SSS-Rank: All My Skills Are at Level 100

The heavy stone door creaked open with a groan, grinding against the dungeon floor like the sigh of some ancient beast.

Silas narrowed his eyes and stepped through, the metal scent of blood already clinging to the back of his throat.

Inside, the mini-boss chamber was nothing like the rest of the dungeon.

Dense fog blanketed the ground, swirling around his ankles like a living thing. Every breath he took felt thick, saturated with magic.

The air crackled—no birds, no wind, no sound. Just the eerie pulse of something waiting… watching.

Silas kept his steps slow and deliberate, his grip tightening around the hilt of his plain iron sword.

His boots crunched softly over gravel and broken roots hidden beneath the mist. He didn't say a word. Didn't need to. Whatever was in here… already knew.

Then—whoosh.

A sharp gust tore through the chamber like a predator's breath. The fog peeled back, revealing the arena.

What lay ahead made Silas freeze.

The Alpha Direfang.

A beast at least three meters long, its body twisted with grotesque muscle and dense bone plating jutting from its spine like jagged armor.

Its fur was a deep, oily black, streaked with bloodstains and dirt. Faint red veins pulsed along its limbs, glowing beneath the skin like molten iron.

Its eyes opened slowly—intelligent, hungry, and… aware.

The moment their gazes met, the Direfang let out a guttural growl, its hackles raised. Then it howled, a long, soul-piercing cry that shook the chamber walls.

"Yeah," Silas muttered, exhaling a foggy breath. "That's my cue."

The Direfang charged.

Silas's instincts screamed at him to run, but instead he dashed backward, narrowly avoiding the beast's first swipe. Claws like daggers tore through where he'd been just seconds ago.

"System," he whispered. "Talk to me. Weaknesses?"

[Scanning…]

[Target: Alpha Direfang]

[Strength: High speed and brute force. Hardened bone armor on spine and shoulders. Resistant to frontal attacks.]

[Weaknesses: Underbelly and ribcage vulnerable. Predictable in linear charges.]

"Good enough. Thanks, System."

[You're welcome, Boss.]

Silas's lips curled into a grin. "Let's do this."

He gripped his sword tighter, the blade trembling with adrenaline, and then rushed in.

The Direfang lunged again, its maw opening wide—but Silas sidestepped, just barely, and thrust the blade under its ribs.

"Piercing Thrust!"

The steel sank in deep.

The Direfang screamed—a horrible, choked snarl that vibrated in Silas's bones. Its hot blood sprayed across his arm, steaming on contact. The beast buckled slightly, stumbling for just a second.

"That hurt, didn't it?" Silas hissed through gritted teeth.

Without waiting, he twisted the blade and slammed another Piercing Thrust into the same spot. And again. And again.

[Skill used: Piercing Thrust. Mana remaining: 40/80.]

His breathing grew shallow. His muscles burned. But the beast was on its knees now, snarling, wounded, dragging its body in a slow, menacing crawl toward him.

Silas wiped blood from his face, blade trembling in his grip.

"Almost there…"

He stepped forward, preparing to finish it.

Suddenly—

[Warning!]

[Boss, jump backward! Now!]

"What? Why?" Silas snapped.

[No time! Jump, now!]

Years of buried instinct kicked in.

Silas didn't argue. He leapt backward with all his strength, landing hard against the stone with a thud.

The moment he did—

BOOM.

He stared, wide-eyed, as the spike smashed into the wall behind him, cracking stone.

"What… the hell…"