Free Web NovelChapter 32: Dungeon Boss: Tribe Leader Ogre (D+++)
The space beyond the door was far larger than he expected.
A gigantic underground hall stretched endlessly before him. Green flames flickered across the walls, illuminating countless stone pillars covered in strange symbols.
The air itself felt heavy, no, it felt rotten.
Reiji narrowed his eyes.
The smell of blood, decay, and damp stone filled the entire place.
Then his gaze slowly shifted forward.
At the very center of the hall stood a tall, thin figure over six feet tall.
Its dark green pale skin looked rough like hardened bark, while strange black markings ran across its thin body.
Unlike the other ogres, this one wore armor made from monster bones and carried a massive crooked staff.
Most terrifying of all were its eyes.
Unlike the mindless rage-filled eyes of the other ogres, this one’s gaze was almost calm and intelligent.
[Dungeon Boss: Tribe Leader Ogre (D+++)]
The old ogre slowly raised its head and locked eyes with Reiji.
For a brief moment, the entire hall fell silent.
"Grrhhh!!"
The old-looking ogre suddenly screamed and slammed its staff against the ground.
A violent wave of energy exploded outward from the staff, and instantly, a magic circle appeared beneath Reiji’s feet.
’This shit again?!’
Reiji immediately leaped backwards.
BOOM!
A dozen long, razor-sharp spikes erupted from the ground where Reiji had been standing moments ago.
A cold sweat trickled down Reiji’s neck as he swallowed hard.
"What the..."
The old ogre slowly raised its staff again, but this time, instead of striking the ground, it pointed it directly at Reiji.
Reiji’s eyes turned cold as he prepared himself for another attack.
But the ogre slowly lowered the staff instead.
"...H-Human"
The ogre barked the word.
Its voice sounded like a broken radio, sending chills down Reiji’s spine.
"Y-You killed my children..."
’This damn thing can talk.’ Reiji thought silently.
"You killed my children!"
The old ogre’s voice came out like an eerie shriek and it made Reiji’s skin crawl.
’This thing is completely different from the others.’
Unlike the giant ogres from before, the old ogre wasn’t blinded by rage. Its eyes remained calm and careful. It wasn’t rushing toward him recklessly. It was quietly studying him.
That alone made Reiji feel far more uneasy than the earlier fight.
The old ogre stared at the Soul Torture Blade in Reiji’s hand and its eyes immediately turned cold.
It slowly lifted its crooked staff once more.
Green mana instantly gathered around the head of the staff.
’Not good.’
Reiji’s muscles immediately tensed.
Without warning, three massive fireballs exploded toward him.
Reiji’s pupils shrank. He immediately pushed his speed to the limit and vanished from his spot.
BOOOOM!!!
The fireballs exploded across the floor, sending debris, dust, and smoke everywhere, and the place where he had just been standing was now scorched black.
’Fuck... that skill is powerful. This must be a mage-class boss monster.’
The ogre’s vicious cold red eyes snapped toward Reiji.
It raised its staff and hit it on the ground again, and another magic circle appeared beneath Reiji’s feet.
’Again?!’
Reiji’s expression changed instantly.
SHRRING!
Instantly several razor-sharp earth spikes erupted upward. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Reiji leaped out of the way but the ogre slammed its staff downward again.
SHRRING!
Reiji twisted his body mid-air as fast as he could but...
*Slash!*
One of the spikes still tore through his shoulder. His blood splattered across the ground.
"Argh!"
Reiji forcefully landed several meters away while clutching his injured shoulder.
The pain made his face slightly distort.
The old ogre stared at him silently.
Then it slowly raised its staff once more.
A deep green light suddenly spread across the entire chamber. The air itself became heavier.
Reiji’s instincts immediately screamed at him.
BOOOOM!!!
A violent shockwave of mana exploded outward from the old ogre.
Reiji crossed his arms in front of his body just before the attack reached him.
The shockwave slammed into him like a speeding truck.
BOOM!
Reiji’s body was sent flying across the hall before crashing violently against one of the massive stone pillars.
Cracks instantly spread across the pillar.
"Cough!"
Blood spilled from Reiji’s mouth as he dropped to one knee. His entire body ached.
’This bastard...’
Cold sweat slowly dripped down the side of his face.
This wasn’t like fighting the giant ogres before, not even close.
’I should close the distance... After all, mages aren’t good with short-range fights, and if I continue at this distance it definitely won’t end well for me.’
Reiji thought as he bought a healing potion from the inventory.
Ding!
[You have successfully purchased the Healing Potion (50 Xcoins) from the System Market, Host!]
The ogre was surprised to see Reiji pull something out of thin air.
"This human... There’s something strange about him. I can’t seem to put my finger on it."
Reiji gulped the potion down and his wounds started closing at a visible speed.
This shocked the ogre once again.
Reiji narrowed his eyes as he took his stance, clutching the Soul Torture Blade tightly.
The dagger seemed to sense Reiji’s intent and shook slightly.
A flash of surprise crossed Reiji’s eyes.
"Interesting..." The ogre muttered to itself as it raised its staff up high.
"Strength Of The Overlord!"
Ding!
[Skill: Strength Of The Overlord Activated!]
[Host Strength has been increased by +30]
[2 Mana will be consumed every second while the skill remains active.]
Before the ogre could bring its staff downward again, Reiji shot forward like a bullet.
*Slash!*
Reiji slashed the ogre across its chest and dark green blood sprayed out.
Reiji didn’t stop and slashed upward before sending a kick at its face.
BOOM!
The ogre’s frail body flew across the room and landed on the floor.
Its pale dark green blood soaked the ground where it lay.
It looked as if it had died but Reiji knew it hadn’t.
The system hadn’t chimed in and he also knew better than to lower his guard.
After a few seconds something terrifying happened.
All the blood of the ogre flowed back toward its body and soon all the blood disappeared along with the wounds on its body.
"What the hell?!"
The ogre stood up calmly and picked up its staff.
Then it flashed Reiji a wide grin and the blood that was flowing down its face abruptly stopped and went back upward like a video playing in reverse.
The whole scene looked straight out of a horror film.
"How did you...?"
"Oh... You can even speak my language..." the ogre said while still grinning.
Reiji frowned.
Wasn’t the creature speaking Japanese?
’It might be the system... that’s why I’m able to understand and communicate with it...’
The thought sounded plausible.
"Human... I truly underestimated you. If not for my Magic Regeneration ability, I might have actually died by your hands."
"To think a weak human such as yourself could accomplish such a feat."
"I now see why you are able to wield that monstrosity of a weapon and why you were able to kill my children."
"You are strong."
"But I am not my children."
"And for killing them, your life shall serve as their retribution and the atonement of your sins!"
The ogre raised its staff high into the air.
Reiji suddenly had a bad feeling about this and he wasn’t going to wait for whatever attack the old ogre was about to unleash.
But what he didn’t expect was that the skill the ogre was about to use activated faster than he could react.
Instantly, the entire ground of the hall was covered in a gigantic magic circle except for the place where the old ogre stood.
"This bastard."
Reiji gritted his teeth as he glared at the ogre.
Meanwhile, the ogre kept grinning like an unhinged psycho.
Reiji leaped upward, intending to kill the ogre and land where the creature stood before the skill fully activated.
But just as he got close, the ogre’s grin suddenly disappeared.
"This is your end."
Instantly, a shield of green flame erupted around the old ogre.
Reiji’s expression changed and he immediately leaped backwards.
"Shit..."
SHIIINNG!
***
Meanwhile outside the gate...
The military had surrounded the place and blocked off all the roads, securing the area.
"Awakeners!" Captain Morgan yelled.
"Yes ma’am!" The ten C-Rank awakeners responded in unison.
"I want you guys to be very careful inside this gate seeing that it is unstable... Look after each other."
"If the threat is too strong, don’t be ashamed to retreat."
"Do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes Captain!" They all responded.
"Team Leader."
"Captain!"
The girl in front stepped forward and saluted.
"I leave them in your hands."
"Rest assured Captain, nothing will happen to us and we will close this gate without any casualties." The lady said confidently.
Captain Morgan simply gave a slight nod before leaving.
___________________
Hi everyone this is your author Calm once again. Well I’ve got a few things to say... For those of you who haven’t grasped this yet...
1. An Awakener and an Adventurer are two separate things. Meaning an Awakener is an awakened individual recruited by the military. While an Adventurer is also an awakened individual who wants freedom and mainly works for money. Adventurers can also have multiple jobs aside from being Adventurers. They work with Guilds and go on safer quests provided by their registered Guilds and are usually part of a team/party.
2. The system is not like other leveling systems. Reiji has to fulfill both Bond Points and EXP requirements in order to level up.
3. Unstable gates are dangerous because they can produce anomalies far above the gate’s normal rank. Even an unstable F-Rank gate could potentially produce an S-Rank anomaly. Reiji was simply lucky enough to encounter only a D++ anomaly.
