The clash of the blades resounded repeatedly as the dark metal struck the steel of the knight's blade. I gritted my teeth and fiercened my attack, slowly pushing the boss backwards. The cobblestones below my feet cracked with a sound like thunder as my blade sped up into a blur. The blades whistled through the air with a sound like the wind through a canyon, aiming to strike the other, only to be barely stopped by another blade. Roka could do nothing but stand and watch in bewilderment as I single-handedly faced down the foe in front of me. I attacked with a downwards slash coming from the right, but I connected with nothing but air. I stumbled forward a little due to my overcompensation from the missed attack.
The boss had leapt upwards, and with a war cry, it flew downwards towards me, his blade trailing a dark crimson light. I gritted my teeth and raised my blade to block the attack, but I was still forced to my knees by the force of the attack. The knight leapt backwards to maintain the distance between us.
With a snarl, he raised his fingers into a point and a blood red dot appeared at the end of it. My eyes widened and I leapt to the side, barely in time to dodge the attack. The floor where the red laser had struck no longer existed, and I assumed the same would happen to me if I wasn't careful.
I flicked my hand upward, and at the same time activated the Earth Formation skill. A ball of stone rose from the ground and trapped the boss temporarily in a sphere of earthen origin. I then activated another one of my skills, one I had yet to use, Gigantification. My body swelled to massive proportions, until I towered over the boss that had just broken free from his stone prison.
The boss looked upwards into the shadow of my towering body, and the foot rushing down towards him. He began to scream, but it was slowly cut off as my massive heel ground his body into the ground. I moved my foot, and noticed the boss still had most of his health had been reduced, and he was now nearing the 25% threshold. I smiled sheepishly. What a tough bastard. But no matter, another stomp will finish this once and for all.
I raised my foot once again to finish the job, and with a crash, my foot slammed into the figure lying on the ground. With a crack, the body lying on the ground crumbled to dust. Wait, bodies don't do that, so that means...
"You bastard, using a dirty trick like increasing your size! Take this!!!" the boss yelled and slashed his sword up and down my back, where I couldn't reach him. I screamed and collapsed to the ground with a massive boom.
Skill "Gigantification" has been canceled.
I groaned in immense pain as the boss stalked over to me, raising his sword to deal the finishing blow. Is this really how it ends? I closed my eyes and prepared myself for what was coming. I heard Roka scream, and then the dull thunk of a sword piercing through clothing and into flesh. With a gasp, I flew to my feet, only to see Roka's small figure impaled on the boss's blade like a shish kebab. I collapsed to my knees in shock and stared at the dull, cobbled ground. A thump sounded next to me, and I slowly looked over to see Roka's body laying on the stones to my side. With the last of her strength, she turned her head towards me.
"Th... nk... ou... mas... r..." her lips slowly formed the words, blood bubbling out of her mouth. "Go... with... out... me... Make... me... prou...." The life left her eyes and her head slumped down to the floor. I yelled and cried, cried about the unfairness of the situation and yelled out for my friend's life. Tears streaming down my face, I slowly got to my feet.
Immense anger and sadness has unlocked a power hidden within you.
The Demon Lord has taken an interest in you.
You have unlocked the new skill "Berserk".
The boss laughed. Laughed about the death of my comrade. "Looks like she wasn't up to snuff. I'm sorry, but this is the end for you." The blade raised, ready to end me for the second time today. For a moment, I pondered allowing that blade to fall on me, to split me in two, and to take me away from this cruel world. But I quickly dismissed the thought. Allowing myself to die here would be an insult to Roka's memory.
"H-huh? How did you... What?" The boss tried to yank his blade free from my grip, but it didn't budge. I stood up slowly and raised my head to meet the frightened eyes of the knight who killed my friend.
"I won't ever forgive you for this... Not you, this Tower, or the people who control it. I swear, I'll KILL THEM ALL!!!"
Red lightning began to crackle and flash as I activated my newly acquired skill, Berserk. Then, everything faded to black.
When I awakened, I was on the floor of the boss arena, the cracked cobblestones below jutting into my back and further increasing the pain from the slashes I received earlier. To my right was the body of my fallen comrade, and to the left was a pile of items, including a massive broadsword that resembled a meat cleaver and shining silver armor. I stumbled over to the items and shoved them all into my inventory before collapsing onto the floor out of exhaustion. I crawled my way over to the boss gate and clicked 'yes' to the system prompt that appeared to ask if I wanted to return. As the white light engulfed my body, I wondered whether climbing this tower was really worth the pain and suffering. It was a question I had a feeling that I wouldn't answer for a long time.
