CHAPTER 203: RUNIC GAURDIAN

Chapter 200: Runic Gaurdian

The hidden passage was a stark contrast to the labyrinth we had left behind.

The damp, mossy-green corridors of the maze were replaced by a perfectly-cut, dry, and unnervingly silent tunnel.

The walls were smooth, dark stone, and the only light came from our own mana-buffs. Kaelen, his hands still trembling slightly from the shock of the wall-break, cast a low-level [Holy Light] orb that floated above our heads, casting long, stark shadows.

We walked in silence for several minutes, the only sound the scrape of Alex’s shield and our own breathing. The tunnel sloped gently downwards, the air growing colder, drier, tinged with the ancient, dusty smell of a place that hadn’t seen life in millennia.

"Where... where are we, Chief?" Alex finally whispered, his voice echoing unnaturally in the narrow space.

"We’re in a maintenance tunnel," I replied, my voice low. "Or a smuggler’s path. Something the Tower’s creators built and then sealed away."

’In the game, this was known as the ’Dev’s Shortcut,’ a hidden route the developers put in to quickly test the Floor 4 puzzle, but forgot to remove before launch. It bypassed the entire rest of the labyrinth and led directly to the Sub-Boss antechamber.’

"So, we skip the rest of the floor?" Kaelen asked, his voice filled with relief.

"We skip the trash mobs," I clarified. "We don’t skip the guardian. This path leads straight to the ’secret’ boss. The one guarding the real exit."

That brought the tension back. A ’secret’ boss sounded far more dangerous than the bats and slimes we’d been fighting.

"A-a secret boss?" Kaelen stammered.

"Don’t worry," I said, not looking back. "It’s just an F-Rank."

"But... you called it a boss," Alex pointed out, his logic sound.

"F-Rank Boss," I corrected. "There’s a difference. Stay sharp."

The tunnel ended abruptly, opening into a small, perfectly circular chamber. It was about thirty meters across, the ceiling a high, dark dome. The air here was clean, still. In the center of the room, standing as motionless as a statue, was our target.

It was a Mini-Golem. It stood about three meters tall, a little larger than an Ogre, and was constructed of interlocking plates of dark, runic-etched stone. It had no head, just a single, glowing blue rune in the center of its chest that served as its eye and its core. It was currently dormant, its stone arms hanging limply at its sides.

"That’s it?" Seraphina whispered, her voice a mix of contempt and caution. She had been unnervingly quiet since my "flawed rune" display. The archer who had mocked my every move was now silently observing, her mind clearly trying to reconcile the commoner she thought she knew with the cold, prophetic strategist who stood before her. "It’s just a piece of rock."

"It’s an F-Rank Runic Guardian," I said. "Its physical defense is absolute. Your arrows will bounce off. Our blades will blunt. It’s immune to Gideon’s corpse-magic, and Kaelen’s holy magic won’t hurt it."

"Then how do we fight it?" Alex asked, his shield already raised.

I pointed at the Golem’s body. "Look at it. It’s not one solid piece. It’s plates of stone, held together by bindings. See the joints? The elbows, the knees, the shoulders? They’re held by glowing, pressurized runic seals."

My game knowledge was crystal clear. ’The Mini-Golem’s stone chassis has 5000 DEF, making it immune to all F-Rank and most E-Rank attacks. But the joints have 0 DEF. They are a pure HP-pool. It’s a classic "break the joints" boss fight. A test of precision, not power.’

"Our target is the joints," I said, laying out the strategy. "This is a rhythm-fight. Alex, you’re the metronome. You will engage it, but you will not just stand there. Your job is to make it swing and miss. Its attacks are slow, telegraphed, but they hit like a truck. If it hits you, Kaelen heals. But if it misses..."

"That’s our opening," Seraphina finished, her eyes gleaming as she understood. Her fingers were already dancing, selecting a thin, armor-piercing bodkin arrow from her quiver.

"Exactly," I nodded. "When it over-extends after a swing, its joints will be exposed for about two seconds. That’s our window. Seraphina, you are the surgeon. You will hit nothing but the glowing runes at the knees and elbows. Twins, you support Seraphina. When it’s focused on Alex, you dart in, hit the back of its legs, and get out. Gideon, you’re on debuff duty. Its joints are magic, not flesh. Hit them with [Taint]. Slow them down. Kaelen, Alex is your only priority. Keep him standing."

The team snapped into their roles, a new, focused energy replacing their earlier shock. They had a plan. They had a leader who, despite all logic, seemed to know everything.

"I’ll initiate," I said. I drew Draken, my own form a stark contrast to Alex’s heavy-armor-and-shield setup. I was the ’off-tank.’ "Alex, on my mark."

I took a deep breath and activated [Swift Step], blurring forward. I didn’t attack the Golem, just ran straight past its shoulder, close enough to trigger its aggro.

KRRR-UUUMMMBLE...

The sound of grinding rock filled the chamber. The Golem’s central blue rune flared to life, its glowing eye fixing on me. Its massive stone arms rose, and it pivoted with a speed that belied its size.

"[Rock Slam]!"

Its fist, the size of a carriage wheel, came crashing down where I had been a split-second before. I was already back at the entrance, my heart hammering.

BOOM!

The stone floor shattered, sending spiderwebs of cracks through the ground.

"Alex! It’s on me! Take aggro! NOW!" I yelled.

Alex roared, charging forward and slamming his tower shield into the Golem’s side with a deafening CLANG. "[Shield Bash]!"

The Golem staggered, its attention snapping from me to the new, more immediate threat. It turned, its movements slow but deliberate, and raised its other fist to bring it down on Alex.

"Hold!" Alex bellowed, planting his feet, his E-Rank mana flaring to reinforce his shield.

"Kaelen!" I commanded.

Kaelen’s staff was already glowing. A shimmering [Protection] buff wrapped around Alex just as the Golem’s fist descended.

CRASH!

The impact was devastating. Alex’s shield held, but just barely. A visible crack splintered across its wooden face, and Alex himself was driven to one knee, his teeth gritted, his entire body shaking from the shock.

"Gah...!"

"He’s over-extended!" I roared. "NOW! SERAPHINA! GIDEON!"

Seraphina was already at full draw. TWANG! Her bodkin arrow, precise as a surgeon’s scalpel, flew across the room and embedded itself deep into the glowing runic seal at the Golem’s right elbow.

Simultaneously, Gideon’s hand shot out. A wisp of green-black energy, his [Taint] spell, latched onto the same joint.

The Golem roared, a sound like a mountain grinding its teeth. It tried to raise its arm for another strike, but the movement was visibly slower, jerky. The joint was damaged, the magic corrupted.

"It works! It works!" Kaelen cried out.

"Don’t celebrate! Alex, get up! Make it swing again!" I ordered.

Alex, fueled by adrenaline, roared and slammed his shield into the Golem’s leg. The Golem, enraged, pivoted and swung its "good" arm at him. Alex, anticipating it, didn’t try to block this time. He just... ducked.

The massive stone fist sailed over his head.

"Twins! Left knee!" I shouted.

Finn and Freya, who had been waiting in the shadows, became a blur. Their daggers, coated in their own weak mana, flashed as they darted in and raked across the back of the Golem’s exposed left knee-joint. They were back in the shadows before the Golem even registered the attack.

"Seraphina! Same joint!"

TWANG!

Another arrow, another perfect hit. The Golem’s left leg buckled, its stone plates grinding together. It was slow, crippled, and fighting a team that was moving like a single, multi-limbed organism, all directed by my voice.

The fight found its rhythm.

"Alex, bait the slam!"

CRASH!

"Seraphina, right shoulder!"

TWANG!.

"Kaelen, keep Alex’s stamina up! He’s flagging!"

A wave of green energy flowed into Alex, steadying his trembling legs.

"Twins, in! Go for the back!"

A flurry of daggers.

"Gideon, [Miasma]! Slow its pivot!"

A green cloud enveloped the Golem’s feet.

We were dismantling it, piece by piece. Alex, growing bolder, was no longer just blocking; he was dodging, parrying, using his shield not as a wall, but as a tool to create the openings I commanded. Kaelen was healing with a steady, confident focus. And Seraphina... she was terrifying. Every shot was a critical hit, her earlier frustration channeled into pure, cold, lethal precision. She hadn’t missed once.

After five minutes of this grueling, precise rhythm, the Golem was a wreck. Both its arms were slow, its legs were shattered, and it could barely turn. It was a dying beast, its central rune flickering weakly.

"Team, fall back!" I commanded. They scrambled away, forming a circle.

I walked forward alone, channeling my own mana into Draken. The dark blade hummed, coated in a shimmering layer of my [Frost Edge] skill.

The Golem’s eye fixed on me, its last remaining threat. It raised its broken arm for one final, desperate slam.

"Too slow," I said, and activated [Swift Step]. I blurred past its attack, my icy blade tracing a single, clean, horizontal line.

"[Heaven Splitter]."

The blade passed directly through the Golem’s central rune.

For a moment, the Golem froze. The blue light in its core flared brightly, then extinguished with a sound like a dying sigh.

KRRR... CRUMBLE...

The Runic Guardian fell apart, its stone plates clattering to the floor in a heap of inert, mossy rubble.

[Secret F-Rank Boss: Runic Guardian - Defeated!]

[BONUS: First Kill Achieved.]

[BONUS: Flawless Strategy (No Eleminate Member Taken by DPS/Support).]

The chamber was silent, save for the heavy panting of my team. Alex collapsed onto his backside, his cracked shield clattering beside him. He was grinning from ear to ear. Kaelen was slumped against the wall, but he, too, was smiling.

Seraphina slowly lowered her bow, her shoulders trembling slightly from the sustained effort. She looked at the pile of rubble, then at her own hands, then at me.

I walked over to the center of the debris and picked up the two items that remained.

The first was a large, pulsating C-Rank mana core. The second, however... it was a gleaming, ingot of dark, F-Grade metal, its surface etched with faint, swirling patterns.

[Loot Acquired: F-Grade Runic Steel (Rare Crafting Material)]

I turned and tossed the ingot to Alex. It landed in his lap with a heavy thud.

He stared at it. "Chief... what’s this?"

"That," I said, "is for your shield. Find a smith at the Rest Stop. That material, combined with your E-Rank mana, should be enough to reinforce it."

Alex’s eyes, wide and disbelieving, filled with tears.

This material was worth a fortune, enough to buy a new C-Rank shield outright. And I had just... given it to him.

"I... I can’t accept this, Chief," he stammered.

"You were the MVP, Alex," I said, my voice firm, leaving no room for argument.

"You took the hits. You held the line. You earned the reward. That’s how this team works. We reward performance, not rank."

I looked at Seraphina. Her complex expression—a mixture of shock, confusion, and a strange, dawning respect—was worth more than any loot drop.

I had just demonstrated my leadership philosophy in a way she couldn’t refute.

I sheathed Draken.

"Rest for five minutes. We’re moving to the next floor."

(To be Continue)