Grinding (3)

[Floor Cleared!]

[Optional Boss Challenge]

[Yes] or [No]

I clicked on [Yes]. 

[You have chosen to challenge the optional boss]

- Teleporting to a location.

The same ruined throne room appeared again. The knight who sat on the throne slowly stood up and walked over to me.

It was just like last time; I could feel the anger coming out of him.

But this time, I was ready.

When he lunged, I dodged to the side, and I swung my sword, aiming for a slight gap between his throats.

He quickly parried with an unnatural movement, making an echo of the clashing sword.

After parrying, he kicked me in the stomach, knocking me back.

Because of my higher endurance, it didn't feel that forceful, but it still hurt a lot.

'I really need to get that regeneration skill'.

Just like last time, after he knocked me back, he stood completely still.

'Why is he standing still again?'

I could feel the killing intent and anger coming out of him, but why wasn't he moving?

When I looked closer, I noticed a subtle tremor running through his frame.

It was very subtle, but it was undoubtedly there. The knight was trembling, like he was struggling against some unseen force.

I realised,

'He is trying to move, but he is unable to do so'.

All the times that he lunged at me, he never continued to attack me because he was standing still.

It wasn't because of some dumb knights' honor. He was forced to stand still by some unknown force.

Only when I attacked him again did he try to defend himself.

So the requirement is that I either go and attack him or that he injures me so severely the first time that I lose the challenge.

But for how long is he going to stand still? If I don't approach him, would he be forced to stand there and do nothing?

With that in mind, I just stood here and watched him try to move.

After some time passed, I realized that this was a waste of time.

'Maybe I should go and look at the painting that I couldn't see before'.

I turned around and walked over to the painting.

Suddenly, the sound of a scrape of metal against the stone shattered the silence.

My heart leaped into my throat. Before I had time to turn around again, a brutal force slammed into my back.

The world spun as I was propelled forward towards the throne of rubble and ruin.

With a violent crash, I collided into the throne, and the sharp edges of a broken stone dug into my body.

My vision was blurring with pain and disorientation. I tried to gasp for air, and as I finally regained my vision,

I saw the knight being completely still at the spot that I was previously on.

'What happened?'

[You have failed the challenge!]

- Returning back to the floor

I returned to the field, but just like last time, the pain that I felt before was gone.

"F*ck"

So he could move at the end. Was it because I turned around? Or was there a time limit?

No matter the reason, the cold truth was that I wasted an attempt on nothing.

In the end, I didn't even use the skill that I had been practicing on him.

[Floor Cleared!]

[The biggest contributors to clearing the floor]

1st place: Kim Taeho

2nd place: Kim Hanja

3rd place: Lee Min-ho

Sigh. 

Honestly, the rewards for clearing the floor were useless for me.

Because I could only claim them after leaving this floor. So what was the point?

I took my dagger and stabbed myself in the eye.

[Skill activation]

Perfect Clear [X]

[Returning to the moment you first entered this floor]

*****

As the wolf stepped out of the portal, I realized my growth.

The first time I met the wolf, I lost everything. I was scared and powerless.

But now, every time I see the wolf, I know it will always end with the wolf's defeat.

The wolf locked eyes with me and dashed toward me. In that split second, I used my skill, 'wolf dash'.

The world around me turned into blurry colors, and my senses heightened.

At the same time, my blade sliced through the air. The wolf's eyes were wide with a mix of surprise and fear.

As I darted forward, my blade sliced through the wolf, and I appeared behind it.

It had no time for realization or a moment for reaction.

The wolf collapsed.

The wolf dash was a perfect harmony of movement and attack. It was excellent at catching an enemy off guard.

This skill was what I was going to use on the knight.

[Announcement: The special monster has been killed; new enemies will spawn.]

[Announcement: You have killed the special monster as the biggest contributor; please choose a reward.]

[Elixir of Endurance]

[Elixir of Agility]

[Elixir of Strength]

[Skill 'Wolf steps[C]']

[Skill 'Regeneration[C]']

I clicked on the last remaining reward, and as I looked at my status window,

Name: Taeho Kim] [Level: 13]

[Age: 21]

[Stats]

Endurance: 54.6 (39)

Agility: 54.6 (39) 

Strength: 54.6 (39)

Magic: 0 +

Mana: 25 +

[Stat points: 12]

[Skills] 

- Perfect Clear[X]

- Swordsmanship[C] 

- Trap Detection[F]

- Bowmanship[F]

- Daggermanship[F]

- Wolf Dash[C]

- Regeneration[C]

As I saw the skill in my status window, I realized that I didn't feel that different.

There was also no knowledge on how to test it. So I guess it must be a passive skill.

I took my dagger out to make a shallow cut on my palm. I felt a sharp pain, and blood started to drip from the wound.

And at the same time, I could feel a tingling sensation at the edge of my wounds.

Then slowly, this sensation got more intense. It felt like thousands of needles, just like when your leg falls asleep.

It wasn't painful, but it was a little uncomfortable. I watched in amazement as the edges of the shallow wound began to close up.

The skin knit together as if it were being stitched by an invisible thread. The pain also slowly faded as my wound closed up.

I ran my fingers over the spot, and I felt nothing but smoothness.

"This is a pretty good skill".

It was very useful, and at least it wasn't that slow.

I stretched my body.

"It's time to kill some goblins again".