With the swarm of skeletons surrounding them, fighting the giant skeleton especially attacking it became increasingly difficult. Subedei and Zev were both starting to run out of breath. Subedei's arms trembled violently as he barely managed to hold onto his spear.
The other three men had completely lost the courage to attack the giant skeleton. They hid behind Subedei and Zev, glancing nervously at the skeletons surrounding the boss, looking as though they might flee at any moment.
If they didn't end this quickly, everyone would die here.
Just then, Zev's words ignited a spark of hope.
"If you can hold them off for just a little while," he said, "I think I can kill the giant skeleton."
Subedei didn't respond. He immediately raised his spear and charged straight into the swarm of skeletons.
Zev glanced back and saw that the other three men hadn't moved at all, frozen in fear. Letting out a quiet sigh, he turned forward, focused his mind, and gripped his weapon tightly. The blue glow around his sword intensified as mana began to gather densely around it.
By then, Subedei was already deep within dozens of skeletons, buying precious time for Zev.
Having grown accustomed to the movements of ordinary skeletons, dodging them was relatively easy for him. He weaved through the crowd, swinging his spear and killing several along the way.
At that moment, the giant skeleton didn't remain idle. It raised its massive sword and swung toward Subedei.
Subedei blocked the attack just in time but his entire body began to tremble violently. Seizing the opportunity, the surrounding skeletons lunged at him all at once.
Gritting his teeth, Subedei twisted the giant skeleton's sword aside, forcing it deep into the ground. He barely managed to evade the incoming attacks, but not without cost small to medium wounds appeared on his arms, shoulders, back, and thighs.
Ignoring the pain, he continued to fight desperately blocking, retreating, dodging doing everything he could to buy more time.
As he dodged another skeleton, a sudden chill brushed past his side like a cold gust of wind. Instinctively, he tried to evade.
"AAAAAH!"
Agonizing pain tore through his body, and he screamed. Nearly collapsing, Subedei stabbed his spear into the ground to keep himself from falling.
Lowering his head slowly, he saw a deep gash across his abdomen.
He raised his head again and saw the giant skeleton.
If he hadn't dodged at the last second, his body would have been split in two. His heart pounded wildly as the giant skeleton raised its sword and charged again.
Covered in his own blood, Subedei looked utterly pitiful.
Enduring the pain, he clenched his teeth, lifted his spear to block the attack, and shut his eyes tightly. He refused to give up so easily and waited for the blow to land.
But it never came.
Confused, Subedei slowly opened his eyes.
Right in front of him lay the giant skeleton's arm its sword still clutched in its severed hand.
Before the skeleton could even comprehend what had happened, its head was cut off and fell to the ground. In the next instant, its body collapsed, its bones shattering one by one before crumbling into dust.
[You have slain the "Skeletal Guardian"]
[Congratulations. You have defeated the 4th Floor Boss]
[Would you like to proceed to the 5th Floor?]
Seeing this, Subedei finally relaxed, exhaling deeply before collapsing to the ground. Just before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw Zev standing behind where the giant skeleton had fallen.
Zev's body and sword were still wrapped in thick, brilliant blue mana. His eyes burned with fierce intensity, like a god of war.
But as the mana faded, his face gradually turned pale. Exhausted, Zev staggered over and sat beside Subedei.
Seeing the Skeletal Guardian fall, the fear vanished from the other three men, and they slowly approached the two of them.
"Subedei…"
When Zev called his name and received no response, panic flashed across his face. He quickly checked Subedei's breathing and finally relaxed when he felt it.
Noticing that Subedei was still gripping his spear tightly, Zev tried to take it from him, but Subedei's grip was far too strong. Sighing, Zev gave up.
He then noticed blood still flowing from the wound on Subedei's abdomen. Despite his exhaustion, Zev dragged his tired body closer and began cleaning and bandaging the wound with trembling hands.
He stayed by Subedei's side all night, tending to his injuries.
Eventually, Subedei woke up and glanced around, whispering softly,
"Looks like… I'm not dead yet."
As he slowly sat up and examined himself, he saw that all his wounds had been cleaned and bandaged with torn pieces of clothing.
While he was still processing this, Zev walked over and spoke quietly.
"I was really worried about you."
"You were unconscious for a whole day. You really know how to scare people."
Subedei was surprised he hadn't realized he'd been out for that long. Smiling faintly, he replied,
"If I died from something like this, that'd be embarrassing."
Zev chuckled lightly and sat beside him, chatting for a while. Before long, he returned holding two pieces of roasted meat and handed one to Subedei.
When Subedei tried to take it, the pain was too intense. Smirking, he said,
"I can't move my arm."
"Help me eat."
Zev stared at him, sliced the meat into smaller pieces with his sword, and grinned.
"Alright, open your mouth."
As Zev brought the meat closer, Subedei opened his mouth only for Zev to suddenly shove the meat into his own mouth instead.
Subedei bit down on nothing and exploded in anger.
"Damn it!"
"Alright, alright. Sorry. I'll do it properly this time."
Zev laughed, cutting another piece and bringing it closer again.
Subedei reluctantly opened his mouth only for Zev to eat it again.
Realizing he was being played, Subedei angrily snatched the food from Zev's hand and began eating despite the pain. Zev just smiled teasingly as he watched.
After finishing the meat, Subedei lay back down, stared up at the sky, and quickly fell asleep.
Several days passed like this as they prepared to move on to the next floor. Subedei's injuries improved enough for him to move lightly again.
During those days, the other three men remained silent, saying little of anything. As night fell and the thick fog returned, fighting skeletons became easy. Now that they understood their weaknesses, they killed them effortlessly.
Growing tired of staying in this place, Subedei finally made a suggestion.
"Let's go to the next floor soon."
More than anything, he wanted to leave this place and let his sister know he was safe.
Zev fell silent for a moment before replying,
"Alright. Let's move to the next floor tomorrow night."
"Rest and prepare yourselves. Anything could happen tomorrow."
Subedei smiled, slung his spear over his shoulder, and continued forward.
They killed every skeleton they encountered along the way. Before long, morning arrived, and the desolate land grew quiet once more.
Taking turns resting and eating, they spent the time as carefully and efficiently as they could preparing for what lay ahead.