Deeper Floors

Dungeons have floors and the more floors the dungeon has, the more difficult it gets. Not only would the strength and numbers of monsters multiply, but one would need an exorbitant amount of resources to sustain themselves.

I pluck out a crossbow bolt from one of the dead kobolds and placed it back in its quiver. While Julius wipes his sword from the blood of the monsters.

"That's the door to this floor's boss."

The door itself isn't any grand, but the dreadful feeling I'm getting just from being near the door itself.

"No need to point out the obvious."

Throughout the journey of the first floor, I could confidently say that Julius' swordsmanship is top-notch, and even though it was our first time fighting together, he easily adapted to my fighting style, and the kobolds were wiped out with no difficulty.

"Are you ready?"

"Let's just get this over with."

Julius went ahead and opened the door to the boss' room. The boss' room itself is a throne room. A torn red carpet led the way to the throne as aged pillars lined up on the side with lit torches on them, and on the throne was a knight clad in dark armor.

"What's a knight doing here?"

The knight itself didn't look like a real person, as if it was a statue, but my senses kicked in, and the hair on my arms stood on end as an icy feeling washed over me. I looked at Julius and shouted at him.

"Shit, Julius be careful! It's an animated armor!"

Julius stood his ground with his sword drawn, his eyebrow crinkled, and his overall demeanor changed. I pulled out the pistol and aimed both the hand crossbow at the armor and the flintlock pistol.

*SCREECH!!*

The armor moved, making a loud screeching sound as its rusted joints moved. An animated armor or what others call the living armor is a unique type of monster as its power depends on a lot of things such as, if its previous wielder is a master swordsman or does it even have a previous wielder, and are all the pieces of the armor magical or not?

"I'll take the initiative!"

I fired my crossbow first and the living armor grabbed it before hitting the slits on his faceplate. Then Julius charged in as I shot the knight with the flintlock next. I hit the living armor with the metal round right between the slit of his visor of the flintlock pistol, but it only knocked his head back.

"Attack him before he recovers, quickly!"

Julius knows the dangers of living armor. There are two types of living armor. One is that it's a construct like a golem, and the other is one possessed by the soul of the former user of the armor the chances of it being a master of the arts are high, though we don't want to find out which one is it.

Julius swung his sword downward at the living armor, but it reacted quickly, evading the sword swing by jumping to the side. It then summoned a weapon in thin air, a rusted sword, but beneath the rust reveals a dark fuller and the blade on the sword is ruby red.

This confirms it... there's a soul inhabiting the armor.

The living armor charged at Julius, releasing a barrage of sword strikes. Julius parried the attacks, but some of them got through his defenses, grazing his shoulder and sides.

The sudden barrage of attacks surprised Julius, making him take a few steps back, but the living armor found an opening in his defenses, as it was about to take its attack, I fired off the rest of my loaded flintlock pistols and I went behind one of the pillars and began reloading my pistols.

The living armor then shrugged off the pistol shot, and Julius made some distance with the living armor, regaining his composure.

"Julius, stop holding back!"

"I am not holding back, you bastard!"

"What?!"

Mana is coursing through his body right now, meaning he at least did some basic body-enhancing magic on himself. I thought of an idea, but it could get dangerous and since no one tested it yet, the chances of it exploding in my hands are large.

"Distract him, I got an idea!"

I emerged from the pillar and fired at the living armor again, but this time it deflected it and its sights were set on me. Julius noticed it as he began charging back at the living armor.

"Your idea must work, or else we both die in this horrible place!"

Julius struck the living armor's legs, but it only made a chink in its armor. He smiled, knowing that this is a fight he can't win, but his eyes showed a lust for battle as he evaded it with ease when the living armor tried attacking him. The longer this battle goes, the more he grows, but at the same time, it'll only spell our doom as the living armor has limitless stamina.

A family known for defending the borders for generations and a family known for their martial and magical prowess. That is the Lionheart family, the one Julius belongs to.

They exchanged blows, with each one becoming faster, stronger, and more precise, but as more time goes on Julius is getting breathles even though their exchanges only lasted for a minute.

"Tch, are you ready yet?"

I emerged from the pillar with my flintlock rifle loaded with the mana round and a special type of gunpowder that can safely fire the mana round. I hope...

I aimed at the living armor, but since Julius and the living armor are locked in a heated battle making it hard to fire my shot.

"Julius give me an opening!"

"Alright!"

Julius poured most of his mana into his sword making it glow golden as holy fire poured out of the sword.

[Lion Fang!!]

Julius shouted it out as the flames took form of a maw as he swung downwards and his sword turned upward in a fast motion. The living armor stepped back, but it got hit with the holy flames and in that moment a loud *BOOM* resounded in the entire hall as my hands and the side of my face burned off with just the pure force of mana that emerged when I pulled the trigger.