down.
I parried with my sword, but the weight nearly shattered my arm. Flames from my veil softened the blow, absorbing the force and dissipating it outward. The ground cracked beneath us.
We clashed, steel grinding against steel.
Its swings weren't just strong—they were calculated.
Every move it made felt like it had fought for centuries.
I ducked low and retaliated with a heavy slash, imbued with fire. Sparks flew, and a line of scorched metal ran across its chest—but it didn't stop.
Just then, I heard it.
> "Chanting detected…"
The second golem—the Spearmaster—had begun casting.
Its magical spear glowed, icy runes forming a rotating halo around its shaft.
I turned—just as a torrent of compressed water magic fired straight toward me.
> "Tch—!"
The Phoenix Veil flared to intercept.
But the moment the spell hit—
> Shhhhhhhhhhh!!!
The flames hissed, and the Veil flickered. My skin went numb as freezing water clashed with divine fire. Steam exploded outward, obscuring my vision.
> "It's countering my flames with water magic…"
The Spearmaster wasn't just supporting—it was an elemental counter unit.
The Phoenix Veil regenerated my wounds, but it couldn't stop the elemental suppression.
> "If I let that one keep casting, I'll be fighting with one leg."
With one breath, I surged forward. I struck the Shield Knight's arm and rolled beneath its sword swing, racing toward the Spearmaster.
It met me halfway.
Spear lunges came like lightning—one thrust could've skewered a horse. I twisted between them, deflecting one spear with my sword and narrowly avoiding the magical one that sang through the air with every movement.
> "Think. This is just like the Trial Room in the game… it's a pattern. Shield Golem is the tank… Spear Golem is the caster-DPS…"
The Shield Knight repositioned, slamming its shield into the ground, forcing me to retreat back into their kill zone.
I panted, flames licking my shoulder.
> "One heals from time and damage… The other disables my flame regen with water."
Suddenly the Spearmaster raised its magical spear again, this time casting a different spell.
The water around it became mist.
Then cold spikes.
A rain of ice spears began to fall from above like a deadly storm.
> "Too much…"
I activated a burst pulse from Phoenix Veil, heating the air around me and melting some of the descending shards—but not all.
I took hits to my side and leg—searing pain.
But I didn't fall.
> "Think… They're slow to reposition. If I can split them…"
I dashed toward one of the broken columns at the edge of the chamber, dragging both golems behind me in a zigzag path. The Shield Knight followed, smashing obstacles apart. The Spearmaster launched support spells from a distance, casting enchanted snares and slowing fields.
But slowly—
> I led them apart.
Like in the game.
And in that moment, standing between both of them, I gritted my teeth.
> "Alright…"
> "Let's see if a cursed prince can rewrite the rules of a forgotten dungeon!"
Cracks in the Unbreakable
The clashing echoes of steel on steel rang through the ancient dungeon like thunder in a tomb.
I darted sideways, just barely avoiding the Spear Knight's thrust as it scraped sparks from the floor where I stood moments ago. A second later, the Shield Knight's massive blade crashed down with a quake, splitting the stone beside me.
> "Tch... I'm fighting titans..."
They moved with mechanical precision—one blocking, one piercing, one casting, one crushing. But as the heat of battle surged in my veins, I began to see it.
Patterns. Rhythms. Gaps.
I exhaled sharply, backing away just enough to regain footing behind a cracked pillar.
> "Alright... Think, Alein. This isn't a brawl—this is chess."
The Sword-and-Shield Knight moved slowly. Its body was denser, heavier. Its swings could demolish a stone wall, but they took time. I'd already begun to notice how it dragged its left leg slightly—perhaps worn by time or corrosion.
> "Slow movement… high power and insane defense. A juggernaut, but one with poor agility."
The Spearmaster Golem, by contrast, was fast—shockingly fast. It lunged with elegant precision, always attacking twice for every one swing of the shield knight. But its chanting was slow, drawn-out. It tried to rush me in-between spells, leaving small gaps in its rhythm. Its elemental spear flashed like blue lightning, but its attacks followed a linear arc.
> "Fast strikes, but predictable. Speed without feints. It's just running a script."
I grinned through the sweat.
> "You're ancient machines… powerful, but you're still built to follow patterns. You don't adapt like people do."
They came at me again—synchronized.
Shield Knight stomped, swinging wide, forcing me to dodge to the right—straight into the path of the Spearmaster's twin-spear combo.
But I anticipated it.
I slid low under the first thrust and raised my blade just in time to deflect the second.
> CLANG!!
The second strike caught my shoulder—not deep, but enough to numb the arm. I grunted and tumbled to the side, gripping my sword with my other hand.
My phoenix flame still flickered around me, protective—but dwindling.
> "No more dodging. It's time to hit back."
I stared at the two of them—then at my sword. The blade pulsed in my hand.
> "They're strong… but they don't regenerate. If I can land a critical blow, even one…"
I pulled all the fire from my limbs, from my chest, from my heart. Flames gathered at the tip of my sword, swirling, compressing, burning hotter than anything I'd summoned before.
> "Phoenix Veil: Flame Condensed Mode."
The air shimmered around the blade.
The heat warped the dungeon floor. The runes on the wall flickered in response. It was like I was holding a sunbeam wrapped in steel.
> "This is my flame. My rebirth. My will."
The knights moved again—charging from opposite sides.
I dashed toward the Shield Knight first.
It raised its guard—expecting another feint.
Too late.
> "Now!"
I leapt, blade glowing white-hot, and brought it down clean through the knight's chestplate.
> SKKKRRRRRRRIIIIINNNCHHHH!!!
Sparks exploded.
Flames erupted.
The slash tore through adamantite like parchment, splitting armor and searing the core beneath.
The golem shuddered. Its body jerked violently—then froze.
Its left leg buckled. A crack ran through its chest. One eye dimmed.
> "Not down yet… but you felt that."
Smoke rose from its body as it staggered back—its once-perfect movements now broken.
I landed, panting, my sword still glowing faintly.
The Spearmaster stopped moving. It turned toward its comrade—its mechanical head tilted, confused.
> "I broke one. Now I just need to break the second."
But just as I steadied my sword for a follow-up, the Spearmaster raised both spears again.
Faster. More aggressive.
A new spell began to form—one I hadn't seen yet.
The ground beneath its feet started to freeze. Crystals of ice bloomed across the dungeon like flowers. My flame dimmed slightly.
> "Ah... So now you're serious."
I narrowed my eyes.
> "Good. So am I."
The Evolution of Steel
The glow of molten adamantite still shimmered behind me. My blade sizzled with faint embers, the afterimage of my flame slash burning in the dark.
I had struck one down. The Shield Knight was down on one knee, lifeless. Smoke hissed from its armor, and for the first time, I thought the battle might actually tip in my favor.
But then…
The air shifted.
The remaining knight—the Spearmaster—stopped chanting.
Its stance changed.
I blinked, watching as it slowly turned from me… and walked toward its fallen comrade.
> "What is it doing…?"
It stood before the broken Shield Knight. Its body trembled faintly, like it was glitching. Then I heard something—a mechanical growl, deep and unnatural, echoing from within its chest.
And then…
Its mask began to move.
Not open like a helmet—but split. A jagged seam formed down the center of its faceplate, spreading like jaws.
> CLACK... KRRRRK... KRRRK...!!
Metal twisted. Gears groaned. The mouth yawned wide—unnaturally wide—and inside was not circuitry or light…
It was teeth.
Glistening, metallic, rotating teeth, like a grinding maw forged in hell.
> "…That's no normal golem."
The Spearmaster lunged downward and bit—bit into the neck of the fallen knight.
I stepped forward, instincts blazing.
> "Oi! What the hell are you—?!"
But it was too late.
The jaws clamped down.
With a terrible screech of tearing adamantite, it began consuming the other golem. The Shield Knight's armor buckled and folded as chunks of its glowing core and armor were torn free, absorbed into the Spearmaster's mouth, devoured like meat.
> "It's… eating him? No—merging?!"
Its frame began to distort.
Steam poured from its shoulders. Plates shifted and twisted. I could hear the sound of internal locks clicking, plates grinding against each other, and then—
> BOOM!!
A shockwave of mana burst outward, throwing dust and debris into the air. I covered my face, skidding back a few steps, trying to regain focus.
When the dust settled…
The golem stood tall. No—taller.
Its form had evolved.
Where once it had lean, fast armor—now it was bulky and jagged. The spear in its hand had merged with a chunk of the old greatsword, now forming a spear-blade hybrid crackling with corrupted energy. The mana flowing from it surged with both ice and fire—stolen from me? Copied?
> "You… adapted by eating your comrade."
The faceplate remained twisted—half-mask, half-jaw, locked in a silent scream. A strange aura pulsed around it—arcane glyphs not from this kingdom. Something… older.
> "That book…" I muttered, gripping my sword tighter. "Ekslibris. Was this… part of the dungeon's curse?"
I felt it now—the change in atmosphere.
It wasn't just fighting anymore. The dungeon had responded. The guardian had changed.
> "This isn't the game anymore," I whispered to myself. "No player ever saw this…"
The new knight raised its weapon and slammed it into the floor.
The ground trembled.
Frost and fire exploded outward, forming a swirling battlefield of melting ice and volcanic sparks.
> "This… is a new boss fight."
This gonna be your last meal...
Chapter 22 end...