The lair shook with each strike from the Warden, and each block from the warrior.
The Warden spun with a vicious backswing, his greatsword dragging a crescent of shadow through the air before slamming down with crushing force.
The warrior’s magical shield shattered upon the impact, but before the monster’s follow-up cleave could split his skull, Darien imdiately manifested another just in ti to resist.
But he knew he couldn’t keep going on and on; if not, he might exhaust Energy, or wouldn’t be quick enough next ti.
’He gives no breathing space,’ Darien thought breathlessly as he received more rciless swings from the Nightmare Warden.
He attempted to fall in sync with the monster’s strikes, but he was continuously overpowered after one or two rounds.
Without his swordsmanship skill, Darien would have fallen countless tis all over.
But he didn’t falter; he responded in kind with the sa aggression.
Whenever he had an opening, he complied with , slashing at the Nightmare Warden’s weak points.
Heatbringer was powerful enough to cleave through the monster’s shield, inflicting a very severe gash on its right shoulder.
"Garrrh!"
The Warden’s heavy fra pounced away imdiately to recover.
Using his chance, Darien swooped, pressing his offense.
His blade carved arcs of fire through the mist, each strike ant to corner the Warden before it could recover.
But in the blink of an eye, the monster’s form blurred into the shadows, dissolving as if it had never been there.
Darien froze, narrowing his eyes to be sure the effects of the Nightseer Potion hadn’t worn off.
All he could see was the empty lair and darkness, but his instincts scread that the monster was lurking within.
~fwooooshhhh!
A whisper colder than steel grazed his ear from behind.
"Sloth!" the Nightmare Warden growled with smoking eyes.
Slash! Slash–slash-slash! Slash!
Five fatal strikes rained down on Darien, his shield cracking under the blows.
Turning quickly to retaliate, Darien missed the Nightmare Warden as it activated the sa skill it had used, disappearing once more into the darkness, reappearing for another ambush.
Slash! Slash–slash-slash! Slash!
The Warden attacked again, his monstrous blade shrieking through the mist as it ca down in a flurry.
The shield shattered on the third, and Darien manifested another by reflex before the fourth landed.
Only for that one to splinter just as quickly, leaving the fifth strike screeching against the fiery edge of his weapon.
CLANGSH!
Sparks hissed in the dark as shadow and fla ground against each other, the weight of the blow nearly tearing Darien’s sword from his grip.
’Too close... far too close!’
But even with his arms trembling, Darien didn’t back down; he pressed forward, pushing back into the clash.
"So, this is your ga, oh powerful BOSS? Slipping through the dark?" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Fine. I’ll play your tricks!"
"Darkness is no ga, aspirant!"
The Warden rumbled as he forced down on the warrior, but with , Darien slipped away from the crushing weight of the monster’s strength.
His sudden absence made the Warden’s blade dip off balance.
’Phantom Cloning,’ Darien whispered to himself, having enough space to invoke.
Suddenly, the shadows around him peeled away from his body, twisting abnormally before splitting into three humanoid figures beside him.
Each of these clones wielded regular Common swords, standing sinisterly beside their floating original.
[Skill: Phantom Cloning]
[Level: (2-star)]
[Description: Creates 1–3 illusory shadow clones of the user that mimic basic movents and attacks with Common-tier grade of the user’s weapon. Cannot use skills. 30 sec duration. 15 P.E Cost and 30 sec cooldown.]
Darien had considered making a skill akin to the Warden’s shadow-stepping.
But copying it now would only place them equally, and parallel ground was not enough to beat this BOSS.
Needing an edge, Darien intended to turn the Warden’s own shadow tricks against him.
With his Phantom Clones at his command, he would strike not as one warrior, but as many, each blade swinging simultaneously to force the BOSS into confusion and pressure from every side!
"Haa...?"
The Warden’s eyes swept over the sudden figures that spread out across his lair.
For the first ti, the tall, massive monster paused with slightly wavering confidence as he beca cautious.
Then his grip on the gasword tightened, shadow flaring around its edge.
"Defiant aspirant!" the Warden bellowed as Darien and his duplicates lunged in the sa heartbeat.
Darien controlled the movent of his clones ntally. It required a lot of Flow, but he was gradually mastering it.
He sent one attacking from below, two from the sides, while he aid for the upper body of the BOSS monster.
~fwooooshhh!
But the Warden moved with terrifying grace for his size, and his massive blade cleaved straight through one of the phantoms that lunged for his side.
The clone scattered into fading wisps of smoke with that single swing.
However, that mont gave the remaining duplicates enough space to close in, their blades carving rapid arcs against his armored fra.
They struck him lethally, but the Warden’s shield absorbed all the strikes without yielding... every strike but one.
Heatbringer, wielded by the original, cut through the monster’s defense and inflicted him with a searing blow.
–699!
"Gaarrhhhh!"
The Nightmare Warden reared back, shadow spilling violently from the wound as his guttural roar shook the chamber.
With glowing eyes narrowing, fury blazed within them. He forced himself to steady, trying to ignore the duplicates slashing at him after realizing their attacks were too weak to pierce his shield.
The only true threat had always been the warrior.
Raising his greatsword, the Warden pivoted sharply, cutting through the haze, intent on crushing Darien alone.
Darien grinned, engaging in the duel, blade against blade as he exhausted his cloning skill.
The Warden surged forward with relentless swings, every strike carrying the weight of darkness, each one ant to crush, not just cut.
And Darien t each one head-on.
He had fallen into that swording sync he wanted, and he was also delivering more slashes on the monster than before.
Clangsh! Clangsh!
The nth duel shook the lair like never before, the warrior matching up to the BOSS in weapon proficiency, leveling the field.
As he swung, parried, twisted, and blocked, he felt himself threading with his weapon and the very essence of sword art.
’This is it!’ Darien thought with excitent and determination.
Each strike was no longer desperate defense, but asured precision, his instincts and blade beginning to move in harmony with a rhythm beyond raw strength!
Slowly, Darien stepped into sothing more proficient than just his 5-star , and the Nightmare Warden knew it.
The warrior had begun to overpower him, moving faster, inflicting greater damage points, and reading his strikes as if reading a book.
And that weapon of his obeyed so flawlessly, like it was an extension of his arm!
–799!
–899!
"INSOLENT WHELP! NO MORTAL STEEL SHOULD CUT THROUGH MY DARK!"
The Warden’s roar cracked the lair as he leaped back to take in the sight of the human.
His leaking eyes narrowed, no longer seeing just an aspirant, but sothing greater that defied the order of the average magic.
Each clash, each precise cut from Darien’s blade was proof that this was no ordinary trial-goer.
The BOSS couldn’t only feel it, he could see it!
Darien’s eyes now glowed white, matching his ghostly hair, and his once ambitious expression was deadpan and blank.
His aura was so amplified that it beca visible, like he was being set afla by an otherworldly fire. And his Rare sword had just evolved, the air rippling around it.
[Congratulations! You have comprehended ]
[Transcendent Swordsmanship (5-star) → Divine Sword Art (6-star)]
Darien noted everything calmly without blinking as if the power he felt was nothing at all.
His glowing gaze never left the Warden, and with a cold voice, he declared absolutely, "And now... you die."
In the sa breath, he activated again, and his shadowy duplicates manifested once more.
Each figure flanked the original before lunging forward, blade-first, Darien leading the charge as a blur of his own.
The Nightmare Warden answered not with retreat but with defiance, his roar shaking the lair as he hurled himself headlong into the onslaught, darkness and steel colliding with a fury that threatened to shatter the chamber itself.
Slash! Slash-slash! Slash!
"Fwuuugh!"
The BOSS coughed out a torrent of shadowy mist from its mouth as four unseen strikes carved into its body faster than its violet eyes could follow.
Each cut landed surgically, and the final blow crashed down in a blazing diagonal arc.
SHHHHKRRRAAASHH!
Darien split the monster into four parts and one.
He felt satisfaction seeing its shocked eyes begin to lose the arcane, and its roar severed into silence.
"Goodbye," Darien uttered as he descended to the cold ground.
Humming from the series of strikes, his blade couldn’t wait to feast on the BOSS’s massive form as it dissolved into a whirl of shadows.
[You cleared a BOSS lair!]
[You survived a Cursed Zone!]
[You slayed a Rank 1 Subdungeon BOSS!]
[You get 5570 XP!]
[Knight Rank: Proficient 94020/100000]
[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared Rank 1 Subdungeon: ???.]
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