Optional Boss

After going back to the field, I waited. As the sun rose, more and more people woke up.

I talked with Park Junsu to discuss my plan. After I told him my plan, he agreed and started to make an announcement.

"As you all know, the 1000 monsters are about to be killed. Therefore, we should not kill the last monster, in case a special monster could appear like last time".

He explained that only one big group should go and come back with the last monster captured.

After everyone is ready on the field, the last monster could be killed, and we will be ready to fight the special monster.

This was my plan, which I thought was solid enough to execute.

A group of around 25 people entered the forest to kill the remaining elite goblins.

I didn't join the group, just in case something bad happened at the field.

As I looked at the clear condition,

[Clear Condition]

- Kill 1000 monsters [999/1000]

It stopped at 999 monsters, and I knew that they must have captured the last remaining monster.

'They are probably going back to the field now'.

But something surprising happened.

[Floor Cleared!]

[Optional Boss Challenge]

[Yes] or [No]

[60]

[59]

[58]

As I saw the announcements appear, a number was slowly counting down, forcing me to choose an option.

But how did we clear the floor? Wasn't the plan supposed to be getting the last monster here and then killing it?

'That is not the main problem right now'.

The main problem was that the floor was cleared, and now it was asking me if I wanted to challenge the optional boss.

So I guess there is not special monster like the wolf, instead it was optional to fight it.

But what should I do? Should I challenge the optional boss?

This was a little risky for me. The boss could be too strong, and I would have to regress and try to challenge it again.

But at the same time, if I don't fight the optional boss, I will clear the floor. And I am not sure if my 'Perfect Clear' skill will activate and regress me back to the start.

There was a possibility that because I wasn't injured, it could be seen as a 'perfect clear'?

As I saw the timer go down, I knew that I needed to decide now.

The best choice was to fight the optional boss and, in the worst case, just die to regress back.

I still haven't gotten all the rewards from the wolf yet. Those rewards were too good to pass along.

With that in mind, it became clearer and clearer what I needed to do.

I clicked on the [Yes] button, and the announcement disappeared from my sight.

[You have chosen to challenge the optional boss]

- Teleporting to location.

I felt dizzy, and my vision went dark. Soon I opened my eyes to see that the familiar grassy field was gone.

Instead, there was a big throne room with walls so gigantic that it was mesmerizing.

But it was in ruins, with cracks and debris everywhere.

There were big pillars reaching up to the ceiling, and in that ceiling, a little sunlight appeared through the cracks.

As I was thinking of where I could be. In the dim light, I saw him. Sitting on a throne of rubble and ruin. A knight was clad in dark armor.

But this knight's armor was very weird; it was tarnished and dented at every angle, showing signs of the many battles he had been in. At the same time, I could feel an indomitable will radiate out of him.

He was completely still, and he almost blended with parts of the ruined throne he rested on.

But as my gaze lingered on him, I noticed a subtle shift. The knight rose slowly from his seat.

A sword was in his grasp, but even that sword was rusty and worn out. I only had one thought.

'F*ck'.

This entrance scared the sh*t out of me, even though his armor and sword were worn out. The strength that I distinctly felt from him told me the opposite.

'He was strong'.

He was stronger than the wolf. He was stronger than me.

Slowly, he walked from the throne of rubble, step by step, getting closer to me.

As he got closer, he suddenly dashed towards me.

Clang!

Steel rang against steel, and I felt a huge force propelling me back.

Bang! 

I hit the wall with a lot of force, and I quickly tried to get up to block his next attack.

But the attack that I waited for never came. Instead, I saw him just standing in the dim light, waiting for me to stand up and fight.

'Is he waiting for my attack?'

This was very advantageous for me.

'It was probably the honor of a knight'.

 I quickly dashed, and I swung my sword towards the gap in his armor.

But each attack was blocked with ease. It was like he was reading my every move.

I lunged, feinted, and twisted, trying everything to attack, but to no avail. The sword that he held looked so worn out that it would break at the slightest touch.

But it was as hard as solid metal and seemed to be able to withstand anything.

Slowly, I was losing my breath, and my arms felt as heavy as if bound by unseen chains.

I would have loved to say that I was losing my advantage, but there was no advantage to begin with. It was a one-sided fight that was decided from the start.

In my last attempt, with a quick maneuver, the knight disarmed me. My sword hit the stone floor, making a metallic ring.

He paused, the tip of his sword right at my throat. I stood there unarmed, and I realized that I had lost the battle.

I was waiting for him to finish me, and I tried to look deep into the gap of his helmet, where his eyes would be. 

But instead, the knight withdrew his sword and turned away. He slowly walked back to his throne, made of rubble and ruins. And as he sat down,

[You have failed the challenge!]

- Returning back to the floor

The same way I got here was also the same way I returned.

My vision went dizzy, and when I could finally see,

The grassy field that I was familiar with was back. The other people did not disappear; they were still here at the field.

'Why are they still here?'

I realized two things.

One, the optional boss, is meant to be fought alone. Unless everyone decided not to take on the optional boss, this was the only reasonable thought.

This is where a question came from. Why was the knight so strong? If it was meant to be fought with other people, it would make sense that he was that strong. 

But I couldn't believe that every single person decided not to challenge the optional boss. Especially if the girl with the sports jacket was still alive.

And this is where I had a theory. What if the knight adjusts his strength based on the challenger?

Because I was so strong, the optional boss had to be stronger than me.

But if he was stronger than me, how would I ever be able to win?

This is where I realized something—maybe I was not supposed to defeat him?

As I was thinking of this dilemma that I had, multiple announcements appeared.

[Floor Cleared!]

[Biggest contributors to clearing the floor]

1st place: Kim Hanja 

2nd place: Lee Min-ho

3rd place: Kang Sangwoo

…

The list continued until I saw my spot. 

41th place: Kim Taeho