Dungeon Class (3)
The dungeon's final chamber. The boss monster's room.
The entrance was a massive iron door.
"Ugh... help me out here."
"..."
Rapel tried to open the iron door with flair, but it wouldn't budge.
She struggled and grunted, kicking at it futilely. With no choice, I let out a deep sigh and grabbed the door.
Elia pitched in too. With no room on the door, she gripped my shoulder instead.
Creak—
With all three of us combining our strength, the iron door finally began to move.
The rusted hinges screamed in protest. As the door swung open, it swept up the dust piled on the floor in an arc.
The door slowly parted, revealing the interior. And there...
"There's nothing here?"
Nothing in particular was visible.
But Professor Rapel blocked me as I tried to step inside, pointing her staff at something.
"Do you see that? Everyone, be careful."
"That's a coffin, right?"
It was an ancient stone sarcophagus.
Unlike modern burials where the dead were laid to rest in wooden coffins to return to the earth, ancients preserved bodies against decay with treatments and sealed them in stone sarcophagi.
They believed rotting flesh tainted the afterlife.
That's why ruins across the empire often yielded these stone coffins with remarkably preserved remains inside.
"The boss is probably in there. Everyone, stay sharp... This boss monster might have combat prowess equal to an Academy professor—or beyond."
Professor Rapel Strahct said this as she took the lead into the room.
Just in case, I positioned Elia behind me and advanced slowly.
"Do you need my help?"
"You know better. Right now, it's not about help—it's your survival first."
"Sorry... for not being useful."
"What are you talking about? You've been a huge help so far. We wouldn't have made it here without you. If anything, don't screw it up now that we're this far."
Contrary to Elia's worries, she had been incredibly helpful.
Thanks to her skill Woman's Intuition, we'd bypassed all the traps. And her ironclad mentality let us take down that giant cockroach.
The rest of the monsters were no match for me and Rapel, so Elia deserved the bulk of the credit for getting us here.
Put simply, without her against that cockroach, Rapel and I would've tapped out right there.
"Kael... you really are..."
Elia started muttering something in response to my words when—
Grind—
"Get ready."
The stone sarcophagus shifted.
The lid covering it ground like a millstone, inching aside bit by bit. Blue mana-like energy gathered toward the coffin from all corners of the boss room.
Something was definitely happening.
"Wait... this might be dangerous!"
The blue mana converged atop the sarcophagus, twitching unstably.
Professor Rapel hurriedly erected a barrier. A yellow one matching her eye color enveloped us all.
Crackle—
Sizzle—
"Even so, this is too sudden!"
Boom—!
The ground shook violently.
Out of nowhere, the boss room's iron door flew backward powerlessly.
A flash blinded us. When I opened my eyes, Professor Rapel Strahct was on her knees, drained.
At the same time, something kicked off the sarcophagus lid and slowly rose.
Grrrk—
"Haa... genius. Sorry about that. Spent too much mana on the barrier."
"Useless little brat."
"Harsh words. Just do your best."
Thud—
Professor Rapel collapsed flat on the ground.
And in that instant, the form emerging from the sarcophagus came into view.
"A Draugr..."
A monster born when a vengeful spirit possessed an undecayed corpse.
Unlike skeletons or generic undead, it arose from a legendary warrior's lingering will, crystallized as mana and bound to their body—making it leagues stronger.
Its power wasn't mere monstrous brute force but a warrior's prowess: human-like combat instincts fused with beastly patterns and endurance.
In short, the best of both worlds. A terrifying adversary.
"Elia. Listen up from here on. Drag Professor Rapel out of here if you have to."
"What about you, Kael?"
"Obviously, I'm taking it down. Gotta claim whatever perks the professor promised for the math to work out."
I drew my sword and swung it through the air once.
This thing's lasted a good long while. So worn, it could snap any second.
'Just hold on a bit longer.'
Grrk— grrrk—
The Draugr turned its gaze to me. Fortunately, it ignored Rapel and Elia, who lacked combat ability.
"So you're a warrior too, huh?"
Grrk—
It reached toward me.
The next instant—
Thud—!
"What the fuck...!"
Near-silent casting speed on the magic.
A magic circle appeared, and a massive projectile launched almost simultaneously. I rolled aside on instinct. Glancing back, it was a huge ice spear.
"I can do that too."
Whoosh—!
The Draugr's spell was fast, near-chantless—but mine was pure silent cast.
I hurled a flame spear intuitively and charged with sword raised.
The Draugr dodged the flames but couldn't stop me closing the distance.
Grrk—
"Urk..."
Blue light gleamed from its rotten eyes.
My body grew heavy. Gravity intensified. Joints creaked, unresponsive.
Like freezing at a tiger's roar—my body wouldn't obey.
This was...
"Genius! Don't look in those eyes!"
Rapel's voice echoed from afar.
She'd retreated to safety, being dragged by Elia, and yelled.
I wrenched my gaze aside with all my might at her words.
My body freed up instantly.
"Pulling cheap tricks, huh? Now you're fucked."
And unexpectedly, in that frozen moment, I'd grasped it.
The flow of mana...
Those eyes were magic themselves. A spell in the blue glow.
Now, I could replicate it perfectly.
Swish—!
Slash—!
I swung wildly, avoiding its gaze.
The Draugr, once a warrior, evaded my strikes multiple times.
But decayed muscles had limits. I pressed harder.
It drew its own sword to counter. But then...
"Hup..."
Kiiing—!
I unleashed the exact spell it'd hit me with.
Its movements slowed abruptly.
The Draugr's eyes flickered with shock.
'Even a dead undead gets rattled...'
A thoughtless beast that killed on sight, yet panic lingered. Kinda funny.
But...
"If you're a monster, die like one."
Slash—!
Even so, it twisted desperately to evade.
My neck-aimed swing only severed an arm.
But its sword clattered to the ground.
Grrk—
Another magic circle flared.
Not content to lose, it tried freezing magic at point-blank.
Instead of dodging, I reached into its circle.
'I feel it...'
In that split second, I sensed its mana flowing through the circle.
Nothing fancy—just infused my own mana to sabotage the casting.
The mana dispersed into the air. No spell formed.
"Ahh, that's the taste of victory..."
Slash—!
The Draugr's head tumbled.
And in that moment...
Clang—!
"Uh..."
My trusty sword, my companion for so long, shattered.
"Hahaha! I knew you'd win! And without a scratch!"
"...So, brat. Aren't you the professor and I'm the student? Does it make sense for the prof to nap on the floor while the student fights the boss?"
"The result's what matters, no?"
I approached the dungeon return portal with Professor Rapel Strahct on my back.
Oh, and I'd snagged some worthy spoils too.
The Draugr's sword was tougher than expected... All gray like my hair, studded with red gems—perfect match for Kael.
Swapped it right there for my old blade, cockroach goo and all. Left the junk behind.
Also pocketed gems for pocket money, and learned free spells from the Draugr.
Most useful one...
"Hey, brat. What should we call this anyway?"
Kiiing—!
"What do you... urk..."
"How's that?"
I tested the Draugr's trick on Professor Rapel slung over my back.
Her face stiffened.
"You're a real monster. Stealing an enemy's technique in a blink."
"Not a genius for nothing."
Kael Lotus's talent was indeed extraordinary.
Of course, only possible because its eye glow was a magic circle itself.
I'd read the spell from its eyes while frozen.
Couldn't copy the ice spear I never fully saw, or the half-cast spell later.
"I don't know that magic either, but Stun Magic fits, no?"
"Bland... but I like it."
Stun Magic. A handy spell acquired.
