The roar died down, replaced by the heavy, metallic thud of footsteps.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
From the darkness of the temple's inner sanctum, a giant figure stepped into the blue torchlight.
It was a towering suit of black plate armor, standing over twelve feet tall. It held a massive greatsword that looked like it weighed a ton. There was no head inside the helmet, only two glowing red flames floating in the darkness.
[Boss Monster Detected]
[Name: The Iron Warden]
[Rank: D (Elite)]
[Level: 30]
[Status: Cursed Construct]
"Level 30..." Aryan tightened his grip on Vedna. "This is going to be tough."
The Warden didn't roar again. It simply raised its sword and swung it down.
WHOOSH!
The attack was surprisingly fast for such a giant.
Aryan reacted instinctively. With his Agility at 45, the world seemed to slow down slightly. He leaped to the side just in time.
BOOM!
The greatsword smashed into the stone floor, creating a crater and sending shockwaves through the hall. Rocks and dust exploded outwards.
"If that hits me, my balanced stats won't save me. I'll be a pancake," Aryan muttered, wiping dust from his face.
He dashed forward, aiming for the Warden's leg.
"Space Severing!"
CLANG!
Vedna struck the armor. Sparks flew.
A deep gash appeared on the metal leg, cutting through the thick steel like butter. But... nothing happened. No blood. No flinch. The Warden simply kicked Aryan away.
Aryan slid back, his feet digging into the ground to stop himself. 45 Vitality helped him absorb the impact, but his ribs still ached.
"It's hard," Aryan analyzed, keeping his distance. "Even with Space Severing, I'm just cutting metal. There is no flesh inside to damage. It's a puppet."
The Warden charged again, swinging horizontally.
Aryan ducked under the blade and slashed at the monster's chest.
SCREECH.
Another deep cut. But the monster didn't care. It spun around, using its momentum to swing the sword back.
Aryan was forced to block with Vedna's handle.
BANG!
The force launched him across the room. He smashed into a pillar, cracking the stone.
[HP: 780/950]
"Dammit," Aryan spat out a mouthful of blood. "Physical attacks are useless. I can chop it into pieces, but as long as the magic holds it together, it will keep fighting."
He needed to see the truth.
[Passive Skill: Dimension Vision - Max Output]
Aryan's violet eyes glowed intensely. The physical world faded away.
The black armor became transparent wireframes.
And there he saw it.
Inside the thick chest plate, hidden behind layers of enchanted steel, was a small, pulsing blue orb.
The Core. The Soul Anchor.
"Found you," Aryan grinned, wiping the blood from his lip.
The Warden raised its sword for a final, crushing blow.
"You are strong," Aryan whispered, his body dissolving into black smoke. "But you are empty."
[Skill: Void Step]
ZAP.
The greatsword slammed into the empty ground where Aryan had been a split second ago.
Aryan reappeared in mid-air, right in front of the Warden's chest.
Time seemed to freeze.
He held Vedna with both hands, the blade pointing downwards like a spear.
He channeled every drop of his Void Mana into the tip of the scythe.
"Pierce."
CRACK!
Vedna didn't cut the armor this time; it phased right through it. The tip of the scythe plunged deep into the spectral chest and struck the blue orb.
SHATTER.
The sound of breaking glass echoed through the hall.
The red flames in the Warden's eyes flickered... and went out.
The massive twelve-foot giant froze mid-motion.
Then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, the armor collapsed.
CRASH!
A cloud of dust rose as the Iron Warden fell apart into a pile of scrap metal.
[Boss Defeated: The Iron Warden]
[You have cleared the Hidden Floor.]
[Calculated Contribution: 100%]
[Experience Reward: Massive.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 15]
Aryan landed gracefully on the pile of armor. He was panting, but he felt alive.
"That was close," he admitted. "If I didn't have the Vision, I would have been chopping metal until my stamina ran out."
He checked his rewards.
A notification popped up, glowing with a special golden hue.
[Class Milestone Reached: Level 15]
[New Skill Unlocked]
Aryan tapped the screen eagerly.
"Come on, give me something useful for sneaking out."
[Skill Acquired: Void Veil (Active)]
[Description: Wraps the user in a thin layer of Void energy. It does not make you invisible to the eye, but it erases your 'Presence', 'Sound', and 'Smell'. Even high-level mana sensors cannot detect you.]
[Mana Cost: 10 per second.]
Aryan's eyes lit up. "Stealth. Finally."
This was exactly what he needed. With this, he could walk out of the dungeon, and 'Team Rocky'—if they were still alive—wouldn't even know he had passed by. He could be a ghost.
He bent down and picked up the shattered fragments of the blue core.
[Item: Core of the Warden (Grade D)]
[Type: Crafting Material / Energy Source]
He stored it in his Dimension Inventory.
He looked at the portal leading back to the Goblin Caves.
"Time to go back to the surface. I wonder if Rocky and his team survived the ambush?"
He activated [Void Veil].
His body didn't vanish, but he felt... lighter. He stepped on the stone floor. No sound. He breathed out. No sound. He was like a shadow walking in the living world.
"Perfect."