The wind in the canyon carried a metallic stench, like rust and blood, whipping loose gravel against the rock walls with a sharp crackling sound.
Kiriya kept close to the damp stone, the hilt of his Reinforced Bronze Sword slick with sweat. He had already ventured nearly a hundred meters into the Boss's territory.
Along the way, he saw the remnants of fallen players—death traces preserved by the system for thirty minutes.
Shattered armor, broken weapons still stained with dark red blood—all marks of the Boar King's handiwork.
"More troublesome than I thought." His brows furrowed as his eyes fixed on a hoofprint in the dirt, large as a washbasin, its edges crushing the stone beneath.
The strength of this level-15 Boss was likely even greater than the database suggested.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed ahead, mingled with ragged breathing and the screech of armor scraping against stone. Kiriya's breath caught. He slipped behind a boulder in silence.
Through a crack in the rock, he caught sight of something that made his pupils constrict.
Lina was running.
Her silver-white cloak had been torn into ragged strips, clumsily bound around her arm. Her once-pristine hair was caked with mud and blood, damp strands clinging to her sweat-soaked brow.
The shield in her left hand hung crooked, the frost sigils along its rim extinguished—completely useless now.
Most alarming was the health bar above her head, a sliver of red barely clinging to life—less than ten percent, flickering like a candle about to be snuffed out.
And behind her thundered a beast the size of a siege ram. Its coarse brown hide was crusted with dried gore, and two massive tusks gleamed with lethal sharpness. Every step it took made the ground tremble. The level-15 Boss—the Bloodthirsty Boar King.
"ROAR!"
It's below rattled the canyon, the beast suddenly accelerating. It was less than three meters from Lina now, tusks angled upward, poised to deliver a killing strike.
Sensing the danger, Lina threw herself into a desperate roll. But her movements were sluggish, her body wrung dry of strength and mana.
The tusks grazed her shoulder, ripping through her light armor and drawing a spray of blood.
"Ugh—!"
She cried out, slamming against the canyon wall before crumpling into the mud. She tried to rise, planting her left hand on the ground—only for a sickening crack to follow. Her wrist bent at an unnatural angle, broken from the impact.
The Boar King halted, glaring at her with bloodshot eyes, hot breath steaming from its nostrils as it scraped its forehooves against the earth, splattering mud across her face. It did not strike right away, savoring the fear of prey at the brink of death.
"Damn…" Lina bit down on her lip, trembling as her right hand fumbled for her sword. She managed to lift it halfway before dizziness from blood loss overtook her. The blade slipped from her grasp, clattering into the mud.
Despair spread through her like the canyon's chill.
From behind the boulder, Kiriya's heart clenched tight, as if gripped by an unseen hand.
He saw her lips move. He couldn't hear, but the shape of the words looked like "I'm sorry."
Likely an apology to the teammates who had already fallen. Even as she closed her eyes, her brow remained furrowed, unwilling to accept defeat.
This was nothing like the "hassle" he had imagined.
He had thought the white-haired knight who asked him to join her was no different from those who leaned too heavily on others.
Yet now, even at death's door, there was no plea for help—only that unyielding will beneath her calm. A single needle pierced his long-held creed of solitude.
"Too much hassle to team up…"
The words he'd spoken earlier rang in his mind, sounding unbearably hollow. If he had accepted Lina's invitation, would she be lying here like this?
No. She wasn't here because she was weak. Kiriya noticed the frost clinging to the Boss's hind leg, the health bar already chipped to seventy percent.
She and her team had fought fiercely, even managed to gain control effects. It was only after her allies fell that she was left to fight alone.
"ROAR!"
The Boar King lowered its head again, tusks angled for the final strike. This time, there would be no escape.
At that instant, Kiriya moved.
Without hesitation, he burst from cover, magic surging to its peak. "Clone Summon!"
Two pale-blue spheres of light flared before him, crystallizing into transparent doppelgängers gripping identical bronze swords.
"Left flank!" he shouted, as his body and the two clones darted in a triangle formation toward the beast.
The Boar King faltered, stunned by the sudden challenger. Just two seconds—but enough.
The left clone charged first, slamming its blade against the beast's snout. Only -36 damage appeared above its head, but the hate was drawn. The monster roared, tusks lashing out.
"Now!"
Kiriya seized the opening, rushing to Lina's side and pulling her from the mud. Her body was shockingly light, feverishly warm against his arm.
"You… why are you here?" Her voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief.
"Live first, talk later." His tone was steady, though the grip that held her was unshakable. He dragged her to the canyon wall, thrusting a potion into her hands—the very Medium Health Potion she had given him that morning. "Drink."
Lina didn't hesitate. She uncorked it and swallowed, warmth spreading through her veins as her health slowly crawled upward. Still critical, but enough to stave off death.
Meanwhile, the Boar King shredded the left clone and swung its gaze toward Kiriya. Steam jetted from its nostrils, spraying mud into the air as it locked onto him as its new prey.
Kiriya stepped forward, shielding Lina behind him, sword firm in his grip. His gray eyes gleamed not with fear, but with a flicker of exhilaration.
"The solo principle?" he murmured, lips curving in the faintest smile. "Breaking it once in a while… doesn't seem so bad."
Sunlight cut through the canyon's cracks, glinting off the white-haired knight at his back, and illuminating the monstrous beast before him.
What had begun as Lina's final stand was now transformed into a duel of two elite players against the level-15 Boss, a clash balanced on the edge of survival.