shot out an incredibly thick meteor.

This meteor was larger than any of the previous ones, completely covering half of Goliath's body.

"Boom!!!"

With a deafening roar, the meteor struck Goliath directly, exploding inside him.

In an instant, Goliath's running steps were forced to stop, and his raised giant arm was also shaken down. The terrible bombardment made his feet leave the ground, and his entire body was blasted into the air, flying backward and crashing to the ground with a loud bang, causing a huge earthquake.

It let out its most piercing scream to date, its skin bursting open, its flesh rotting, and large splatters of blood gushing out.

This injury is incomparable to any previous injury.

"This----"

The crowd, who were about to rush into the scene to rescue the people, froze.

"That attack just now—"

Gareth frowned deeply.

"----Firepower has reached Lv.6."

Riveria said this with a solemn expression.

Everyone present was deeply moved upon hearing these words.

"Lv.6 firepower----?"

They were completely dumbfounded.

Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya were dumbfounded.

Bete Loga's face twisted slightly.

Ais opened her eyes wide.

Raul and the others looked on in disbelief.

As for Lefiya Viridis, her expression was priceless.

Level 6 firepower spans four entire levels.

The moment the attack was launched, the entire arena fell silent.

However, the price of this attack was that Leo's vision went black, and he almost lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

His mental energy was almost completely drained, and he was just a hair's breadth away from falling into a state of mental exhaustion and becoming completely unable to fight anymore.

His hands were trembling, and it took him a great deal of effort to pull out four medicinal pills from his pouch.

Of these four elixirs, one is Elixir, and the other three are all magical elixirs.

Leo painstakingly pried open the bottles of the four elixirs and swallowed them all in one gulp.

Once the elixirs are ingested, their effects are immediately apparent.

The first thing to take effect was the Elixir, which healed Leo's body almost in seconds, repairing his injuries, setting his broken bones back together, and filling in his ruptured internal organs, slowly restoring him to a healthy state.

The highest-grade elixir, costing 500,000 Valis per vial, is said to revive anyone with a breath left and heal any injury. And indeed, its effects are remarkable, allowing Leo's battered body to heal at a visible speed.

Then, the effects of the three high-quality magical potions began to take effect, forcibly pulling Leo's last shred of consciousness out of the abyss of darkness, and allowing his nearly exhausted mental energy to slowly regain its vitality like a withered tree blossoming in spring.

"Cough cough----"

Leo tossed aside the four empty bottles in his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, finally managing to stand up.

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh----!"

Goliath, on the other side, seemed to have finally recovered and slowly stood up. His eyes were filled with rage and bloodlust as he looked at Leo. Even though he was covered in blood, he wanted nothing more than to tear Leo to pieces.

All I can say is that Leo's final blow was incredibly painful.

Although Leo had been inflicting damage on Goliath, those injuries, though seemingly serious, were actually not that serious for Goliath.

Even if Leo increased the output of his magic to Lv.5, which would allow him to damage Goliath, whose "Durability" was specialized to Lv.5, he could only break through his defenses.

If offense and defense are at the same level, even if you can break through the defense, how much damage can you actually inflict?

Furthermore, a high "durability" value has another advantage: it also means strong self-recovery ability.

As a floor master specializing in "durability", Goliath actually has a very high self-healing ability. Given some time, it can definitely recover from the injuries caused by Leo.

Leo himself was aware of this, which is why he never stopped attacking and kept dealing damage, just to prevent Goliath from having time to heal.

However, this solid punch, which nearly shattered him, cruelly told Leo that dragging things out would be absolutely disadvantageous for him.

Goliath is tough and has a high tolerance for mistakes. Even if Leo hurts it many times, it won't be able to completely change the situation unless it's a fatal wound.

Leo, on the other hand, is different. The difference in their levels is obvious. If he takes a solid punch from Goliath, he will immediately be on the verge of death and will need to use a precious Elixir to come back to life.

But how many vials of his Elixir could he possibly have?

So----

"From the very beginning, we cannot afford to take chances, nor can we hold back anything."

Despite Goliath's furious roar, Leo walked step by step down the pile of rubble.

His clothes were tattered and his face was covered in blood, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

His figure looked disheveled and pitiful, but the aura emanating from him only increased.

His eyes, expression, and even his heart suddenly became incredibly calm at that moment.

It was frighteningly calm.

"To defeat it, level 5 firepower is definitely not enough!"

"Only overwhelming firepower can inflict a fatal blow on it!"

"That means we absolutely must upgrade our firepower to Lv.6!"

But can I handle it?

Simply raising the firepower to Lv.5 is already such a heavy burden, and magic potions are running low. If I raise the output by another level, won't I suddenly collapse from mental exhaustion?

Are those high-quality magical elixirs able to keep up with the rate at which one's mental energy is depleted?

What should I do if I can't keep up?

A series of thoughts flashed through his mind, but Leo suppressed them one by one.

No way.

"It has to work!"

Because, besides doing this, he had no other choice.

Firepower!

We need firepower!

The power of magic must be increased!

"[Light of Heaven, Sword of Stars.]"

Leo resolutely raised the Emerald Staff in his hand, causing the jewel at the top to shine brightest, and the magic circle, radiating dazzling Starlight, became brighter than ever before, spinning rapidly.

Goliath seemed to sense the danger, roared, and charged towards Leo without regard for his own safety.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

Just as the enormous body was about to step on Leo successfully unleashed an incredibly massive meteor.

"Boom!!!"

The enormous meteor struck Goliath squarely in the chest, exploding with a deafening roar, tearing his skin and flesh apart, and causing him to howl in agony.

Leo felt a sudden darkness before his eyes again, and the mental energy he had just managed to recover was suddenly drained away once more.

Leo pulled out three more magical potions from his pouch and gulped them down in one go.

"[Light of Heaven, Sword of Stars.]"

Leo began chanting magic with a roar.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

The enormous meteor shot out again, striking Goliath's massive body without fail, knocking it away and vaporizing its skin, revealing its crimson flesh.

This time, Leo didn't even give himself a chance to go black. The instant the magic was successfully released, he immediately pulled out three magic potions and gulped them down.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

The enormous meteor shot out for the third time, and the entire cavern shook the moment it exploded.

"[Meteor Dance]!!"

No one could see what Leo did anymore; all they could hear was his even more frantic roar as he fired a fourth, enormous meteor, blasting Goliath away.

After this attack, Goliath's howl of pain had completely turned into a scream of agony. His flesh and blood were evaporated by the astonishing magical firepower, leaving his chest cavity, bones, internal organs, and other parts directly exposed to the air.

Thanks to this, everyone saw a huge blue crystal appear on Goliath's chest.

That's Magic Stone, the life core of all monsters.

It is because of the power provided by the Magic Stone that the monsters in this world are able to continue to exist.

In other words, that is a common weakness of all monsters.

Adventurers all over the world know what happens to monsters that lose their Magic Stone.

That is, to turn into ashes.

At that moment, everyone in the Loki Familia clenched their fists.

At that moment, everyone watching held their breath.

As they gazed at the disheveled yet unyielding figure, at him standing before the screaming giant as if vomiting blood, a tremendous emotion welled up within them, an emotion they could not suppress.

Regardless of who it was, friend or foe, at this moment, everyone spontaneously followed the overwhelming emotion in their hearts and uttered this cry.

Even Finn, Riveria, Gareth, who were leaders of their respective clans, as well as Bete Loga, who had always been at odds with Leo, couldn't help but shout this out.

Only Ais, her golden eyes fixed on that retreating figure, let out a soft murmur.

"Leo ----"

The shouts and whispers reached Leo's ears with crystal clarity in that instant.

So Leo took out all the remaining magical potions and poured them all into his mouth.

"Go for it!!!"

"[Meteor Dance]!!!"

A roar powerful enough to drown out all other sounds in the room, echoing throughout the surroundings.

Before Leo's raised Emerald Staff, a magic circle twice the size of the previous one suddenly unfolded, spewing out Starlight.

The Starlight disc machine dispelled the endless darkness, illuminating the entire end of the 17th Floor, causing blinding light to seep out from the large circular entrance.

!"

Everyone watching from the entrance was engulfed by the intense light before they could even react.

"Boom!!!!!"

Inside the entrance, in the vast hall, a deafening roar erupted, causing the entire 17th Floor to shake violently.

The wall is cracking.

Gravel is rolling down.

A dazzling meteor, seemingly capable of piercing the heavens and earth, struck the nightmarish, towering giant while radiating an intense light that no one could look directly at.

"Bang!!!"

The giant, struck by the attack, didn't even have time to let out a final scream before its entire body gradually collapsed, shattered, and vanished in the intense Starlight. This caused the massive Magic Stone on its chest to shatter with a loud cracking sound, exploding into countless fragments that scattered across the sky.

No one could witness this scene.

But when the bright light faded and everything fell silent, the spectators, who had cautiously opened their eyes and instinctively assumed defensive postures, could no longer see the giant's figure.

The giant vanished without leaving a trace, not even ashes, disappearing directly into the Starlight.

All that remained at the scene was a piece of hard leather that had fallen from the sky, and Leo, motionless, still holding his wand raised.

People stared in disbelief at the scene.

People stared in disbelief at all of this.

No one spoke up immediately, and no one was able to take any action immediately.

An unknown amount of time passed before Leo's body swayed slightly and he fell towards the ground.

He felt his whole body become weak, and his spirit could no longer hold on, plunging into darkness.

However, before he completely lost consciousness, Leo saw a golden light rushing towards him.

The colors were vibrant and captivating.