Supreme Monarch

'I am still lacking even now... Well, No matter, still, I should probably make up for that blunder shouldn't I.'

Thinking that Tyler decided to head out into the large tunnel as well when suddenly, Nadine was able to fully resist the skill of the fleeing Lesser Djieien and dashed after it. Seeing as both girls were determined to kill the monster, Tyler decided to let them be and hold off on his agendas. 

Larut and the others were still here trying to help the bound Dohel and he couldn't just leave them by themselves when they were currently in such a vulnerable state. The likely hood that this place contained more of those spider monsters was very high and it would be a shame if he made a second blunder in quick succession.

Larut retrieve the short blade that was strapped to his waist after failing repeatedly to free Dohel from the spider's threads that felt like they were made of adamantine or something. They had tried pulling and dragging but anything they did only made the threads righter even though they had stopped the monster halfway from fully binding Dohel.

*Clang! 

"What is this!"

At this moment, even Tyler was surprised. Not only had the thread not been broken by Larut's strike, his blade had not only bounced off but had been chipped by the hardened threads.

'Impressive.' 

Tyler thought as he watched Dohel squirming on the ground like a worm as he struggled to hold back his scream from the insanely tight binds that bound him.

Larut seemed to be in a conundrum as he contemplated on whether or not to use a skill. Blood spiders were known for their vicious nature and steel-like threads. In fact. while it had not been from a Lesser Djieien, the group had used the threads of a similar spider in the construction of their camp perimeters so he knew how durable this thread was.

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There were a few skills he could use that should be able to break the threads but they were already so tightly wrapped around Dohel that if he made any slight mistake, Dohel could lose an arm.

"Do you need help?"

The question came from his back and Larut turned around to see Lix suddenly standing there as he had not even sensed him move. For an unknown reason, cold sweat ran down his back as he gulped and hastily nodded his head so as not to be rude.

While he had been a bit anxious when Tyler had suddenly appeared behind him, Larut still retained the clear mind of a ranger so he could not help but wonder how Lix planned on releasing Dohel. They had seen him use magic so maybe he had a spell that was perfect for this or maybe he simply wanted to use brute force.

While Larut did not believe that this man could actually break the Blood Spider's thread with brute force alone, he had still hoped he would try. Perhaps part of him selfishly wanted to see him fail at something to give him a sense of relief that the man before him was still within the realms of mortal men. And even if it was only by a little, he would have a sliver of hope to at least one day get a little closer to his insane strength.

However, none of Larut's expectations were met today as the hooded man simply stretched his arm forth into space, and before Larut could even wonder what he was doing, he suddenly pulled out something from the void.

It was a sword.

Ignoring the unnecessary motion of reaching into the air even if it was kinda cool. The blade Lix had suddenly pulled out of thin air looked nothing like the others he had seen before. It was a one-handed, single-edged sword that was longer than most one-handed swords by a bit.

Its blade had a tint of red running along the sharp edge, making it look like it was prime and ready to cut through the flesh of his opponents as it glistened in the dark. 

"A magic weapon."

Larut's mouth went agape. He was surely shocked, but not by the fact that Lix had just pulled a weapon out of thin air. Not even by the fact that it was a magic weapon that seemed to be of a high tier, but simply by the fact that it was a sword.

He was wielding a sword. Having already seen a glimpse of his physical abilities, one could only imagine how terrifying he would be with a sword. Not to mention he could already use magic at an insanely high level.

'No no no no no... That's not right, this should only be means to an end. Just a weapon for him to free Dohel from the threads, just because he's holding a sword doesn't mean he's also a swordsman right?'

That was indeed a logical thought and anyone that heard it would agree with him. Seeing as the sword was a magic weapon, odds are, the weapon had special effects that would make it easier to cut through the threads.

'Yes, that must be it, that's the reason.'

Having come to the right answers, he was just about to adjust his position to make it easier for Lix to have access to the squirming Dohel when something suddenly registered in his senses, albeit too late.

They had been aware that a few spider monsters could use stealth yet he had let himself get distracted by Lix's sword that he failed to notice it in time. However, just as he was about to open his mouth to warn his comrades even though it may have already been too late as the monster was already amongst them, it happened.

Aine and Aine didn't know why Larut had been so shaken by Liv's sword but they could sense the dense Mana within it so maybe he was shocked by that. While they didn't know much about weapons, they had never felt mana like that in a Weapon before so they knew it was a special or maybe even a unique weapon.

Seeing as Liv had pulled a sword from the void, they decided to let go of Dohel's body so he would be able to easily cut the threads. Lix then raised his blade up and in a clean and smooth motion, he swung the blade through the air as it drew a beautiful crimson arc in its wake without even making a sound.

However, contrary to their expectations, he had not cut the threads that bound Dohel. Instead, he had casually swung his blade at the empty space to his right without even turning his head. And just as they were about to ask the reason for that, they heard what sounded like a dull thud from his side as something or rather, two halves of something fell lifelessly to the ground. 

The body of a white spider-like creature that had been cleanly cut in half slowly revealed itself as the stealth skill it had most likely been using was forcibly deactivated. A wave of shock swept through the bodies of the twins and even Dohel was surprised.

For a monster to make it that close to them without being noticed, was something they hadn't even fathom. What's worse, they had not even been able to react in time and would have lost their lives if the mysterious Lix had not been here.

Larut on the other hand felt his mind went numb. The preconceived notion he had of Lix not being able to wield a sword had not only been shattered but in a way that felt like it was mocking him. That simple-looking casual swing had split an intermediate class monster in half without it even knowing how it died much less put up any resistance.

That was an intermediate class monster they were talking about. A monster that even Kylyra and the quiet Lilith were having trouble killing, had been so easily sliced in half. This was not like the case of the frost salamanders where the monsters had such an absurd weakness and could easily be killed by any Tier 2 fire-based attacks.

These were vicious creatures that were even a notch above the frost salamanders and he had just killed one like it was nothing. 

Although other factors went into that as the monster had been stealth-based and hadn't realized that its stealth had already been seen through.

However, the fact that he had been able to see through the stealth at all was an incredible feat on its own as even Larut who was an experienced ranger— had not been able to react in time. 

"You okay?"

Tyler asked the dumbfounded Larut as he took a step closer to Dohel and stretched the tip of his sword to the tight threads that bound him. Sliding the blade in between the threads, he had only applied a bit of pressure when all the threads instantly snapped like they were nothing but ordinary threads.

"That's incredible..."

Unaware of the person that said that Tyler was a little impressed as well. He really hadn't used any strength in that but the blade he held had still overwhelmed the threads and even when he cut that monster earlier, he had barely felt any sort of resistance.

Perhaps the magic crystal he had used in the forging of his weapon had given it more than the Rapid Burst skill. He could also sense the dense Mana within the weapon which seems to be a good thing.

'I guess using that magic crystal in forging this weapon was worth it after all.'

Tyler thought with a gentle smile on his face As he saw the surprised and amazed faces of the group, including the newly freed Dohel.

"I feel like I'm always thanking you for something. Well whatever, Thanks for freeing me, I think I was on the brink of passing out there."

"Don't mind it, I should have been more aware myself, the fault lies with me."

Dohel paused for a second before he spoke again with a smile. "You really are an amazing man Mr. Lix."

Tyler tilted his head slightly in confusion at that statement that seemed to have come out of nowhere. "I am?"

"He's right, you sure are Mr. Lix."

"I agree, that was amazing."

Hearing the twins wholeheartedly compliment him made Tyler feel a little light-headed. Perhaps he was now getting a big head because these five were always getting into trouble. He was very confident he could handle anything that came at them in this place not because he was that arrogant, but because he had sent Zelda here ahead of time to investigate and knew the only monster that would be a problem would be the so-called King of the Pass.

Perhaps the confidence that information had brought him, made the twins think he was more amazing than he was.

"For someone to be as strong as you not only in magic but with the sword as well, and is still so humble and kind. There is nothing to describe such a person other than the word amazing."

"I see... Well, thank you. However, we are still in a monster's nest so do be on your guard."

"Of course."

As the words left Dohel's mouth, he saw Lix swing his blade again, this time at the air above him, and the head of another Blood spider fell to the ground while its body was still attached to the ceiling by its web. That confident and casual tone of it as he killed another intermediate class monster made the vast strength of the man known as Lix truly sink into all their hearts.

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"Mr. Larut, would you mind retrieving the cores of these creatures for me. We should follow the vein deeper into the tunnel so I'll take the lead from here and would not be able to do it myself."

"Huh... Yeah, of course, leave it to me." Being spoken to so abruptly, Larut felt startled for a moment before he managed to stumble through his words.

"What about Kylyra, shouldn't we wait for them."

Tyler turned his head to face Aine and answered with a calming smile. "There's no need, Lilith is with her so they'll be fine even if they get surrounded. They should also be able to easily locate us once they're done."

"Oh... okay."