Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 20: The Basilisk (1)

Rylan shot forward with Drifting as the beast lunged at him.

Its head immediately came into view, but he didn’t make the mistake of looking into its eyes directly. His peripheral vision grasped the crown-shaped yellow crest around its head as the Basilisk hissed. In a single fluid movement, the Boss transitioned into a tail swipe. Its tail flew toward Rylan just barely above the ground, as if the Boss were trying to keep it from losing any speed or power.

Rylan looked at the enormous tail that was rapidly barreling towards him like a landslide. It perfectly occupied the space in front of him, as if trying to force him to dodge by jumping above the attack. Judging from its trajectory, it wouldn’t hit any trees that could slow it down. He didn’t doubt that this was intentional for a second.

Let’s see what you’re going to do, then.

The moment the tail was about to hit him, Rylan jumped up with Floating. The tail swipe passed by right under him, making the air veritably crackle as the tail snapped back like a whip. In the air, Rylan watched the Basilisk contort its body. It wasn’t trying to get into a defensive position after a missed attack.

So that’s your play.

Rylan closed his eyes just as the Basilisk snapped its head to look at him. The mana around him moved in response, closing in on his body at blinding speed, only to dissipate without harming him. He perceived its movements with clarity.

It’s a spell with a ‘condition.’

The only way for his current self to truly understand what the spell did was to look into the Basilisk’s eyes directly, but there was no need to do so. This was a battle, not an experiment. Now, he knew he had to make a choice: would he open his eyes again and fight by avoiding meeting the Basilisk’s gaze throughout the battle? Or would he remain with his eyes closed and use his other five senses: including perception: to fight while crippling his foe’s most dangerous ability?

No harm in trying.

Rylan didn’t open his eyes. Instead, he stepped on the air and shot upward. The sounds of Gerard firing a spell, the heat coming from the magical flames, the beast’s scent of rotten meat and blood. All of them joined together to paint a picture of his surroundings, tied together by his sixth sense, perception. It wasn’t perfect, but the massive increase in all his stats made it somewhat possible. This would do.

Still using Snowfall, he advanced toward the creature. At the same time, he perceived one of Gerard’s Fireballs slam into the Basilisk and explode with a loud noise. The heat reached him, allowing him to judge the distance between himself and the flames. Without hesitation, he went around the Boss and pointed his wand at its estimated location.

“Earth Spikes.”

His mana flowed into the ground like water, then forced it to rise. The Spikes pierced at the Basilisk’s scales as it hissed.

he Basilisk hissed. The earthen spikes failed to cause it any damage, crumbling as they touched its scales. However, Rylan only grinned. To begin with, he hadn't expected a Second Circle spell to pierce through the Boss' defenses just like that. No, this was done to give Gerard an opening.

He perceived the atmospheric mana shift. It gathered. A moment later, the heat reached him, increasing rapidly.

Fire spells?

Rylan nodded to himself at Gerard's choice while using Snowfall to avoid a bite. Fire spells were his father's specialty - they needed to know if these spells could melt through the defenses of an enemy like this, which was covered in armor-like scales. If so, then this battle wouldn't be difficult; if not, the two of them would need to find a way to get through the scales.

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He stepped on the air as if it were solid ground to get behind the Basilisk and swung his sword.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Second Movement: Crackling Edge.

His mana roared along the blade's surface like lightning. It resonated with the world around him. Was it because his eyes were closed and he had forced himself to sharpen his senses to their pinnacle? Rylan felt like he could more clearly perceive the way his mana was flowing and reacting.

The blade divided the air and landed on the Boss' neck. For a fraction of a second, the blade stopped in place. Then, it kept going, slicing through the outer layer of the scales. However, it couldn't go all the way - it was stopped by a thick layer of more scales, supported by powerful muscles.

Rylan immediately jumped backward, just before the Basilisk's maw closed around his previous position. The picture in his head was still just as clear as before. Suddenly, the beast's image became blurrier. He furrowed his brow.

It stopped moving and hissing?

His perception wasn't omnipotent. To fully grasp his surroundings, he needed to use all of his senses. As if it could tell, the Basilisk had reacted to this. Without the sounds of it shifting the earth and fallen leaves, it was much more difficult to grasp its position. With a bad feeling, Rylan jumped toward the Basilisk's last estimated position.

The ground was pressed down by a great weight, the leaves crushed. The earth was forced to give way. Once this reached his ears, Rylan realized what the Basilisk was doing. Its hazy outline immediately became clear in his mind.

The monster was slithering towards Gerard.

But that means it isn't looking at me.

He slowly opened his eyes. The sight of the Basilisk lunging at Gerard, who was some distance away, immediately became clear. The Boss was looking straight at Gerard, who had lowered his gaze. Without hesitation, Rylan shot forward. The monster's crown-shaped crest twitched as he swung his sword.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Third Movement: Rainfall.

The first attack landed on the same spot as his previous slash. Simultaneously, the earth around Gerard rose and surrounded him in a dome of pure rock. Rylan's attack seamlessly transitioned into a thrust, which flowed into another slash. All landed on the same location. Like heavy rain falling on the soft earth, each attack went in much deeper than the previous one. The Boss moved its head. Rylan spun under its chin just as the monster turned to face him.

The spin fueled his last attack. It dug into the wound created by the previous ones, slicing through the remainders of the scales and the muscles in its way. Crimson blood gushed out of the gaping injury, making the Basilisk hiss loudly. At the same time, Rylan looked at its underbelly. As expected, it seemed softer than the rest of its body. He put away his wand and grasped the sword’s hilt with both hands.

This battle ended here. There was no need to prolong a fight against a dangerous enemy.

His mana raged within him as he gathered his power. In this brief instant, Rylan felt the Basilisk’s mana move for the first time. Its throat swelled, green smoke trailing out of the wound on its neck. Rylan widened his eyes before making a decision in a split second.

Falling Snow Steps: Snowfall.

He stepped on the air as the Basilisk snapped its head toward him and opened its mouth.

Stormcaller Sword Style, First Movement: Thunderbolt.

Rylan’s blade sank into the monster’s underbelly amidst a burst of crimson. However, because of the Boss’ sheer size, the blade was unable to cause serious damage, even though it sank up to the hilt. Above, a wave of green smoke flooded out of the Basilisk’s maw. As the monster moved its head, Rylan hurriedly pulled the blade out and moved away with Snowfall, then kept running around and circling the monster. The Boss continued to try to spew more of the smoke as it tried to keep up with his movements.

The smoke met the grass underfoot after a second. It didn’t even take a second for the grass to wither in real time and die, then disappear completely like it had never existed. Rylan narrowed his eyes as he saw this.

As I thought.

The smoke was poison. No, should he call it a special type of magical venom? The Basilisk had used mana to cast a poison-like spell born inside its own body, either by choice or as a requirement. Rylan watched the poisonous smoke. Everything it touched died; the tree trunks it reached became gray, and grass disappeared completely. Branches collapsed and disappeared before they even hit the ground. The earth lost its color, turning into something that looked like ash.

Rylan intentionally moved away from the dome Gerard was in, trying to draw the monster’s attention without looking into its eyes. Suddenly, the Basilisk closed its mouth and changed its expression.

It’s… smiling?

Even though he couldn’t look at its eyes, it was definitely grinning. A bad feeling filled his chest. The Boss turned away from him, snapping toward the earthen dome around Gerard. Rylan widened his eyes. The monster’s mana moved and resonated with the world around it.

Rylan pointed his wand at the Boss as he ran on the air. The ground around Gerard’s dome rippled, including the earth right underneath it. Rylan honed his concentration.

As he was about to cast the spell, there was a change.