ROYAL KOMBAT

BOSS BATTLE – GENERAL BAEK-YEON

Baek-Yeon was a beast in human form. His black lamellar armor gleamed under the lantern light, a massive glaive resting on his shoulder. A single swing could cleave through five men in an instant.

"You're no palace thief. You move too well. A trained assassin?" He said and I said nothing. Words were meaningless in the face of a warrior.

🔹 BOSS MECHANICS:

✔ Phase 1 – Tiger's Prowl: Baek-Yeon moves slowly but his attacks break defenses.

✔ Phase 2 – Unleashed Beast: At half health, he enters a berserk state, doubling attack speed.

✔ Phase 3 – Shadow's End: If not defeated quickly, reinforcements will arrive.

Suddenly Baek-Yeon lunged at me, his glaive a blur of steel. I rolled to the side, feeling the wind howl past my ear as his blade struck the floorboards, splinters exploding outward.

> Press 4 to Evade.

I countered his swift attacks, our daggers flashing in the dim light. A quick slash across his shoulder armor but it had no effect. Cursed steel. His defenses were near impenetrable.

> SYSTEM MESSAGE:

⚠ Baek-Yeon's Armor is void to Normal Attacks.

Find a Weakness!

🔹 CHOICE UNLOCKED:

✔ Lure him into the collapsing shelves – Use the environment to crush him.

✔ Aim for the gaps in his armor – Riskier, but deals critical damage.

✔ Poison his water supply – Only possible if you could scout ahead.

✓Choice Taken – Use the environment to crush him.

Quickly I rolled backward, flipping onto a high shelf, my eyes scanning the chamber. There, a weakened support beam.

"Let's see if you can withstand the weight of history." He said.

Quickly, I threw a dagger at the beam's joint, the wood splintering. The shelf groaned, then collapsed, a tons of scrolls, and debris burying Baek-Yeon beneath centuries of their imperial lies and evil acts.

> SYSTEM MESSAGE:

✔ Boss Defeated: General Baek-Yeon

✔ +1,200 XP | +Rare Loot: Black Tiger's Glaive

✔ Vault Entrance Unlocked

Dust settled. And the room was silent once more.

I exhaled softly, while the path to the vault was now open.

> NEW OBJECTIVE: Unlock the Imperial Vault, and uncover Kai-Hoon's secret.

---

THE EMPEROR'S VAULT

Dust settled around the fallen shelves, scrolls scattered like forgotten whispers of the past. Baek-Yeon's body lay motionless beneath centuries of imperial lies.

I wiped the sweat from my brow. No time to linger.

I turned toward the farthest wall, a seemingly ordinary bookshelf. But hidden among the rows of aged scrolls was a single jade ornament, its surface carved with ancient characters.

🔹 CHOICE UNLOCKED:

✔ Pull the jade ornament to reveal the secret passage.

✔ Search Baek-Yeon's body for a key.

✔ Use explosives to break through (Risky – might alert guards).

I reached for the jade ornament, fingers tracing over the worn carvings. With a firm pull, the entire shelf rumbled, shifting aside to reveal a passageway descending into darkness.

> SYSTEM MESSAGE:

✔ Secret Passage Unlocked: Enter the Imperial Vault.

---

Inside the Vault – A Forbidden Truth

The tunnel was silent, and damp, lit only by dim torches embedded into the stone walls. The scent of ancient parchment mixed with something else—something metallic.

Blood.

The further I went, the stronger the stench became. I gripped the Black Tiger's Glaive, my instincts screaming that something was wrong.

Finally, I reached the vault.

A massive steel door loomed before me, its surface etched with a sigil of protection. A single keyhole glowed faintly with ghostly energy.

🔹 CHOICE UNLOCKED:

✔ Use Baek-Yeon's key (Safe Approach).

✔ Pick the lock with Thief's Tools (Stealth Approach).

✔ Use Shadow Veil Skill to phase through the door (Requires Energy).

I reached into my pouch, pulling out Baek-Yeon's key. As I inserted it into the lock, the sigils pulsed before dimming. With a deep groan, the vault doors creaked open.

What lay inside was not what I expected.

> CUTSCENE TRIGGERED:

The room beyond was not filled with gold, treasures, or imperial relics. Instead, rows upon rows of bodies hung from the ceiling, their throats slit, their robes bearing the marks of fallen noble clans.

My stomach twisted. This was a slaughterhouse.

At the center of the room stood a black altar, its surface stained with fresh blood.

Carved into the stone was a single name—mine.

"What… is this?"

A trap? It's a trap!" Before I could react, a whisper echoed through the chamber.

"I wondered when you would come, little prince."

The torches flickered violently, and from the shadows emerged a man clad in royal black robes, his eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.

> SYSTEM MESSAGE:

⚠ WARNING: ELITE BOSS ENCOUNTER – THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW, LORD SHIN-RYU

---

BOSS FIGHT – LORD SHIN-RYU, THE EMPEROR'S SHADOW

Shin-Ryu's blade hummed with dark energy, the very air distorting around him. He moved without a sound, as if he were a phantom.

🔹 BOSS MECHANICS:

✔ Phase 1 – Shadow Phantom: Shin-Ryu's attacks leave behind afterimages to confuse the player.

✔ Phase 2 – Blood Curse: At 50% HP, he can drain the player's health to restore his own.

✔ Phase 3 – Death Lotus: At critical HP, he summons cursed spirits to fight alongside him.

Suddenly he lunged at me without warning, his blade sending streaks of black lightning.

> Press 7 to avoid his attacks.

I barely managed to escape the strike, but the force sent me sliding backward. His speed was beyond anything I had faced before.

🔹 CHOICE UNLOCKED:

✔ Use Shadow Veil to vanish, and counterattack.

✔ Activate Twin Fang Style for a speed boost.

✔ Lure him toward the hanging bodies and use them as cover.

I took a deep breath, and activated Twin Fang Style. My movement speed quickly doubled up, and I weaved through his attacks, landing precise cuts along his robe's weak points.

> -12% HP | Shin-Ryu is bleeding.

He sneered, while wiping his blade clean.

"Not bad... but not enough."He said.

With a wave of his hand, the blood from the altar rose, swirling into spectral blades that rained down upon me like a crimson storm.

> Press 3 to Evade!

I rolled aside, the ground where I stood moments ago now a crater of shattered stone.

🔹 CHOICE UNLOCKED:

✔ Break the blood sigil to weaken his power.

✔ Go full offense, and overwhelm him.

✔ Trigger the vault's collapse, and escape.

I dashed toward the black altar, dodging past his spectral strikes. With a powerful leap, I plunged my dagger into the sigil, shattering its glow.

Shin-Ryu staggered, his body twitching violently as the stolen power vanished from his grasp.

> -30% HP | Shin-Ryu is weakened!

This was my chance.

🔹 FINAL CHOICE:

✔ Execute him with a finishing move.

✔ Interrogate him for information.

✔ Leave him alive to send a message to Kai-Hoon.

Without wasting time, I stabbed his throat.

> SYSTEM MESSAGE:

✔ BOSS DEFEATED: LORD SHIN-RYU

✔ +2,500 XP | +Legendary Loot: Emperor's Shadow Blade

✔ +Hidden Intel: Kai-Hoon's Forbidden Ritual

I exhaled. The battle was over. But the war had just begun.

From the parchment clutched in Shin-Ryu's dying grasp, I read the words that would change everything.

> "The Emperor's Rebirth Ceremony… the sacrifice of a thousand souls to ascend beyond mortality."

My fists clenched tightly.

Kai-Hoon was not just after power, he was trying to become a god.

🔹 NEW MAIN QUEST UNLOCKED: THE EMPEROR'S REBIRTH

✔ Stop Kai-Hoon's forbidden ritual before the capital is drowned in blood.