Dungeon Diver: Stealing a Monster's Power

Chapter 182

"A potion... You're a human aren't you...? Now... this is quite a surprise."

I finish my bottle, replying through my link.

"I am, and you're the Lower-Floor Boss are you not?"

It pauses for a moment, then lets out a slow laugh.

"I am. Straight to business it is. You're the first one in over half a century to challenge this floor using those unique skills. Telepathy and a Plundering Ability... from a human..."

It laughs loudly and slowly while I grit my teeth, continuing to sidestep through the tables, trying to get a good angle on the monster as it walks around crushing more and more stone tiles with each step showing no urgency to fight me.

It seems this monster has some self-control. Most Bosses are mindless beasts that attack anything in sight. This one seems to have free will.

It doesn't matter much to me though.

I reply.

"That's all I needed to hear. You're the Boss, so I'll defeat you."

I watch the Knight shaped shadow gaze up at the ceiling, fully exposing its left side. I air-step forward, aiming my charged sword directly at its weak spot.

It's standing in the middle of the banquet hall without a weapon or a shield... It has let its guard down because it thought I was on its side.

This is the perfect time to strike.

I let out a 1000MP slash from less than 10 meters away just moments after it speaks its last word. The dark crescent of fire rockets toward the Floor Boss without making a sound.

It doesn't move a muscle, the Boss just stands completely still... Blissfully unaware of my deadly approaching strike.

As my attack gets closer, I feel the ground rumble beneath my feet.

The stone tiles next to the shadowy outline begin to ripple like water and the perfectly square-shaped flooring begins to twist and turn.

With my All-Seeing Eye active, I watch mana pour out of the monster's arms and legs saturating the floor below it.

The air and dungeon mass all around this creature waves and churns as my attack nears.

The stone floor rises from the ground in a liquid form, wrapping around the dark figure's legs and climbing up its torso.

My eyes widen as I watch its entire body become covered in a thick layer of stone. Mana threads are weaved in and out of the material in such a fine grid-like pattern that I can barely tell the difference between a mana shield and the rock it's manipulating into a stone suit of armor.

Now, standing over 4 meters tall, a grey suit of stone armor turns to me. It molds its right arm into a double-sided stone blade to counter my incoming attack.

It coats its weapon in a dense layer of shielding and thrusts it upwards as my black blade makes contact with its stone armor. Without a hint of resistance, my incoming strike is deflected into the sky.

It spins out of control, cutting through the glass ceiling above and flying off into the Dungeon's open air.

I gulp, as I just witnessed all of this go down in fractions of a second...

This monster went from a defenseless shadow talking smack, to a Stone Knight ready for war.

The Deep voice of the Floor Boss rings out in my head again.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get. You better not waste my time. With skills like yours, and the nerve of you to come in here with another Labyrinth's Dragon, you better put up a good fight."

The stone armor covering its left arm shifts into a sharp blade as well. A small slit in its stone helmet opens up and dense red fog pours out. I still can't see the monster's eyes, but I know it's staring right at me.

So I glare back.

Glossy sharp blades of stone line both of its arms, and they're dripping with dense mana. Similar to my own sword...

Not only are its bladed arms leaking mana-dense aura, but the entire rest of its body is covered in shielding intertwined with its mana-manipulation ability.

It's nothing like the shielding I saw from any monsters before, not even like Fisher's when I tested my strike back on Floor 10.

Most shielding is invisible to the naked eye. I'm only able to perceive it because of my All-Seeing Eye ability.

This shielding is glowing crimson-red, bright as day. Even without the use of my perception ability active. I'd be able to see its defenses without a problem.

The blood-red glowing stone-covered Knight takes a step forward. I expect it to crack the floor beneath its feet, but the ripping water-like visual appears again as it seemingly bounces off the floor.

In the blink of an eye, the creature lunges toward me with its bladed arms pointed at my neck.

I Dungeon Walk backward about 20 meters the moment my battle instincts kick in. Opening my link with Ember, I give the order that starts our brawl.

"Run. This is a battle between the Floor Boss and me. It has two skills that I'll need for future fights, and I want to defeat it fair and square then steal its power."

My eyes light.

From across the room, the Stone Knight comes charging toward me. Its red glow reflects in my eyes as my battle-obsessed grin creeps across my face.

I run forward as Ember flaps his wings to fly high up into the open air of the large banquet hall.

The battle against the Lower-Floor Boss begins. Soon I'll find out why this beast is called... The Behemoth.