Chapter 19 — On the Edge

Chapter 19 — On the Edge

It’s been about twenty minutes since I entered the Boss Room.

Yeah… that terror I felt in the very first second—when I saw that mouth full of razor-sharp teeth—was real. Freezing. Like death itself was staring at me.

But now… it isn’t quite as terrifying.

No, I’m still afraid. If it bites me—it’s over. That much is obvious. But for the last twenty minutes all I’ve been doing is dodging and springing aside whenever that giant rabbit lunges at me.

It jumps—I jump away.
It turns—I slip to the side.
It charges again—and I’m already somewhere else.

And all of that… slowly turned into a game.

A strange, insane, deadly game of tag.

And I noticed something else.

It really seems to have no mind.

At all.

It behaves just like mobs in the games I used to play:

the same hopping attack,

the same turn after a miss,

the same straight dash forward.

Almost no variation. As if it’s just following a prewritten pattern.

And I… I’ve already gotten used to it.

I know the angle it’ll jump at.
I know how it will turn.
I know how long until the next rush.

I can move a beat earlier than it starts its attack.

Honestly… this is the first time it feels like I’m truly fighting, not just flailing a sword in panic.

Now that I’ve fully read its movements…

All right, time to go on the offensive.

As soon as it jumped again, I slipped aside and slashed its flank. Then immediately hopped back, not letting it close in.

I repeated it. And again. And again.

Around the fifth time I did this, everything changed.

Ow!

It struck me with its forepaws. I didn’t even expect it to use its paws.

Sharp claws raked my arm—three red lines across the skin, blood welling at once.

“Damn…” I sprang back, trying not to lose my footing.

The wound wasn’t deep, but it burned. Even a small pain gets in the way during a fight. And blood means a slippery hilt, a weaker grip, slower reactions.

The rabbit lunged again.

I barely dodged—the air right in front of my face burst from its movement.

I fell back farther, trying to buy a couple of seconds.

I urgently triggered my skill and created a health potion.

Yanked the stopper and drank.

A warm wave washed through me; the pain faded, the skin knit closed.

Phew… yeah. Even small wounds can’t be left alone. Especially in a fight like this.

Better to be in perfect condition.

Each sword stroke left a thin whitish line on its hide—but no spray of blood, no ragged wounds. As if there was no ordinary living body under the fur. No blood, no flesh—just some dense, glowing substance shaped like a rabbit.

I think, with time, this tactic should work. Its HP is going down—I can see it by the marks on its hide. If I just keep this up… yes, I can do it.

Another leap—I shift and cut its side.

Again.

Again—

The moment I started to step back, slipping behind it again, its hind legs suddenly snapped out and kicked me.

The blow wasn’t just strong—like being mule-kicked by a full-grown horse, only faster, harder, and more precise.

The air was blasted from my lungs so hard I couldn’t even cry out.

I felt my body lift—flung like a rag doll.

I flipped midair and slammed back-first into the stone wall on the far side of the room.

The dull thud echoed in my skull.

My legs buckled and I hit the floor.

“Damn…” I rasped, but barely any sound came out.

It hurt even to breathe.

My vision fogged for an instant. Everything wavered, as if the room had turned to liquid.

“Stand…” I whispered. I won’t die here. I can’t die here.

I grabbed my sword. Good—my fingers still obeyed.

But I hadn’t yet stood when a shadow fell over me.

The rabbit was already mid-leap.

It was coming down from above.

Open maw. Rows of teeth.

I saw it closing in—and knew I wouldn’t get up in time.

“Damn it!!!” On pure reflex I twisted the sword up.

The blade drove straight into the monster’s mouth and cut through its head.

At that exact moment a bolt of pain ripped through my arm.

My right arm was inside the rabbit’s jaws, clamped between its teeth along with the sword.

It managed to bite down before it vanished.

As its body broke into light, a large magic stone hit the floor with a dull, dry clack.

It was much bigger than any I’d seen from rabbit-monsters.

My sword slipped free and rang on the stone.

[Dungeon Boss defeated: Dread Rabbit (Lv. 40)]
[Reward: +10,550 EXP (+52,750 bonus EXP)]

I looked at my arm.

“Damn…”

The skin around the bite was torn open completely, as if it had been stripped off.

Blood streamed, and I thought I could even see bone.

My breath hitched. My head went heavy, like consciousness was slipping.

“Potion… now…” I muttered.

I tried to create a potion. The vial appeared—and fell to the floor, sliding from my fingers. Good thing it didn’t shatter.

With my shaking left hand I picked it up, tore the stopper off with my teeth, and drank.

Thick, warm heat slowly spread through my body. The pain dulled. The bleeding slowed. Bone disappeared back beneath regrowing flesh.

But it wasn’t enough.

I created another potion. And another. And another.

Second. Third. Fourth. Fifth.

Only after the fifth did the warm strength fill my arm completely. The skin drew tight. The bite marks vanished. The pain almost completely disappeared.

I just sat there on the floor, leaning back against the wall. Breathing fast and shallow. My fingers still trembled.

I sat like that for a few minutes, just pulling myself together.

Alive. I’m still alive.

How did it come to this?

Everything had been under control. The tactic was working perfectly. It jumped—I dodged and struck. Over and over. I could almost feel the victory.

Yeah… I relaxed. Too much.

I was too sure I’d already won. That it was decided.

One missed hit. And I was already on the brink of death.

If not for my Alchemy skill, I…

…I would have just died here, on the cold stone floor. And no one would ever even know I existed.

All right… enough.

I got up slowly. My arm was still shaking. I stood and walked, carefully, toward the center of the room.

Yes, a treasure chest had appeared here. It popped up right after the boss vanished, but I had no time for it then.

I came closer.

The chest looked a bit odd—long, stretched out, like something large lay inside.

I lifted the lid.

Inside was only one item. But the reward was clearly worth it.

A sword.

The hilt was set with red stones—I don’t know if they’re precious, but they looked expensive. Even the scabbard had fine inlays. Like a weapon not just to fight with, but to show off.

I took the sword in hand.

Whoa… it was much heavier than my old one. Three times, if not more. And larger.

I slowly drew the blade—the metal slid free with a soft chime.

The blade was wider, longer, and… more beautiful. Fine patterns traced the steel. Not mere decoration—they seemed a part of the blade itself.

I made a few test swings.

The sound… deep, rich, heavy. That’s the sound a real sword makes.

Yes, it’s heavier. Several times. But now my old sword feels, in comparison, like it was made of… foam. Not because it was bad—just that my stats have grown too much. This is the kind of weapon that suits me now.

I swung the new sword a few more times. The sound of the edge cutting air slowly calmed my nerves and breathing. The rhythm of the movements balanced my thoughts.

And in the middle of another swing, blue light flashed before my eyes.

A system window appeared.

[New Skill acquired:
Swordsman — Rank 1.]

A new skill. I was a little surprised.

Yeah, I knew skills generally appear after a certain amount of practice.

But… why only now?

All right. Let’s check.

From the name—“Swordsman”—it’s obvious. It’s tied to the fact that I’ve been using a sword almost constantly. And in the Training Room quests I’ve been swinging a sword… what, countless times? Hundreds a day? Thousands?

Strange that I didn’t get this earlier. But more importantly—what does it do? What are the benefits? You can’t tell just from the name.

I opened my status window.

[Status]

[Name: Alisar
Level: 54
EXP: 4,182,045 / 5,500,000
Rank: 3]

HP: 10,670 (+900)
MP: 15,800

Strength: 273
Defense: 349 (+90)
Speed: 445
Intelligence: 262
Magic Power: 257
Magic Defense: 701

Free Attribute Points: 90 (-90)

Skills: — Swordsman — (Rank 1)

Special Skills:
• Training Room (Rank 3)
• Alchemy (Rank 1)

[Swordsman — Rank 1]

[Effects:

+10% movement speed while using a sword in combat.
+10% attack accuracy.
+10% sword attack power.]

The effect… yeah, it doesn’t seem that strong.

Ten percent.

Sure, that’s good. If I can use the sword 10% faster, and my strikes are 10% stronger—that’s definitely a plus.

But still.

It’s nothing like a Special Skill. Not like the Training Room. Or Alchemy.

Also… my ninety free attribute points… It looks like they were automatically dumped into Defense.

Most likely that happened either when the rabbit kicked me with its hind legs… Or when it clamped down on my arm.

Most likely—during the bite itself.

Thinking about it… Without that automatic boost to Defense…

It might have just torn my arm off.

I glanced down at my arm without meaning to.

It was whole. Clean. As if nothing had happened.

Health potion… yeah. It can heal wounds. Even deep ones.

But…

What if the arm is bitten off completely? Would a new arm grow? Or would it just heal over where an arm used to be?

And if… I just pressed the severed arm back in place and doused it with a health potion? Would it reattach?

I pondered it. Theoretically… possible. But I’m not sure.

And honestly, I’m not going to test that theory. I don’t want to. At all.

I exhaled. Yeah, too many things blindsided me in this fight. For me, anyway.

Enough dumb thoughts.

I picked up the dungeon boss’s magic stone. It was heavier and larger than the usual ones, almost the size of a small apple.

And I headed for the door.

Naturally, I didn’t forget the sword. The new sword.

When I opened the door, it yielded easily. Looks like now that the boss is defeated, it’s no longer locked.

On the way back out, I’ll scoop up the magic stones. Of course I didn’t pick them up during the fights—there are too many, and it only gets in the way.

All right… once I collect all the rabbit-monsters’ stones, I’ll just go rest by the river for a while.

I think I’ve earned it.