Something feels very wrong.

The jet-black magic circling the Knight's equally dark armor sends shivers down my spine for a fraction of a second.

The more I try to use my perception skills and figure out what it is, the more it evades my All-Seeing Eye.

This energy feels like it shouldn't even exist.

Whatever it is, It's not made of mana...

The other half of my mind can't stop thinking about the message I just received from the Arch Demon supposedly running this whole labyrinth.

Just one more floor and I'll be able to face the opponent I've been fantasizing about fighting for days.

With a smirk, I release a blade of energy at the armored Knight as it charges toward us with its blade at the ready.

Lydia unleashes both of her katanas and lets two shimmering white crescents of ice fly beside mine.

The three charged mana blades head straight at the monster's armor. The shimming black fire attack heads straight for its chest plate, while Lydia's strike curves inwards at the weak points in its upper leg and lower torso.

Surprisingly, the black armored Knight lunges downward changing the trajectory of my attack to a non-vital spot.

My black blade collides with its right shoulder and to my amazement, sparks fly.

It almost looks like metal on metal. It's been a long time since I've seen anything like this.

On impact, the moment the shielding around my shot collides with its black energy a light show of white and yellow sparks erupts into the air.

The popping and buzzing noise of mana being released into the atmosphere fills the room.

That mana is mine.

The edges of my attacks look as if they're melting away while passing through the hard mental armor of the Knight with relative ease.

With a loud clang, its whole right arm falls to the floor and my energy blade curves upward into the sky.

There isn't anything in the armor, it's completely hollow.

My gaze follows my own attack in awe as it continues popping and buzzing while slowly melting away high up in the dungeon sky.

The black energy of this odd creature is able to erode and destroy any concentrated mana attacks.

Not very fast, but the fact that it's able to use an unknown source of energy like this is definitely alarming. There's no sign of a hidden buff or special skill in its status.

It doesn't matter right now.

As my attack damages its right arm, the Knight lunges to the opposite side right into Lydia's incoming crescents of Ice.

Just like my attack, light-colored sparks fly, but the bulk of the strike pierces all the way through its intended target.

More loud clangs of armor sound as the Black Armored Knight falls to the grey floor in pieces. Ice residue creeps over all of the armor, and a chain reaction of sparks flies as it spreads.

Both Lydia's remaining shots and the residue left behind disappear into the air in just a few seconds. The black-colored aura starts to disappear from the enemy too, leaving a dark sliced-up suit of armor on the Dungeon floor less than 10 meters away from us.

I stare at it with a blank yet curious expression, then speak up while blinking a few times.

"Did- it jump into your line of fire? Or was I seeing things just now...?"

We both slowly walk forward, still glowing in full battle mode.

She replies.

"It did..."

Our footsteps echo while we draw closer and the wisps of black aura completely vanish into thin air.

There isn't a trace of this monster's essence left, but cold slashed through armor and a sword on the floor.

Using appraisal, it all registers as non-buffed gear. It's all just normal armor now.

Lydia speaks up again.

"It negated both of our high-concentration mana attacks. I've never seen anything like that."

Her eyes are wide, showing emotion I've never seen on the white-haired mage's face before.

I turn around, scanning the entire dungeon again, but nothing shows up. According to my senses, there isn't a single other being present on this floor but us.

I highly doubt this is the truth.

We wait for over 3 minutes and finally, the armor begins to dissolve. It drops a mana crystal, but also a tiny black gem smaller than my fingernail.

It doesn't register in any of my skills and gives off no magic power. If I didn't see it with my own two eyes, I wouldn't believe there was anything here at all.

The rock doesn't glimmer or shine, and there isn't even a hint of transparency to it. It's dull and black but is cut in the shape of a factory diamond.

I lean over and pick it up, bringing the odd stone to eye level.

Looking deep into the gem it still just seems like an ordinary rock. The only odd thing about it is I can't sense inside. There's a mini pocket of space that's invisible to me no matter how hard I focus.

About 15 seconds pass and I let out a sigh, throwing the gem into my item storage.

Lydia yells out as my mesmerization with the stone finally finishes.

"There's another! Get ready!"

A swirling purple and black Dungeon Walker Portal shows up and an identical knight comes running out with its sword raised. It's on my far side, closer to the mage.

She lets two shots fly from a close range and they collide with the armored Knight's torso sending sparks of white and yellow lights flying in the air.

Her blades of mana dissolve after they slice through and the Knight falls before it can even attempt to take another step forward.

She murmurs under her breath, running over to the fallen Knight.

"So... fascinating..."

I follow, and she turns back to me as I do.

"You're eager to move to the next floor right?"

Lydia turns to the pile of metal scraps, then back to me.

"I'd like to fight as many of these Knights as possible. This... is a unique dungeon, there isn't a single one like it in that I'm aware of. If-"

I cut her off.

"No need to explain. I was planning to move to the next floor whether you liked it or not. However, I'm curious about these creatures too."

The armor starts to dissolve and it drops a mana crystal along with that tiny black gem again...

Lydia picks it up, stares at it for a moment, then activates her ice magic while tossing it up in the air.

My eyes open wide as sparks fly and a yellow and white fire burns bright for 2 seconds straight above her open palm.

It sucks in all of the ice magic she produces, then completely disappears. The stone leaves nothing at all in its place.

Both of us watch in awe. Then, Lydia speaks again.

"I'll find out everything I can, but time is not on our side. We have less than 2 hours to clear this break."

I give her a firm nod.

It was easier than I thought to convince her to let me go alone.... Although this dungeon seems rich with rare resources, the final room is the only destination on my mind.

"Understood."

She replies.

"The Director has full confidence in your squad, especially you. If we fail, hundreds of thousands die."

I smile, turning away towards the exit.

"I'll clear the final room by any means necessary. Focus on guarding this floor and collecting those gems."

Another black and purple portal forms and I air-step away leaving Lydia to farm the abnormal dungeon and guard the 25th floor from its impending break

Finally, I'm off to face the Final Floor alone.