CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35: THE MAN OF STEEL, CHAOS IN THE SQUARE

[The "Man of Steel" has awakened.]

The boss stirred slowly, plates grinding against each other.

Then it jumped down from the pedestal it had been standing on—

THUD!

The ground cracked under its weight.

"What the fuck?"

"Huh?"

Dozens of players in the square froze, staring wide-eyed.

Many instinctively backed away, their boots scraping against the stone floor.

The hulking figure was still shifting, not even fully transformed into its real form when a sharp notification cut through the silence.

Ding!

[Due to the influence of the "Man of Steel", this area has become a "Danger Zone".]

[Lives loss rate: 100]

Gasps erupted everywhere.

The panel hung in the air, mocking every player that stood inside the square.

The penalty applied to everyone.

Dying here meant losing one hundred lives in one go.

Most players had stacked up hundreds already, but losing that much in a single death? Unthinkable.

And worse, once you were trapped inside a [Danger Zone], logging out was impossible.

You had to endure thirty minutes before the system released you.

Panic rippled through the crowd.

But Stark? He ignored the message completely. His eyes were locked on the giant in front of him.

The [Man of Steel] towered at over ten meters tall, its bronze-colored frame reflecting its power.

Heavy and imposing, it looked like a war machine.

The moment its form settled, it raised both arms high into the air.

Fwish! BOOM!

The arms detonated.

Fragments scattered across the square, and from the wreckage extended two enormous blades of polished steel.

The [Man of Steel] swung them immediately, cutting down several nearby players in its first strike.

"Ahhh!"

"No, no—!"

Blood splattered.

The steel blades cleaved through bodies like paper.

Its movements were brutal, but frighteningly quick for something its size.

The players counterattacked, spells and arrows flashing, but the boss’s armored body absorbed most of it.

Its shell made it feel indestructible.

Stark had backed away from the initial transformation, and stayed calm.

He had been preparing for this fight.

Stark evolved all his skills for this moment.

Letting the [Man of Steel] evolve further into a legendary-rank monster would yield better loot and more experience, sure.

But Stark didn’t care about that right now. He wanted a clean kill.

The [Man of Steel] stepped forward, shaking the square as its steel feet punched into the ground.

The tremor forced many players back, scattering the unprepared.

Some chose to flee outright, running to the far edges of the square in panic.

But the ones who remained were fighters, those willing to risk their lives against a boss like this.

Stark glanced around quickly.

Grace stood firm near [Ghost], who had her twin daggers spinning, a silver aura flickering around her body.

’Perfect,’ Stark thought, ’I’ll get to see how they fight too.’

---

[Man of Steel (Level 17)]

[Rank: Epic]

[HP: 100,000]

[Description: The man of steel is a unique boss that guards the way of "Ruined City Travel". It is extremely dangerous.]

---

The boss had just as much HP as the [Undead Soul Mage], though it was two levels higher.

The reason was obvious: its defense was ridiculous.

Still, Stark wasn’t intimidated. Not with his current equipment.

He leveled his staff at the giant.

The [Man of Steel] continued forward, aiming for the square’s center.

Cataclysmic Fireball!

A fireball condensed at the tip of Stark’s staff, swelling rapidly until it matched his own size.

Fwish! BOOM!

-20,400!

The explosion rattled the air.

Stark blinked in surprise.

A single shot had ripped away nearly a fifth of the boss’s health.

Normally, [Cataclysmic Fireball] should’ve hit for 40,800.

But the boss’s passive, [Defense of Steel], halved all incoming damage.

Even so, it was a brutal opening blow.

He started to prepare another spell—

Fwish!

The boss lashed out, one steel blade slicing straight for him.

Stark dodged, only to be met by the second blade crashing toward him.

Strong Magic Barrier!

A shimmering wall of force appeared just in time.

CLANG!

-5,200!

The barrier trembled under the impact, spiderweb cracks running across its surface.

But it held. Stark grit his teeth.

’I need to hit it hard before it gets to phase two.’

Like the [Undead Soul Mage], the [Man of Steel] had two phases.

Its second phase triggered once its health dropped below 20,000, giving it an even more absurd defense and strength boost.

Luckily, these early bosses didn’t grow entirely new movesets yet, it was mostly to introduce players to phase mechanics.

Sovereign Vines!

Thick green vines shot up from the ground, wrapping toward the boss.

But the [Man of Steel] spun its blades, slicing them apart before they could hit.

Tchk! CRACK!

The vines fell, severed.

"Poison’s useless too,’ Stark thought grimly, ’Corrosive Crystal won’t stick to steel.’

Fine. Then he’d use something else.

Lightning Strike!

A jagged bolt cracked from his staff, slamming into the boss’s chest.

-15,300! (Weakness)

Sparks danced across its frame. Stark’s lips curved upward.

’Lightning, huh? So that’s the weak point.’

The damage looked weaker than his fireball, but that was only because the fireball was boosted by his spirit percentage.

In reality, the lightning’s base damage was 10,200, multiplied by 1.5 thanks to the elemental weakness.

And more importantly—

["Man of Steel" has been stunned!]

The giant froze mid-step.

Blue sparks crawled across its armored plates as the stun effect locked it down.

Normally, bosses resisted stuns completely.

But when tied to an elemental weakness, the chance skyrocketed.

Stark hadn’t expected it, but he wasn’t complaining.

The opening was all the other players needed.

"Now!" someone shouted.

EvilDemon raised his scepter.

Demonic Beam!

Fwish! BOOM!

A crimson beam slammed into the boss’s torso.

-3,000! -3,000! -3,000!

The ticks chewed away for a total of 15,000.

Ghost acted next.

She dashed from Grace’s side, her form blurring into a streak of silver light.

In one fluid leap, she launched herself upward, twin blades flashing.

SLASH! SLASH!

-7,893! -7,893!

She landed lightly, aura still crackling around her.

Stark narrowed his eyes. Every hit was halved.

Which meant EvilDemon’s attack should’ve dealt 30,000 total, and Ghost’s double strike nearly 16,000 each.

’These two... They’re monsters in their own right,’ Stark thought, ’In my past life, they must have crushed this boss easily.’

Seeing players like them firsthand was a rare experience.

Soon, after the [First Calamity], almost everyone would be struggling just to survive.

The talented and strong ones would vanish into higher-level areas, leaving the weaker behind.

But for now, Stark could study them.

He raised his staff again.

Another [Cataclysmic Fireball] roared into existence and blasted forward.

BOOM!

-20,400!

The boss’s HP bar dropped sharply.

[Man of Steel HP: 13,114/100,000]

Then the giant moved again.

Its body vibrated, a deafening hum echoing across the square.

Pressure radiated outward as its bronze plates began to glow.

The color shifted, bronze melting into polished silver.

The blades in its hands thickened and grew, doubling in length.

Its face remained eyeless, expressionless, but the aura it exuded changed entirely.

’Here it comes,’ Stark thought, coldly, ’Now it reduces attacks received by 90%.’

Ding!

[Man of Steel has entered its second phase.]

The message slammed into every player’s vision, forcing them to understand what they were now up against.