The First Defeat
Even after that, the red light between the helm’s slits flickered faintly several times, but in the end it went out completely. In a way, that outcome was only natural. I had driven my slime straight through the armor and crushed both of his eyes. Among the vital points of the human body, the eyes were the smallest yet most lethal. The same held true for this humanoid monster of a boss. Targeting them had been the obvious choice. Of course, striking those tiny glowing eyes through the narrow gap in the helm by any normal means would have been nearly impossible. It was a strategy only possible because my body had long since left the realm of ordinary humans.
Still, a part of me had worried. Even if I blinded the visible eyes, the boss might compensate with other senses. Fortunately, that never happened.
!!?!......
Once his vision was cut off, the Black Knight stumbled in place and began whipping his head around. He paid no attention to me standing right in front of him. That single change told me everything: his sight was completely gone. A being of truly high caliber might have compensated with other senses, but this boss relied almost entirely on raw power and physical ability. His swordsmanship itself was nothing special. The moment he lost his eyes, he started swinging wildly at anything within reach, clearly trying to track me by sound alone. It was useless.
I had prepared for exactly this moment. When I first entered the boss room, I had deliberately refrained from using my abilities and instead spent time dodging his attacks with nothing but my own body. That practice paid off now. I knew his attack patterns well enough that even without Ulthar’s guidance, avoiding them was simple. I also knew from past experience that he possessed no self-regeneration. All the preparation was done. Now it was time to finish the meal.
I extended the hand holding my sword to the side. The longsword’s shape warped and reformed into a beautiful staff adorned with countless jewels—the very staff once wielded by the Court Mage who had served as the third-floor mid-boss. With all preparations complete, I called forth the strongest ability currently available to me.
Designated Ability Change… Court Mage Romelos’ Elemental Magic. Specification Complete… Applied.
Red and blue auras erupted from beneath my feet. At the same time, knowledge I had never possessed before flooded into my mind. The boss sensed the surge of power immediately and closed the distance, his greatsword raised high. The attack never reached me.
A bolt of lightning crashed down from the ceiling and struck the boss squarely on the head. His entire body convulsed as the current tore through him. White smoke rose from his armor, proof of the attack’s devastating power.
The two elemental magics—lightning and flame—I had obtained by devouring the Court Mage were the only means I had of dealing meaningful damage. The boss’s black armor shrugged off ordinary physical strikes with ease. Even during his duel with the leader, the armor had barely dented. Only magic that could bypass the armor itself would work.
Hours earlier, the knight commander had dodged my spells with ease. Now, however, the boss was blind and far larger than any ordinary monster. He was an easy target. Yet he refused to stay passive. Metal clanged as reinforcements poured into the room.
“Hah… summoning your lackeys? So you finally realize you’re in danger.”
I glanced at the approaching soldiers and smirked. Individually they were nothing, but in numbers they could become troublesome. Then a memory surfaced—the Court Mage’s devastating spell that had turned the ground into a sea of hellfire. I slammed the staff into the floor and spoke the name that rose in my mind.
“Fire Field…!”
A ring of roaring flames erupted around us, forming a blazing wall. The soldiers who had nearly reached me recoiled in panic. Those who tried to force their way through were reduced to charred remains before they could cross. The external threat was sealed off.
For a brief moment I felt a strange sense of wonder. I was using magic—the very power I had once envied in party mages. The feeling vanished the instant I looked at the boss again. Even blinded and trapped, he refused to turn his back on me. That stubborn pride ignited something ugly inside me.
“…So you won’t run even now, because you’re a knight? Fine. I’ll grant your wish and kill you right where you stand—until not even a trace of your corpse remains.”
The voice that left my lips was cold enough to freeze bone. The boss had no reply. He simply charged toward the sound of my voice. I met him with relentless lightning.
Thunder shook the entire chamber. I swung the staff without pause, pouring bolt after bolt into him at point-blank range. The Black Knight writhed, unable to escape, his silent screams lost beneath the roar of electricity. My eyes burned with hatred. The one who had once driven me into utter despair stood before me, and I finally held the power to end him. Nothing else mattered.
Eventually the heat grew so intense that the slime I had attached to his body melted away, freeing one of his hands. It was far too late. His ruined eyes showed no sign of recovering, and his health bar was plummeting. Victory was within reach.
Boss Ranslot’s health has fallen below the threshold! The Lord’s Loyal Corrupted Sisters have appeared…
Three women emerged from behind the distant throne. I had expected them. I had no intention of letting them restore the boss’s health the way they had in the past. I shifted the staff to redirect the lightning—only for the weapon to suddenly begin melting in my hands.
“!!? …Huh?”
The staff collapsed into gray slime and poured onto the floor. My clothes and then my entire body followed, dissolving without my consent. Only then did I realize what was happening.
Warning: Mana depleted! Mana depleted! Mana depleted!!! Your body is collapsing!
Ulthar’s urgent voice cut through the fading thunder. Every ability I had used—transformation, elemental magic—consumed mana. I had burned through it all without restraint. Now even the mana needed to maintain my human form was gone. There was no potion, no way to replenish it in time. The flames vanished. Monsters flooded the room. The boss’s wounds began closing at visible speed.
Frustration and despair swallowed me whole. My vision darkened.
Challenger combat-incapable. Raid failed. Terminating training program.
“Hmm… what a shame! Still, you can’t expect to succeed on the first try, right? Besides, I never imagined you’d get this far on your very first attempt. That’s an excellent result, so don’t be too discouraged. We’ll try again next time!”
Ulthar’s cheerful voice echoed somewhere far away. I tried to scream in protest, but my consciousness had already sunk beneath the surface. The first challenge of the special training ended there.