The interior of the boss room wasn't much different from the previous floors. It was a massive chamber, cracks spreading across the walls as if the entire place could crumble at the slightest touch.
In the middle of the room lay a colossal figure—an eight-headed Lion. Its body towered over eight meters, covered in dark red fur that shimmered like steel wires under the dim light.
Eight massive legs supported it, each thicker than stone pillars. From its broad neck sprouted eight grotesque heads, four awake and glaring, the other four still slumbering.
Sixty-four crimson eyes glowed like burning embers.
As its gaze fell on Anvil, all four awakened heads opened their jaws and roared.
ROAR!
The deafening bellow shook the room, dust raining from the cracked ceiling.
"What a monster. If an E-rank boss looks this formidable… how terrifying must the higher ranks be?" Anvil muttered. Despite the danger, excitement surged through him. The thought of summoning such a giant as an undead thrilled him.
Behind him, Lotus lounged on the back of an undead Lion, glancing lazily at the giant. She didn't seem to care at all.
The monster loomed, glaring at Anvil. Its eyes gleamed with petrifying light. His muscles stiffened instantly.
But he was prepared.
Anvil channeled the ring's power, forcing his body to move. At the same time, he cycled [Mana] through his body, coating his skin in an invisible barrier.
The petrification slowed, then halted completely.
ROAR!
Another roar erupted. This time it carried a stunning shockwave that rattled the air like thunder. The ground trembled, cracks spreading under his feet.
But Anvil had done his research. He'd memorized the boss's [Skills].
He funneled [Mana] into his ears, deafening himself. The roar faded into silence.
Still, the shockwave slammed into him, making his bones quiver.
This is nothing… I can still move.
The moment the pressure lessened, Anvil sprinted forward. The larger the body, the easier the target. He aimed for its limbs.
His dagger struck, slicing into the beast's foreleg. The cut was shallow, no more than a scratch compared to its massive bulk. Still, he darted around the limb, stabbing again and again, carving deeper wounds.
The boss retaliated. A claw the size of a carriage swept toward him, the speed almost instantaneous.
Anvil reacted in milliseconds—leaping back, the claw missing him by a hair's breadth.
He pushed [Mana] into his muscles, and with the ring's aid, his strength surged beyond E-rank. The ground shattered as he launched himself into the air.
From above, a sudden chill prickled his skin. Danger.
Without thinking, Anvil forced [Mana] outward, creating a small explosion behind his back. The blast shifted his trajectory just in time—
ZAAAAAP!
A thick crimson beam of energy scorched through the air where he'd just been.
His heart pounded, but his face remained calm. He landed, rolled, and immediately leaped again. His hands grabbed onto the monster's fur, thick as ropes.
The beast roared in rage and began to roll across the ground like a boulder.
Anvil didn't let go. He drew his dagger and hacked at its hide, cutting deeper and deeper until he carved open a gap wide enough for his body. He plunged inside, swallowed by darkness and heat.
The monster's thrashing didn't matter anymore.
Inside, it was like entering a bloody cavern. The air was hot, the walls pulsing with veins, muscles, and tendons. The ground beneath him was bone, slick with blood.
He covered his eyes with [Mana] to enhance his vision. Crimson tunnels stretched around him—arteries thicker than tree trunks, vessels pumping torrents of blood.
The monster rolled, slammed itself against walls, trying to crush him, but Anvil clung to a vessel and pressed on. His dagger tore through muscle and cartilage, carving his path toward the core.
Then he saw it.
A massive heart, larger than his entire body, beat with thunderous force. Each pulse shook the chamber, spraying hot blood.
Anvil's lips curved.
He leapt forward, dagger flashing.
SLASH! STAB! RIP!
His blade carved through veins, sliced into tendons, shredded layer after layer of muscle. Blood sprayed, splattering his face. With each cut, the boss shrieked in agony. Its roars shook the entire dungeon, making the floor quake.
But Anvil was merciless. His dagger plunged again and again, severing arteries and tearing apart organs. He wasn't just cutting the heart—he was destroying every piece of life inside.
At last, he drove the dagger straight into the core of the heart and twisted.
ROAR!!!
The eight-headed Lion let out a final earth-shattering scream before its massive body collapsed to the ground, shaking the entire chamber.
The heartbeat slowed. Then it stopped.
Anvil slashed a path outward and tore through its chest, crawling back into the open. Blood steamed on his clothes, dripping off his dagger.
"Hah… that was easier than expected," he muttered, though his panting betrayed him. It was easier only because his dagger could pierce its hide. Without it, the fight would have been hopeless.
More importantly, the boss hadn't known how to deal with an enemy entering its body. If it had consciously used [Mana] to pressure him internally, he might have been crushed alive.
This strategy would never work on higher-ranked monsters. Smarter beasts could manipulate their [Mana] to obliterate intruders instantly.
Still, the corpse lay before him. His prize.
"Now… time for summoning."
He stretched his arms. Black smoke gushed from his hands, heavier than any he had summoned before. It pressed against him, weighty and suffocating, like trying to lift a mountain.
His veins bulged, his face twisted in pain as he forced the smoke forward. His head throbbed, vision swimming, blood vessels burning under the strain.
Each wisp of black gas felt like lifting an aircraft. His knees trembled, his back bent, yet he kept forcing it out, pouring it into the corpse.
The smoke sank into the Lion's body like a flood, layer by layer, filling every vein, every bone, every organ. The weight of it pressed on Anvil's shoulders as if the entire monster was crushing him.
Still, he endured.
Bit by bit, the corpse shuddered. Muscles twitched. The air turned cold as the smoke consumed it whole.
The body of the eight-headed Lion trembled—and began to rise.