Chapter 5: First Boss Battle
He didn’t try to block it. He threw himself to the right, executing a rough roll across the cavern floor.
BOOM!
The greatsword crashed into the spot where he had been standing a split second before, shattering the solid rock and sending a shower of sharp stone fragments flying through the air.
A piece of stray rubble sliced across Asher’s bare shoulder, drawing a thin line of red.
[HP: 114 → 110]
The sheer wind pressure from the swing alone threatened to unbalance him.
Back on Earth, the chat log went into hyperdrive. The viewer count hit 550.
[User_Tim99]: THAT DESTRUCTION IS REAL! The floor literally exploded!
[NoobSlayer]: Streamer, get up! It’s recovering!
[MinMax_Andy]: The animation priority on that heavy swing is high. It has a 1.5-second recovery window! Strike now!
Asher didn’t need the chat’s advice to see the opening.
The massive skeleton was still leaning forward, the weight of its greatsword embedded deep in the cracked floor.
Scrambling to his feet, Asher activated [Feline Agility].
The pale blue vapor flared around his ankles, giving him a massive burst of speed.
He closed the distance instantly, his new steel vanguard sword catching the crimson reflection of the crystals as he swung it in a vicious upward arc.
SLASH.
The steel blade bit hard into the creature’s exposed left ribcage.
Dark, weathered bone chips flew into the air, accompanied by a hollow, agonizing screech from the monster’s throat.
[Critical Hit! You have dealt 38 Physical Damage.]
[The Crypt Keeper: 462 / 500 HP]
"It works!" Asher yelled, feeling the clean, solid vibrations travel up his arm from the blade.
The steel sword didn’t bounce off like the iron pipe would have. It dug straight in.
But the boss wasn’t an ordinary monster.
Angered by the strike, the Crypt Keeper abandoned trying to pull its sword out of the ground.
Instead, it violently backhanded Asher with its massive, armored left fist.
Asher saw the blow coming through his gray shadow vision, but he was too close to completely dodge. He raised his left arm in a desperate guard.
BANG.
The heavy skeletal fist slammed into his forearm, throwing him backward across the cave.
He skidded through the mud, his boots leaving long tracks before he managed to stabilize his posture.
His arm felt completely numb, throbbing with intense pain.
[HP: 110 → 78]
[GamerGuyX]: Ouch! That looked like it broke a bone!
[LootGoblin]: 78 HP left! One more hit like that and he’s in the red!
[Whale_Watcher]: Use your leftover 60 SP! Buy another salve right now!
"Not yet," Asher panted, spitting a mouthful of dusty air onto the floor. "If I buy it now, I have to open the jar. The animation takes too long, and he won’t give me three seconds to apply it."
The Crypt Keeper pulled its massive greatsword free from the shattered stone with a loud screech.
The red flames in its eyes flared violently, expanding outward like twin torches.
It raised the blade again, but this time, it didn’t charge blindly. It began to swing the sword in a wide, horizontal circle, creating a literal zone of death around itself.
WHOOSH. WHOOSH.
The blade cut through the air, inches away from the large, blood-red crystals scattered around the room.
Asher’s eyes lit up as he noticed the environment. "That’s it."
Instead of backing away into the narrow tunnel, Asher ran directly toward one of the giant crystal clusters sprouting from the ground.
The Crypt Keeper followed him clank by clank, its horizontal slashes destroying everything in its path.
"Come on, you oversized pile of kindling!" Asher baited, shouting directly into the camera drone to keep the audience’s adrenaline pumping.
The monster swung its greatsword horizontally, aiming to slice Asher in half along with the crystal he was standing next to.
At the exact moment the blade descended, Asher dropped flat onto his stomach, sliding through the slick mud.
CRASH!!!
The massive, rusted greatsword slammed violently into the dense, magical red crystal.
The crystal didn’t shatter, it was far too hard.
Instead, the force of the impact caused the greatsword to violently rebound, vibrating uncontrollably in the skeleton’s grip.
The boss’s massive frame stumbled backward, completely off-balance, its guard wide open.
[Dungeon Boss is staggered! Physical Defense reduced by 40% for 3 seconds.]
[MinMax_Andy]: STAGGERED! REBOUND WINDOW IS OPEN! BURST HIM DOWN!
Asher sprang up from the mud like a coiled spring.
His eyes were entirely focused on the glowing red skull core beneath the shattered helmet.
With a silent roar, he gripped his steel sword with both hands, channeling every bit of his Strength attribute into a single, downward execution strike.
"Break!" Asher roared.
The steel vanguard blade cut straight through the dark red flame of the monster’s eye socket, burying itself deep into the center of the skull.
The bone cracked apart with a loud pop, and the bright crimson fire in its eyes flickered violently before going dark.
The massive skeleton shivered, its joints losing all tension, and it collapsed onto its knees before exploding into a giant cloud of gray ash and shimmering loot particles.
[Dungeon Boss Defeated! Elite Enemy Cleared.]
[Experience Gained. Level 2 → Level 5.]
[All baseline attributes increased by +6.]
[HP and MP fully restored and increased.]
[Character Status Updated]
Level: 5
HP: 240 / 240
MP: 120 / 120
Strength: 17
Agility: 17
Vitality: 15
Intelligence: 18
Perception: 14
Asher stood in the center of the clearing, breathing hard as the golden rings of light from his triple level-up expanded across the stone floor.
The pain in his arm vanished completely, his torn skin sealing up perfectly.
He could feel a profound wave of raw, physical strength pulsing through his chest, making him feel lighter, faster, and significantly denser than before.
In front of him, hovering directly over the pile of dark ash, a massive, golden slot machine manifested out of thin air.
It was three times larger than the previous ones, radiating a brilliant, warm light that illuminated the entire cavern core.
The chat room on Earth broke all previous records.
The viewer count column in his vision rapidly updated, skipping numbers as it surged forward.
[Current Viewers: 1,500]
[User_Tim99]: TOLD YOU! HE DID IT! LEVEL 5!
[LootGoblin]: Look at that massive golden slot machine! That’s the boss extraction wheel!
[NoobSlayer]: SSS-Rank pull incoming! Let’s gooo!
[Whale_Watcher]: I’m dropping a ten-piece on this pull! Spin the wheel!
Ding!
[User_Whale_Watcher sent a Gift Rocket x10! "Give us that SSS-rank gold, streamer!"]
[Received 1000 Stream Points (SP) from User_Whale_Watcher.]
[Current Balance: 1060 SP]
Asher looked up at his total points, a wide grin crossing his dirty face.
The support from Earth was getting serious.
With over a thousand points, he could buy mid-tier gear or high-grade potions whenever he wanted.
But first, he had to roll his reward.
He walked over to the golden machine, reached out his hand, and firmly pulled down the massive holographic lever on the side.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
The giant reels began to spin at an incredible speed, the sound of heavy iron gears echoing through the cave system.
Shimmering colors of white, green, blue, purple, and a blinding, glowing gold blurred together across the screen.
Asher folded his arms, watching the lights reflect in his silver night-vision eyes. "Come on," he muttered under his breath.
"Give me something that completely breaks the early game."
Back on Earth, fifteen hundred people held their breath, staring at their monitors and phones as the digital roulette wheels slowly began to lose their momentum.
Clack... Clack... Clack...
The first wheel slowed down, passing a common stat icon.
The second wheel skipped over a rare skill block.
The third wheel glitched violently, the gears screaming as a brilliant, deep golden aura exploded from the machine, painting the entire cavern in a rich, warm light.
[SSS-Rank Gacha Success! Critical Drop Rate Modifier Triggered.]
[Extracted Mythic-Grade Variant Attribute from The Crypt Keeper: Ironhide (Passive - Rank S)]
[Integrating attribute into host soul...]
"Ugh!"
Asher gritted his teeth as a strange, metallic coldness instantly rushed through his veins.
He looked down at his arms and chest.
For a brief split second, his skin turned a dull, polished charcoal gray, resembling solid, tempered iron plate armor, before fading back into his normal flesh.
He moved his arms, feeling his skin density increase dramatically.
He tapped his forearm with the hilt of his steel sword; a faint, dull metallic thud rang out, rather than the sound of hitting soft skin.
[Passives Updated]: Ironhide (Passive - Rank S) - Permanently increases baseline physical defense by 300%. Grants immunity to low-grade bleeding and laceration effects from F-Rank and E-Rank physical attacks.
"Three hundred percent defense multiplier," Asher whispered, his eyes wide.
With his Vitality stat already boosted by the level-ups, this single passive made him tankier than an entire squad of standard early-game vanguard players.
He wouldn’t even need to dodge low-tier monsters anymore; their claws would literally snap against his bare skin.
[MinMax_Andy]: THREE HUNDRED PERCENT?! Are you seeing these numbers? That’s an unpatched tank passive! He’s a walking fortress at Level 5!
[LootGoblin]: Ironhide! The name sounds so cool! Look at his skin, it literally looked like metal for a second!
[User_Tim99]: Bro, look at the back of the sarcophagus! The exit portal is opening!
Asher turned his attention away from his status screen.
Behind the shattered stone tomb of the Crypt Keeper, a swirling vortex of pale blue magical energy was slowly expanding, humming with a soft power.
[Dungeon Quest Cleared: The Sunken Crypt.]
[Server Exit Portal Active. Step through to register your presence in the starter city of Oakhaven.]
Asher walked over to the edge of the ash pile, picking up a heavy, old metal key that had dropped from the boss.
[Item: Oakhaven Regional Pass (Quest Item)]
Description: Grants entry into the regional hub city.
He slipped the key into his pocket, took a deep breath, and looked back at the hovering camera drone.
His viewer count was still rising, holding strong at over fifteen hundred active lurkers and chatters.
"Well, chat, the starter dungeon is officially cleared," Asher said, resting his steel vanguard sword casually over his right shoulder.
"We got a new passive, a solid level boost, and a clean sword. But this is just the tutorial area. Next stop is Oakhaven, and according to the lore files, that’s where the real players and guilds are."
He stepped up to the edge of the swirling blue portal, the wind from the vortex ruffling his messy hair.
"Thanks for the gifts, thanks for the weapon, and make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already," Asher grinned, stepping directly into the light.
"Chronos is moving to the main map. Don’t go anywhere."
The blue light swallowed him whole, and the dark cavern vanished into a flash of absolute white.
