Core Bursts

The sphere gate opens in an unknown dull passage Saber lands in the passage disbalanced, balances himself Saber's Mind- Where am I now? System- Error to navigate or locate Saber's Mind- The system's struggling too, I see

The sphere gate opened into an unknown, dull passage. Saber landed in the passage, momentarily disbalanced, but quickly regained his balance.

Where am I now? Saber wondered, looking around the unfamiliar surroundings.

"System?" he called out.

"Error to navigate or locate," the system responded.

The system's struggling too, I see, Saber thought, realizing that even his trusty system couldn't pinpoint their location.

Saber walked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. "Where's everyone? I can't see anyone here," he muttered.

The system displayed a signal of movement. Movement? Let's see, he thought, following the signal. He peeped around a corner and saw a goblin sleeping in the dark.

A goblin? Must be a mob. Let's kill it, Saber thought, drawing his sword. The goblin heard the noise and woke up. Saber slowly approached it and swung his sword, but the goblin jumped and escaped deeper into the dark passage.

"Hey! Wait!" Saber shouted, chasing the goblin into the darkness. Damn it! This one's quick, he thought. He threw his sword, skewering the goblin's leg. The goblin cried and screamed, its screams echoing in the passage.

Saber stopped. "What now?" he wondered.

"Alert! Outnumbered! Run!" the system warned.

Many glowing eyes opened in the dark, staring at Saber. "Hey, friends?" he said, scared.

In another part of the dungeon, a group was exploring a passage when they heard a high-pitched scream. "A girl?" a guy exclaimed, running towards the sound. "Don't worry, lady! I'm on my way!"

Saber came running out of the darkness, screaming. "Oh, it's just a boy," the guy noted, seeing a horde of goblins shooting arrows behind Saber. "Hey, don't come here! Go away!" he shouted.

The group joined Saber's run. "Wait a minute? Why are WE running?" one girl asked.

"Yeah, let's stand in the corner and let them pass through," another girl suggested.

"Well thinking, genius! But here's the problem, once the goblins are angry and start chasing, whoever's in their sight they'll catch them…" the guy explained.

"So, in short…" the girl started.

"RUN!!!" all shouted.

As they ran, one girl noticed a divider. "Look! There's a divider," she pointed out.

"Hey kid. We'll divide from here. Good luck!" the guy said, pushing Saber away. Saber lost his balance.

Damn it! These bastards! Alright then! Saber thought.

"We… should be… out of trouble now…" the guy panted.

"I'm… tired!…" the girl said.

Saber passed them with his Dash. "What!" the guy exclaimed.

"Good luck!" Saber shouted as he turned right. "No! kid! Wait!" the guy called after him.

They took left, and the goblins followed them, with some turning right after Saber. Saber fell from a ledge into the water. "… That… should be… enough…" he panted.

Some goblins landed in front of him with maces and hammers. "Alright, we'll do it your way," Saber said, coming out of the water. He reached for his sword sheath.

Shit! I messed up, Saber thought, flashing back to the sword in the goblin's leg. I never took it back, did I?

The goblins covered the exit. I cannot even use my favorite 'Dash' here, he realized.

"System? Enable 'Arm'," Saber commanded.

"Equipped Skill 'Arm' in use," the system responded.

By the sound of it, this 'arm' is a power-enhancing skill… I'll find out either way, Saber thought. A goblin jumped at him, and Saber punched the goblin's fist holding a mace.

"ARM!!!" Saber shouted, shattering the bones of the goblin's hand along with the mace's handle. The goblin screamed in pain, holding its broken arm.

Two more goblins jumped at Saber. He punched one in the chest, shattering everything inside, and spin-fisted the second one, shattering its skull.

"Exp. Points Earned. Exp. Points Earned," the system announced.

I see, the level-up system huh? Let's begin then! Saber thought, smiling.

One more goblin jumped and got shattered. Another one died, followed by another and another, adding seven more kills. The last two goblins jumped together, and Saber punched both in their guts.

"Exp. Points Earned. Player Leveled up to Level 2. Exp. Points Earned. Combo Exp. Points Earned. Player Leveled up to Level 3," the system updated.

Combo? Sweet! Now I want more combos. Maybe a jumbo meal will be enough to fill my hunger, Saber thought.

Meanwhile, in Chloe's group, they were walking through the passage. "We didn't find anything yet except some minions and goblins," Marco commented.

"Is this really an 'event' dungeon? I don't think so," Ergo added.

"Chloe?" Lead asked.

"Yes!" Chloe replied.

"You're feeling alright?" Lead inquired.

"Y-Yes," Chloe said.

"It's really disturbing that Chloe of all people is quiet today," Marco noted.

"Maybe she's missing her boyfriend?" Ergo suggested.

"Is that really the case, Chloe?" Argil asked.

"Is that true, Chloe?" Marco questioned.

"Don't worry, the brat's going to be alright," Lead assured.

"She really wanted him to join the party," Marco said.

"I know, but I can't babysit under anyone's pressure, right?" Lead pointed out.

"You do have a point. Hey Chloe, don't worry. Samber's going to be alright," Marco said.

"His name is 'Saber'," Chloe corrected.

"Oh! Yes, yes. Saber! Yes, I know. Don't worry, he's going to be alive and you'll see him again, my dear," Marco said.

"And a solo boy was just killed brutally, what a shame," the announcer announced.

"There's a lot of solo players, Chloe. It's definitely not him, it's just some random man," Marco said, trying to reassure her.

"The kid was so small, poor child just lost his future," the announcer added.

"Marco, Saber's wearing black, right? That's not him," Chloe said, trying to reassure herself.

"And a boy in black was just torn in half by a skeleton—" the announcer started to say.

Marco quickly broke the drone, panting heavily. "Who made him the commentator anyway?" Lead said, disturbed.

"Don't sweat it, Chloe. It's going to be alright," Marco said, trying to calm her down.

"Alright, Chloe. Let's do a thing," Lead proposed.

"And that is?" Chloe asked.

"We'll find the kid," Lead said.

"Are you serious? Are you sure you're not tripping?" Chloe asked, her excitement returning.

"That's the Chloe we wanted," Ergo said.

"But on one condition," Lead continued.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Chloe eagerly agreed.

"I didn't even mention the condition yet," Lead said, amused.

"Whatever it is, I agree!" Chloe insisted.

Meanwhile, Saber peeped around a corner and saw two ogres standing quietly. "System? What's my level?" he asked.

"Player Level 4," the system responded.

"4 already, huh? I guess I slaughtered way too few minions and goblins along the way. But they just kept running away, so what could I do?" Saber thought, giggling. He peeped again and noticed the ogres' name titles in yellow. The last time I saw this yellow color name was in the goblins' names, I think. So, this means that these guys are 2 to 3 levels higher than mine. Wait a minute? I did bring some fancy stuff.

Saber knelt down, put his bag down, and searched inside. "Aha! Let's put it to the test," he said.

Back with Chloe's group:

"We did find some gems. These might be the scales of the dragon, right, Lead?" Marco asked.

"Can't say. If these are indeed from the dragon itself, then we can sell them at a higher price in the market, Marco," Lead replied.

"I found a ruby!" Ergo exclaimed.

"Is this an emerald?" Argil asked.

"Oh! A topaz too!" Ergo added.

Chloe sighed, and everyone stopped their actions. "We're searching, Chloe. We're just stuffing the bags with the dropped items, that's all," Lead said, embarrassed.

"I see. You're right. I should try to relax too. Besides… His signal waves didn't have any effect at all," Chloe said.

"You put a tracer in his belongings?" Marco asked.

"Yes, I'll get to know if he's in trouble," Chloe confirmed.

"Then why did you have the long face?" Marco questioned.

"I was feeling a bit lonely, that's all," Chloe admitted.

"We were worried for nothing," Lead said.

Back with Saber, he threw a flash grenade at the ogres. The flash grenade burst, blinding the ogres. Saber quickly kicked one on the knee, and the ogre fell. He then stamped on the foot of the second ogre and used his "arm" skill on its face. The skull only cracked, and Saber landed.

So the higher the level, the lower the effect. Got it, Saber thought. He used the "arm" skill again in the same area, shattering the skull.

"Exp. Points Earned. Player Leveled up to Level 5. Unlocked Skills 'Fists'. Categories available," the system updated.

So this 'Fists' skill has some varieties available, huh? I see, Saber thought, looking at the second ogre. The ogre climbed up and ran away.

"Hey! Wait!" Saber shouted, finding a sword lying where the second ogre had been standing. "This should be enough," he said, running after the ogre.

The ogre led him to an open area and stood in the middle. The thing's not running anymore. Wait! I've been led into a trap! There's nothing around the area, and the creature suddenly stopped in the middle of the pit only means one thing! Saber's eyes widened in shock.

The ground shook, and the ogre was grabbed by a giant hand and crushed.

"Alert!" the system warned.

 NOTIFICATION

You have entered into the lair of the dungeon Overlord

How foolish can I be! I fell straight into the trap, Saber thought, berating himself.

 TASK

Defeat the Overlord

The ground exploded, sending debris flying everywhere as another massive hand emerged from the ground. Saber felt a surge of stress as the towering figure's shadow loomed over him, casting an oppressive darkness.

This is going to be a struggle, Saber thought, his heart pounding.

The Overlord's imposing figure fully emerged from the ground, its eyes glowing with a menacing light. The sheer size and power of the creature were enough to make anyone tremble, but Saber knew he couldn't back down now.

Focus, stay calm, he reminded himself, gripping his weapon tightly. I have to find a way to defeat this thing.

With a determined look in his eyes, Saber took a deep breath and prepared to face the Overlord head-on. The battle for survival had just begun.

OVERLORD CLASS

KING. Ogre Level 10