Chapter 76

76 . On the Edge

The Legendary Skeleton had become overwhelmingly powerful after releasing its latent potential .

It delivered strike after strike, each with all the power and technique of a master swordsman . Its movements were so fast that it was near impossible to keep track of . Even the spells it automatically fired off from time to time had been powered up . Not even my max leveled magic barriers could stop them anymore .

Urushi had already long been defeated, and Jean's magic simply didn't work on it . It was just far too powerful .

「Ha!」

「Ka!」

Fran's being pressured to the point where she can no longer do anything but defend . Her HP continued to drop as the skeleton attacked with a storm-like assault . It's goal was obviously to end her before it exhausted all its strength .

Fran managed to dodge each fatal strike by the only the slightest bit . The situation didn't look good for her, but, she didn't give up . Her eyes almost seemed to glimmer as she searched for an opportunity to take back the momentum .

『You should probably use Skill Taker . 』

「Nn!」

To be honest, I wanted to save it a bit more so we could use it on whatever bosses lay in wait for us after this one, but, it didn't seem like we really had any other choice . Using it now isn't all that detrimental though, seeing as how Fran and I can both use the skill once each . Besides, we've got a trump card up ours sleeves anyways .

That said, I didn't even really know whether or not skill taker would work . I even had to muddle over which skill to steal . Latent Potential Release might not deactivate even if we steal it, but stealing a different skill would allow him to keep his current stats regardless, so I didn't have much of a choice but to at least give it a shot .

『Use it now!』

「Ha!」

「Ka?」

Fran activates Skill Taker and targets the skeleton's Latent Potential Release . Hopefully this'll drop its stats back down to what they normally are... .

〈Skill Taker's current target cannot be stolen . Process Failed . 〉

Wait, what the hell!?

Skill Taker's effect is as follows: Skill Taker: Lv Max . Steals rarity level 10 and below skills with a success rate of 100% . Can be used once per target . Cooldown: 18 days . Range: Skill level * 1 meter .

We're still in the midst of a melee, so there's no way the skeleton's out of range . Latent Potential Release doesn't have a level either, so that shouldn't be the issue, which means that the skill's rarity has to be at least 11 . Shit, seriously!? Or wait, is it because it's classified as an extra skill? Is it possible that we can't steal those?

「Kakkaka!」

「Ku... The skill...?」

『It failed!』

「Again . 」

Fran tries to use the skill again .

「...Can't!」

But she wasn't able to . It seemed that failing to take a skill also consumed one of the skill's usages . Fran won't be able to use skill taker for another 18 days!

I could always try using mine...but it'd probably be better to change up our strategy a little . It was time for me to pull out my trump card!

『Fran, I'm going to dothat』

「Nn!」

I start putting points into the Divine Sword Art skill and raised it all the way to Lv 5 in one go . It was a trick was one that Fran and I thought up whilst journeying through the dungeon . Its purpose was to catch the enemy off guard, and to that end, we purposefully left it at Lv 5 instead of pointing it all the way . That way, we'd be able to use the exact same trick in the future as well .

「Kaka?」

「Ha!」

「Ka-Kaka!?」

Fran's movements undergo a visible change as her knowledge of blade deepens . Every step she takes, every motion she executes becomes much more precise . Just a moment prior, the two were swordsmen on par with each other . But, Fran had easily surpassed the skeleton in a matter of moments .

Based on what we've experienced, a three skill level difference would lead to an gap in strength too wide to be crossed . The reason we chose to boost the skill's level by four was to make up for the difference in stats . That said, the skeleton still had the advantage . It felt no fatigue, and its body was effectively immortal .

However, the sudden change in Fran's abilities threw it off and momentarily dulled its movements .

And thus, we were given one last chance .

「Haaaa!!!」

Fran activated Impact Slash, a Lv 1 divine sword technique . Though the skill had a bit of a recovery delay after it, it was still an impressive one, a full forced right to left horizontal cut packed with nothing but pure power . The two of us worked together to combine her Magical Convergence and my Sorcery so that we could cloak the strike with a Wind Blade Overboost . The attack was truly one with every last fibre of our beings behind it; it was several times more powerful than anything else we'd ever done in the past .

But even so, the skeleton still managed to deflect it . What monstrous strength!

Its arms were fast . At this rate, it'd be able to get a hit in before us . We'd be in trouble .

Or at least that's how things would've been .

『We weren't thinking of finishing you off with just that one hit either!』

「Nn . 」

『Sorry about this, Fran . 』

「Doesn't matter . 」

Impact Slash would normally end with an opening because the user would have to twist their hips a full ninety degrees whilst delivering the swing .

But I forced the skill to end a bit earlier than usual by stockpiling and then suddenly releasing a bunch of telekinetic force . This allowed us to cancel the technique's post-cast delay, at the cost of sending all the force and shock right back up Fran's arms .

And the result?

A series of loud cracks resounded throughout the boss room .

Fran's arms broke, and her muscle fibres were torn to shreds . The noises that accompanied the event made me feel discomfort, and the thought it was my own fault even more so .

But even despite Fran's current condition, we still needed to deliver the finishing blow .

『Frannn!』

「Urahhh!」

Though her arms were screaming in agony, Fran managed to activate Snake Slash, a Lv 1 sword art . Though I could hear her arms breaking as she thrusted the blade, I boosted the attack's speed with telekinesis . We couldn't afford to hold anything back, even the slightest bit .

Impact slash had thrown the skeleton off completely, it had yet to right its stance .

「Aaaaahhhh!」

「Kakka!」

The hell!? Even though we'd managed to completely mess up the skeleton's posture, it was still able to react in time by tilting its head backwards . Shit! I'm not going to make it!

Damn it, what do I do? Is there any way for me to... . Wait! Yes! I know exactly what to do!

『Here we gooooo! Shapeshift!!』

I thin my blade in order to elongate it by approximately 20cm . My form becomes less like that of a longsword and warps into something akin to a long estoc . The process cost me a whole 200 mana, but it was well worth it . I'm really grateful I managed to get my hands on this skill!

「Ka!!」

The skeleton's completely run out of options . I flew straight through it's skull and split it's magic stone in two .

「Ka... Ka」

The legendary skeleton finally stops moving .

「Kakakakakaaa」

And then, it laughed . It laughed an ominous, unsettling cackle as its body collapsed underneath itself . The crimson skeleton crumbled into not but a pile of bone, as if all its prior actions had been nothing more than an illusion .

But even then, it still gave off a ghostly impression, as if it could rise up again at any given moment . As expected of a B level threat .

「Ugh... . 」

『Alright, I'll fix you right now, Fran . Greater Heal!』

「Are you all alright?」

「Woof woof!」

It was a tough battle, but, winning it paid off . the skeleton's magic stone was worth over three hundred magic stone points, and I managed to get ahold of it's appraisal jamming, spirit control, and magic resist, amongst many other useful skills .

We should be able to save Latent Potential Release for whenever we need a trump card .

The skill's effect is supposed to change based on the user, so I'm kind of curious how much it'll have an effect on Fran and I . I wish we could test it right now, but it costs HP, has a few other requirements and even has a 24 hour cooldown, so I'll have to just hang on to it for now .

「I'm...fine . 」

『Are you sure? Does it hurt anywhere?』

「Nn . Fine . 」

「Woof woof?」

Urushi licks Fran's arms . He also seems to be concerned about her as well .

「Thanks . 」

「Woof!」

Jean went to go retrieve the skeleton's bones .

『Can you use those for anything?』

「These bones hold great value for use as a catalyst in the practice of necromancy . They alone more than make up for every last bit of this expedition's cost . Hahahaha! I thank you greatly . 」

『I guess that means you can use potions and the like as freely as you want now . 』

「Whatever did you plan to do with the skeleton's equipment?」

『I don't know . Didn't think about it yet . 』

「I've no need for its sword or cloak, so I shall pass these two items to you . That said, I would very much like to keep ahold of the armour, orihalcum is a material that mages like myself find to be quite useful after all . 」

『Sounds good to me . You sure though?』

Jean was the one who made the request for us to come along in the first place . I wouldn't have minded even if he decided to take all the loot for himself . I was quite grateful that he was willing to split it with us though .