Rylan pulled his blade out of the back of a ten-winged Golem and wiped his brow, his breathing a bit hurried.

"Now we're talking," he mumbled to himself.

He looked around. The broken bodies of several Golems lay all around him, in the center of the immense room. There were five of them, all maimed or damaged in different ways. One was missing an entire arm, while another had large gashes on its torso. All had had their cores destroyed, snuffing out the life from them.

Rylan sighed and analyzed his current condition. His body was mostly fine, apart from a few cuts, which were still bleeding.

This one was difficult.

He had been forced to push himself to his limits to avoid being injured too much. Both his spells and his sword styles had been crucial, to the point where he might have failed if he hadn't had developed both of them. Still, in the end, he had come out on top, as he always did.

He took a deep breath and jumped to the floor, then landed lightly. Rylan threw a glance over his shoulder at the Golem he'd just defeated. It was the biggest one of the bunch.

It's been some time since I felt like this.

In his past life, his abilities had ramped up extremely quickly from the moment he got Complete Prodigy. The fights where he'd been forced to struggle for his life had happened too long ago. In this life, only Evenon and the Young Basilisk had been real threats, out of which the battle against Evenon had been the one where he'd pushed himself the most.

Now, things were similar. Each Golem was powerful enough on its own, but they were in groups. Not only were they large and heavy, but their defensive capabilities were also great. There was little way to pierce through their shells without a Sword Art.

Rylan was reminded of the battles where he'd been forced to put his life on the line. It made him smile.

I want to see what the Boss is like.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten his reason for being here. He needed to Level up and become stronger for the sake of protecting his family and kingdom from the Empire. The nation was sure to attack sooner rather than later. The clock was ticking at this very moment. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel some excitement at the prospect of facing an enemy more powerful than anything he'd encountered in this life.

Keeping his smile, Rylan dashed toward the other end of the room. This time, there was only a single path. The stairway looked different from all the others; it was made of a different alloy, one Rylan didn't recognize. It shone with a silvery luster. The hallway it led to was also much higher than the previous ones, made of the same alloy. The ceiling was adorned with soft yellow lights that danced in the air.

Rylan threw them a glance, then focused on his destination once more.

Since this is no longer an Open Dungeon, the Boss's emergence can be predicted. Will there be people fighting it?

Once a Dungeon's first Boss was killed and it went from an Open Dungeon to an ordinary one, the System would periodically choose one of the Dungeon's monsters to become the Boss. The problem was that, after some observation, the rate at which it did so could be easily predicted. It was possible to 'camp' Boss rooms.

However, this was, in the end, a Dungeon within Ceotha. Damian was the strongest Mage, and he was only at the Sixth Circle. Based on the level of the Dungeon's enemies, Rylan could infer that raiding this Dungeon's Boss was only possible if there was coordination between several teams of Fifth Circle Mages, each with more than ten Mages. It was possible, but given how empty the Dungeon had been so far, it was extremely unlikely.

I think I'll have the Boss all to myself.

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Rylan smiled again and sped up, right into the silvery corridor. He kept his awareness up, waiting for an ambush or traps, but nothing happened. Instead of speeding up because of the realization that the corridor was safe, he only maintained his pace. It would be best to save up as much energy as possible. At the same time, he kept circulating his mana, mending his own wounds slowly. He looked at the System notification on the edge of his vision.

[Mana Cultivation (Intermediate) is resonating with your skill.]

It had been a System notification that he had started seeing after the tenth day inside the Dungeon.

"At least this one will advance soon," he said to himself.

Finally, after a few minutes of running, the corridor opened up into a rectangular room even larger than any of the previous ones he'd been in. It shone with a silvery glint in its entirety. Rylan immediately surveyed the terrain.

The room looked like a developed laboratory. There were bookshelves and desks lining the room's borders, and a large, magical chandelier in the ceiling. The soft orange lighting gave the laboratory a rather warm atmosphere. The bookshelves were dozens of meters tall, filled to the brim with a variety of books about alchemy and magic, judging by their titles. There was a second floor, where even more bookshelves stood, alongside a large desk covered in papers in its center. Behind it was a comfortable-looking plush chair.

Rylan finished looking around in less than three seconds.

So this is where it all started.

The real heart of the Mage Tower, before it was transformed into a Dungeon. Finally, he looked at the construct that knelt in the middle of the circular open space that was the center of the room.

The Golem seemed to be completely made of gold. Just like the others, it was incredibly tall, standing at around twenty meters tall, according to Rylan's quick analysis. Unlike the others, however, it had no face or clothing and had twelve large, silvery wings on its back. The Golem moved to stand up and look at Rylan, even though it had no eyes.

Rylan let out a breath and readied his sword. Thankfully, there was nobody else in the room. He could fight to his heart's content.

"Come on, then. I have places to be."

They moved at the same time.

Rylan channeled the full might of Snowstorm, dashing to the side diagonally. The Golem shifted its body before three of its immense wings came piercing at Rylan, slicing through the air like well-honed edges. Rylan narrowed his eyes and jumped up, then stepped on the air and pointed his sword at the Golem's feet.

Tide. Frost.

The surrounding mana coalesced into liquid and flowed toward the Golem's legs as a layer of frost spread, making the combination of spells look like flowing ice. The Golem only moved its left foot a bit further back and pulled back its left hand. As it closed into a fist, Rylan widened his eyes.

In the next second, the Golem lunged forward and punched at him, its feet getting through the ice with nothing but brute force. Its fist pierced through the air like an arrow, much faster than it had any right to be. Even with Snowstorm, Rylan just barely managed to dodge the attack by rising as quickly as he could. The air crackled and made a snapping sound as the fist stopped. From above, Rylan looked at the Golem and gripped Silver Twilight's hilt tighter.

A full-fledged Boss of a Dungeon at the level of the Fifth Circle.

Even though the Young Basilisk had been dangerous, it was mainly because of its ability to petrify. Its physical stats had been impressive, but not overwhelming. It was different from this Golem. To top it all off, he still remembered how Damian had said the Golem could use magic. Rylan furrowed his brow.

This will be difficult.

But it was what he expected and wanted. He grinned. It was time for him to truly push himself and see what he could do.

The Golem pulled down its other fist, readying what looked like an uppercut. Rylan only moved his mana in response.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

His mana swirled within him, then left his body to create an ethereal blade around Silver Twilight, its edge crackling like lightning. Rylan added the finishing touch.

Lesser Lightning.

The mana's energy became real. Now coated in true lightning, the blade was swung down. The Golem punched up. It took less than a second for the two attacks to connect. Rylan felt like he'd hit a landslide or a tidal wave.

But he could overcome it.

His muscles tensed up as he put his full strength behind the attack, his feet using the atmosphere for support and balance. With gritted teeth, he only pushed. Simultaneously, the Golem Boss shifted its body, but because of the attack it had chosen, it failed to put its entire weight behind the blow. Rylan took full advantage of this as he tested his own Strength against the Boss's. As the Boss was shifting its weight again, an opening appeared. It was minute and almost imperceptible, but Rylan's experienced eyes grasped it.

Now.

Rylan moved his feet, jumping to the side. His blade slid on the surface of the enemy's fist as it rose, damaging it. Without missing a beat, Rylan pushed against the air, shooting toward the Golem's faceless head as quickly as possible. Naturally, his enemy didn't stay still. Two sets of wings folded in front of its face, right in front of Rylan.

The ethereal blade hit them with a deafening clash.

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