Chapter 29: Battle Goliath (Part 2) (Patreon)

"Swift Transfiguration!"

Renan rattled off an incantation that no one in the DanMachi world could understand.

The tip of the wand in his left hand swung forward in a quick half circle as he spoke.

The target was, without question, Goliath.

More precisely, it was the paving slab of the platform under Goliath's left foot, the one currently bearing the monster's entire weight!

Back in the Harry Potter world, young Renan had never been much of a Transfiguration wizard.

But the Falna system of the DanMachi world could, in one sense, be seen as a budget version of the "Heaven rewards the diligent" type of cheat. Keep practicing a skill, and once the Falna is updated, the matching proficiency is guaranteed to grow. It just doesn't show up as concrete numbers the way the stats do.

Case in point... right now!

The left half of the platform under Goliath's feet, struck by the ball of magic power from Renan's wand, suddenly sank a full meter out of nowhere, leaving a slope like a landslide.

Normally, given Goliath's weight and size, this wouldn't have mattered at all.

At most it would have staggered the boss slightly, and it would have found its balance again in no time.

But don't forget.

The floor boss was standing on only one foot at that moment.

And a good chunk of the platform holding that foot up had just vanished into thin air.

The result, needless to say, was that Goliath, caught off guard and with its center of gravity thrown off, toppled straight to the left.

At the edge of the platform, the onlookers saw the whole thing.

Alize, Kaguya Gojouno, Riveria, Aiz... every last one of them wore a stunned look.

Used to straightforward, head-on fighting, they had never seen a battle style like this.

Aiz couldn't help tugging at Riveria's sleeve. "Is that how magic is used?"

Riveria: "..."

What was she supposed to say?

Admit that she was just a spell cannon who didn't understand magic at all?

...Back on Renan's side.

Goliath proved worthy of its title as the most terrifying monster of the upper-middle floors.

Even sprawled on the ground, it didn't give up on attacking. One hand strained to prop up its body while the other flailed wildly in every direction, with no pattern to it.

But...

"This is where it ends."

Renan murmured the words and bent his knees slightly.

On the surface of the boots on his feet, a line of bright blue runes flared into view.

The next instant, he drifted down onto Goliath's back as lightly as a feather freed from gravity.

And that wasn't all!

The [Astraea's Blade] in his hand was fully activated by the magic power he fed into it.

Orange-red flames roared to life along the blade.

Then.

—Shhk!

The entire blade, flames and all, plunged straight down into the monster's chest and abdomen, where its magic stone lay.

And burst out the other side!

Goliath: "!!!!!"

Its struggling halted abruptly.

The next moment, with a thunderous "boom," its whole body dissolved into black mist, leaving behind only a petrified heart, which hit the platform a beat before Renan did.

Only once the battle was truly decided did the boy, sealed from head to toe in plate armor, let out a breath of stale air.

He picked up the petrified heart lying nearby, then turned to Alize and Kaguya Gojouno, who came running up to him.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Goliath was easier to deal with than I expected."

Kaguya Gojouno let the humblebrag slide, but Alize took two steps forward and hooked an arm around the boy's neck.

"Hey, you little brat!" She didn't roughhouse for long before her expression turned serious. "Still, with this, you should have gathered the Feats you need to level up."

Renan fell silent for half a second and gave no firm answer. "I can only confirm that after we get back."

He hadn't been joking earlier. Whether it was a case of him scheming against an unsuspecting foe, or of having done far too much preparation, the Floor 17 boss had gone down in just two minutes of fighting.

Without exaggeration, his plate armor still gleamed like new, without a speck of dirt on it.

In a sense, the so-called Floor 17 boss hadn't drawn out even a fraction of his full potential.

So Renan was a little uneasy about whether this fight could actually earn him the Feat he needed to level up.

Just then, Riveria and her group came over.

The green-haired elf wore a sincere smile. "Congratulations. I imagine it won't be long before your name is sung among the gods of Orario."

—You're overestimating me.

Renan wasn't foolish enough to correct her by pointing out that he was still only Lv1.

Besides, even if he was confirmed to have gathered enough Feats, he would never choose to level up before pushing all five of his Falna stats to the limit.

On the surface, of course, Renan's reply was perfectly formal.

"Thank you. Being praised by 'Nine Hell' is an honor."

Seeing that the boy still wasn't willing to reveal anything, Riveria felt rather helpless.

She certainly couldn't throw caution to the wind and offend an adventurer who supplied her Familia with a large number of rune scrolls, just to satisfy her own curiosity.

So after two seconds of silence, she shook her head slightly. "It's getting late. My children and I will take our leave first."

...

That night, back on the surface.

Riveria found Finn, who was handling Familia business, and Gareth, who was drinking, and recounted everything she had seen and heard in the Dungeon that day in full detail.

In the end she looked at the two of them. "...That's how it went. The rune scroll maker hiding behind Astraea Familia doesn't seem to want any contact with outsiders. However, since the number of registered adventurers for Justice Familia in the Guild's records hasn't increased, the boy I met today most likely belongs to some other Familia."

Finn chewed on his thumb, brow deeply furrowed.

As one of the few top-tier factions whose core policy was conquering the Dungeon, Loki Familia undoubtedly needed rune scrolls far more than Freya Familia, Ganesha Familia, or Astraea Familia did.

What was more, since receiving the rune scrolls over half a month ago, they had already tried using them on the middle and lower floors of the Dungeon.

Take the Shield Scroll, for example. Its effect couldn't match the defensive magic Riveria cast herself, but when she was busy casting other spells, it could cover in an emergency and make everyone on an expedition that much safer.

Things like the Levitation Scroll and the Repair Scroll went without saying.

Anything only one maker offered, or anything that could drastically cut expedition costs, was scarce and wanted by everyone.

So even though their relationship with Justice Familia had always been good, in private the Big Three of Loki Familia kept thinking about poaching.