Chapter 2: Almost Died!?
1215 Words
The moment Iron Fang charged, the air itself seemed to scream.
Its massive body surged forward like a living siege weapon, iron plates grinding against each other with a deafening screech. Each step cracked the stone floor beneath its feet, leaving spiderweb fractures in its wake.
Shidō moved.
Not back.
Sideways.
The guardian’s iron-clad fist slammed into the ground where Shidō had stood a split second earlier. Stone exploded outward, shards flying like shrapnel. One fragment grazed Shidō’s cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
He didn’t react.
His eyes stayed locked on the boss.
Too fast for its size, Shidō noted. Too much power.
Iron Fang roared again and swung its arm in a wide arc.
Shidō ducked under the swing, feeling the pressure tear through the air above his head. He slipped past the monster’s flank and drove his fist into a gap between the iron plates at its waist.
Pain exploded through his knuckles.
“—!”
The impact barely staggered the guardian.
Instead, Iron Fang twisted unnaturally fast and backhanded him.
The blow landed.
Shidō felt his body lift off the ground.
The world spun violently as he crashed into the far wall, stone crumbling beneath the impact. His back screamed in agony. The breath was torn from his lungs as he slid down, knees buckling.
He coughed.
Blood splattered onto the floor.
“…Tch.”
His vision blurred for a moment.
Warning messages flashed briefly at the edge of his sight.
HP: 63 / 100
So one hit had taken more than a third of his health.
Shidō pushed himself up before Iron Fang could close the distance.
Standing hurt.
Breathing hurt.
Every nerve in his body screamed that this was wrong—that this was impossible—that a human body should not be fighting something like this with bare hands.
But Shidō ignored it all.
“Direct confrontation is suicide,” he muttered.
Iron Fang charged again, faster this time, its serrated jaws snapping open as if eager to tear him apart.
Shidō ran.
He darted sideways, sprinting along the edge of the chamber, keeping his movements unpredictable. The guardian followed, smashing through stone pillars with raw force. Debris rained down, filling the air with dust.
Shidō leapt onto a fallen pillar, using it as a foothold to change direction abruptly.
Iron Fang miscalculated.
Its claws slammed into the stone where Shidō had been.
Shidō seized the opening and struck again—this time aiming for the joint behind the monster’s knee.
The hit landed.
The iron plates dented slightly.
Iron Fang staggered for half a second.
Not enough.
The guardian twisted and slammed its knee upward, catching Shidō midair.
Crack.
Shidō felt something fracture.
His body flew again, crashing hard against the ground this time. The impact knocked the air from his lungs completely. He rolled across the floor, pain blinding him.
Another cough.
More blood.
HP: 41 / 100
So this was how it ended?
No.
Shidō clenched his teeth and forced himself to stand.
His legs trembled.
His ribs burned.
Every instinct screamed at him to retreat, to hide, to survive another way.
But there was nowhere to run.
No exits.
No allies.
Only the boss.
Iron Fang advanced slowly now, its massive form casting a long shadow over Shidō. It dragged one claw along the floor, sparks flying where metal scraped stone.
It was toying with him.
Analyzing him.
Waiting.
“Arrogant,” Shidō muttered, wiping blood from his lips.
That arrogance would be its death.
Shidō closed his eyes for half a second.
Think.
Brute force won’t work. Speed alone isn’t enough. I don’t have weapons.
So what do I have?
His eyes snapped open.
Environment.
Weak points.
Patience.
Iron Fang lunged again.
Shidō didn’t dodge immediately.
He waited.
At the last possible moment, he threw himself sideways, letting the guardian’s jaws slam shut inches from his head. The shockwave cracked the stone beneath them.
Shidō rolled and grabbed a loose iron shard from the floor—one torn from Iron Fang’s armor during its rampage.
A weapon.
Crude, but sharp.
Iron Fang turned.
Too slow.
Shidō leapt forward and drove the shard into the gap beneath the guardian’s jaw.
The metal pierced flesh.
Iron Fang howled, stumbling back.
Black blood poured from the wound.
Shidō didn’t hesitate.
He yanked the shard free and stabbed again. And again. Each strike precise, targeting the same vulnerable point.
Iron Fang roared in fury and slammed its fist down.
Shidō was too close to escape.
The blow hit him squarely.
The world shattered.
Shidō’s body was smashed into the ground with crushing force. The impact caved the stone beneath him, creating a shallow crater.
Pain overwhelmed everything.
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t move.
HP: 12 / 100
So this was it.
The edge.
Iron Fang loomed above him, raising its foot.
One stomp would end everything.
Shidō’s vision darkened.
His thoughts slowed.
But even now—on the verge of death—his mind refused to surrender.
If I die here, it ends.
If I live…
He smiled faintly.
“…I win.”
The system chimed.
[ CRITICAL CONDITION ]
HP BELOW 15%
Emergency Response Available
Another blue screen appeared.
Activate Skill: Precision Strike?
Status: Locked
Unlock Condition: Intent to Kill
Shidō laughed weakly.
“So that’s it.”
Iron Fang’s foot descended.
Shidō forced every remaining ounce of will into a single thought.
Kill.
The world slowed.
The blue screen shattered like glass.
Something inside him snapped into place.
[ SKILL UNLOCKED ]
Precision Strike (Active)
Effect: All damage focused on a single vital point
Shidō moved.
His body surged upward, ignoring pain, ignoring damage. He slipped beneath Iron Fang’s descending foot and drove the iron shard upward with everything he had.
Straight into the wound beneath its jaw.
The shard pierced deep.
Deeper.
Until it struck something solid.
The guardian froze.
Then it screamed.
Iron Fang staggered violently, claws scraping uselessly against the stone as black blood poured from its neck. Its movements became erratic, uncoordinated.
Shidō didn’t stop.
He climbed.
Using the guardian’s armor as footholds, he forced himself upward, stabbing repeatedly, widening the wound. Blood drenched him, hot and thick.
Iron Fang tried to grab him.
Too slow.
Shidō reached the guardian’s head and plunged the shard directly into its eye.
The scream cut off.
Iron Fang collapsed.
The massive body crashed to the ground, shaking the entire chamber.
Silence followed.
Shidō fell with it, landing hard on the stone floor.
He lay there, chest heaving, vision swimming.
HP: 5 / 100
Barely alive.
But alive.
A chime echoed loudly through the chamber.
[ FLOOR 1 CLEARED ]
Boss Defeated: Gate Guardian – Iron Fang
EXP GAINED
LEVEL UP
Shidō laughed weakly, blood staining his teeth.
“…Almost died,” he whispered.
The blue screen appeared again.
Level: 2
HP: 120 / 120
Skill Acquired: Precision Strike
His wounds began to close slowly, pain fading into dull exhaustion.
Shidō pushed himself up, standing amid the corpse of the fallen guardian.
He looked at his bloodied hands.
No fear.
No regret.
Only clarity.
“This tower,” he said quietly, purple eyes gleaming, “is going to regret underestimating me.”
A new door opened ahead.
Floor 2 awaited.
Shidō stepped forward.
- Writer
