Solomon ducked under a horizontal cleave that threatened to take his head off. Instead of retreating, he stepped deep inside the knight’s guard. He completely dropped his sword hand, clenched his left fist, and delivered a punch directly into the knight’s steel faceplate.

[LazyCat: DID HE JUST SUCKER PUNCH THAT KNIGHT?!!]

The heavy impact echoed through the corridor. The undead knight stumbled backward, its balance entirely broken for a fraction of a second. But the corrupted mana core stabilized it instantly. The creature regained its footing and retaliated with a series of furious, wild swings that chipped the stone walls and sent sparks flying in every direction.

Solomon evaded the erratic attacks, rolling under the blade and springing back to his feet. Behind him, the golden-haired girl tightened her grip on her rapier, her brief rest over, preparing to dash in for a strike.

Before she could move, Solomon lunged forward. He stepped directly onto the flat of the knight’s descending greatsword, using the heavy weapon as a ramp. He launched himself upward, grabbed the rim of the knight’s steel pauldron, and violently climbed onto the Knight’s shoulders.

[OldTimer: HOLY AURA POSE!]

He reversed his grip on his iron sword and plunged the blade straight down into the tiny gap between the helmet and the neck armor.

The cheap iron shrieked against the reinforced steel. The blade managed to penetrate a few inches into the rotting flesh beneath, but the attack lacked the armor-piercing quality needed for a fatal blow. Thick, black blood bubbled up and coated the tip of his sword.

The undead knight roared in agonizing fury. It dropped its greatsword, reached up with a massive, gauntleted hand, and grabbed Solomon by his legs. With a monstrous strength, the creature ripped Solomon off its shoulders and hurled his body through the air like a ragdoll.

Solomon flew backward, crashing directly into the golden-haired girl right as she lunged forward to attack.

Solomon slammed hard into the girl, sending them both tumbling against the rough stone wall. The air rushed out of his lungs. Before he could even untangle his limbs, she pushed him roughly aside.

Her eyes darted toward the iron sword still gripped tightly in his hand. She immediately noticed the thick, black blood dripping from the cheap metal, realizing that he had actually managed to injure the walking fortress.

She didn’t waste a single second.

She pushed off the wall and lunged directly at the undead knight. The creature roared and raised its greatsword to defend itself, but the massive weapon felt sluggish in its hands.

Solomon’s deep strike into the shoulder joint had severely damaged the corrupted muscles underneath the armor. The knight could no longer swing the heavy blade with its previous explosive speed.

The girl capitalized on the weakness instantly. She unleashed a blinding flurry of continuous thrusts with her silver rapier. The tip of her blade sparked against the armor, targeting the exact same damaged neck joint Solomon had exposed. She slipped past a clumsy horizontal swing, stepped deep inside the knight’s broken guard, and drove her rapier forcefully into the creature’s neck.

She didn’t stop there. She leaned her entire body weight forward, pushing the silver blade even deeper into the rotting flesh until the crossguard slammed against the steel collar.

For a brief fraction of a second, her eyes flashed with a brilliant, intense golden light.

The corrupted mana core pulsing within the undead knight suddenly shattered. The towering creature instantly went completely limp. The dark energy animating the corpse evaporated, and the rotting flesh inside the armor turned entirely to gray ash.

The empty, rusted plate armor clattered loudly to the stone floor, collapsing into a heap of useless metal.

The massive greatsword dropped from the empty gauntlet and struck the cobblestones with a heavy thud.

The girl pulled her rapier back, flicked the black ash from the blade, and sheathed it smoothly at her hip. She walked over to the pile of rusted armor and nudged the fallen greatsword with the toe of her boot. She leaned down and picked up the massive weapon by the hilt. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Despite the thick rust coating the crossguard and the pommel, the actual edge of the greatsword gleamed with a surprisingly lethal sharpness.

She traced her gloved finger near the flat of the blade and thought back to the fight. ’This heavy blade was practically sharpened during our clash,’ she realized. She glanced over her shoulder at Solomon, who was slowly picking himself up from the floor. ’Especially against that barbarian. He took those massive, heavy attacks completely head-on and actually managed to grind away the rust on the edge with nothing but a basic iron sword.’

Solomon dusted off his academy uniform and checked his floating blue screen. The massive bounty for the Diamond Crown remained completely unclaimed since he hadn’t delivered the final blow.

He looked up at the girl holding the massive greatsword. He had practically set the entire kill up for her.

A loud, majestic chime suddenly rang directly inside his head, completely drowning out his frustration. A massive, glittering digital crown materialized on the floating blue screen.

[BloodKnight gifted a Diamond Crown! (5,000 Points)]

[BloodKnight: you did ninety percent of the heavy lifting. that was your kill in my eyes. take the crown, knight slayer.]

Solomon let out a long breath. All of his anger instantly vanished. With that single donation, he had just secured ‌half portion of his monthly quota.

"Thank you for the crown, Bloody Knight."

[OldTimer: It’s BloodKnight. At least pronounce the name of your biggest fan correctly.]

’I have around 25,000 points. Should I check out the Stream shop and see what they are selling? Maybe I should buy an ability or buff of some kind?’ Solomon asked himself. But he quickly dismissed the thought as gathering 50,000 points was his top priority.

The owl fluttered over his shoulder, bringing the golden-haired girl back into the center of the frame. And the chat immediately devolved back into absolute chaos.

[GoonLord: THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED BARK BARK BARK!]

[DownBadAnon: LOOK AT HER REGAL POSTURE I AM LITERALLY SHAKING!]

[MommyIssues: STEP ON ME NEXT PLEASE!]

[User12: bro she is actually stunning.]

Solomon ignored the scrolling degeneracy and pointed at the massive greatsword in her hand. "You can keep the weapon. You were the one who landed the final blow and actually killed the knight."

The girl looked at the heavy blade, shook her head, and tossed it onto the cobblestones at his feet. "I do not need a barbaric weapon like that. It completely contradicts my fighting style."

"Then just sell it," Solomon suggested. "A high-tier drop like that has to be worth a decent amount of points or gold."

She crossed her arms and scoffed. "I have absolutely no need for money."

Solomon rolled his eyes and walked over to the pile of rusted plate armor. The moment his fingers brushed the metal, a system prompt appeared. It registered the armor as loot and sent the entire set straight into the inventory.

He then reached down and grabbed the hilt of the greatsword. It was incredibly heavy, but the weight was perfectly balanced. He glanced at his own basic iron sword and noticed that the edge was heavily chipped, dulled, and on the verge of snapping entirely.

He sheathed the ruined iron blade and decided to hold onto the greatsword instead of storing it. He definitely needed a reliable weapon to survive the rest of the labyrinth.

He hoisted the heavy sword onto his shoulder and looked at the golden-haired girl. He took in her elegant posture, her flawless features, and her incredibly arrogant attitude.

"You know, with an attitude like that, you talk as if you are a literal princess or something," Solomon joked, offering a sarcastic smirk.

The girl didn’t respond. She simply stared at him with flat, unamused eyes.

The blue projection hovering near Solomon’s face suddenly exploded with frantic messages.

[LoreMaster: wait... does he actually not know?!]

[GamerGuy: bro is completely clueless LMAO.]

[User12: Solo Man, you are literally talking to Her Royal Highness.]

[LazyCat: that is the First Princess of the Lumiere Dynasty, Lune von Lumiere!]

[GoonLord: MY ROYAL WIFE!]

[NewbHunter: bro just sarcastically called a real princess a princess.]

Solomon stared at the chat screen, completely dumbfounded. The smirk slowly slid off his face. He reached up with his free hand and rubbed his tired eyes.

He had met the white-haired princess back in the courtyard and the classroom, and now he had just stolen a kill setup from the First Princess of the Lumiere Dynasty in the middle of a dungeon.

’I cannot believe I have run into two actual princesses from entirely different kingdoms on my very first day,’ Solomon thought, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. "What is my life coming to?"