Boots of Resistance

Rokuya opened his eyes underwater.

His vision was extremely blurry, but he could clearly sense disturbances in the water.

He tried to swing the Arcana Blade.

Too slow.

The swamp's viscosity was absurdly strong. Every swing felt like dragging a mountain. Though sixteen points of constitution had granted him tremendous strength, this otherworldly space effectively placed an extremely heavy "slow debuff" over his entire body.

Rip!

A chill swept across his right shoulder.

Sharp claws tore through his coarse linen clothes, leaving three bloody gashes on Rokuya's shoulder, deep enough to expose bone.

Dark red blood spread through the black mire.

"Hee-hee-hee! What's wrong? Weren't you acting so cocky a moment ago?" the Swamp Demon taunted smugly. Like a slippery loach, it fled immediately after landing its strike, hiding in the darkness.

Rokuya said nothing. He did not even frown at the pain.

The lack of oxygen was beginning to make him slightly dizzy.

He had to end the fight within thirty seconds. Otherwise, the demon would not even need to kill him; he would suffocate in this muck.

You think having the terrain advantage means you've got me beaten?

Rokuya sneered inwardly.

He split off a thread of thought and instantly opened the system panel.

[Gratitude points: 1,700]

Under the [Equipment Shop] tab, he quickly zeroed in on an icon of boots glowing with dark golden light.

[Boots of Resistance]

[Price: 1,500 gratitude points.]

[Stats: Slightly increases movement speed. Grants 35% tenacity (greatly reduces the duration and effects of all crowd control, viscosity, and negative statuses).]

Without any hesitation.

"Redeem."

[Ding-1,500 gratitude points deducted. Boots of Resistance successfully redeemed. Automatically equipped and activated.]

[Current balance: 200 points.]

Hum-

A faint but extraordinarily resilient warm current instantly surged from Rokuya's feet throughout his body.

It was a wondrous sensation.

As though an invisible lubricating film had coated his body.

The moment the once-heavy black sludge touched this film, its viscosity weakened dramatically.

Rokuya tried clenching his fists.

His joints gave off crisp cracks.

His strength had returned!

"Brat, your blood tastes delicious. I'm going to start eating your legs!"

The Swamp Demon's voice rang out again.

This time, it no longer concealed its killing intent. Three gaping, bloody mouths opened beneath Rokuya, their densely packed fangs gleaming coldly as they snapped viciously at his legs.

Rokuya lowered his head.

The deep blue Arcana Blade cast an icy glow through the dark swamp.

He saw those three faces.

They were not three demons, but the Swamp Demon's duplicates within this otherworldly space.

But he did not care.

"Found you."

Rokuya's gaze sharpened, and a violent surge of arcana power erupted like a volcano within him.

The surrounding sludge was violently forced away by that power, actually forming a brief sphere of vacuum around Rokuya's body!

His field of vision cleared!

Only one target!

[Single-Target Critical Strike Rule activated!]

Hum-!!!

The Arcana Blade in Rokuya's hands let out a piercing ring.

Its deep blue light no longer flowed gently, but became flames that seemed tangible, blazing along the blade.

The light was so dazzling that it illuminated the entire dark swamp!

The Swamp Demon's three eyes instantly stung under the intense light. It instinctively sensed a threat of death powerful enough to make its soul tremble.

"How is this possible?! How can he still unleash this kind of power inside my swamp?!"

"Run!!!"

The Swamp Demon's three duplicates halted their attacks simultaneously and desperately burrowed into the swamp's depths.

"Trying to run?"

Rokuya's lips curved into a cruel smile.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, he twisted his body impossibly within the swamp. Using the tenacity granted by the [Boots of Resistance], he forcibly broke through the water's resistance.

He drove power from his waist into his arms.

"Split-open!"

He swung once.

There was no flashy move name, just an utterly ordinary basic attack.

But this strike triggered a critical hit.

Defense ignored, double damage, plus the passive's innate fifty percent bonus single-target damage!

A five-meter-long, deep blue crescent of blade energy swept out with terrifying, unstoppable force, cutting through everything from the very bottom of the swamp!

Boom-!!!

Inside the guest room on the inn's second floor.

Kanae was kneeling on the floor, desperately digging into the puddle of black muck with both hands. Blood was already seeping from her fingernails, but she could dig nothing out.

Shinobu Kocho wept in despair beside her.

Suddenly.

The entire room began to shake violently.

"What's happening?!" Kanae looked up in terror.

An extraordinarily dazzling line of deep blue light suddenly appeared on the black swamp's surface.

It was as though someone had switched on a massive searchlight inside a cardboard box. The light even shone through the swamp, casting the entire ceiling in deep blue.

Then came an extremely muffled explosion.

Boom!

The entire black swamp seemed to be cleaved straight down the middle by an invisible giant axe!

Black mud churned wildly to either side, splitting in two!

A deep blue arc of blade energy shot skyward, slicing straight through the inn's roof and into the night sky!

"Aaaaaah-!!!"

Accompanied by an utterly agonized scream, a massive figure was hurled violently out of the swamp's depths by the tremendous impact.

It was the Swamp Demon!

It was now in a miserable state.

A massive gash, deep enough to expose bone, ran from its left shoulder to its right waist, and its green entrails spilled across the floor. Had demons not possessed such extraordinary vitality, that strike would have cut it in half.

The Swamp Demon slammed heavily into the wall, punching a large hole through the wooden boards.

It vomited mouthful after mouthful of black blood, its three eyes filled with incredulous terror.

"Impossible... impossible... that was my otherworldly space... how could anyone split it open with brute force..."

Splash-

As though it had lost its magic, the black swamp rapidly dried up and dissipated into the air.

A tall, slender figure slowly rose from its dried-out center.

Rokuya was soaked through, his coarse linen clothes clinging tightly to his body, outlining sleek muscles brimming with explosive power.

He gulped down fresh air, the wound on his right shoulder healing at an extremely slow rate.

He flicked the Arcana Blade in his hand, its deep blue tip pointing straight at the Swamp Demon sprawled on the floor.

"What are you yapping about?"