The knight didn't give him a single second to adjust back; it charged again, bringing its sword down in a crushing vertical strike.
Silas dodged sideways with another Phantom Step, but the heat from the blade still caught him. Lava splashed as the sword cracked the floor open.
His health bar appeared in front of his eyes once again.
[Health: 70/100]
Silas ran, dodging around the boss as it charged behind him with the intent to kill him. He looked for weaknesses in the armour, cracks or anything.
"System, do you have any bright ideas?" He groaned as he continued. "Use your mechanical brain and help me, blue screen."
Analysingg…]
The knight lunged with a stabbing thrust and aimed it towards Silas's chest. Silas twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blow.
[Weak point detected: upper spine. Suggest bait attack → dodge right → strike upward.]
Silas grinned menacingly. "Got it."
He sprinted toward the Knight, swinging low—intentional miss. The Knight raised its sword for another overhead smash.
Silas waited, waited for the exact moment. Then—
[Phantom Step!]
He slid past the sword of the boss, sliding behind it. His voice came low, but a pinch of cockiness was mixed into it. "Checkmate, bones." He said as he winked at the boss.
He thrust his sword upward with Piercing Thrust, directing all his strength into the strike.
The sword of Silas slid between the plates of the armour and pierced through the knight's skull. A burst of bright flame exploded outward from the place where it had been hit.
The knight froze, sword falling from its hand with a metallic crash.
Its red eye flickered—and then went dark.
The skeleton then collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Silas staggered back, panting hard; his body was screaming because of the pain. Sweat rolled down his forehead to his cheek. His shirt was half-burned, and his arms were stinging from the heat like someone had inserted multiple needles into his skin.
But he was still alive, barely.
[DING!]
• [Level Up!]
• [Level Up!]
• [Level Up!]
[You are now Level 58]
[Stat Points Gained: +48]
Silas dropped onto the ground and let out a long, shaky laugh. Voice came low, shocked. "I… actually survived that. Holy shit!"
[Host has defeated a D-rank boss alone. Well done.]
He lay there for a moment, just breathing, staring at the cracked ceiling. The rush of levelling up washed over him like a warm tide. His body felt lighter, his wounds felt dull, and his mind felt sharper.
He finally sat up, knees crossed. "Alright… let's sort this up." He said as he looked at his stat panel.
[Level: 58]
[Unassigned Stat Points: 48]
"Balance of the stats is always the key," Silas muttered under his breath as he scratched his chin.
He evenly distributed all of the stat points. A wave of warmth shot through him.
• [Mana: 220/220]
• [Agility: B-]
• [Strength: C+]
• [Intellect: B]
• [Endurance: D+]
• [Charisma: D+]
• [Luck: D+]
Silas rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the pain in his joints. Slowly testing the new strength that he just acquired.
'Definitely not a monster, at least for now.' A small smirk curled up on his lips.
He got back up to his feet, and then everything suddenly went wrong. The ground then started to shake.
A deep rumble crawled through the floor, shaking the entire chamber. Lava began spilling faster, bubbling up through cracks. The air grew cold — painfully cold — and a dark fog seeped in from the walls.
Silas stopped moving for a while, trying to process what was happening around him.
"What… the hell?" A confused voice came out of his mouth, and sweat welled up on his forehead.
The crimson light in the room dimmed, replaced by flickering black energy. The bones scattered across the floor rattled on their own, clicking like teeth.
A chill crawled down Silas's spine, eyes started to widen slightly.
[Warning: Unknown mana surge detected.]
[Dungeon destabilisation confirmed.]
[Initiating Hidden Event.]
Silas's jaw dropped slightly as he fell into a state of confusion. "The fuck… the fuck is happening right now?"
The dark fog started to thicken, swirling like smoke, and seemed like it had a mind of its own.
The remains of the Ember Skeleton Knight twitched.
Silas took one step back.
[Ding!]
[New Objective: Survive.]