The Strongest Obtains Further Power

Vim unleashes a wind spell toward the Black Dragon’s wings.

The magic strikes true, slicing off one of the Black Dragon’s wings.

“Now you can’t fly anymore.”

Vim let out a dark, smirk-like grin. Even a mighty Black Dragon cannot take to the skies once it loses a wing. It fell straight to the ground.

However, it seemed the injury was not fatal.

“GROOOOAR!!!!”

As it let out a massive roar, it simultaneously exhaled its breath. The pale blue flames enveloped the surroundings in a vortex of fire. Vim leaped to evade the blast. Getting hit by that would result in far more than just a simple injury.

Deploy Air Barrier.

Vim created a barrier of air to suppress the damage from the heat.

“Freeze.”

As he spoke, about four light-blue magic circles appeared at the Black Dragon’s feet. Vim is capable of firing most magic without an incantation. Magic is, in essence, a mental image. By making the image of the magical effect concrete, the incantation can be omitted.

Well, there aren’t many mages who can omit even short commands like “Freeze.” There were only a few even in the Empire. It was said that even for Court Mages, omitting incantations was difficult.

Cold air rapidly rose from the magic circles at the Black Dragon’s feet; before long, the dragon was frozen in ice up to its chest.

“How is it? The feeling of being turned into a block of ice?”

Vim spoke with a dark smile.

“Now then, shall we bring this little game to an end?”

Shining Spear.

Vim deployed a massive spear of light through magic. It was several meters in diameter and more than double that in length.

“Goodbye.”

The moment he spoke, the spear of light pierced through the Black Dragon from its head into its torso.

“GROOOOAR!!!!”

The Black Dragon let out a somewhat pathetic roar. No sooner was it heard than, in the next instant, the dragon was incinerated by the spear of light, vanishing without a trace.

“Is it over…? That was surprisingly underwhelming.”

To be honest, he had expected it to have a bit more bite, so he felt let down. It appeared that even the Black Dragon, a high-tier species among its kin, was no match for Vim after all.

“I actually conquered it.”

Defeating the Guardian at the deepest part of the labyrinth counts as having conquered the labyrinth. He had successfully traversed an S-rank designated labyrinth that no one had cleared before.

『Do you desire power?』

While he was idly gazing at the spot where the spear had struck, the clear voice of a woman reached his ears out of nowhere.

“Who’s there?”

Vim shouted into the empty depths of the labyrinth.

『Do you desire power?』

The same voice was heard again.

“I do,” Vim said in a firm, clear voice.

If someone is giving something away, it’s best to take it. He didn’t quite understand what kind of power it was yet, but he needed strength to escape this predicament.

『Well said. Then, I shall bestow this power upon thee.』

Vim’s body was enveloped in a gentle light. Then, the voice vanished.

Four characters surfaced in Vim’s mind. Those words were…

“Eternal Life.”