The Final Challenge (4)
Special Object has appeared! Boss ‘Ranslot’ has entered a frozen state. The state will be released upon achieving certain conditions.
A suffocating standoff continued as a change swept over the boss’s body, still wreathed in flames. The boss’s health, which had been rapidly draining under the intense heat, suddenly halted at a fixed threshold. The anomaly occurred while the fire inside the armor remained intact. Yet this was something I had already anticipated. It was one of the boss’s unique abilities—Freezing—unlocked when the special mobs, the witches, appeared and the boss reached a combat-incapable state. In exchange for completely binding its own body, it gained an inviolable power that rendered it immune to any external attacks. Once in this state, the boss became truly invincible; nothing could touch it.
The way I discovered this ability was simple. What if we ignored the witches that had revealed themselves and focused everything on the boss teetering on the brink of death? It seemed like a plausible loophole that might allow a clear. Considering that even the healing ability possessed by one of the witches required time, there had been a real chance of success. So I tested the strategy in actual combat and uncovered the troublesome ability. To forcibly release the frozen state, the only option was to eliminate every witch that had appeared on the field—the sole release condition.
But here lay the ability’s most aggravating flaw. While the state carried the risk of rendering the boss completely immobile, external healing magic still applied normally. In a party raid, this might have been an advantage, allowing the group to focus the witches while the boss was frozen. Unfortunately, I was attempting a solo clear. Far from gaining an edge, the situation had only worsened. To succeed, I had to eliminate the witches before the boss’s recovery finished. If I failed within the time limit, the boss would emerge from its frozen state fully restored and coordinate with the witches to crush me.
The opponents, however, were mages—the natural enemies of this body. It was no wonder every previous attempt had ended in failure despite countless tries. The difficulty of the clear was beyond imagination, yet I had no choice but to press on.
Shrrrk—
Thud…
The first thing I did was retract the portion of my body I had transformed into silver threads. The ashen masses were absorbed back as naturally as if they had always been part of me. With the supporting structure gone, the boss sank to the ground. A dull impact echoed as its knees struck the floor. Even without restraints, the boss remained motionless, head bowed like a corpse. There was no time to watch it. The witches that had fully manifested on the field were already beginning to move.
The attack witch standing at the center struck first. She swung her grotesque staff, and dozens of fireballs materialized in the sky. Though each blazing sphere was not particularly large, their sheer number was overwhelming. Suspended in the air as if awaiting orders, they surged forward in unison at a flick of her staff. Naturally, their target was where I stood.
Fwoooosh—! Boom! Crash! BOOM—!
“This is… a bit too fast, isn’t it? I almost got turned into charcoal right at the start.”
I muttered under my breath while peeking out from behind the massive shield I had barely managed to create. The shield was large enough to cover my entire shrunken body. It wasn’t equipment obtained from this dungeon. Its origin was the shield I had absorbed along with the old man I had swallowed in the cave earlier. As expected of vital defensive gear, it was crafted from high-quality materials—among the upper tier even compared to hunter equipment sold on the market. The fact that it remained unscratched after blocking that attack head-on was proof enough.
Yet no matter how excellent the shield’s defense, standing still would change nothing. Glancing past its edge, I could see the witches in the distance. The attack witch was already preparing her next spell, the defense witch braced for ranged assaults, and—most critically—the healing witch was beginning to chant recovery magic. If I dragged this out, the boss I had barely suppressed would recover just like before. According to the information gathered from previous attempts, the recovery took roughly ten minutes. Within that short window, I had to at least eliminate the healing witch. However, she stood at the very rear of their formation. To reach her, I would first have to deal with the two witches blocking the way.
In short, I had to defeat all three within ten minutes. Who on earth designed this dungeon with such a ridiculous mechanic…? If the creator existed in reality, I would have loved to punch them once. The only saving grace was that the objective itself was straightforward. My trump card, prepared specifically for this moment, was already ready. All that remained was closing the distance between us. Of course, they would not simply watch me approach. Breaking through their barrage to reach them was practically a gamble. In truth, most of my previous failures had occurred during this exact phase. Without teleportation, there was no other way. I would have to deflect every incoming attack and cross the distance on my own two feet.
With colder clarity than ever, I steadied my breathing and surveyed my surroundings. The area was engulfed in flames from the earlier barrage. Warm green energy was already rising from the boss’s body in real time. There was no more time to hesitate. I could only trust the experience I had accumulated and my own skill, then roll the dice. Whether it landed on a one or a six was unknown, but this felt like the best opportunity I had ever had.
Designated Ability Change… ‘Knight Commander Harson’s Advanced Swordsmanship.’ Specific completion… applied.
A new power settled into my body as two swords of appropriate length materialized in my hands. Their blades gleamed with a cool light reflected from the torch flames. I already knew from experience that winning through speed alone was impossible. The only viable path was to dodge what I could and intercept what I could not. By the time I realized it, my body was already moving. Though I had reinforced my physical abilities to the limit, it still could not compare to using the actual skill, yet the speed was more than sufficient.
The girl charged forward, a deadly sword in each hand. As if waiting for this moment, the witches unleashed a massive offensive. Its scale was incomparable to anything before. The first obstacle was a storm of small yet lethal ice spikes. Like rain, the shards poured ceaselessly from the sky and reached my position in an instant. The weapons sparkled with terrifying cold. If I were exposed to them directly, I would become more than a pincushion—my entire body would freeze solid. Dodging every shard raining down from all directions was impossible. So there was only one option left. Gripping the swords so tightly my hands turned white, I performed a desperate sword dance toward the approaching death.
Shraaaak—! Clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang—!
In that instant, a fierce storm of blades swept the front. The two swords moved at the speed of light, crossing each other and producing a sound like the air itself being torn apart. At the same time, a continuous grinding noise followed. At the center of that storm stood a single girl. The swords moved so fast they were nearly invisible, like wings, shredding every approaching shard like paper. Of course, that did not mean every attack was completely blocked. But by aiming to stop nine out of every ten strikes, I achieved a near-perfect defense with minimal damage. Even with the ability’s effects, reaching this level was no simple feat. It was a miraculous swordsmanship born from countless attempts, failures, and accumulated experience.
Having barely escaped the ice hell, I was met with a fireball of unprecedented size. It filled my vision and radiated tremendous light as it hurtled toward me. Even the slightest contact would erase me without a trace. Catching the scorching wind head-on, I leapt high. Merging the two swords I held, I simultaneously increased their size. In an instant, the blade grew beyond the scale of an ordinary greatsword. Clenching my teeth around the unwieldy weapon, I brought it down in a straight slash toward the fireball now right in front of me.
Whoosh—!
It seemed reckless, yet the result exceeded expectations. Following the trajectory of the greatsword, the massive fireball split cleanly in half. A natural gap formed in the perfectly bisected sphere. Quickly retrieving the greatsword into my body, I landed smoothly through the opening and dashed forward once more.
Seeing both attacks fail, the witches faltered for a moment. Yet the existence charging toward them was no different from a moth flying into flames. As long as their defensive magic remained intact, there was nothing the girl could do even if she reached them. Still, she instinctively understood: this existence must not be allowed any closer. Though lacking concrete proof, an inexplicable sense of foreboding told her so. Acting on that instinct, the witch raised her staff high and summoned dark thunderclouds, determined to stop the charge this time.
Her intent was obvious. Unlike previous attacks, she planned to deliver an unavoidable, powerful strike from the very beginning to finish things decisively.
Rumble…
The ominous clouds trembled as if about to explode at any moment. Lightning could not be intercepted with a sword. Only one option remained: block it head-on before it reached my body. The distance to the throne where the witches stood was now minimal. Having reached this point through countless failures, I could not let it end meaninglessly. Moreover, I had not come unprepared. Focusing my mind, I activated Skill Transformation. A shield-shaped weapon slowly materialized above my hand. Though similar in appearance to the previous shield, it differed in several aspects. I had incorporated the strengths of various shields obtained from this dungeon to maximize its defensive power.
Meanwhile, the thunderclouds grew even darker before convulsing violently and unleashing a single colossal bolt of light. The thick lightning, accompanied by a blue flash, was like the descent of a dragon itself. Thus, the strongest spear and the strongest shield—both sides pouring everything they had—collided head-on, and a tremendous roar swallowed the surroundings.