Arthur''s dagger trembled in his hand, his breaths ragged and shallow as he lunged at the skeleton for what felt like the hundredth time.


    Each swing of his weapon came slower, his movements losing their precision with every passing second.


    The once-crisp coordination between him and Hank was no longer there, instead, it was a desperate, disjointed array of strikes, each one barely keeping the skeletal monster at bay.


    The boss, now fully enraged, moved with terrifying speed, its bony limbsshing out with enough force to shatter the stone beneath their feet.


    Hank swooped down for another attack, his talons raking across the boss''s exposed ribcage.


    -8 HP


    But the skeleton countered, its massive hand swinging upward and grazing Hank''s wing. Hank screeched, veering off his course, his feathers trailing behind him as he pped furiously to stay airborne after the attack.


    -15 HP


    "Hank, hang in there!" Arthur shouted, his voice hoarse.


    He could feel the change of aura in the air.


    His own body screamed in protest, bruises forming where the skeleton hadnded scraping blows, and his left shoulder throbbed from narrowly dodging a strike that had smashed into the wall behind him.


    The skeleton was relentless, each attack more aggressive than thest.


    Arthur barely managed to roll away as its massive hand mmed into the ground beside him, sending shards of stone flying into his face.


    Blood trickled down his temple, stinging his eyes as he scrambled to his feet.


    "This is bad… this is really bad," he muttered, his voice trembling.


    He risked a nce at Hank, who was circling above, his flight unsteady unlike before.


    The hawk had taken too many hits for him, to the point where his movements were sluggish, his shrieks tinged with desperation.


    Arthur tried to force himself forward, his grip on the dagger tightening as he aimed for another attack.


    But the skeleton anticipated him this time, its bony hand sweeping sideways and catching Arthur square in the ribs.


    Pain exploded through his side as he was thrown against the wall, copsing in a heap.


    "Shit…" he gasped, clutching his side as the skeleton loomed over him. His dagger had slipped from his grasp, ttering to the ground a few feet away.


    He crawled backwards, his vision swimming. "I shouldn''t have been cocky… damn it… I got too greedy."


    Hank let out a piercing shriek, diving at the skeleton with all the strength he had left.


    His ws struck the boss''s skull, but the skeleton retaliated with a swift, brutal swipe that caught Hank mid-flight.


    The hawk let out a final, heart-wrenching cry as he plummeted to the ground and turned into particles.


    "No!" Arthur shouted, his voice breaking as he watched Hank hit the floor with a sickening thud.


    A prompt appeared before his eyes.


    [Your C-Rank Summon ''Hank'' has died.]


    [''Hank'' will respawn in 24 hours.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Arthur''s heart sank.


    "Damn it, I''m done for…" he muttered, his back against the wall as the skeleton advanced.


    He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable strike that would end it all.


    Every muscle in his body screamed at him to run, to fight, but he was too drained. Too broken.


    He waited.


    And waited.


    But the strike never came.


    Instead, there was a deafening crash, followed by sounds of cracks and creaks.


    Arthur opened his eyes hesitantly, his vision blurry. His breath caught in his throat as he took in the scene before him.


    The skeleton was no longer standing. Its massive framey crumpled on the floor, its once-formidable presence reduced to a pile of broken bones scattered across the room. A flood of notifications appeared before him:


    [Ding! You have killed ''???''s subordinate (Epic-Boss).]


    [Ding! You have cleared the hidden realm: Forsaken Legacy.]


    [Ding! 2x Reward is granted!]


    [The Reward is being altered]


    [Ding! You have gained the hidden ss: Shadow Monarch (SSS).]


    Arthur stared at the prompts in disbelief, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. "What…?" he murmured, his voice barely audible.


    "How?"


    His gaze darted around the room, searching for an exnation for what was going on.


    That''s when he saw it...


    Neko, was a few feet away, her tail flickingzily as she groomed her paw.


    At first nce, she lookedpletely indifferent, as though none of this had concerned her in the slightest.


    But as Arthur''s eyes fell on her tail, his heart nearly stopped.


    One of the skeleton''s feet bones was beneath Neko''s tail as if the skeleton had stepped on it as he went forward to attack Arthur.


    Arthur''s mind reeled, piecing together the scene.


    "Did Neko… kill it? Because the boss stepped on its flipping tail?" he thought, cold sweat forming on his forehead.


    The absurdity of it left him speechless.


    He rubbed his eyes, half-expecting the scene to change, but it didn''t. The skeleton''s remains were still scattered across the floor, and Neko remainedpletely unbothered, her tail flicking slightly as though this were all beneath her.


    Arthur let out a shakyugh, part relief and part disbelief. "No wonder she''s considered a primordial summon," he muttered, his tone containing both admiration and exasperation at the same time.


    Neko gave him a single nce, her golden eyes half-lidded as if to say, What are you looking at? before resuming her grooming.


    Arthur shook his head, pushing himself to his feet. His body ached, and his mind was still spinning from the sheer chaos of the fight.


    But the rush of adrenaline was quickly reced by curiosity as he remembered the slew of notifications he hadn''t properly read.


    He opened his interface, scrolling through the system prompts. His eyes widened as he took in the rewards.


    [Hidden ss: Shadow Monarch (SSS)]


    ''Is it so easy to get an SSS-Rank ss like that? Isn''t it meant to be an end-game type of thing?'' He thought as he nced at the notification in front of him.


    "I''ll figure this outter," he muttered, ncing at Neko, who was now lounging amidst the broken bones.


    "For now… I need to summon these old bones to fight for me, he is so flipping strong... especially with that skill."


    As he said that, his face twisted in shock.


    "There is no way I forgot that I could summon a beast to help me fight against that old pile of bones over here, I''m so dumb.." He shook his head, feeling like an idiot.