The Floor 6 gate dissolved behind Nathan, and darkness swallowed him whole.
There was a circular stone platform fifty feet across, suspended in an abyss that stretched infinitely in every direction. The only light came from faintly glowing runes etched into the platform's surface, repeating the same carving Nathan had seen on the gate: a humanoid figure with a sword, facing a creature of shadow and fangs
At the platform's center, something was waiting.
It stood motionless, a figure clad in black iron that absorbed the runelight instead of reflecting it. Its two-handed sword was planted point-down before it, and from the blade, liquid shadow dripped like slow oil, pooling at its feet before evaporating into nothing. Its helm had no eye slits... only a darkness that seemed to watch Nathan with patience and hunger.
[Ding! Floor 6: The Dread Knight]
[Boss Encounter]
[Threat Level: High]
A health bar materialized above the creature. Nathan activated [Hunter's Insight], and the Dread Knight's internal structure flickered into view: layers of condensed shadow wrapped around a mana core buried deep within its chest plate, dense and Protected. His arrows wouldn't reach it.
Not without something breaking through first.
Nathan drew and charged a [Focus Shot]. Thirty seconds. The Dread Knight didn't move... it just waited... observing, as if curious what this small human could manage.
The arrowhead blazed white-hot with man then Nathan released.
WHOOOSH!, The shot screamed across the platform and struck the Dread Knight's chestplate dead center. The Black iron cracked and Shadow bled from the wound...
...Then flowed back in.
The darkness beneath the armor surged upward, filling the fracture, sealing it. Within seconds, the chestplate was whole again. The Dread Knight tilted its head, almost bemused.
"Regeneration..." Nathan muttered. "...Of course."
The Dread Knight moved.
It crossed the platform in three strides, faster than anything that size should move, its shadow-dripping sword carving an arc through the air as Nathan dove sideways.
The blade came down, passing through the space where his chest had been and struck the platform's edge, sending cracks spiderwebbing through ancient stone.
PEW!
[Mana Arrow].
The projectiles chipped the Dread Knight's pauldron but the shadow sealed it.
PEW!
[Mana Arrow].
Same result on the gauntlet.
PEW!
[Mana Arrow].
The helm, this time... a direct hit to the darkness where a face should have been. The creature's head snapped back, then forward again, unbothered.
"Mirko!"
'Engaging now!'
She shot forward in bunny form, a green blur streaking between the Dread Knight's legs. [Headbutt] struck the back of its knee joint. The armor buckled. Shadow flooded the wound. Mirko was already gone, bouncing off a rune-lit section of the platform to strike the opposite shoulder.
But the Dread Knight was learning.
Its helm tracked Mirko's trajectory... not reacting to where she was, but where she would be. Nathan's [Hunter's Insight] screamed a warning. "Mirko, sto—"
Too late.
The Dread Knight's backhand caught her mid-leap. The impact was sickening... a sound of small body crashing against the black iron... and Mirko was hurled across the platform, tumbling, skidding, stopping only when she hit the edge.
'Ghk...'
"Mirko!"
'I'm... intact.' But her mental voice was strained. Not critically injured. But hurt. The kind of hurt that accumulates.
Nathan's mind went cold.
[Hunter's Insight] was still active, still feeding him data. He read the numbers like a spreadsheet of death: the Dread Knight's regeneration rate, the damage output of his arrows, the time it would take to wear it down. The math was brutal and absolute. At their current pace, they would lose. Not quickly. But inevitably.
He looked at Mirko. She was already pushing herself up, her pink eyes finding his across the platform. No words passed through their link because None were needed.
He gave her a single nod.
"Do it."
Then Green light erupted in a wave of mana phenomenon.
The small bunny's form dissolved into spiraling wind and luminous petals. Her frame stretched, arched, grew... tiny paws becoming delicate fingers, flat chest swelling into volumptous breasts, hips flaring into curves as her long green hair cascaded down her back. The ornate green-and-white bodysuit wove itself around her body. And in her grip, pulled from Nathan's inventory by the system's automatic transfer, materialized the steel longsword he had bought for her.
When the light faded, Mirko stood tall. A Knight, fully armed.
The Dread Knight shifted its stance. For the first time, it seemed uncertain.
And just then, Mirko activated [Impenetrable Fortress].
Glowing mana armor condensed around her frame, doubling her defensive presence, and she met the Dread Knight's charge without flinching. The shadow-dripping greatsword descended as Her steel rose to meet it.
CLANG!.
The impact shook the platform but She held.
Then [Unstoppable Force] activated.
First strike. Mirko's blade carved a gash across the Dread Knight's thigh. The shadow surged to seal it but her second strike landed before it could finish, deepening the wound. Third strike. The knee buckled. Fourth. A pauldron shattered.
The Dread Knight swung wildly. Mirko ducked beneath the blade, her rabbit ears flattening against her hair, and drove her fifth strike into its ribs.
Sixth. The chestplate cracked.
Seventh. The crack became a fissure.
Eighth. Shadow bled freely, struggling to keep pace with the damage.
The Dread Knight roared... a pressure that vibrated through Nathan's bones. It abandoned defense and swung with everything it had. Mirko sidestepped, pirouetted, and landed her ninth strike directly over its core armour that cracked it open.
Beneath the black iron, the mana core pulsed... exposed, vulnerable, blazing like a caged star.
Nathan had been charging for thirty seconds at this point.
[Focus Shot] hummed in his grip, the arrowhead shining so bright that it cast shadows across the platform. [Hunter's Insight] painted the trajectory... distance, angle and the exact point where the core's energy was thinnest.
Then Mirko landed her tenth devastating strike that shattered the armour open.
"Now, Master!"
Nathan released.
The arrow crossed the platform in less than a heartbeat and punched through the Dread Knight's exposed core. Light detonated outward as its Shadows screamed inward. The creature froze mid-swing, its greatsword inches from Mirko's neck, and then it came apart... the black iron crumbling, shadows evaporating, the mana core flickering once, twice, and dying.
Then the Dread Knight collapsed into dust.
[Ding! Boss Defeated!]
[Ding! XP Gained!]
[Ding! Floor 6 Cleared!]
[Time: 15 minutes 8 seconds.]
[Clear Rank: A]
[Floor Clear Reward: Shadowsteel Ingot (Rare Material), Mid-Grade Mana Potion x2]
Silence returned to the platform as Nathan lowered his bow. His arms trembled from the thirty-second hold. His mana reserves had dipped below thirty percent. His body ached, and the echo of the Dread Knight's roar still vibrated somewhere behind his ribs.
But they were alive.
Mirko remained in humanoid form, her sword lowered, her chest rising and falling with exertion. The glow of [Impenetrable Fortress] faded as the skill released. She turned to face him, pink eyes steady.
Nathan met her gaze. "You're not going to say 'I told you so'?"
"I am a Knight, Knights do not gloat." She lifted her chin. "But... I told you so. Hmph!"
The corner of Nathan's mouth twitched into almost a laugh. Almost.
The Floor 7 gate materialized at the platform's far edge. Three floors remained. Mirko's secret was now on the Tower's internal record... but for the first time since they had entered, they were fighting without restraint. No more holding back. No more half-measures.
Nathan gathered the rewards: a dark metal ingot that felt cold even through his gloves, two potions for his dwindling supply, and walked to the gate. Mirko fell into step beside him, her sword resting against her shoulder.
"Three left," Nathan said.
"We are ready, Master."
Then they stepped through together.