The Boss Room of the Crypt was a vast, circular chamber carved from black granite. In the center, seated on a throne of fused bones, sat the Death Knight.
It was seven feet tall, clad in ancient, rusted plate armor that wept a constant black mist. It held a massive zweihänder (two-handed sword) resting on its armored knees.
[Boss Encounter: Death Knight (Level 10 - Hard Mode)]
Elian didn't hesitate. He didn't offer a monologue. He just walked forward, drawing his Black-Iron Sword.
The Death Knight's helm turned slowly. Two pinpricks of blue soul-fire ignited in its visor. It stood up, the sound of grinding metal echoing through the silent chamber.
It raised its massive sword and charged. It was fast for an armored unit, like a runaway train.
Elian didn't move until the very last second.
Whoosh.
The massive blade cleaved the air where Elian's head had been a millisecond before. The Ring of Swiftness flared.
Elian slid between the Knight's legs, coming up behind it.
"Your right knee joint is rusted," Elian noted calmly.
He swung his heavy Black-Iron sword low. He didn't aim for the armor plating; he aimed for the gap at the back of the knee.
CRUNCH.
Metal bent inward. The Death Knight stumbled, its balance compromised.
Elian didn't let up. He flowed around the boss like smoke. He was a whirlwind of precise, calculated violence.
Every time the Knight swung its massive sword, Elian was already gone, using the momentum against it. He used the Alpha Fang studs on his boots to kick the Knight's shield arm, denting the elbow joint so it couldn't raise the shield properly.
He used [Terror Gaze] not to stun it, but to interrupt its attack animations, forcing it to reset its stance every few seconds.
It was a clinic. A masterclass in movement and efficiency. Elian wasn't just winning; he was dismantling the boss piece by piece.
By the ten-minute mark, the Death Knight looked like scrap metal. Its armor was dented in a dozen places, restricting its movement. It was limping heavily on its right leg. Its HP was down to 35%.
Elian stood ten feet away, breathing easily. His stamina was still above 70%.
"Boring," Elian whispered. "Exactly the same pattern as fifty years ago. At 30% health, you'll do the 'Grave Spin' attack, then enter a defensive stance."
He adjusted his grip on his sword.
"Time to end the tutorial."
He charged in to trigger the final phase.
The Death Knight roared—a soundless, psychic scream that rattled Elian's teeth. Its blue eye-fire turned a deep, malevolent purple.
It raised its massive zweihänder high above its head.
Here comes the Grave Spin, Elian thought, preparing to backstep out of range.
But the Knight didn't spin.
Instead, with a strength it shouldn't have possessed in its damaged state, it drove the tip of the massive sword straight down into the granite floor of the chamber.
KA-THOOM.
The entire dungeon shook. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Elian stumbled back, surprised by the impact. "What...?"
Cracks spiderwebbed out from where the sword pierced the floor. The cracks glowed with intense purple light. The light spread rapidly, covering the entire floor of the boss room in seconds.
[Warning! The Death Knight has activated: Crypt Resonance.]
"Crypt Resonance?" Elian stared at the system notification. His heart skipped a beat.
That skill didn't exist. Not in the guides. Not in the wikis. Not in his memories of clearing this dungeon a thousand times.
The air in the room grew instantly heavy, suffocating. It felt like gravity had doubled.
Elian looked at his status bar. His Stamina was ticking down. One point every two seconds, just by standing in the room.
And the Death Knight...
The purple light from the floor was flowing up into the sword, and then into the Knight's armor. The dents Elian had painstakingly created popped back out. The rusted metal turned a sleek, polished black.
Its HP bar, which had been red, turned purple.
HP: 35%... 40%... 45%...
It was healing. Rapidly.
"No," Elian hissed. He realized what was happening. The Knight was drawing power from the dungeon itself—from the residual death energy of the thousands of skeletons Elian had killed on the floors above.
By taking six hours to clear the dungeon perfectly, Elian had inadvertently charged the boss with an ocean of mana.
The Death Knight pulled its sword from the ground. It looked bigger now. More imposing. The blue flames in its eyes were raging infernos.
It turned to Elian. It didn't charge this time. It just took a step.
A wave of purple force blasted out from its footstep.
Elian raised his sword to block.
BANG!
He was thrown backward twenty feet, skidding across the glowing floor. His arms went numb. [-30 HP!]
"Damn it," Elian spat blood, scrambling to his feet. HP: 150/180.
The fight had changed instantly. He couldn't get close without being blasted back. If he stayed at a distance, his stamina would drain to zero, and the boss would heal back to full health.
The perfect speedrun was dead.
Elian reached into his pouch and downed a Luna's Brew. He needed the stamina regen just to counter the room's aura.
The Death Knight began walking toward him, slowly, inevitably, its sword glowing with the stolen power of the crypt.
For the first time since his regression, Elian felt a bead of genuine, cold sweat trickle down his spine.
The future had changed.
"Okay," Elian breathed, gripping his black sword until his knuckles turned white. "Round two. Let's see what else you didn't learn in the tutorial."