Solomon gave the borrowed silver rapier a few experimental swings as they walked down the dark tunnel. The thin blade sliced smoothly through the damp air, but it felt practically weightless in his grip.

A deep frown creased his forehead. He genuinely wondered if he could successfully execute the Eden Imperial Sword Arts, which relied heavily on extreme kinetic force and raw momentum, with such a delicate weapon.

He tapped the air with his free hand, pulling up his floating system interface to open the stream shop. Navigating directly to the weapons category, he filtered out the lightweight styles and scrolled through the heavy blades.

He checked his accumulated point balance and let out a quiet sigh. With his current funds, he could only afford a basic, second-grade iron heavy sword. It was far from a legendary weapon, but he kept the purchase menu ready just in case the rapier failed him.

While the interface hovered in his vision, Solomon finally glanced at his overall stream statistics. He hadn’t checked the numbers since they initially stepped into the boss chamber. His eyes widened slightly.

The live viewer count was currently sitting at three thousand and increasing by the second.

He stared at the ticking numbers, wondering if his stream link was being actively shared across external hunter forums or if drawing this kind of massive audience was simply normal during a life-or-death boss fight.

They finally reached the end of the tunnel and stepped through the ruined archway.

The boss chamber was in ruins. Massive stone pillars barely clung to the ceiling, and the ground was completely chewed up by deep craters. In the dead center of the wreckage, the Paladin waited obediently.

The ancient knight stood perfectly still with his pristine gauntlets resting patiently on the pommel of his executioner’s sword.

Solomon completely ignored the imposing boss and scanned the surrounding rubble. He spotted his neatly folded academy uniform resting near a shattered chunk of stone, entirely untouched by the earlier magic blast. A loud, genuine sigh of relief escaped his lips.

The floating chat immediately caught his reaction.

[LazyCat: HE ACTUALLY CHECKED ON THE CLOTHES FIRST LMFAO.]

[GamerGuy: bro’s priorities are absolutely unmatched.]

[User12: the boss is literally right there and he is happy about a shirt.]

[BloodKnight: please take this seriously...]

The Paladin did not wait for them to cross a specific proximity line. Unlike their first encounter, where the boss only attacked when they entered a certain range, the ancient knight immediately charged the moment Solomon stepped fully into the arena.

Solomon tightened his grip on the silver rapier and quickly glanced back. "Watch out for yourself, Lune! Step outside the chamber entirely if you have to, although the boundary barely exists anymore with all these broken walls."

Lune gripped the edge of the ruined archway. "Why is he rushing us immediately?"

"He is no longer holding back to protect the structural integrity of the room or the fixed gate!" Solomon yelled, watching the pristine white armor blur across the ruined floor. "Since the chamber is already blasted to pieces, he does not care about collateral damage. He is going to use much faster, stronger, and significantly wider attacks. In other words, he is going completely all out!"

Solomon tightened his grip on the silver rapier and sprinted toward the far end of the arena. He needed to drag the towering monster completely away from the broken archway to keep Lune safe from the collateral damage.

Fortunately, the opposite side of the chamber retained a mostly intact floor, giving him plenty of room to maneuver. The Undead Paladin immediately followed his retreat, dragging its massive executioner’s sword across the cobblestones with terrifying speed.

’Under normal circumstances, exposing a secret imperial technique on a live broadcast would cause a massive uproar,’ Solomon thought while checking his footing. ’Fortunately, the Eden Imperial Sword Arts rely on absolute foundational simplicity. They literally look exactly like standard directional strikes to anyone watching, so I can use them freely without exposing my new legacy.’

The towering boss closed the distance instantly and unleashed a brutal vertical cleave. Solomon simply stepped to the side, letting the immense blade crash into the stone tiles inches from his boots.

He immediately ducked under the subsequent horizontal sweep, moving with flawless precision. He spent the first few exchanges playing pure defense. He carefully calculated the undead creature’s strength and physical limits before attempting to parry strikes with a delicate rapier he had never used before.

The floating blue screen flared with rapid text as the audience watched the terrifying onslaught.

[GamerGuy: THE BOSS IS MOVING WAY FASTER NOW!]

[LazyCat: solo man is just running for his life!]

[User12: that thing is absolutely terrifying.]

[BloodKnight: dodge left! keep moving!]

Lune clutched the edge of the ruined entrance, watching the pristine white armor blur across the arena. To her and the thousands of viewers, the undead monster appeared infinitely stronger and far more intimidating than during their initial clash.

Solomon completely disagreed with their assessment. He had spent fifteen years trading blows with the living, breathing Swordmaster at the absolute peak of his divine power. Compared to the ancient knight from the mental void, this rotting corpse swung its weapon with sluggish predictability.

The entire encounter felt exactly like a basic beginner’s tutorial at the easiest difficulty.

Suddenly, a horizontal slash clipped the edge of a stone pillar, sending a spray of sharp shrapnel directly toward Solomon’s face. He tilted his head just in time, allowing a flying rock to graze his cheek and draw a thin line of blood.

He wiped the red streak from his jaw with his thumb. A stark realization instantly washed over his mind. During his endless years inside the mental domain, he had endured getting sliced in half thousands of times.

The Paladin always pieced his flesh back together with golden light, entirely erasing the absolute finality of defeat.

Here in the physical world, a single misstep would completely end his life, where the executioner’s sword would crush his bones into paste, and absolutely no magical domain would stitch him back together.

A massive, adrenaline-fueled grin stretched across his face, exposing his teeth as he stared up at the pristine white armor. The sheer, life-threatening stakes sent a violent thrill racing through his veins.

He planted his boots firmly against the cobblestones, twisting his wrists to perfectly align the silver rapier with his spine.

He was finally prepared to entertain the ancient knight, one last time.