The air in the Boss Room was heavy, buzzing with the static of the "Crypt Resonance."
Elian rolled to the side, barely avoiding a shockwave of purple energy.
Stamina: 35/100.
HP: 115/180.
The Death Knight was invincible. It wasn't just healing; it was getting faster. The purple veins pulsing on the floor acted like an IV drip, feeding the monster infinite mana from the dungeon itself.
"Think," Elian growled, forcing his heavy limbs to move. "The guide said nothing about this. The forums said nothing about this."
In his past life, he had relied on the "Absolute Strategy." If A happens, do B. It was a flowchart.
But the flowchart was broken. If he kept trying to play the game he remembered, he would die here. A Level 7 corpse in a Level 10 dungeon.
Elian looked at the floor. The glowing purple cracks were brightest directly beneath the Death Knight's feet. The boss was anchored to the room.
It's not a buff, Elian realized, his eyes narrowing. It's a circuit.
The Dungeon was the battery. The Floor was the wire. The Knight was the bulb.
"I don't need to break the bulb," Elian whispered, a crazy grin forming on his face. "I need to cut the wire."
He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the vial of Alpha Blood Serum that Luna had brewed.
Warning: Do not drink if heart rate is elevated, Luna had said.
Elian's heart was beating like a jackhammer.
He popped the cork and downed the thick, metallic tasting red liquid.
[System Alert: Consumable Used.]
[Strength Increased by +10.]
[Warning: Cardiac Stress Detected. HP -2 per second.]
Veins bulged on Elian's neck. His muscles swelled, tearing the seams of his tunic under the wolf vest. A roar of raw, chemically-induced power flooded his system.
"Come on!" Elian screamed at the Knight.
The Death Knight obliged. It raised its zweihänder for a vertical cleave that would split Elian in two.
Elian didn't dodge away. He charged in.
He slid on his knees across the granite, the blade of the Knight crashing down inches behind his heels. He was now directly under the boss, inside the "Crypt Resonance" zone. The gravity tried to crush him.
Elian ignored it. He gripped his Black-Iron Sword with both hands.
He didn't swing at the Knight.
He swung at the floor.
"BREAK!"
[Strike Skill: Heavy Smash (Improvised)]
The Black-Iron blade, amplified by the +10 Strength and the momentum of his body, slammed into the glowing purple cracks in the granite.
CRAAAACK!
The floor didn't just chip; it exploded. The magical circuit shattered.
The purple light in the room flickered and died. The gravity field vanished.
The Death Knight let out a confused, garbled shriek as its infinite mana source was severed. Its armor, which had been sleek and regenerated, instantly rusted over again as the magic failed.
It stumbled, losing its balance on the broken terrain.
Elian didn't give it a second to recover. The serum was burning his veins. He had maybe thirty seconds before he passed out.
He leaped onto the Knight's back, his boots finding purchase on the rusted armor plates.
"No more tricks," Elian roared.
He drove the Black-Iron sword down into the gap between the helmet and the pauldron. Deep into the neck.
The Knight thrashed, trying to throw him off, but Elian twisted the blade.
CRUNCH.
The blue fire in the Knight's eyes flickered once, twice... and extinguished.
The massive armor collapsed into a pile of scrap metal.
[Boss Defeated: Death Knight (Hard Mode - Mutated)]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Achievement Unlocked: The First Divergence.]
Elian fell off the pile of armor and hit the floor, gasping for air. His heart felt like it was going to burst. The serum's effect was wearing off, leaving him paralyzed with exhaustion.
He lay there for a long time, staring at the dark ceiling of the crypt.
He was alive.
But something had changed. And it wasn't just his level.
"I was arrogant," Elian whispered to the empty room.
For the last week, he had walked around with a smirk, thinking he was a god playing amongst mortals because he had the 'script' of the future. He thought he was playing New Game+.
But the Tower wasn't a game. It was a living, breathing hell. It adapted. It changed.
If he had just kept fighting like the 'Sword Saint' of the past, using the old combos and old timings, he would be dead right now. He won because he threw away the guide and fought like a madman.
Elian clenched his fist. The realization hit him harder than the boss ever did.
The future I know is just a rough draft.
Relying on his memories was a crutch. If he wanted to survive—if he wanted to truly conquer the Tower and reach the apex—he couldn't just memorize the path. He had to forge a new one.
"Good," Elian said, a genuine, predatory smile spreading across his tired face.
"If I knew everything that was going to happen... it would be boring."
He sat up, his body screaming in protest, and looked at the glowing loot chest that had appeared where the Death Knight fell.
"The Sword Saint is dead," Elian declared.
He stood up, shaky but standing tall.
"Now, the real climb begins."