Kazuki's daggers flashed as he dismantled the first skeleton knight piece by piece. The undead creature was relentless, swinging its massive sword even as Kazuki severed joints and cracked bones. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably less than a minute, the knight's skull separated from its spine and the entire construct collapsed.
[SKELETON KNIGHT DEFEATED: +40 EXP]
One down. One to go.
The second knight had freed its embedded greatsword and now advanced on Kazuki with mechanical precision. Its movements were predictable, but each strike carried enough force to kill him instantly if it connected. Kazuki's Enhanced Reflexes were working overtime, his body moving almost before his mind registered the attacks.
Dodge left. Duck under the horizontal slash. Dash backward to avoid the thrust. Counter-strike to the knee joint. The pattern repeated again and again, slowly wearing down the knight's HP.
[SKELETON KNIGHT HP: 189 → 156 → 124 → 98]
"Kazuki! Heads up!" Rika's warning came a split second before a massive greatsword flew through the air like a spear, launched by one of her opponents.
Kazuki twisted, and the blade missed him by centimeters, striking his skeleton knight directly in the chest. The impact staggered the undead creature, and Kazuki seized the opportunity. He leaped onto the embedded sword, using it as a platform to reach the knight's head, and drove both daggers through its eye sockets.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[SKELETON KNIGHT DEFEATED: +40 EXP]
The knight dissolved into black smoke. Kazuki landed in a crouch, immediately scanning for the next threat. Rika had finished off two of her three knights and was locked in combat with the last one. Gorou still faced three opponents but seemed in control, his shield work flawless as he blocked and parried attacks that should have overwhelmed him.
"Himari! Group heal!" Gorou called out.
Golden light pulsed from the healer's staff, washing over the entire team. Kazuki felt his minor cuts and bruises close instantly, and his stamina recovered.
[HP RESTORED: +15]
[BUFF REFRESHED: DIVINE BLESSING - 6 MINUTES REMAINING]
Kazuki moved to help Rika, his daggers finding the blind spot of her remaining opponent. Together, they made short work of it. Then they both turned to assist Gorou, attacking his three knights from behind while the tank held their attention from the front.
The last skeleton knight fell five minutes after the battle had begun. The team stood in a circle of dissolving black smoke, breathing hard but victorious.
"Everyone okay?" Himari asked, already preparing another healing spell.
"Fine," Gorou said, checking his shield for damage. "Though I'm pretty sure one of those bastards dented my shield. Again."
"Kazuki, that was incredible!" Himari gushed. "You took down two level ten elites! As a level six!"
"He's level seven now," Rika pointed out with a grin. "Check your status, Kazuki."
Kazuki pulled up his status screen and saw she was right.
[LEVEL UP!]
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 7]
[AVAILABLE STAT POINTS: 10]
[AVAILABLE SKILL POINTS: 2]
[HP FULLY RESTORED]
The warm sensation of leveling up washed away his remaining fatigue. Level seven. In less than a week, he had gone from level one to seven. The progress was staggering.
"Save the celebration," Gorou said, his expression grim. "That was just the warm-up. The boss is still waiting for us."
As if responding to his words, the ruined altar at the far end of the cathedral began to glow with sickly green light. The temperature dropped so suddenly that Kazuki could see his breath. Frost spread across the stone floor, creeping toward them with unnatural speed.
A figure emerged from behind the altar, each step echoing through the cathedral like a death knell. It stood nearly three meters tall, clad in black armor that seemed to absorb light. Tattered cloth hung from its shoulders, and in its gauntleted hands, it carried a sword that pulsed with dark energy. Where its face should have been, there was only an empty helmet with two burning red eyes.
[DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER - LEVEL 14]
[HP: 1500/1500]
[ABILITIES: UNDEAD IMMUNITY, DARK AURA, DEATH STRIKE, SUMMON UNDEAD, LIFE DRAIN]
[WARNING: BOSS MONSTER - EXTREME THREAT]
"Death knight," Gorou breathed. "And not just any death knight. That's a commander variant. Level fourteen."
"We're averaging level eight as a team," Rika said, her knuckles white on her sword hilt. "This is bad."
The Death Knight Commander raised its free hand, and dark energy pulsed outward. The barrier Himari had erected shattered like glass, and the remaining skeleton warriors that had been held at bay surged forward.
"Formation!" Gorou shouted, moving to the front. "Himari, keep the adds off us! Rika, Kazuki, we need to focus fire on the boss!"
The Death Knight moved with terrifying speed for something so large. It covered the distance to Gorou in three massive strides and brought its dark sword down in an overhead strike. Gorou raised his shield, and the impact sent him sliding backward several meters, his boots leaving furrows in the stone floor.
[GOROU HP: 520 → 447]
A single blocked hit had taken seventy-three HP. If that attack had connected without the shield, Gorou would be dead.
"Its attack power is insane!" the tank shouted. "I can maybe take five or six hits before I'm done!"
Rika and Kazuki attacked from opposite sides, trying to flank the boss. Rika's sword struck the Death Knight's armor and bounced off, barely leaving a scratch. Kazuki's daggers had better luck finding gaps in the armor plates, but even his strikes only chipped away tiny amounts of HP.
[DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER HP: 1500 → 1487]
Thirteen damage. Against fifteen hundred HP. This was going to take forever, and they didn't have forever. Gorou could only tank for so long before the boss broke through his defenses.
The Death Knight's free hand lashed out, catching Rika by surprise. Dark energy crackled around its gauntlet, and when it struck Rika's shoulder, she cried out in pain and stumbled backward.
[RIKA HP: 380 → 289]
[DEBUFF: LIFE DRAIN - LOSE 5 HP PER SECOND FOR 20 SECONDS]
"Himari!" Rika called out.
"I'm trying!" The healer's staff glowed as she channeled healing into Rika while simultaneously throwing bolts of light at the skeleton warriors that were trying to overwhelm their position. "I can't keep up with all this!"
Kazuki's mind raced. They were losing. The boss was too strong, too durable, and there were too many adds. They needed to change tactics.
"System," Kazuki thought desperately. "Any weaknesses? Anything we can exploit?"
[ANALYZING TARGET...]
[WEAKNESS DETECTED: DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER'S POWER SOURCE IS THE DARK CRYSTAL IN ITS CHEST. DESTROYING THE CRYSTAL WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE ITS COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS.]
[HOWEVER: CRYSTAL IS HEAVILY PROTECTED. DIRECT ASSAULT UNLIKELY TO SUCCEED.]
Kazuki's eyes found the crystal a faint green glow visible through a gap in the chest armor. But the System was right. Getting to it would require getting past the Death Knight's sword, through its armor, and surviving long enough to strike a precise blow.
Unless...
"Gorou!" Kazuki shouted. "Can you knock it down? Get it off balance?"
"Maybe! Why?"
"Just trust me! When I give the signal, use your strongest attack to knock it backward!"
Gorou didn't question further. He raised his shield, which began to glow with intense blue light. "Give me thirty seconds to charge!"
Thirty seconds. Kazuki needed to keep the boss distracted for thirty seconds while Gorou prepared his attack.
"Rika, help Himari with the adds!" Kazuki called out. "I've got the boss!"
"Are you insane?" Rika shouted back, but she was already moving to support the healer.
Kazuki activated Dash, closing the distance to the Death Knight. He struck at its legs, its arms, any exposed joint he could find. The attacks barely scratched it, but that wasn't the point. He needed its attention.
The Death Knight turned its burning gaze on Kazuki and raised its sword for a devastating overhead strike. Kazuki waited until the last possible moment, then activated Dash again, barely avoiding the blade. The sword struck the stone floor with enough force to create a crater.
"That all you got?" Kazuki taunted, striking at its wrist joint. "My grandmother hits harder than you!"
The Death Knight roared a sound like grinding metal and screaming souls and pursued Kazuki with single-minded fury. Its sword swung in massive arcs that would have bisected him if they connected. But Kazuki's Enhanced Reflexes and increased Agility kept him one step ahead, dodging and weaving through the attacks.
Ten seconds. Twenty seconds.
A sword strike came closer than Kazuki intended, the blade slicing through his jacket and leaving a burning line across his chest.
[HP: 262 → 231]
[DEBUFF: DARK WOUND - REDUCED HEALING EFFECTIVENESS]
Twenty-five seconds.
"Now, Gorou!" Kazuki screamed.
The tank's shield erupted with blinding blue light. He charged forward with a battle cry, slamming into the Death Knight with the force of a battering ram. The impact created a shockwave that knocked everyone off their feet.
[SHIELD BASH - MASTER RANK]
The Death Knight staggered backward, its arms flailing for balance. For just a moment, the chest armor separated slightly, and Kazuki could see the dark crystal clearly.
One chance. One shot.
Kazuki pushed himself off the ground and activated Dash, channeling every point of his Agility into one explosive burst of speed. He flew toward the Death Knight like an arrow, both daggers extended.
Time seemed to slow. He could see the Death Knight recovering, its arm moving to swat him away. Could see Himari's shocked expression. Could see Rika's mouth opening to shout a warning.
But Kazuki was faster.
His daggers plunged through the gap in the armor, both blades sinking deep into the dark crystal. The crystal cracked, then shattered, exploding in a burst of necrotic energy that threw Kazuki backward.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER HP: 1487 → 743]
[POWER SOURCE DESTROYED]
[DEBUFF: WEAKENED - ALL STATS REDUCED BY 50%]
The Death Knight stumbled, its movements suddenly sluggish. The dark aura around it flickered and died. Its burning eyes dimmed to barely glowing embers.
"It's weakened!" Gorou shouted. "Everyone, full assault!"
The team converged on the wounded boss. Gorou's strikes now dented its armor. Rika's sword cuts found flesh beneath the plates. Himari's light magic burned away the dark energy holding it together. And Kazuki, despite his own injuries, drove his daggers into every exposed joint and crack.
The Death Knight fought back, but without its power source, it was a shadow of its former threat. Its strikes were slower, weaker. Its defenses crumbled.
[DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER HP: 743 → 512 → 298 → 87 → 0]
The massive undead warrior collapsed to its knees, its armor falling away in pieces. For just a moment, Kazuki thought he saw something almost human in those dying ember eyes relief, perhaps, that its cursed existence was finally ending.
Then it dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a glowing purple magic stone the size of a fist.
[DEATH KNIGHT COMMANDER DEFEATED: +200 EXP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 9]
[DUNGEON CLEAR!]
[ALL MONSTERS ELIMINATED]
The remaining skeleton warriors collapsed instantly, their animation spells broken by the Death Knight's demise. Silence fell over the cathedral, broken only by the team's heavy breathing.
"Did we... did we actually win?" Himari whispered.
"We won," Gorou confirmed, slumping against his shield. "Holy hell, we actually won."
Rika walked over to Kazuki, who was sitting on the ground trying to catch his breath. She offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet.
"That was the craziest thing I've ever seen," she said. "And I've been doing this for four years. You found its weak point and exploited it. That's veteran-level tactical thinking."
"Just got lucky," Kazuki said, though he knew it wasn't luck. It was the System's analysis and his willingness to take a desperate risk.
Gorou approached them, his face serious. "Kazuki. I owe you an apology. When I saw your rank, I thought you'd be dead weight. But you just saved all our lives with that play. Thank you."
"We're a team," Kazuki said. "We saved each other."
Himari was already collecting the magic stones scattered throughout the cathedral. Her eyes widened when she picked up the boss stone. "This is a Commander-rank stone! These sell for over a million yen!"
"Split four ways," Gorou said firmly. "Everyone contributed equally."
Two hundred fifty thousand yen each. Added to what Kazuki had already earned, he was looking at nearly half a million yen in just three days of serious hunting.
More importantly, he was level nine. Just one level away from the double digits that marked a Hunter as legitimately competent.
As the exit portal opened and they prepared to leave, Kazuki couldn't help but smile.
The weakest Hunter in Tokyo was becoming stronger every single day.
[End of Chapter 13]
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