Journey to Planar World

Was Terminus Est strong?

Yes, Est was the Strongest Spirit Sword ever known in the Planar World: Seirei Tsukai Blade Dance.

Initially, Terminus Est was believed to be a legendary Sacred Sword, a divine artifact blessed with the power of light.

However, as time passed and the dark secrets behind it were revealed, the terrifying truth came to light: Terminus Est was actually a Demon Sword that granted immense power to those who dared to make a contract with it, but at a terrible price—devouring the life essence of its user.

Nevertheless, no matter how much power was contained within Terminus Est, even if Est, the spirit sword itself, controlled it directly, it was still a weapon that required a wielder to unleash its full potential. Without a skilled swordsman to wield it, its power was limited.

Moreover, the Juggernaut that appeared in this Deep Floor was far stronger and more dangerous than the Juggernaut that Bell Cranel and Ryuu Lion would face in the future timeline. At the very least, it was estimated that this Juggernaut possessed strength at least equivalent to a Level 7 adventurer!

In the era when the Hera Familia and Zeus Familia held sway, there were dozens of Level 7 adventurers. However, in the era of the Loki Familia and Freya Familia, there was only one Level 7 adventurer, Ottar of the Freya Familia. It was no exaggeration to claim that Level 7 was the strongest in Orario at present.

Thus, although Est was able to hold off the Juggernaut for a while and give Charlie a chance to heal, it was unable to exert its true power without Charlie as its contractor.

”Sorry to keep you waiting, Charlie. A monster on the 38th Floor held me up.”

”It’s alright. Thank you for coming back so quickly. Sorry for troubling you after you just returned. Aishia, please help Est.”

Seeing Aishia’s tattered and torn dress, Charlie felt angry at his own powerlessness. He should have been able to protect them, yet he had become a burden instead.

”Um.”

Aishia nodded without hesitation, then immediately reached for Terminus Est, which was still fiercely battling the Juggernaut in the air.

*SWOOSH!*

With a graceful yet decisive movement, Aishia swung Terminus Est. The sword blade slashed through the air with astonishing speed, leaving behind a dazzling trail of silver light.

”GROOOAAARRR!”

The Juggernaut didn’t dare to directly clash claws with the Sacred Sword now in Aishia’s hands.

”None of my attacks are landing.”

Realizing that the Juggernaut kept avoiding close combat, Aishia changed tactics. While continuously swinging Terminus Est to maintain distance and put pressure on the monster, she began to focus her Spirit Arts for a ranged attack.

Water from the humid air around them gathered rapidly, forming sharp ice spears that shot towards the Juggernaut from various angles.

*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*

Aishia controlled the ice spears with her mind, making them move at high speed and attack in succession.

*WHOOSH!*

However, the Juggernaut, with its incredible agility, managed to evade most of the attacks. The ice spears that managed to hit it only left small scratches on the monster’s bone body.

Aishia didn’t give up. She then manifested giant fireballs in both hands and hurled them towards the Juggernaut.

*SWISH!*

Facing elemental attacks, except for physical elements like ice, the Juggernaut didn’t show the slightest intention of dodging.

*BOOM!*

The giant fireballs launched by Aishia struck the monster’s body with a thunderous explosion, but the flames left no burn marks or traces of damage.

*FWSHHHH!*

A powerful whirlwind that tried to grip it also had no effect; the Juggernaut stood firm as if feeling nothing.

*RUMBLE!*

A blinding lightning strike slammed into its body, but instead of paralyzing or burning it, the electrical energy merely sparked around the Juggernaut.

”Magic doesn’t work?”

Realizing that most of her Spirit Arts attacks were ineffective, Aishia swung Terminus Est, hoping to find an opening in the Juggernaut’s defenses.

*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*

On the other hand, in the shadows of the fierce battle in the air, the green light enveloping Charlie’s body slowly dimmed. He successfully reattached his severed left hand as if it had never been cut off. Dia Fratel’s healing magic worked diligently, and within moments, the terrible wounds on his body were completely healed.

”It seems that monster has extremely high magic resistance; it’s evident that none of the Spirit Arts effects effectively harmed it.”

”However, its defense against physical attacks or perhaps a weakness to holy attributes seems poor. Maybe it’s both. That’s why the monster keeps avoiding Terminus Est’s attacks instead of trying to parry them directly.”

During the intense self-healing process, Charlie never took his eyes off the Juggernaut, trying hard to find any movement patterns or tiny weaknesses they could exploit.

His Battle IQ wasn’t bad at all. He began to see the Juggernaut’s weaknesses.

”Aishia, don’t let that monster get close to me! I’m going to level up!”

Charlie realized that even with the amplification of physical strength while using Physical Enchant, it was still not enough to defeat the Juggernaut. The only way they could survive was if he managed to break through his current limits and reach Level 5.

”...”

Hearing Charlie’s shout, Aishia, who was chasing the Juggernaut that kept maneuvering in the air, turned her head slightly, her expression still flat but full of determination.

”Understood. As long as I’m here, that monster won’t be able to approach Charlie.”

*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*

With unwavering conviction, she refocused on the Juggernaut, swinging Terminus Est more aggressively to keep the monster away from Charlie.

Meanwhile, Charlie quickly grabbed a small bottle containing Hera’s blood that he always carried in his Space-Time Cache. Without hesitation, he dripped a few drops of the goddess’s blood onto his forehead, letting it seep into his sweaty skin.

*BUZZ!*

At that very moment, a faint light appeared on his back before the Sacred Text began to materialize. The mysterious letters forming his status appeared slowly, shimmering and pulsating with light.

Then, Charlie used a parchment to copy the status engraved on his back. His eyes quickly scanned the contents of the parchment.

—+—

Charlie Avalon

Level 4

Strength: SS (1010) → EX (2196)

Endurance: SSS (1100) → EX (2346)

Dexterity: SS (1099) → EX (2365)

Agility: SSS (1325) → EX (2299)

Magic Power: ∞

—+—

Looking at the numbers displayed, Charlie sighed. He had reached the absolute limit of his abilities at Level 4. All his stats had reached EX rank, surpassing normal limits and impossible for any adventurer, even the protagonist, to achieve.

Understanding that the only way to gain the power needed to defeat the Juggernaut was to transcend his current level, Charlie resolutely decided to level up.

This was the most critical moment—before his strength surged, he had to choose new Development Abilities to learn.

’It seems I triggered a few more Development Abilities...’ Charlie thought.

This was incredible luck, as the opportunity to learn Development Abilities upon leveling up was not something that happened every time. If the specific conditions for triggering a Development Ability were not met, it was natural to level up without learning any new ones.

Aiz Wallenstein was a prime example of this. Despite being considered a prodigy with unparalleled talent, when she reached Level 5, she had not met the requirements for any Development Abilities, so she leveled up without gaining anything new.

If someone as talented as Aiz could experience this, for ordinary adventurers, learning Development Abilities at every level up was almost impossible.

”...”

Charlie closed his eyes for a moment, his brain racing to find an answer.

’Which Development Abilities might be able to turn this critical situation around?’

He needed something that would have a significant impact in his fight against the Juggernaut. His life and the lives of Aishia and Est depended on his next choice.