Chapter 54 – 10th Floor Boss.
<span style="font-weight:400">A massive armored figure began to move, the sound of its metal joints echoing through the chamber like a death knell. Its movements were deliberate and heavy, each step resonating with power. Rusty could see that this creature was not like the other living armors he had faced. This one exuded a strange aura that he had not seen before.
<span style="font-weight:400">This was the first dungeon boss he had encountered, and even though the hero had warned him about the dangers of such beings, he couldn''t help but feel a twinge of excitement. This was the challenge he had been seeking, the key to his next evolution. His level was now fourteen, and this monster would probably be enough to push him through the threshold.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My luck wasn’t good. I would have probably reached a higher level if it wasn’t for those adventurers. But at least, they can’t follow me here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rusty knew that once a person was inside a boss chamber, it was impossible for anyone else to enter. Unless the adventurers chasing him had some digging tools, he would have time to dispatch this monster, reach the next evolution, and then either run away or confront his pursuers once he was stronger. The month was almost up, and this seemed to be the limit. If he didn’t make it out of this battle, all of his nning would have been for nothing.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is that going to be my next form? It looks a bit disfigured…”
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<b>ssification:</b>
</td>
<td>
<b>Iron Armor Knight [ E+ ] L15</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<b>Type:</b>
</td>
<td>
<b>Magical/Specter</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<b>Description:</b>
</td>
<td>
<b>A living armor monster, its armor is much heavier than regr Iron Armor’s.</b>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
There wasn’t much detail in the description, but the monster’s form was undeniably intimidating. It outsized Rusty in both height and width, its thick, reinforced ting suggesting it was built for both offense and defense. It held a massive greatsword with ease; the de looked more like a b of metal than a sword. The edge didn’t appear too sharp, but something that heavy would certainly prate through Rusty’s shing resistance.
“Time to see what you’re made of and if all that skill training was worth it…”
Rusty muttered, tightening his grip on his mace. The battle would not be easy, but he was ready. His enemy was the same type of monster as him, which didn’t bode well. The floor boss wasrger and heavier, attributes that usually determined victory between living armor types. However, Rusty wasn’t just a simple living armor; he had brains toplement his brawn. If he used what he had learned throughout these months, then victory could be his.
As the Iron Armor Knight advanced, Rusty activated his inventory to take out the correct armaments for this situation. The mace would be a good offensive weapon for this type of enemy as it was weak to blunt damage. To his left side he held his bronze shield tightly and would use it just like he did against the other living armors. The n was simple, block with the shield and hit with the mace, what could go wrong?
The Knight finally approached and swung its greatsword in a wide arc, aiming to cleave Rusty in two. In response, Rusty raised his shield to block the iing hit, just as he had done many times with other living armor monsters. Once he withstood the hit, there would be a window of opportunity to strike back. His mace just needed to connect with the enemy''s knee joint. Once this was mangled, the boss would be unable to move quickly, and the battle would be won.
This was the n in Rusty’s metallic head. To his surprise, it didn’t quite go as he had foreseen. Once therge b of iron connected with his shield, he was sent flying to the side. The immense force behind the Iron Armor Knight''s strike sent him crashing into a nearby pir. His shield, while having absorbed much of the impact, was now bent and rendered almost useless. Without even looking at his system screen, he could tell that even though the shield had absorbed arge portion of the hit, he still lost some of his HP.
‘This won’t be as straightforward as I thought…’
Rusty pushed himself upright, his metallic body groaning in protest. He quickly discarded the damaged shield by throwing it in the direction of the charging iron knight. His opponent didn’t seem to mind as the bronze just bounce off without halting his charge in the slightest. While holding the sword with both hands it produced another wide sh, which this time around Rusty ducked. He sought protection behind one of the rocky pirs but this also didn’t suppress his opponent much.
The moment the huge greatsword connected with the pir, it blew right past it. Chunks of rock pelted his bronze body as he continued to back away. His opponent was on the offensive and not giving him any openings that he could exploit. Rusty realized he needed a different approach. Relying on brute force alone wouldn''t work against a foe that outmatched him in strength and size.
Something like this was easier said than done. His opponent would certainly not give him any time to reorganize himself. The Iron Armor Knight was hot on his heels and another pir burst open. Rusty ducked again and realized that these stone bs would not be able to protect him from this enemy. It was as if someone ced them here to be nothing but a trap.
Soon, more and more of the rocky pirs were gone, and Rusty hadn''t even hit the other armor once. Both of themcked a stamina bar, so waiting for the monster to tire was pointless. Eventually, he would not have any cover left to protect him; before that happened, he needed to strike.
‘I’ll get only one chance, I need to make it count.’
With only one pir left standing, Rusty made up his mind and devised a n. Even though the monster was blowing through the rough stones, they were halting its momentum. If he timed it right, he could knock his enemy off bnce andunch a counterattack. To make this happen, he activated his inventory and took out arge iron tower shield he had previously taken from one of the other living armors. With it, he hoped to turn his n into reality.
While the monster was strong and could obliterate the environment with its huge sword, Rusty had noticed some weaknesses. To exploit one of its shorings, he needed therge shield and good timing. Holding the shield at the edge of the pir, he waited for the right moment.
‘...Now!’
He shouted in his mind as the monster attacked thest column in the throne room. Normally, the monster would just cause it to crumble into dust again, but this time, there was another obstruction. Rusty utilized therge shield along with his shield bash skill, targeting not the monster but its de tip instead. Once the greatsword collided with the pir, its momentum slowed, allowing Rusty to perform a perfect parry without being pushed back. His body’s weight increased as otherwise, he would have been pushed back once again.
The tower shield collided with the sword, and Rusty could feel his body buckling under the pressure. Despite the force behind the enemy''s strike, he managed to hold his ground, using his shield and skill to absorb and redirect the attack''s momentum. The collision created a resounding ng that echoed through the grand chamber, causing a momentary pause in the relentless onught of the Iron Armor Knight.
Finally, the greatsword was flung back along with the monster holding it, and the time for his counterattack hade. He discarded the tower shield by throwing it at the stumbling monster. Both hands gripping his mace, Rusty aimed a precise power strike at the Iron Armor Knight’s knee joint. While aiming at its monster core within the helmet was an option, the monster’s arms were raised to protect it. Just like him, each living armor had instincts to protect their helmet from harm, and targeting its legs was the better choice.
The heavy mace connected with a satisfying crunch, but one hit was not enough to shatter the knee joint. The monster staggered back, its reinforced armor absorbing most of the impact. It used itsrge de as a crutch and tried to regain its bnce, but Rusty was unwilling to relent. With calcted precision, he swung his mace again and again, as many times as it took to shatter the joint. Even when the monster used itsrge fist to smack him away, he would not relent.
Rusty''s repeated strikes finally bore fruit. With a final, resounding crack, the knee joint of the Iron Armor Knight gave way. The massive creature staggered, unable to support its own weight, and copsed onto one knee. Rusty didn''t waste a moment. He knew this was his best, and possibly only, chance to finish the fight.
He quickly maneuvered behind the fallen knight, where the greatsword couldn''t easily reach him. The Iron Armor Knight swung its sword wildly, but the blows were erratic andcked the precision needed to hit the nimble bronze suit of armor. Rusty darted around it, continuously hitting its body with his active skills. Even when his mace shattered, he just restored it and continued.
With each powerful blow, more cracks formed in the knight''s armor. The greatsword iled desperately, but the knight''s movements grew slower and more uncoordinated as the damage umted. Rusty knew that if he was hit even once or grabbed by itsrge hands, the whole battle could shift in the monster’s favor.
His tactic might have been considered cowardly but it was effective. The monster’s helmet eventually flew upwards after one coordinated swing in an attempt to expose its core and end this. However, soon a problem arose as the monster core that should have been there, was nowhere to be seen.
‘Does it have that skill to move the monster core?’
Rusty knew that such skills existed, but it was also possible that this type of Knight armor variant had its core in a different location. Without knowing where to hit, this battle would be increasingly more difficult. He backed away from the chaotic swings, but the monster crawled after him. Its attack power and mobility had decreased, but even with one hand, arge greatsword like that was a deadly weapon.
‘Where is that core hiding… wait, I still have one of those left; I should use it!’
The monster was now without a head and iling around wildly. Rusty was forced to back away as moving in close was dangerous. Victory could only be achieved once the core was destroyed, and he had one option left. His light and darkness elements were ineffective against living armors. Even if he sted light inside its head, it would probably not crumble the core inside. Instead, he would use a different explosive solution in the form of a yellow potion bottle.
‘If this fails, I’ll probably only have one other option, and it would be better not to.’
After making up his mind, he charged forward. First, to make use of his opponent''sck of a helmet, he threw his mace at its body. The monster reacted instantly after being hit and started smacking the area the weapon came from. It hit nothing but air and stone tiles while Rusty circled around it with the potion in his hand. Then, with a precise throw, heunched it into the living armor’s chest cavity through the opening left by the helmet.
The potion, once inside, instantly exploded and turned the monster’s interior into a furnace. Smoke and mes erupted from the monster. Its arms popped off in aedic fashion and flew to the sides. Rusty wanted to cheer, but something was wrong. Despite the explosion, the monster was still moving. The arms and helmet started to be pulled back as his enemy finally decided to use its limb-controlling skill.
He couldn''t allow the monster to reform itself, so he charged forward with a longsword instead. Once he reached the injured body of the Iron Knight, he began searching for the core inside. The smoke made it hard to locate, and the monster still had its legs. Even with his weight skill active, it was challenging to hold the creature down, but eventually, he found the core, right below the waistline and between the monster’s legs. It was a strange ce for a monster core, but there it was.
With all his might, he thrust his de through the neck opening, carefully aiming for the spot he had identified. The de pierced through and found its mark, driving deep into the core. Rusty felt a sudden vibration from within the monster’s body, which soon passed as the monster’s body dropped. The arms and helmet that had almost reached it crumbled to the ground with a resounding ng. The battle was over.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<b>Congrattions you have gained a level.</b>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<b>You have reached the level limit, please choose a path forward.</b>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
There it was; he had reached the final level and was now ready to advance toward his next evolution. While he had achieved victory, there was no time to rx as he was not quite safe yet. Now that the dungeon boss was defeated, the path to this ce would open, and those adventurers would certainly appear. He was unsure of what to do, as he spending time in the soul forge would put him at risk.
“Time flows slower here than in the forge, but how much slower?”
It would be quite unfortunate if the adventurers discovered his unmoving body while he was trying to evolve. Before he could go through with this, he needed to find a safe location. Soon after the defeat of his enemy, he heard a strange clicking from afar. The throne chair started to slide sideways, revealing adder leading down into another location.
“Is this the path towards the next floor?”
Just as this new path opened up, another one that had been shut tight started moving. Therge doors blocking ess to the chamber were creaking apart. It was clear he needed to think fast, as his previous pursuers were right behind him. Would he go down these stairs into a potential dead end or a new monster-infested floor? Or would he try to evolve quickly and face the adventurers first?
He looked at thedder, then at the slowly opening doors. He could hear the distant nking of the adventurers'' armor and their muffled voices, growing louder as they neared the chamber…