The heavy stone door creaked open with a slow groan, grinding against the dungeon floor like a sigh of an ancient beast.
Silas narrowed his eyes a bit and slowly stepped through, the metallic scent of the blood already clinging to the back of his throat.
Inside, the mini-boss chamber was nothing like the rest of the previous dungeon... it was different, a lot different.
Dense fog blanketed the ground, swirling around his ankles like a living thing. Every breath he took felt thick, saturated with magic.
The air crackled a bit—no birds, no wind, no sound. Just the eerie pulse of something waiting for him... something watching, something dangerous.
Silas kept his steps slow and deliberate; his grip started to tighten on his sword hilt.
His boots crunched softly over gravel and crooked roots hidden beneath the mist. He didn't mutter even a single word; he didn't have to.
Then—
whoosh
A sharp gust tore through the chamber like the breath of a predator. The fog slowly started to fade away, revealing the battlefield.
What lay ahead of Silas made him freeze on the spot.
The Alpha Direfang.
A beast at least three meters long, its body twisted with grotesque muscle and dense bone structure, with its spine forming a jagged armor.
Its fur was a deep, oily black, streaked with bloodstains and dirt. Faint red veins pulsed along its limbs, glowing beneath the skin just like molten iron.
Its eyes opened slowly—intelligent, hungry for blood... looking for its prey.
The moment their gazes met, the Direfang let out a guttural growl, its hackles raised slowly. Then it howled as loud as it could, a long, soul-piercing cry that shook the chamber walls.
"Yeah..." Silas muttered under his breath, exhaling a foggy breath. "That's my cue."
The Direfang then charged toward him.
It slowly approached closer like a mad beast craving for blood. Silas's instincts screamed at him to run.
But instead of running, he dashed a bit backward, narrowly avoiding the beast's first swipe. Claws like daggers tore through where he'd been just a few seconds ago.
"System," he whispered. "Talk to me; tell me the weaknesses of this goddamn beast."
[Scanning…]
[Target: Alpha Direfang]
[Strength: High speed and brute force. Hardened bone armor on the spine and shoulders. Resistant to frontal attacks.]
[Weaknesses: Underbelly and ribcage vulnerable. Predictable in linear charges.]
"Good enough; it will save me from getting my ass beaten up. Thanks, System."
[You're welcome, Boss.]
Silas's lips slowly curled into a grin. "Let's fucking do it this time."
He gripped his sword tighter, the blood slowly trembling because of the sudden rush of adrenaline, and then he dashed forward.
The Direfang lunged again, its paw opening wide—but Silas sidestepped, just barely in time, and then thrust the blade under its ribs.
"Piercing Thrust!"
The steel sank in deep inside the Direfang's body.
The Direfang screamed—a horrible, choked snarl that vibrated Silas's bones. Its hot blood sprayed across his arm, steaming on contact.
The beast buckled a bit, stumbling from its posture for a second.
"That hurt, didn't it?" Silas mumbled through his gritted teeth.
Without waiting, he twisted the blade and slammed another piercing thrust into the same spot, and again and again.
[Skill used: Piercing Thrust. Mana remaining: 40/80.]
His breathing grew shallow; his muscles started to burn. But the beast was on its knees now, snarling, wounded, still dragging its body in the snow, menacing in its crawl toward Silas.
Silas wiped blood from his face, his sword starting to tremble slightly in his grip.
"Almost there, fuck."
He stepped forward, preparing to finish the fight in one go.
Suddenly—
[Warning!]
Boss, jump backward! Now!]
"What the—? Why, what happened?" Silas snapped.
[No time! Jump, now!]
Years of buried instinct suddenly kicked in.
Silas didn't argue back with the system. He leapt backward with all his remaining strength, landing hard against the stone with a loud thud.
The moment he did—
BOOM.
He stared, wide-eyed, as the spike smashed into the wall behind him, cracking stone.
"What… the fucking hell…"