I quickly flew toward the haunted-looking castle looming ahead.
I deactivated [Flight] and landed in front of the huge door. As I pushed it open, my eyes fell on what I initially thought to be a human. But I quickly let the thought pass, sensing ominous mana oozing out of his body, thinking how could a human have currupt mana.
His figure was clad in black, gleaming armor, holding a long sword, sitting regally on a throne. For a moment, our eyes locked. His eyes shone dark red. I put my gaurd up, setting foot inside the castle.
In the next instant, he vanished from the throne. My heart skipped a beat as I felt a gust of wind.
!!!!—
Before my senses could fully warn me, he appeared before me, his sword already mid-swing. In that brief moment, I crossed my arms in X-shaped position.
Schwing!!
[Warning!!! Health...]
[Warning!!!...]
His sword effortlessly bypassed even the [Platinum Body], a defense that had recently been evolved.
My arms fell uselessly to the ground, blood gushing from the stump. I gasped, feeling a deep cut tear through my abdomen, warm blood soaking my clothes.
"Shit!!.."
I staggered back, as I was reminded of a certain PTSD. I struggled to comprehend the speed and power behind the attack.
"Such power....it seems this is the class of a pinnacle A-rank monster," I thought, a rush of excitement flooding through me.
The armored knight loomed over me for a moment. His eyes were cold, assessing my condition showing... petty!!? It was as if he was disappointed, expecting more of a challenge from me.
Without a word, he turned his back as he began taking steps towards the throne. The clinking of his armor echoed through the eerie silence, but my [Infinite Adaptation] did its work faster then his steps. My body healed completely, back to perfect condition.
"Perfect," I muttered under my breath, a grin forming on my face. With his back now turned to me, he was vulnerable. My pulse quickened as I readied myself for the battle with an A-rank monster.
"Oi!" I shouted, activating my [Shout] skill, trying to intimidate him, but it had no effect.
Swoosh!!
The moment he heard my voice, the armored knight lunged at me with terrifying speed. His form was a blur, and before I could fully react, his sword was already near me. This time his sword was aimed directly at my neck as he tried to kill me with single swipe of his sword.
CLUNG!!
The deafening clash of metal echoed through the hall as his blade collided with my my neck, unable to pierce. The force of his attack pushed me back, but then, during the heat of the battle, I noticed the notification that I had been waiting for
[Ding! B-rank skill "Platinum Body" has evolved to A-rank skill "Diamond Body."]
I felt a surge of strength course through me as the notification appeared, realizing my body was as hard as a diamond now. The new power running through my veins made my muscles more dense, making me feel almost invincible.
His sword had failed to cut me this time, and now, with my body reinforced, it was my turn to strike back.
He was clad in thick black armor that covered all of his body except for his fiercely glowing eyes. They were unmistakably showing disbelief which validated my suspicion that this creature was indeed intelligent. But what compelled him to become a dungeon boss was the point I wasn't sure of.
For the first time during the battle, he spoke, his voice a screeching rasp that echoed through the hall. "What.... what have you done?" His red glowing eyes, hidden beneath the helm, widened as I firmly took a hold of his wrist.
A menacing smile crept onto my face, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth from the previous impact. "Scorched Earth," I growled, the words dripping with menace as blood was gushing out of my mouth from previous impact.
His sword fell down as his arm went numb under the force of my grip. He cried in agony, trying to free himself from my grasp but it was too late now.
He struggled, trying to free himself from my grasp, but my strength was too overwhelming for him. His retaliation was futile, my grip unyielding. With a roar, I raised my fist, channeling all my power into the strike. In a single, devastating punch, I embedded my fist through his armored chest.
Booom!!!!
The force was so immense that it tore a gaping hole through his chest. The sheer impact obliterated everything behind him, the once solid landscape where the castle stood was reduced to nothing but dust and debris, scorched and broken beyond recognition. The part of castle which was behind the armored knight crumbled to dust.
[Ding! Your level has risen by 2]
I pulled my hand back as his body fell down lifelessly with a thud. I wiped the blood and remnants of flesh off from my hands with the lifeless knight's black armor.
As I was wiping his blood off from my hands, my eyes then fell on the longsword that had nearly taken my head. I picked it up, feeling its weight before placing it aside.
Turning my attention to the mana stone, I muttered, "Let's see how high his agility was to blitz me like that."
The stone pulsed faintly in my palm. Without hesitation, I absorbed it, feeling a surge of power rush through my veins. My senses sharpened as the residual energy of the knight's agility was beginning to integrate into my own body, that's when I heard the sweet notification sound
[Ding! Your agility has risen by 26]
[Your Senses have risen by 19]
As the notification about my agility boost flashed across my vision, ."Impressive," I thought, the corners of my mouth curling into a smirk as I felt the immense speed now coursing through me.
"Now, let's leave the dungeon, shall we?," I thought, feeling very pleased with the results of today's raid. It had taken me around 4-5 hours to clear this dungeon, and I could already feel the immense growth in my power.
My outfit was a total mess now. It only covered half of body as half of it was torn from the cuts, while the remaining half was covered in blood. I quickly changed into the spare clothes I had brought along, just in case things had gotten too rough. With my new outfit on, I quickly prepared to leave the dungeon.
====
Is the Novel reasonable?