The Fourth floor changed when the last monster died.
Kael felt it before he saw, the air grew heavier thicker as if the tower itself had taken a breath and decided not to release it. The faint mana which was already non existent now it suddenly stopped moving, freezing in a place like stagnant water.
Kael stood alone in the broken plaza where his dagger was lowered he felt his chest rising and falling.
A final system message hovered before him.
[Monster Elimination Rate: 95%]
[Condition Met]
Kael frowned "Condition Met ??".
The ground trembled.
Not violently, not like an earthquake but it was slow deliberate and measured. As if something massive was shifting beneath the floor testing its weight deciding whether it was worth standing up.
Then the message changed.
[Warning]
[Dormant Entity - Awakening]
Kael heartbeat skipped.
"Damm it how come there's the boss in 4rth floor, I know it was just an Urban legend and just rumors, but it really awakened and this author wants to add plot twists whenever he wants"
His grip tightened instinctively around the dagger even though he already knew how useless it would be. Over the last few hours he already grown stronger and reached level 10. He still had 15 undistributed stats remaining. His control over line drawer was sharper, cleaner and less stressful. Tap had become his second nature.
Eraser... I'm still getting used to it.
But none of that mattered because this wasn't a normal boss like in the fifth floor, this is completely different level.
The towers fourth floor ground stone cracked.
A deep ancient sound echoed through the forest like grinding mountains. The ruins at the far end collapsed inward as something enormous pushed through them, stone breaking against flesh that looked more like blackened iron than skin.
A figure emerged , it was humanoid but it had some beast like structures on its body.
It was tall - too tall like 15ft , it had the height of a giraffe.
Its proportions were wrong, stretched, distorted like a statue carved by someone who had never seen a human before, its surface was layered with overlapping plates of dark stone etched with faint faded runes.
Its head slowly turned and its eyes locked onto Kael.
It didn't roar, but its presence itself was so overwhelming and strong.
The system window appeared a split second later.
[Dormant Entity - Floor 4]
[Unique Boss - The Warden of Silence]
[Status - Awakened from Slumber of 50 years]
Kael blood turned cold "Its a unique boss, there are different levels of bosses , starting from Common, Uncommon, Rare, Elite, Unique, Epic, Legendary, Mythic, Planet, Cosmic, Universal. And now I'm facing the boss of Unique boss now in 4rth floor, even 5th floor is just of Common Level"
The sky above the forest, it it could be called sky collapsed inward forming a spiraling vortex of dark energy. Pressure crashed down on him like a physical force forcing him to his knees.
Kael Gritted his teeth and body aching because of the pressure falling on him.
"This boss is too strong, how am I supposed to defeat it and there is no way to escape from here!!"
The boss came near and Kael can clearly see a crown of broken slabs floated above its skull.
The Warden of Silence sees Kael
[Target Identified]
[Anomaly Confirmed]
Kael staggered back "Damm, it knows!!!"
The Warden moved and it simply stepped forward and the ground exploded.
Kael barely had time to react, he threw his hand up and drew the line instinctively.
A glowing boundary formed and shattered instantly.
The backlash sent Kael flying.
"----Ghk!!!"
He slammed into a broken pillar pain erupting through his ribs, blood filled his mouth.
[Lost 89 HP]
Too strong, way too strong.
"Okay" he coughed forcing himself upright "So that's how its going to be"
"I need to distribute my stats now otherwise I will die now, damm it which damm novel which had main characters told that hold the stats till the end, its meant to be added as soon as you get it!!"
[Strength 10 -> 13]
[Agility 11 -> 16]
[Control 20 -> 27]
Ethan felt the power surging in his body, for now surviving is the most important right now.
The warden raised an arm and the runes along its body flared.
A wave of compressed mana tore through the forest.
Kael began to run but not blindly but being more calculated.
He drew lines at angles not to black but to redirect. Dark energy waves bent slightly carving trenches instead of obliterating him outright.
Minor control kicked and it raised the proficiency of line drawing talent.
He adjusted the thickness, the curvature, the timing.
Still each impact sent tremors through his body. Its a heavy recoil damage [Lost 67 health]
Kael skidded across the stone, his boots were burning and his arms were numb and paining.
The warden advanced again, slower this time, observing, learning.
Kael tapped the energy flow so that he try to get the information of the Unique boss.
[Warden of Silence - Unique Boss
Subordinate of ??????
Level - 50
HP: 10,000/10,000
Mana: 5000/5000
Strength : ???
Agility: 6??
Intelligence: ????
Dark Energy: ???
Skills: ??????????
Weakness: Movement Delay after high output attacks and low regeneration due to sudden awakening
Threat: Lethal , better to run and escape]
"What Level 50 , why is a level 50 boss here in floor 4, Unique level bosses are completely out of league and whats with the question marks, and from the stats yess its three digits way more overwhelming and its HP and Mana pool are huge, how to escape from here, Only way is to run towards Fourth floor entry or exit, but which way is it????"
Kael drew three lines in rapid succession stepping on them midair, using them as platforms to see the surroundings to find the entry or exit.
But the Warden moved too fast and slammed him down.
[Remaining health 89/200]
[Warning Low Health]
Out of desperation Kael went behind the boss and immediately erased a section of the ground beneath its foot.
The stone vanished, the warden stumbled for the first time.
Kael's eye widened.
"It worked....yess I need to escape as fast as possible from here and find the exit please!!!"
But before he could rejoice something went wrong.
The erased space resisted.
Kael felt a pressure push back against his mind, like the tower itself disapproved.
A sharp pain stabbed behind his eyes.
"---Tch"
[Remaining HP 50/200]
[Warning!!] [Warning!!!}
He staggered, the warden recovered instantly turning with terrifying precision.
Its arm transformed stone flowing like liquid into a massive blade.
Kael barely raised a line in time.
The impact shattered it.
Recoil damage detonated through his body.
He hit the ground hard, vision blurring.
His HP dropped dangerously low.
The warden loomed over him, its eye burning brighter.
Kael laughed weakly "So this is it huh? this is how I die after being chosen by the architect, for once I thought I was the main character, but its all false?!!!"
No.
Not yet.
He clenched his fist.
"I didn't come this far just to get flattened by something who woke up so late and I've been constantly grinding even my talents and skills were trash F- from the beginning"
His mind raced, lines could block but not against this monster, Tap could analyze but its not helpful right now, eraser could remove.
But none of them were meant to kill something like this.
Unless...
Kael gaze flicked to his hand.
To the faint shimmering outline of a line hovering in the air.
"What if" he whispered breath shaky "I stop thinking of it as a wall?"
The warden raised its blade.
Kael forced himself upright, ignoring the pain screaming through every nerve.
"What if a line doesn't have to be a boundary..."
He drew one, thin, straight and perfect
"What if it can cut?"
The line trembled, eraser reacted but not activated yet, but its responding to Kael thoughts.
The air around the line distorted.
The Warden paused.
For the first time uncertainty flickered in Wardens eye.
Kael took a breadth.
And thought....
Can a line be a sword?
The world seemed to hold still.
The line sharpened.