Since becoming the Dragon Slayer, it wasn't just the Armor of Fafnir that granted him immunity to weapon and magic attacks below Rank B. His physical stamina had also increased significantly, allowing him to fight for extremely long periods without feeling significant fatigue.
Currently, Charlie had been fighting non-stop for hours inside the Colosseum, annihilating countless monsters. Only a slight sheen of sweat dampened his temples, and his breathing remained steady. Physical exhaustion was almost nonexistent.
'I'm getting better at using the sword.' He thought, swinging Terminus Est with incredible speed.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Spartoi that tried to surround him fell, their skeletal bodies cleaved into multiple pieces by the slashes.
*SWISH!*
His movements became smoother and more efficient, each swing of his sword feeling more natural and deadly than before.
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
In fact, Charlie could have drastically increased his "farming" efficiency by using Spirit Arts to materialize large-scale magic attacks. That way, he was guaranteed to obtain Excelia faster and save a lot of time.
However, instead of choosing the easy and fast way, he chose the more difficult and tiring path. The reason was simple: Charlie wanted to hone his swordsmanship.
Among his eight skills—The Chosen Savior, Prodigy Swordsman, Infinite Essence, Triptolemus Arc, Dragon Slayer, Armor of Fafnir, Crystallized Wisdom, and Six Eyes—Prodigy Swordsman granted him a 100% understanding of swordsmanship.
It would be a huge waste if he didn't maximize the Prodigy Swordsman skill and only relied on Spirit Arts to fire variations of magic. Charlie didn't want his close-quarters combat to become a weakness that could be exploited by his enemies in the future.
*WHOOSH!*
Charlie moved like a death dancer in the middle of a sea of monsters. Terminus Est in his hand was an extension of his body, moving with astonishing precision and speed.
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
*SWOOSH!*
He ignored the Spartoi's sword slashes with a twisting motion of his body, then with a swift backswing, cut the skeletal body in two.
*PU-CHI!*
As the Barbarians with their large maces tried to slam him, Charlie slid under their slow swings, piercing the monster's heart with a deadly thrust before the monster realized what happened.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Facing a horde of Elite Lizardmen charging with their tough blue scales, Charlie no longer relied solely on the power of Terminus Est. He began to use more intricate techniques, utilizing his momentum and body weight in each slash.
*CLANG!*
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
He blocked their sword attacks with his blade, then quickly retaliated with a series of rapid slashes aimed at the small gaps between their scales, or used leverage to trip the monsters before finishing them off.
*WHOOSH!*
Against the slow but heavily armored Obsidian Soldiers, Charlie no longer relied solely on frontal attacks. He moved around the monsters at high speed, looking for weak points in their cracked obsidian bodies. He used feints, swinging his sword in one direction and then quickly changing the direction of his attack to a different point, exploiting the monster's slowness.
*CRUSH-BANG!*
Even against the agile Loup Garou horde that attacked with their stone knives, Charlie anticipated their swift movements, using his Six Eyes to read their attacks before they happened.
*WHOOSH!*
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
He moved with high precision, dodging their attacks with small but effective movements, then countered with swift and accurate sword slashes, hitting their vital points.
Every monster he defeated, every movement he made, further sharpened his fighting instincts and deepened his understanding of swordsmanship.
The Prodigy Swordsman skill within him seemed to be active, absorbing every combat experience and integrating it into his technique. Charlie wasn't just slaughtering monsters; he was learning, adapting, and evolving into a true sword master in the midst of the Colosseum's sea of carnage.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"This should be more than enough, right? Let's update my status first, and if my stats aren't maxed out yet, it's not too late to continue farming."
"Aishia, can you fly a little further away? There's a technique I want to try. Before, I couldn't do it due to the lack of precise energy control. But now, with Six Eyes, that problem is solved."
"Okay. Be careful, Charlie."
Aishia obeyed without asking further questions. Her absolute trust in Charlie was evident in her words and actions. Her figure flew away from the dark Colosseum.
"ROOOAAAAARRRRRR—"
Once Aishia was at a safe distance, Charlie stopped his attacks. In the blink of an eye, the enraged and bloodthirsty crowd of monsters that had survived the previous massacre immediately charged at him from all directions.
*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*
The Spartoi swung their bone swords, the Barbarians roared while brandishing their maces, the Elite Lizardmen charged with their sharp claws, and the Obsidian Soldiers moved forward slowly but surely.
However, all the monsters' attacks were in vain. The Armor of Fafnir embedded in his body negated every blow, slash, and thrust as if they were mere touches of the wind. Without moving an inch, Charlie mobilized the magic essence within him with extraordinary precision control, thanks to his Six Eyes ability.
*BUZZ!*
The magic essence throughout his body surged out violently, forming an intense purple energy that enveloped Terminus Est in his hand and his entire body. The purple light pulsed, radiating immense power.
Charlie raised his hand gripping Terminus Est high into the air, directly above his head. His eyes shone sky blue with the light of Six Eyes, radiating unwavering determination.
"I Am Atomic!"
As Charlie's echoing declaration reverberated throughout the Colosseum, an unfathomable and unprecedented wave of power surged out from him. The magic essence accumulated within his body instantly detonated, unleashing an enormous and uncontrolled energy. The force engulfed all the monsters within the arena in a blaze of pure and devastating raw thermonuclear power.
*BOOOOOOM!*
A terrifying shockwave rippled through the Colosseum with a deafening roar, obliterating everything in its path.
The ground beneath Charlie's feet shook violently, and the remnants of the Colosseum's sturdy walls crumbled into dust from the overwhelming pressure of the explosion.
The force of the blast extended far beyond the confines of the ruined Colosseum, its bright light piercing the darkness of the 37th Floor, almost engulfing the entire landscape if not for the complex formations of tunnels and caves.
In a moment that felt like an eternity, all the monsters within the Colosseum were annihilated without a trace, as if they had never existed. The Colosseum itself was utterly destroyed into smoking rubble. Even the dark Dungeon ceiling above them turned a dazzling white for a moment due to the intensity of the energy Charlie unleashed.
"..."
An ear-splitting silence replaced the endless cacophony of battle. Charlie stood in the center of the massive crater that was once the Colosseum, his body emitting the fading remnants of purple energy, his breath slightly ragged but his eyes shining with satisfaction.
"Looks like... it worked."