Tale Of Unknown: Hero From Zero

17. The Fight in the Room

Seeing what he had to fight emerge from the magic circle, Riyan was surprised. In front of him stood a monstrous monster, an undead dragon. A cold sweat seeped out through his pores, his body trembled in fear, his mind and instincts warning him to run away simultaneously, but his body was completely immobile.

"What's up, young man? Scared?"

Luctas made a look of disdain while asking Riyan, but the interlocutor was unable to say anything but widen his eyes. In comparison, their two statuses are very different, though unlike Luctas. Still, the undead dragon was an extremely terrifying enemy.

In general view, a dragon alone could destroy a village in an instant, what would it be if a dragon raised through black magic became an undead monster? True, his strength would be doubled from before.

The attacks of a dragon usually had to be handled at least by an elite force of approximately 50 personnel. But an undead dragon is confronted by a human? Maybe the people who heard this story would call it a joke, but in fact the incident actually happened.

"[Record]"

Not out of curiosity or anything like that, Riyan only wanted to find out how far away his status was from the undead dragon. It was very inappropriate for him to face the undead dragon before him, but he could not run anymore. He has been directly challenged by the master of the labyrinth, Luctas Hadwin. If he ran away, his life would end without further ado.

---

Name: Moarleth

Race : Undead

Grade: Eater, Crusher

Level 442

Life: 128500/128500

Where : ∞/∞

Physical Strength: 7900

Magic Power: 2600

Resilience: 7200

Attribute: Darkness, Fire, Explosion

Skill: Fire Breath, Dark Force, Gale Burst, Strength, Iron Scale, Dark Spear, Spear Claw, Sharp Scale, Death Song, Gain Aura, Black Sky, Evil Eye, Quake Stamp

---

'What the fuck? Why is there such a powerful hidden monster inside the labyrinth!?'

Knowing the status of the opponent, Riyan screamed inwardly. What he had to face now was the strongest opponent he had ever met. His eyes were fixed directly on the blood-red ball belonging to the dragon, the powerful energy emanating from there made Riyan unable to look at him for longer. He immediately turned his attention towards Luctas who was smiling, as if enjoying Riyan's reaction.

"Good, fear before him the eater of death! With this you won't be able to escape your destiny, son!"

He spread his hands up and shouted those words so that the fear of Riyan was growing and finally resigned to death in front of him. Too bad, that light speech could not make Riyan flinch. Quite the contrary, his spirit suddenly rose.

"You say destiny, cake? Sorry, I don't believe in that kind of thing."

Riyan plucked the [Glayster] from its sheath and formed fighting horses like knights. For some reason, his fear disappeared instantly and was replaced by a fierce spirit. Even Luctas was surprised to see the change in Riyan in less than a minute.

"You're not afraid of him, Riyan? Moarleth is much stronger than you, you know?"

Loyal to his way, Luctas attempts to tear down Riyan's mental wall, but to no avail.

"I know, but..."

Riyan closed his eyes for a while, then reopened them, this time his eyes were filled with confidence and zeal. He stared straight at the eyeball of the undead dragon, Moarleth.

"If you mention fate, I won't lose to him!"

While shouting that, he set his foot crashing forward. He used old tactics, 'who goes first, he wins'. Even so, it seems that the tactic will not affect this one creature. He was too strong an opponent, even for a great Alivonian general, Faleon Hazefaith.

Riyan ran with all his might, breaking through the air that was a hindrance to him. Finding Riyan heading towards her, Luctas leaps up and lands right on Moarleth's head. Although his main target was escaping from the main fight, Riyan was not at all confused or surprised. Instead, he was after the dragon, not the summoner. He ran straight to his big feet.

"Eat this! [Where Slash]!"

He deployed the [Mana Slash] before reaching a distance of 5 meters from his target. A wave of blue mana floated slashing down on Moarleth's feet in a landslide. But nothing happened, not even the slightest scratch. It seemed like his endurance status was not just a mere number.

"Strong as well, then..."

Riyan kicked the floor and jumped backwards, then raised his left hand upwards, aiming at the dragon's head.

"What if this!? [Where Burst]!"

The blue laser shot towards Moarleth's eyes. Since the eye was a hard-to-protect internal organ, it would be an easy target for his enemy, let alone that large body size made him easy to attack using long-range attacks.

Blaarr!!

An explosion occurred, but the [Mana Burst] attack just now did not cause any significant damage. Of the many, his life parameters were only reduced by about 20 points. When compared to [Chimera], the strength of [Mana Burst] had indeed progressed far, but his opponent this time had a status of endurance that was far beyond reason.

'Yes, just reduced a little. How can I defeat him?'

Without wasting any more time, he immediately prepared his next attack. Using [Manipulation Mana], he took out his mana from inside the body and formed it into a ball the size of a ping pong ball. The balls hover around his body, then shortly afterwards glide through the air at lightning speed, grabbing the same target, which is the part around the eye.

After taking off the mana ball attack, he again lunged forward, while the dragon was busy with distractions in his eyes. From the beginning, Riyan did not intend to make the attack as a true attack, but a distraction so that he could get closer.

"Just be free, Riyan! Undead like us can feel the negative feelings that exist in living beings, you can't cover his view!"

"Damn it!"

Riyan avoided the front legs of the dragon who was about to kick him. It was fortunate that he had managed to dodge, otherwise his life would have floated in an instant. Now his position was just below Moarleth's broad chest exposing his ribs and internal organs. Even though it is rotten, organs such as the heart, liver, and stomach can still be recognized.

As Luctas said, the undead race has a special ability that can sense negative energy, [Negative Sense]. Same with magic, ability is not necessarily skill, but skill is ability. This is the reason why in the status of Luctas and Moarleth shown [Appraisal] is not written [Negative Sense].

"Then, then..."

Riyan thrust his sword into one of the front legs of the winged creature, then absorbed as much mana as possible as usual. In order to restore the mana he used in his previous attack, he had to steal the mana from the other creatures to make it faster. It was basically mana could return slowly, but in this very one-sided fight, he had to damage his body like two months ago, while dueling desperately against the [Chimera].

"Hm? What are you doing?"

From Moarleth's head, Luctas asked that with a puzzled expression. He never saw anyone fighting a dragon, thrusting his sword as deeply as possible and continuing to shake it. After all, he did not know what ability [Glayster] could take mana from the enemy he stabbed.

Riyan did not answer his question at all, but he turned his lips together to form a smile. Not saying a word as a hint of the answer to Luctas' question, he raised his left hand upwards without removing his right hand from Glay's handle. He focused the mana into the palm of his left hand which he raised, as well as forming it into a football-sized ball.

'What kind of control is this? His magic energy was gathered until it was solid in one place like that, who was he really?'

Luctas who sensed the devastating power of Riyan's [Mana Manipulation] could only be dumbfounded. I don't know what made him stunned, but the only thing that is certain is thanks to which ball Riyan created. Shortly after, he smiled knowing that Riyan had this much power.

"[Where Burst]!"

A huge explosion struck Moarleth's empty chest, simultaneously shaking the labyrinth floor. The vibration is not as strong as an earthquake, but it can make the monsters on the floor escape to find safety through their wild instincts. As stupid as living beings, they must have an instinct to survive. If not, they have been extinct for a long time.

Because of the magnitude of the explosion produced [Mana Burst], the large body of the undead dragon until lifted for a moment, then fell vibrating the labyrinth once again. Fortunately, Riyan had stepped away from under him so that he was not overwhelmed.

'Not yet, I'm not done.'

While muttering that in his heart, Riyan activated [Overload]. His body emitted a white smoke that came from the effects of his original technique. His muscles stiffened feeling the flow of mana which strengthened every cell within them. Riyan's sharpness also increased, thanks to [Sense] and [Owl Vision] being combined.

At the same time, his eyes and brain were working faster than usual. His vision ran to and fro down the large body of Moarleth, then his brain processed the captured information and quickly looked for weaknesses from the results of his observations. He believed that monsters as terrible as Moarleth could be conquered with just one attack, let alone an attack as weak as that.

Not until 5 seconds, he also found his opponent's weak point. He immediately kicked the floor and darted into the dragon's head, then shot a puncture in Moarleth's left eyeball. Even Luctas who had a level and status far different from Riyan, could not see the movement of the human.

"Grooa!!"

Receiving a sharp attack from Riyan, Moarleth immediately rose from his sprawling position on the floor and roared to fill the rooms and hallways of the labyrinth with a painfully loud voice. Not expecting this to happen, Riyan was carried up with his sword which he still held without pulling it out first.

Luctas, Moarleth's employer, was technically surprised that the animal roared in pain. The Undead were indeed a race formed from living beings that had died, but that did not mean they could not feel pain. They are just like any other living thing, only where they are infinite and their bodies have decayed.

Generally, the undead is created due to three things, namely absorption of mana into the body of the dead, raised using dark attribute magic, and make itself into an undead with dark magic. In addition to these three things, there are also certain conditions for the creation of undead that are not known why it can happen, for example the strong desire of someone dying to live.

When a person experiences a state of being in the middle of life and death, their desires and life expectancy will have an effect on this. If he had a strong will and life expectancy, then he could come back to life in the form of an undead. If the opposite happened, then the person would actually die. This condition only applies when dying, not for circumstances that immediately die.

"I'm not finished!"

Riyan suddenly exerted a large amount of mana onto Glay using [Manipulation Mana], thus giving off a transparent blue-colored aura. With that aura, rather than plucking his sword from the dragon's eyes, he preferred to move it horizontally until it detached while kicking in order to get away.

"Graaaa!!"

When both of his feet reached the ground without any problem, a deafening, rough roar rang out again to shake the entire contents of the labyrinth. Once again, Luctas was shocked by the actions of this young man. He never expected that Riyan would deploy an attack in such a position, as normally a knight would instantly draw his sword when stuck somewhere.

"Not yet! [Where Burst]!"

From where he stood, Riyan immediately raised his left hand and launched some medium-sized mana balls towards Luctas which was on the dragon's head. Unfortunately, Luctas has learned this must happen sooner or later. The old undead immediately raised his right hand and deployed one of his skills.

"[Thunder Branch]"

Bzzz!

Without a fight, all of the deployed mana balls were left, obliterated by the lightning-heavy skill of the labyrinth lord. Riyan who witnessed this could only be astonished, knowing the powerful enough crushed mana sphere he created was simply wiped away by the old undead.

'Damn, how am I supposed to win against these two too horrible undead pairs? Right now I am still at level 66, whereas they are at levels 865 and 442. Means it can be said, now I am facing a level 1200 monster.'

Despite having [Comprehension], sometimes Riyan could also think silly things and act stupid. I don't know what he's thinking right now so he's not afraid of defeat and death, which he certainly doesn't intend to die. Because if he dies in this labyrinth, his goal won't be achieved.

'Great, even exerting an attack using pure mana as fast as it was at his level, he indeed deserved to reach this sixth floor.'

On the other hand, Luctas was amazed at the [Mana Burst] attack that Riyan had launched just a moment ago. His lips revealed an excited smile to see the ability of this young man before him.

"Come on, the spirit, Moarleth!"

"Graao!"

Synchronizing animal calls, each employer can communicate with his or her call animal. [Summon Undead] was a special skill or magic that could summon races of undead monsters that had been raised, and only someone with a storm of darkness had the possibility to learn this skill or magic. The system was the same as [Summon], a magic as well as a skill that could summon tamed call beasts.

After calming down, Moarleth looked at Riyan the human with his right eye, his only working visual instrument. The undead dragon seemed to be annoyed at the high level of knowing that there was a human who managed to injure him, even seizing one part of the most important senses for living beings and undead.

Without further ado, Moarleth exerted his fire-heavy skill, [Fire Breath]. The fire breathing directed directly at Riyan who was standing waiting for an opportunity. Realizing a cluster of flames was darting towards him, he reflexively jumped backwards to dodge. But for nothing, the dragon only raised his chin slightly and the fire attack shot back towards him.

"If it's inevitable, hold on. [Mana Shield]!"

In front of Riyan formed a transparent blue-colored shield. The shield was holding back a burst of fire from Moarleth while he was still hovering in the air, waiting for his two feet to touch the floor. Not yet able to land, the shield that belonged to Riyan started to crack due to the strength of his opponent's fire. A moment later, the only shield he had shattered into pieces.

'D-damn it!'

Zoaharrr!!

Unable to dodge, Riyan was finally hit by a heavy attack from the undead dragon, Moarleth. So strong, even the door of the room and the hallway of the sixth floor of the Hexaphilia labyrinth was destroyed. Satisfied with spitting out his fire, [Fire Breath] was stopped by him and the air temperature returned to normal.

"Moarleth, you're overreacting! Look, Riyan burned to ashes because of your fire! Then you also broke that cool entrance! Ah, though I've never seen that door break in the slightest!"

"Grrh..."

"Yes, you better help me fix it, otherwise I'll punish you."

After threatening his call animal, Luctas got off Moarleth's head and landed on the floor without worrying about his gout recurring. Since he is an undead, such a bone disease will not interfere. Precisely the opposite, the bones will be stronger when they become undead, especially those that were once humans.

"Ah, even though after a long time of being able to chat, it turns out that happiness only lasts a moment."

Complaining from the excessive attacks from Moarleth, he sighed in disappointment. Though he had just made friends for more than 2 millennia struggling on his solitude one, had to lose the only human he could chat with. He clapped his hands to the front of his chest and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for comforting me in this very short time, Riyan Klaint."

Finished paying his respects, he turned his body and began to step his feet towards the throne that had been empty since then. However, a few steps later his steps came to a halt upon hearing an unusual sound from the direction of the door. He immediately turned his head and looked at the destroyed entrance area to make sure, Moarleth did the same.

Graakk!!

Unexpectedly, the rubble of the entrance collapse exploded, leaving the two undead shocked. A few seconds later, a creature surrounded by a strong aura and white smoke stood there. Luctas' eyes automatically widened, then his lips slowly curved into a smile.

"I'm not dead..."

The figure is none other than Riyan Klaint, a human who was thought to have died by Luctas. He stood with his body drenched in red blood and injuries that could be said to be quite severe. Despite suffering a severe injury, his spirit is very contrary to the condition of his body.

"The shuddering continues."

He raised Glay using his right hand and formed fighting horses regardless of his body condition. Luctas is so excited that he jumps straight into Moarleth's head and intends to continue this very unfair fight.

"That's right, Riyan Klaint. This fight is not over!"

"Graaah!!"

"Yes, and I will win..."

There was no doubt, fear, or other negative feelings emanated from Riyan. Only faith, trust, determination, and a desire for life flared up in his heart. It made Luctas surprised not play. His opponent after all these hundred years was a truly worthy opponent to be reckoned with.