Final Stage
Standing in front of a door with a big 100 written on it, Jin Woo couldn't help but sigh with emotions welling in his heart.
"Finally…"
[Ordinary Quest: The most loyal knight of the King, Blood Red Commander Igris resides in the innermost room of the castle, awaiting a worthy challenger. Prove your worth to apply for a duel and defeat the valiant knight.
*The difficulty increases with the room number.
Quest Requirement: Rooms cleared (99/99)
Quest Goal: Defeat Blood Red Commander Igris.
Quest Rewards:
1. A high grade Runestone.
2. +40 stat points.
3. A Linked Quest.]
It was a quest he received upon entering the dungeon, almost a month ago. After facing many struggles and overcoming many hardships, he was at last close to completing it.
"This is no time to get sentimental yet. Let's leave it for after completing it."
[<Status>
——————
Name: Sung Jin-Woo
Level: 51
Class: None
Title: The One Who Judges[+1]
HP: 1040/1040
MP: 700/700
Fatigue: 0
——————
Strength: 110
Agility: 100
Sense: 80
Vitality: 95
Intelligence: 70
——————
Remaining points: 0]
"Nice, my strength and agility are already in three digits."
Moreover, all his stats were in multiples of five. For some reason, Jin Woo liked it better that way.
After making sure he was prepared, he held Knight Killer in one while Rasaka's Fang in the other hand and pushed open the door to the boss room.
As soon as the door opened, a gust of wind blew, fluttering his hair, and a spacious are filled his vision. Thick pillars on the stone floor reaching the high ceiling stood tall. The numerous torches hanging on the walls brightly lit up everything. There were also three more doors similar in size to the one Jin Woo used to enter on each wall.
At one end was a raised platform with an ancient throne on which a figure clad in red armor sat and a dark red name floated on its head.
[Blood Red Commander Igris]
It was really the boss monster.
*Gulp*
The pressure being emitted by it was so heavy that Jin Woo couldn't help but gulp his saliva. At the same time, he couldn't feel any 'strength' from the monster in front of him, meaning the pressure was purely the weight of its presence.
Right in front of the throne stood about twenty figures wearing black full body armor and holding swords. The one standing at their forefront was another similar armor-wearing figure, the only difference was its height that was twice as much as others and the huge shield it held in its hands. It had the name [Iron Blood Knight] floating on its head.
*Bam*
The moment Jin Woo was reflected in its glowing eyes, it slammed its shield into the ground with a loud sound and rushed at him, followed by the other knights behind it.
'The boss is extraordinary, and the others can't be underestimated either…fighting so many of them including the boss might be difficult…'
Of course, Jin Woo wasn't just standing idly and thinking. He was also on the move. He couldn't afford to be careless.
It was then that he noticed something, the boss monster had not budged from its spot on the throne. It seemed like it had no intention to participate in the fight.
'I don't know why but…I don't need to worry that much now.'
Though he still had to keep his guard up in case the boss tried to do a sneak attack but for some reason, Jin Woo did not think that would happen at all. It was like…
By now, the IronBlood Knight was already on Jin Woo, he had to discard any useless thoughts and focus.
Jin Woo had did not activate any skills like Stealth or Sprint, which had been a huge help throughout the dungeon. He judged it was not needed and decided to save his strength for the upcoming real fight.
*Cheeeng!*
Knight Killer collided against the heavy shield held by the towering knight, generating sparks but it failed to penetrate the shield, leaving only a scratch.
Still, Jin Woo did not feel discouraged. He had expected as much since the monster was basically a semi-boss of the final stage, not to mention its stats appeared to be more defense-oriented based on its appearance and weapon of choice alone.
Stepping out of the way of the shield that was slammed at him, Jin Woo threw the Rasaka's Fang in his left hand.
[Skill "Dagger Throw" is activated!]
It was a clean hit to the head, leaving Rasaka's Fang embedded into the helmet. Taking advantage of the momentarily pause, he slipped past the Iron Blood Knight and cleaved through two other knights that had gotten close to him.
The hollow heads of the knight flew as their bodies fell like puppets with their strings cut.
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have slain your…
Jin Woo didn't have the luxury to pay attention to the repeated system prompts as the wave of knights poured down on him like rain.
He dodged a sword aiming to separate his head from his body and countered with a kick that sent the knight flying and slamming two of its kin and taking them down with it.
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have slain your…
He was about to slash at another incoming knight when the ground slightly shook, and a loud cry entered his ears.
[Iron Blood Knight has used "War Cry"!]
[The Knight Legion will have their stats increased by 25% for a short while!]
[You have been inflicted with "Fear"!]
[You have resisted!]
You have been inflicted with "Confusion"!]
[You have resisted!]
'What the…'
It was the first time Jin Woo had seen a monster use a skill.
'No, actually, this isn't the first time.'
The monsters created by the dungeon were special, they could use 'skills' much like Jin Woo. A recent example would be the 50th-floor boss' [lighting storm] or the hidden stage's monsters' [stealth].
In that sense, a semi-boss of the 100th stage using a skill was not a surprising matter.
Jin Woo looked at the Blood Red Commander Igris sitting imposingly on the throne through the corner of his eye.
'It must have skills too.'
And more than one at that, it wouldn't be strange at all.
Jin Woo shook his head. Now was the time to focus on the enemy standing in front of him.
'This crazy buff, 25% all stats increment…'
Even if it was only for a short moment, it was great. Not to mention, the "Fear" and "Confusion" status alignments. It was fortunate that he was able to resist both due to his high level, but they couldn't be just ignored.
'Anyways, there's no time to waste…I will finish this fast.'
He first planned to clear out the surplus knights before dealing with the mini-boss. Even though the ideal case would be to deal with the Iron Blood Knight first to prevent the buffs, its defense was not something that could be taken lightly.
In the first place, even if the knights had their stats increased, it was in the realm Jin Woo could handle rather easily. Nothing could be said in case they further increased though…
Evading and parrying the attacks that poured from all directions, Jin Woo escaped from the encirclement of the knights and gained some distance from the Iron Blood Knight.
Although a few grazed him here and there, there weren't any serious wounds or so to speak.
Jin Woo only had Knight Killer in one hand, while his other hand was completely free. He curled his empty hand into a fist and blasted off the torso of a knight by putting all his strength into the strike.
While doing so, his other hand did not stop and cleanly cut off the arm of a knight that was trying to corner him. His flow was so smooth that one who didn't know him might mistake him for being ambidextrous.
Grabbing the now armless knight by his leg, he swung it like a ragdoll, knocking off knights after knights.
Notifications kept appearing in his vision all the time.
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained…
Jin Woo had been eluding Iron Blood Knight all this while, but it finally caught up to him and slammed its shield at him.
It was already too late to back off so Jin Woo could only block the shield with his arms held up in front of his chest.
*Slam!*
Jin Woo was pushed back a few meters, skidding on the ground. The force behind the slam was so much that his arms felt numb.
He checked his health and found out it had decreased quite a lot, roughly staying at a little less than 85%. Just that one hit had done more than one thousand damage while his slowly increasing shallow wounds chipped away at his health pool too.
In any case, he was almost done clearing out the surplus knights and only a few remained. Now he had enough room to deal with the mini-boss without the fear of accidentally getting stabbed in the back.
Jin Woo grabbed the last standing knight that swung its sword in his direction and crushed its head with his bare hands, purely by his grip strength courtesy to his high strength stat.
He then threw the almost dead knight at the Iron Blood Knight. Using the small gap when the Iron Blood Knight blocked the oncoming body with its shield, Jin Woo slipped behind it and aimed at its arms. He planned to neutralize the shield first.
*Kang!*
Knight Killer collided against the armor but only managed to leave a shallow cut. The damage was higher than compared to the shield, but it was still not enough to render the enemy ineffective.
'The armor is tough…but if once is not enough, I will just keep slicing until it's cut.'
*Kang!* *Kang!* *Kang!* *Kang!*
Within the next second, Jin Woo swung his dagger multiple times, each strike precisely aimed at the same spot to maximize the damage. It was a feat only possible thanks to his high agility stat and his meticulous control.
Iron Blood Knight failed to respond in time, and its right arm was severed from the intersection as a result. It could not compete with Jin Woo in speed, and that cost it a lot. The heavy shield also fell to the ground with a loud sound.
[You have learned the skill "Vital Strike"!]
'Huh, Neat.'
Jin Woo didn't bother to check the description and activated the skill directly. His dagger stabbed at the knight's other arm.
*Thump!*
In just one attack, the arm was severed and dropped to the floor. It was like a round shot by a cannon at point black range.
Not missing a beat, Jin Woo shot up like a hungry predator at the knight. He grabbed the Rasaka's Fang still embedded in its helmet and plunged it down with all his might. It left a deep gash in the helmet that ran to the middle of the chest. The hollow and dark interior could be seen from the cut.
The knight staggered before it fell down, scattering.
[You have defeated "Iron Blood Knight"!]
[You have gained experience!]
'Hmm… I didn't level-'
His thoughts were interrupted by a low and rhythmic sound closing in.
*Clink.* *Clink.* *Clink.*
The red armor made a soft metallic sound with each step taken and a tall overbearing figure was reflected in Jin Woo's black pupils.
The dark red name silently floated on its head.
[Blood Red Commander Igris]
It was the boss monster, finally making its move.