Free Web NovelChapter 13: First Time Through A Gate(II): Dungeon Boss Room
"Captain Morgan. The Awakeners are on their way."
A young female cadet saluted the woman who was standing with her arms crossed, staring intently at the portal in front of them.
"Good." She said in a calm voice as she waved her hand to dismiss the cadet.
"What do you think might be the cause of this, Captain?" A female technician holding a document asked as she walked over to Morgan.
"I don’t think that’s the issue right now, Helen." Morgan spoke calmly.
"There are E-Rank Awakeners. Don’t worry. Even though the gate morphed into an E-Rank Gate, they would still be able to survive and even close the gate." Helen said. She knew that some E-Rank Awakeners could visit a D-Rank gate with a party and contribute greatly as well. So she wasn’t worried.
Morgan merely frowned. She wasn’t worried either, but she just had this feeling that whatever caused this gate to morph wasn’t something ordinary Awakeners could handle.
***
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Hellhound!]
[+5 EXP]
Reiji frowned. "It seems that F-Rank monsters don’t give much EXP like E-Rank ones. And I haven’t laid my eyes on any since the first Hellhound."
Reiji let out a dejected sigh as he decided to go deeper. The three carcasses of the F-Rank Hellhounds on the floor also began disappearing.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
*Step... Step...*
Reiji’s footsteps echoed throughout the dark dungeon. Up ahead, red crystals grew across the walls, illuminating the area slightly.
’Why do I get this feeling that I’m being watched right now?’ Reiji thought as he walked toward the dim pale crimson light. He noticed that the further he went, the damper the place became. ’Is this place leaking or what?’
Reiji glanced down at the puddle near his feet. Though the light emanating from the crystals wasn’t bright, it was enough to cast a reflection for Reiji to see what was above him, and his blood ran cold.
Reiji immediately got into a defensive stance.
The creatures clinging to the walls suddenly noticed movement and immediately launched themselves at him.
"Shit." Reiji cursed under his breath as more than a dozen slimes attacked him from all sides.
[Exploding Slimes (F)]
Before Reiji could even process what "exploding" meant, one of the slimes was already close to him. Reiji swung his blade and sliced the slime in two just before he could celebrate.
BOOM!
The slime he had just sliced apart exploded and its fluid flew everywhere. He dodged some, but part of it touched his hoodie and burnt a hole through it.
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Exploding Slime]
’Fuck.’
Reiji didn’t have time to dwell on it any longer as more exploding slimes lunged at him from all directions.
Reiji swung repeatedly as exploding slimes lunged from every direction.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Acidic fluid splashed across his hoodie, burning more holes into the fabric after every explosion.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Exploding Slime]
The system notifications kept ringing in his head.
Reiji stumbled backwards after another explosion. He was breathing heavily as there were now multiple holes across his hoodie.
’If this drags on, my hoodie won’t be able to protect me from their acidic fluids when they explode.’
The moment he thought that, another slime lunged at him from above. Reiji dodged at the last second and sliced it in half.
BOOM!
Ding!
[Host has killed an E-Rank Exploding Slime]
The acidic fluid splashed onto his hoodie and burnt through it. It continued burning through his clothes before finally reaching his skin.
"Argh!!" Reiji winced in pain. He didn’t know whether it was because the slime was E-Rank that it hurt so much.
[Health: 90]
’Shit. My health dropped.’
The slimes, seeing Reiji in pain, lunged at him once more. Despite the searing pain he felt on his chest from the fluids, he remained aware of his surroundings.
A slime directly above Reiji suddenly lunged downward. Still feeling the burning pain from the acidic fluid, Reiji slapped the slime away in fury.
The slime hit the wall with a loud thud and exploded.
"..."
Reiji blinked.
The slime had exploded just like that. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Ding!
[Host has killed an E-Rank Exploding Slime]
It was not as simple as that. After all, it was still an E-Rank monster. But now wasn’t the time to get distracted.
Reiji dodged three slimes that lunged at him. He kicked one to the side and before the slime even hit the wall, it exploded. Its fluid sprayed across the ground.
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Exploding Slime]
’Does it explode when it’s hit or when it feels pain?’ Reiji confirmed his theory as he kicked another slime toward the wall and just like before, it exploded before it even reached it. Its fluid sprayed across the walls and floor.
’It does. That means its defense must be extremely weak.’ Reiji thought.
He returned the Soul Torture Blade back to his inventory as he locked eyes with the remaining slimes.
’Seven at the back, nine in front, and five on each side.’ Reiji counted mentally.
The slimes all rushed toward him at once, but Reiji stayed calm.
Reiji sidestepped the first three in front, making them collide with the slimes charging from behind.
BOOOOM!!
’Haha. Just how low is their defense for such a small collision to make them explode?’ Reiji thought while dodging the ones from the side.
Reiji kicked one slime into another before spinning away from an explosion.
BOOM!
A third slime lunged toward his face, but Reiji grabbed it midair and hurled it into the swarm charging from the side.
BOOOOM!!
Another slime jumped toward him from behind. Reiji ducked under it and slammed it into the ground with his elbow.
BOOM!
Ding!
[Host has killed an E-Rank Exploding Slime]
The final system notification rang out as he stood there breathing heavily.
His hands trembled slightly. A smile slowly appeared on his face as he glanced at the bodies of the slimes slowly dissolving into nothing.
"Phew..." Reiji wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. If he had faced the creatures head-on with the Soul Torture Blade the entire time, he would have been left a bloody mess of dissolving flesh and bones. After all, his body was still that of a normal human.
He took off the hoodie and stared at the holes burnt into it.
’I wish I had some way to keep this...’
Then an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
"Yeah, that’s right... my inventory. But can it store something that wasn’t obtained from the system?" Reiji muttered to himself as he decided to test it.
With a single thought, the hoodie disappeared and appeared inside his inventory.
"It worked." Reiji said with a smile as he let out a sigh of relief.
He glanced forward. He didn’t know what lay ahead, but if he wanted to grow stronger and more powerful, then he had no choice but to continue forward.
After several minutes of walking, Reiji suddenly came to a stop as he stared at the two paths in front of him.
"..."
Reiji rubbed his forehead as he stared at the two tunnels. After a while, he decided to go left.
Cold air started biting against Reiji’s skin as he walked deeper into the tunnel. He shivered slightly, but continued forward.
Soon, Reiji saw a faint silhouette in the distance. It was short and oddly shaped.
When the figure stepped into the light, he saw it clearly.
It was a goblin.
An ugly creature with pale green skin, long ears, and jagged nails.
[Goblin (F)]
Reiji summoned the Soul Torture Blade as he stared at the creature. The goblin was also staring at him, ready to attack at any moment.
’Goblins are said to move in groups. If this one is alone, then there must be more hiding nearby.’
"Ahhhh!!"
The goblin suddenly cried out, and as if it were a signal, more goblins started appearing from the darkness.
Reiji wasn’t scared in the slightest. Instead, he felt pumped up. The creatures lunged toward him almost in perfect unison. Reiji’s eyes narrowed as he dashed forward as well.
*Slash!* *Slash!* *Slash!*
Heads flew through the air as Reiji swung his blade.
After several minutes, the goblins lay headless across the ground.
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Goblin]
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Goblin]
Ding!
[Host has killed an F-Rank Goblin]
The system notifications continuously rang in his ears as Reiji let out a quiet breath and continued forward.
After a few more minutes of walking, Reiji suddenly stopped. Something felt wrong. The air itself felt strange. It wasn’t the cold wind. It was something else. Reiji couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But the deeper he went, the clearer the feeling became.
An invisible weight pressing down on him and making it difficult to breathe.
"What is this feeling...?"
His instinct screamed at him to turn back, yet he continued walking forward. And the further he went, the heavier the pressure became.
Ding!
[Approaching The Boss Room (E++)]
Reiji stopped dead in his tracks the moment the system notification rang in his head.
’E++...’ Reiji repeated inwardly. ’I can’t handle this...’
Not to mention there were already lower-ranked monsters like F and E-Rank creatures around here. If they all swarmed him at once, he didn’t know if he could survive.
Looking at the dark tunnel ahead of him, Reiji slowly turned around, preparing to walk back.
"When I get a little stronger first... I’ll come back." He muttered.
But just as he was about to take a step a muffled scream rang out.
"Hmmmfffff!!!"
Reiji’s pupils shrank.
"That’s a woman’s voice."
Reiji couldn’t understand what was happening. It might have been one of the Awakeners sent to clear the dungeon. But that cry was definitely a cry for help.
Reiji didn’t rush forward immediately. Instead, he hesitated. He was contemplating whether to go in or not. But he knew his conscience would haunt him forever if he abandoned someone asking for help.
After all, he wasn’t that cold-hearted.
Reiji took out the hoodie filled with holes from the slime fight and put it back on, covering part of his face.
Then he tightened his grip around the Soul Torture Blade and slowly walked forward.
