*CRACK!*

The boss room inside the Swamp Tower came apart like it had been hit with a battering ram the size of a house.

It did not crumble in a slow, dramatic way.

It simply blew apart in chunks of stone and pulsing organic material, almost as if the dungeon had decided it was done with life and checked out early.

Nero Walker stood at the center of it all.

He looked like someone who had just finished handling a minor errand instead of wiping out an entire A-tier dungeon that usually required an organized raid team.

There was no exhaustion, or even tension.

Just an expression like he was mildly inconvenienced.

Near the entrance, Luna watched everything unfold.

Her arms were crossed as she observed him with the steady focus of someone who had spent centuries studying magic.

Every flicker of his mana, every shift in his stance, every spell transition was noted silently.

Her face stayed calm and unreadable, the kind of look she used whenever she was analyzing something that complicated her understanding of the world.

The only sign of what she was thinking came from the faint tapping of her fingers against her sleeve, an unconscious rhythm that suggested she was trying to decide something important.

'What a monster…'

The thought rose in her mind without emotion. It was not criticism or admiration.

It was simply a fact.

She herself was called by many as a monster in and outside her field, and that is rightfully so, considering the mind boggling records she has accomplished despite her prime years.

But now… compared to the man in front of him, and knowing how much progress he had in just days.

"Hahhh…"

'Let's not think about it.'

Approximately a week ago, Nero had almost mastered the basic control of elemental flow…

But now his mana coursed naturally through his body with built efficiency that made her own legendary refinement seem almost ordinary.

Every spell he cast linked into the next as if he had been learning magic for centuries instead of seven days.

His speed of growth ignored every principle she had built her research on.

It made her teachings look like simple sketches compared to the real blueprint in front of her.

And the part that unsettled her the most was that he was still growing.

His fighting style kept shifting, adjusting in real time as if his mind processed danger before it even happened.

He found new uses for spells she made before he was born.

Some were combinations she had never considered.

'… What kind of summoner turns into a fighter at this pace?'

Her mind worked through calculations she usually saved for long-term analysis.

Probability estimates. Growth curves.

Comparisons to every prodigy in recorded magical history.

Every result pointed to the same conclusion.

Either Nero was the most gifted student she had ever seen or there was something happening inside him and his system that she could not measure yet.

Neither answer made her comfortable.

But it also made her scholastic self very much curious.

***

On the other side of the ruined chamber, Velraeth watched with a grin that stretched too wide for a normal person.

Too many sharp teeth showed, and her tail whipped around with so much excitement that nearby support beams started to creak in protest.

'Hooh~? What a monstrous potential for a human.'

Her golden eyes followed Nero with sharp, predatory interest.

His footwork. His timing.

The way he adjusted the moment the terrain shifted under his feet.

The way he held himself before striking.

Everything pointed to growth she recognized immediately.

It's not random luck.

Nor a sloppy instinct.

It's real strength taking shape through battle.

A week ago, he had been a "decent" fighter with great potential.

Now he moved like someone who had learned from legends and actually absorbed the lessons.

Every hit carried intention.

Every step had purpose.

He looked like someone who had prepared for battles far worse than this one.

Velraeth felt something burn in her chest.

It was not a gentle kind of burn.

It was the fierce satisfaction of seeing raw materials survive the fire and come out stronger on the other side.

Watching him grind through brutal training and not break made the time she invested feel almost worth it.

She never had much patience, and she often said patience was for people who were slow.

Yet somehow Nero had managed to make her feel like teaching him was not a waste.

She had never seen a human with this much potential and growth!

It's unbelievable!

'He's now worthy enough for the weapons I make.'

That thought held weight.

Velraeth did not forge weapons just for herself.

There were times where significant beings sought her craftsmanship.

But only those she deemed up to her standards.

Though… her standards were so high that even the most powerful warriors hesitated to ask for her work.

With all of that said…

"Heh…"

Nero had reached a point where she could say, with confidence, that he would not embarrass her.

Her pride would not suffer if someone saw him fighting with equipment she crafted.

He earned that right through sweat and stubbornness rather than empty promises.

***

Far from both of them, hiding behind a half-destroyed pillar, the inspector tried to keep himself from falling apart.

Christoffel had spent years tracking dangerous people.

He had faced creatures that did not belong in the waking world.

He had infiltrated groups whose hobbies included things that kept psychologists awake at night.

He had worked undercover in situations where being discovered meant dying in ways that made screaming pointless.

20 years of A-rank stealth missions… Survival through encounters that crushed seasoned teams.

He had built a solid reputation for staying calm in situations where fear made more sense than breathing.

But even then,

"F-Fuck…"

None of that prepared him for watching Nero Walker fight.

'W-What the hell is this?!'

That was all his brain could produce at the moment.

The three beings ahead were SR-tier creatures.

Their presence alone made his instincts scream that staying anywhere near them was asking for death.

His stealth abilities struggled to stay active.

The air around them felt hostile, as if it was warning him that his existence might violate safety rules he did not remember agreeing to.

And Nero walked straight toward them with no hesitation or fear.

Just a steady, almost relaxed stride as if he was approaching a chore rather than three monsters that could destroy cities.

Christoffel tightened his grip on his concealment charms.

His sense of danger ramped up so intensely that it almost hurt, yet he could not look away.

Something about this moment felt important.

Something told him that leaving now would mean losing knowledge he might never get again.

… At this point, he is either incredibly brave or completely insane.

The thought circled in his mind while the pressure in the room continued to grow.

***

Nero stopped in front of the three SR-tier guardians.

His expression suggested he was thinking about something unrelated to combat.

Maybe food. Maybe errands.

But definitely not fear.

The anomalous creatures in front of him were nothing short of disasters with legs.

Mire Tyrant stood closest.

Fifteen feet tall, covered in toxic scales that dripped burning slime.

Four arms, each ending in claws that existed for the purpose of ripping flesh apart.

Its cavernous mouth looked wide enough to swallow a horse in one bite.

Rot Serpent rested beside it, body coiling and shifting with unsettling grace.

Its rotting flesh clung to visible bone, somehow still functional despite every rule of anatomy saying it should not be moving at all.

Venom dripped from its fangs, sizzling as it touched the floor.

Its hollow eye sockets never left Nero.

Swamp Colossus stood behind them like a silent mountain.

A giant figure of moss-covered muscle and mud-caked armor plating, its chest rising and falling with slow patience.

Each step it took made the ground tremble lightly beneath Nero's feet.

Even in stillness, it carried an oppressive presence.

The three creatures watched him.

Nero simply rolled his shoulders.

The room felt smaller. The air felt heavier.

Even the ruined walls seemed to hold their breath.

*Twish! Twish!*

Living roots and vines twisted into the shape of three hulking creatures, each of them dripping with poison and swamp muck.

Moss clung to their bodies like armor that grew out of spite, and every step they took released a cloud of spores strong enough to make farmers cry.

Their presence alone felt like someone had decided breathing was optional.

Velraeth broke the tension first with her usual blunt delivery.

"Dawnbreaker only. No Metalloid Transformation this time, human."

She grinned at Nero like she was giving him a gift… A very restraining gift at that.

"Show me you can win through skill instead of leaning on power you barely understand."

Luna followed with her own version of "encouragement".

Hers sounded like she was reading rules off a contract.

"Blend your magic with your movements. Do not separate your casting and your swordplay. A proper application makes the two indistinguishable."

Her heterochromic eyes locked onto him like she was waiting to judge his entire life.

"Once you do that, you will finally understand what real magic is like."

Nero cracked a smile that matched Velraeth's energy.

"No transformation, integrated casting, three SR tiers at once… You two have a funny idea of training."

*Shing…*

He pulled Dawnbreaker free from its sheath in one smooth motion.

The sword gave a clean ring that echoed through the room.

"Alright then. Let's have fun."

*RAAAAAA!!!!*

The Mire Tyrant roared and charged first.

*Whoosh!"

Nero shot forward at the same moment.

There was no sloppy scrambling or confused footwork this time.

Every step and swing felt deliberate.

His sword sliced through the Tyrant's slime-soaked chest.

Dawnbreaker's crimson light slashed away the poison skin, leaving wide cuts the creature couldn't instantly heal.

But the monster had four arms.

Two swung at his ribs and the other two came down at his head, all perfectly timed and annoyingly coordinated.

Nero slipped through the narrow gap between the claws.

His free hand then moved almost lazily as if sketching shapes in the air.

Mana pulled together in front of his palm.

"Fire: Boiling Edge."

Flames shot across Dawnbreaker's edge.

Not covering the metal, more like turning it into something alive.

The blade glowed bright enough that the air rippled around it.

*Slash! Slash! Slash!*

He delivered three tight, clean cuts into the Tyrant's chest.

All three wounds seared shut immediately, preventing the monster from regenerating. Flesh sizzled.

The Tyrant staggered.

*HIIIIISSSSS!*

But that was when the Rot Serpent lunged in from behind.

Its bony coils wrapped around Nero's sword arm and tried to crush it.

Two needle-like fangs darted toward his neck.

Most people would have died right there.

But,

"You fell for that fast."

Nero used his free hand again.

"Water: Pressure Blade."

*Woooossshhh!*

A thin jet of compressed water blasted from his palm and sliced the Serpent's head clean off.

*Thud!*

The body dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

Dawnbreaker's flames burned away the remaining venom on his arm.

Two down.

The only one left was the Swamp Colossus.

It let out a furious bellow that shook the entire room.

Then both of its giant arms slammed down where Nero had been standing a second earlier.

Stone cratered from the impact.

Nero dodged in tight movements, barely ahead of each attack.

The force of every missed hit sent gusts of wind across his clothes.

He realized something quickly.

He could not overpower this thing.

Not unless he could use Metalloid Transformation.

But of course, he can't use it.

'Hmmm…'

Nero calmly pondered as he skillfully dodged multiple attacks aiming at his vital spots.

The Colossus healed faster than he could damage it.

Every time he cut into it, vines pulled the wound closed, and its body drew energy from the dungeon itself.

If he kept fighting normally, he would lose.

He needed something that didn't just cut.

He needed something that could delete it instantly.

Luna's instructions echoed in his head.

'… Blend magic and blade until they feel like the same action.'

… Velraeth's challenge followed right after.

'Prove you can fight without borrowed power.'

*Twish! Twish!*

The Colossus raised both arms again.

Nero dull eyes glinted as he instantly dashed towards the massive monster.

During his endless training and experiments, he thought to himself that

'What if I don't just enhance the blade?'

'... What if the sword itself became the spell?'

The idea manifested in his mind, and after countless failures and attempts…

*Woommm… Bzzzt…!*

Mana surged through his veins.

Dawnbreaker seemed to vibrate in his grip.

"Fusion Magic: Arc of Lightspeed."

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