David walked deeper inside the dungeon to notice that a skeleton monster twice his size was standing in the middle of the room, holding a sword in its hand.
"That's a big boy", David muttered as he glanced at the thick armour of bones surrounding the boss, meaning that physical attacks won't get through.
"A normal party of four or five would generally work together to beat the boss, where the Tank would gain its attention, the long-range damage dealers would weaken its defences, and the swordsman would finish the attack", David thought.
A faint smile crossed his face as he considered his current circumstances. "Well, seems like I'm in luck today. I've got the mage, at least," he muttered, rubbing his temple in contemplation.
He stepped deeper into the dungeon as the sockets of the Skeleton king's eyes lit up, emanating a bright glow of red.
"You can do it, David", he steeled himself, knowing it would be a hard battle.
The Skeleton King suddenly moved, disappearing from his place, appeared right behind David, and thrashed its sword downward, aiming for David's head. David dodged the sword at the last moment as he nimbly rolled forward, creating some distance from the monster.
"And out of all the buffs you could give a skeleton, you had to give him a speed buff! Thank you, game!!!" David shouted out of anger.
The Skeleton King started running towards David slower than before; he quickly cast a lightning spell and shot it towards the monster, hoping to slow it down. The giant body of the monster meant that it was not the best at evading attacks. The lightning struck the Skeleton's King's head, causing it to slow down.
"So it's not a speed buff, but more of a skill!" David thought as he dashed towards the skeleton king and smashed his staff into the monster's torso, hoping to weaken its defences slowly. The Skeleton King let out a huge roar and swiped its hands. Still, David had already leapt back, creating some distance between them.
"I need to know the cooldown of the skill."
The monster got back up and looked at David with its glowing eyes. It held the sword in an offensive stance. It started rushing towards David, who was running away from the Skeleton King, keeping a reasonable distance between the two.
"50, 51, 52." David counted the seconds since the Skeleton King had that burst of speed. Before he knew it, the Skeleton King disappeared again, appearing right next to David. Still, he was ready this time as he launched a barrage of fireballs at the monster's torso.
"KGHH", the Skeleton King roared as it stumbled backwards.
"So he received the Dash skill. A lucky bastard, for real."
Now that David knew the buff given to the monster, he felt less threatened by its presence. One of the biggest weaknesses of Skeleton-type monsters was their lack of variety in attacks. The only thing they knew was how to charge at enemies. This was the reason why David had been successfully clearing the hurdles. He knew that if these werewolves instead, they would have launched a communicated attack, making it difficult for David to kill them.
He continued a few rounds where he would evade the attacks, waiting for his mana to replenish.
He ran around evading the Skeleton's attack for another minute before it used the dash skill again. David swiftly dodged the attack this time before lunging close to the Skeleton King. He quickly released a Fireball at point-blank range on the monster's Torso, dealing heavy damage.
David could feel that the Skeleton would fall after a couple of hits. He dashed towards the monster, ready to land another hit on its torso, when suddenly the system rang.
[ Skeleton King's HP has fallen below 30 %. It has entered a Berserk state. ]
David meekly looked towards the Skeleton King's face, whose eyes were now shining with a bloody glow of red. It stopped David's staff midway with his hands, crushing it quickly.
[ Your weapon has been destroyed ]
"YOU GOT TO BE FKIN KI-" but before he could complete, the monster had already punched him, causing him to crash into the wall behind.
[20/120 HP]
"ugh, " David groaned, looking ahead to find that the Skeleton King was standing before him . "how is it fair! Two fucking skills!"
The monster slashed his sword down, and David dodged just in the nick of time.
Berserk is a skill that gets activated when the HP of the monster falls below 30 %. In the Berserk state, it has increased attack but reduced defences, making it easier to defeat. The monster also has decreased rationality, meaning it may act aggressively. David knew that a single attack might bring it down, but with the staff gone, he had enough mana for a single spell.
The enraged monster rushed towards David, slashing the sword in a crazed frenzy. David dodged the sword and stepped back, trying to create distance. Still, the Skeleton King instantly rushed forward, reducing that distance again.
"damn you!"
Suddenly, an idea occurred in David's mind. He unsummoned the armour and boots and held them in his hands before throwing them and both the boots in different directions.
"KGH!" the Skeleton King roared, confused as suddenly four different targets were in its sight. It rushed towards Hound Armour, and David felt relieved, knowing his plan had worked.
The monster slashed his sword, destroying the armour in a single strike.
[ Your item has been destroyed ]
By the time the monster could focus on the next target, David had already appeared near its torso. He launched a Fireball with all his mana at the enemy's Torso, making a fiery hole.
[ You have defeated a Level 20 Aberrant Skeleton (King). You have received 100 exp ]
[ You have cleared the dungeon 'Boneyard Catacombs' at Nightmare difficulty. You have received 1000 exp, 2x rare items, 1x Uncommon items, 1x Common items]
[ You are being awarded the First Clear reward ]
[ You have received 2 x level up, 1x Rare Item ]
But the notifications didn't stop; the following few notifications surprised David.
[ You are the first player to defeat all the King Tier monsters of the Beginner's Town. You have received a new Achievement ]