Trapped in a Dungeon with a System

The dark oval room was being illuminated by the several stone torches adorned around, even after the ruler had appeared, they did not stop charging and kept on accumulating electricity while sending more light to the outside.

Terazus, the five meters tall slime that ruled over this labyrinth, became more prominent as the energy accumulated and its form became clearer to Jae-Hwa's eyes.

The ground rumbled beneath her feet as several shockwaves fell around her, forming a line until it eventually created a circle around the both of them, as if to say: This is where we fight, this is where one of us dies.

Luckily to her, there wasn't much space that she could use apart from the one delimited by the burning line of stone. Even then, the difference in strengths was the most worrying to her.

The ruler has a hundred and fifty health, more than I do, not to mention that its other stats are most likely also higher than mine.

"If I let it do too much damage, it's over for me." She muttered nervously while looking around for anything that could be of use.

In her vision were two pillars that reached the ceiling, looking easy to destroy and let it fall on the ginormous slime if its body wasn't essentially a pillow for objects to fall on and bounce away.

It was too dangerous to try even if she had space to avoid it.

"Then, all that is left is too attack." As she confirms her own actions aloud, Jae-Hwa starts running to it's front, holding her spear with her right hand.

The floor trembled once more as soon as more than five steps were taken. The beast grumbled, eager for action and its body started charging up, a bright light invading its insides and moving upwards progressively until it eventually faded.

To her surprise nothing was happening, complete silence until the crackling of electricity alerted her ears. Looking around, there was nothing, once again nothing but the sound of electricity.

"Jae-Hwa! Up!"

Hyeong Hae screams from the gigantic rose-carved door, saying words without sense that she could not grasp the meaning of.

"Up! Look up!"

She continued, screaming countless times for her to look up until she conformed with it, Jae-Hwa's eyes widening in shock.

On top of her was a sphere of thunder merging with the surrounding energy, ready to be unleashed at any given moment.

Cho Jae-Hwa's only response was to react, get away from there as fast as possible. As soon as her shoes scrapped on the ground to change direction, a conserved giggle seemed to come out of the monster and the thunder fell on the spot late enough for her to escape unscathed.

"That was close... Out of the two skills the information showed, this must be the thunder one, respectful to the name, I see. All that is left is to find what the other one does—!"

With no time to talk and barely think, another comes raining down at her, followed by many more. She could hardly keep up with the sudden burst of thunderbolts coming down at her, much less thank Hyeong for helping her.

She could not space out for any longer than a couple of seconds or else she would be hit or worse. Running around in circles or back and forth was the best she could do but besides that, Jae-Hwa could feel the back of her neck being watched, every movement she did being studied by her enemy.

The electric slime wobbled up and down, breathing heavily with tiredness as it slowed down on the thunders that rained on her before they eventually stopped. She did not stop, however, if anything, she sped up even more in an attempt to confuse it.

Little did she know that despite a new being formed more slowly than the rest, it was merely to force her to do a tighter turn and throw her to the ground.

The fall was tough, enough to throw her weapon away from her and to scrape her knees, but the most difficult was that it left her open to an attack that completely struck her.

HEALTH: 125/130

"Only five health...? ...Gotta be because I am on the ground, it must have dispersed."

Despite her relief, she still had energy to spare for complaining.

"You see, I haven't even done any damage to you. This is supposed to be the final fight, the big bad monster that doesn't need to use their powers until it loses a lot of health, so why the hell did you go with everything from the start!? Huh!?"

With a big deep breath, Cho Jae-Hwa had finally let go of the unfairness of life for this battle and hastily retrieved her weapon.

Cold sweat was starting to drip from her forehead and her long white hair was also creating beads of it on the floor from running so much. Even if it was merely five health, it was just pure luck, there was no guarantee that the rest of the attacks would be as weak.

Cho Jae-Hwa had no time to play around, especially when the enemy was tired.

"Get ready." Leaning forward to become faster, her eyes become pale and cold as she runs to Terazus' side, letting her battle sense consume her.

A faint glow of orange energy coathes her and her metallic spear while thin veils of orange steam emerge from her skin, the results of her skill .

Damage: 23 (+12)

Her legs moved without the need for an order, circling the body of the tired monster as she thrusted the bladed side of her spear's head and cut the mucous and gelatinous body it had. The attempted logic was the same as the Guardian Slime, trying to shave off the size to become easier to reach the core, but not matter how much she attempted, the enemy's size did not change, nor fluctuate, only the health that was slowly losing points.

After doing two circles around it, the powerful presence remained and only thirteen health was taken away. In her mind, she attempted to find a way around to deal more damage.

I already wasted one minute of my skill, any more and my attacks would eventually become useless. To do big damage I need to use what I have, the pillars and the walls, there is no other choice but to support my movements with them and surprise that powerful aberration as best as I can.

Concentrating her mind, Jae-Hwa runs for cover behind a pillar, hiding herself from Terazus as she used and coated her body in transparency. Her hands made sure to know if anyone had noticed, waving at random without response.

"Alright. First I need to shave off its health before it finds me."

Even if she had to keep reusing until her energy points could no longer allow her, she was going to do it. All to make it easier to defeat the ruler.

Counting down from three with her head, upon reaching one, she dashes along the marked line of battle, which upon reaching the back wall, her surroundings become slower, the electricity crackles at a lower rate as she activates and uses her momentum to run along the wall.

The surface is too smooth, even for stone, so the footing is not exactly acceptable, but for Jae-Hwa, she only needed some seconds to be able to reach a point good enough to leap.

As she readied her ceremonial metal spear, the aura of orange light around her was starting to lose color... soon, she would lose the addicional damage gave her.

"Right there." With the impulse of her stronger and faster body, she presses her shoes against the stone wall and leaps on the side of the giant slime once more, slashing multiple times at its body.

It was too shallow, too ineffective, which naturally irritated her. However, there was no other choice.

"Wait, it didn't go off?" To her surprise, her concealment skill did not end and she was still running around invisible, with no one to notice her.

Back then when I first tested it, there were a lot of people, which would mean that the effect didn't end with sound, but because of it! Someone must have heard it and noticed something wrong, so as long as it doesn't know where I am...

"I am invencible!"

Cho Jae-Hwa kept on rushing sneakily from the sides, slashing and thrusting as much as she could manage while the enemy ruler kept wondering her true position.

There was an occasional gust of wind, the sound of metal hitting the floor from all the spinning she did to reposition her weapon and some gasps and giggles.

She was finally having fun in the battle and letting her instincts run wild, although the ruler of the chamber she set foot on kept growing on levels of anger.

—Terazus, the Electrifying Slime—————

ENEMY HEALTH: 104/150

"Finally some visual results." The battle had been growing harsher for Jae-Hwa to complete. It took her ten minutes to nearly take down a third of the maximum health and had just used a revitalizer to recover some of her lost energy points. The enemy did not show any changes besides becoming more wary of her movement, even though she had to reactivate her concealment skill again.

Wobbling up and down rapidly, energy swelled up inside the ginormous slime once again but instead of a sphere, it generated an oval shape full of thunder energy.

She could not understand what was about to happen but to her luck, as she looks behind her shoulder, Hyeong still glances attentively at the battle, ready to help at any given moment.

Being confident that nothing bad would come from this attack, she rides with the almost non-existent wind, gasping for air and tiredness as her eyes wonder with curiosity the sphere of electrical power descending slowly.

As it hits a tile on the floor, the energy of the attack disperses and covers the entire battlefield, crackling in sudden shocks. Jae-Hwa was already close to the wall, her feet leave the wall but even then are caught up in the web of static, numbing her toes and causing her own invisibility to break apart and reveal her appearance.

Her eyes shone like jewels in the night being lit up by the moon, pale emeralds that contained one objective alone to perform. In response, her spear's head travelled across the foe's body and carved a cross in the gelatinous substance.

"Holy Cross!" A few moments passed until a tiny orb of white energy burst in four different directions, covering the whole wound in holy energy and almost blinding the user. The creature wailed in pain and tremebled its body in apparent pain.

Still in the air, Jae-Hwa smiled at her victorious attack and glanced at the enemy's health.

ENEMY HEALTH: 84/150

The damaged was great, even if it couldn't be done consecutively, but something felt odd. It was certain that the enemy felt the pain, but somehow it also seemed secure, mad with rage as multiple shocks landed around it and its eyebrows of eletric power changing expression, but it looked safe enough to not even move.

She looked at her surroundings, a certain voice reached her ears in a much slower pace and with a lower pitch. Looking back at Hyeong, perhaps because of adrenaline, she hadn't noticed that her mouth was moving slower than it should. Consequently, her neck attempts to look back at the monster, but not as her body commanded.

Why now, when I finally get to be more bold in my attacks, karma comes to bite me? Damn it..!

Her words did not leave her slightly dehydrated lips, thoughts were the only thing she cold muster. She could glance around her, tiny orbs of static forming, zapping her skin with minimals areas of effect, making her shiver at a light that grew larger and brighter on top of her head.

In an instant, her field of view was filled with yellow, her hearing deafened with a loud ringing and her whole body aching as a giant thunder strucks her body directly mid-air. The moment she hit the hard stone floor, a violent migraine invaded her.

She could barely breathe and her vision had become darkened and blurry. Her bones and muscles were too tense to move, although there seemed to be more than that happening.

PLAYER NAME: CHO JAE-HWA

...

HEALTH: 78/130

"Stun..?"

My voice will barely come out. This must be what that boy was struck with... the other skill that I had yet to figure out what it does: Stasis.

Damn it... Why now, when I was doing so good?

Amidst her thoughts, where Cho Jae-Hwa could not see or understand, Hyeong Hae was on par with and terrified.

The paralyzed body of her savior— or rather, friend, was too familiar for the leader of the group. She imagined the young man's silhouette as it pleaded for help, seeing that same situation about to happen.

To deepen the wound, the entrance to the ruler's chamber had started to close, as if the labyrinth itself had decided that it was time to end the battle. It was slow and painful, as if the sound of the stone scraping against each other made Hyeong's heart bleed with sorrow.

"Jae-Hwa... No, no, no... Not again, please not again!"

She tightened the clothes around her heart, gasping for air as her husband attempted to calm her down, along with everyone in the group. Her hand strechted to the door, expecting to be forced to stop by an invisible barrier, but no, she could still enter, her hand was still capable of trespassing where the barrier should be.

Inside the room, the sound of thunder echoed, reaching the outside. With worry, she glanced over to the statues that guarded outside and let her lips talk before her brain.

"My hand can go inside, that means I can still help her right!? I can go save her, can't I, runic knight!?"

The statues gallantly hold their weapons close to their chests, shouting some words in synchronization.

"As long as the entrance can let a challenger through and the flowers bloom, anyone can enter."

"What are you doing Hae?" Her husband asked, clinging to her arm with enough strength to stop her from getting up.

"I am going inside. She can't move her body— At this rate, it is going to happen again. Someone will die and I will not do anything... If I can save her, I will not let her die!"

As the echo of thunder emerges, so does a pair of thunderbolts striking progressively closer to Jae-Hwa's body.

Hyeong moves the hand of her lover forcibly away, making him fall to the ground in surprise. She was never like this, not until her amber eyes started shining with life.

"Even if I have to be the one to die... I will protect you!"

Hyeong screamed as her feet went over the limit to reach in time, patting the lone girl's shoulders as soon as she had gotten in time. The thunder approached, increasing in speed as the pillar of energy finally hit the two of them.

The group of players screamed and gasped, only to later wonder in surprise as their leader had blocked the thunderbolt with nothing but her shield.

"Run... That is... not enough..." Jae-Hwa's lips moved forcibly to tell her protector of the danger that was this battle. The shieldbearer, however, did not listen.

"You're right, I wasn't able to fully block the damage this thing does, but as long as that keeps you alive, that's what matters. Until what makes you paralyzed ends, I will protect you."

"The skill, Stasis..."

Hyeong looked puzzled at her words, attempting to understand what she meant until she remembered to check the ruler's status. The first skill it presented had the same name, so it could only be it, but to their luck, it didn't seem like the ginormous slime could do another for some time.

"It's okay! It is tired, I'm sure it will be some time until there's another one!"

More thunders rained down on her after her words, crumbling her shield piece by piece and increasing the damage she received. After a minute of defending, the screams and shouts of those who blindly followed her became closer until somehow everyone had agreed to enter the battle.

The attacks subsided and the doors to this oval room they had stepped into, finally closed. They were trapped, scared, but most of all, forced to fight or survive until the end.

As their only source of light now, the stone torches around the walls change their behaviour, producing regular slimes out of the source of energy.

By the time everyone was finally divided into groups and fighting the little ones, Jae-Hwa's stun effect was starting to disappear, causing her body to move slowly.

With help of Hyeong, she was finally up and ready for more combat.

"Everyone!" Hyeong Hae raised her blade high up towards the sky, shouting with presence and courage to those who fought on her side. "Deal with the little slimes that are being created! Switch partners if needed! Until the battle is over, please do your best!"

When her words ended, a little jingle reverberated in her ears, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise of the panel in front of her.

—NEW SKILL—————————————

SKILL NAME: Valiant Echo

ENERGY REQUIRED: 7 ENERGY

DESCRIPTION: The user shouts words of courage to their fellow warriors. Everyone inside a radius of 3 meters obtains enhanced damage and defense to finish the battle.

The user can increase the radius by spending more energy.

"If that is the case—" Hyeong shouted, pointing the tip of her sword to the enemy, her gaze shining with hope and courage. "Use my energy as much as you want and cover the whole room!"

Upon finishing her words, light appears from the bottom of her shoes, until it expanded and filled the whole room with a calming golden light as she ordered. In the center were the symbols of a sword and a shield, most likely to represent the effects.

Cho Jae-Hwa looked at her hands, now fully freed from her paralyzation, gazing at the flowing energy that the circled generated. Her body felt lighter but also sturdier. Upon looking at her status, she quickly found out why.

DAMAGE: 28 (+17) // DEFENSE: 32 (+16)

"It increased by ten!?" Words could not describe how confused or jealous that such a thing was possible, but that had to remain for later. As of this moment, all that it mattered was that she could finally deal a great amount of damage.

"...Are you ready, miss Hae?"

"After you, dear."

Both shared a chuckle before dashing towards Terazus. The foe's levitating crown suddenly rotated at great speed and increased the amount of thunderbolts that came for the two of them. Those who fought the slimes had some trouble keeping up with the intensity, but somehow Hyeong was able to dodge and attack, as if she was stronger than those affected by her skill.

Jae-Hwa dealt the first strike while Hyeong followed with a slash, doing so repeatedly and some times reversing the order where she would follow her companion's amber eyes to thrust her spear in.

—Terazus, the Electrifying Slime—————

ENEMY HEALTH: 84/150

...

ENEMY HEALTH: 68/150

...

ENEMY HEALTH: 31/150

When the enemy had reached a critically dangerous stage in it's health, Terazus dodged the overhead slashes, squished it's body to any thrust Jae-Hwa would attempt, it essentially ran for its life as best as it could, without letting them do any more damage.

Noticing this, the battle came to a halt, both warriors dehydrated and tired from all the unecessary exercise.

Seconds pass, catching their breath as fast as possible, but not fast enough for their foe to not act.

Once more, energy accumulated inside its body, this time expanding and becoming even larger than its original size. It could be just a larger but those who fought it before knew that there was more to it. Cho Jae-Hwa could feel in her skin the sensation of being stopped by the stasis skill and if it were to happen now when there is everybody inside, it would result in a massacre.

"As if I would let it happen it again!" She shouts, lifting her spear over her head, letting the energy caused by Hyeong seep into her weapon as she activated and proceeded to form a cross in the air.

"This is just an hypothesis, but open your mother and savor it, you damn monster! Holy Cross!"

As her metallic weapon is thrown across the room, the blast of wind created throws her to the ground, rays of light create a trail along the path towards the ruler. On impact, the spearhead rotates uncontrollably and creates a giant hole in its body forcefully, then continuing its path until the wall is hit and crumbled by the power stored in the spear.

"End it, miss Hae!"

Following her command, Hyeong Hae moves unconsciously at high speed, looking even faster and stronger than before. With the core now exposed, it was only a matter of seconds before the core was hit.

"On it!" She responded, her blade becoming closer to the decisive strike.

As if out of mercy, the slime begins to produce sounds similar to pain, weeping and rage, but that is not enough to stop the leader, Hyeong Hae, from cutting the core of the vile being in half, with zero diffculty.

The core vanishes into dust, followed by the mucus left by it after some seconds. Next, the slimes that were nearly outnumbering the remaining members of the fight also vanished without the need to defeat them.

"Is it over?"

Everyone remained silent upon listening to the question, waiting for something to happen, for any other monster to appear. As Jae-Hwa picked up her spear, a notice panel appeared.

—LEVEL UP—————————————

3 ›› 4

130 ›› 140

11 ›› 13

16 ›› 18

35 ›› 40

—CONGRATULATIONS————————

You were one of the main contributors of the fight! <+ 30% EXP>

You dealt at least half the damage! <+ 20% EXP>

+ 100 EXP

CREDITS: + 40

NEW TITLE: Giant Slayer

Finally, one last panel appeared, much more comforting than the others.

—DOMAIN RULER SLAIN———————

Congratulations! You have defeated Terazus, the Electrifying Slime!

"We won... We won! We did it! We actually did it!"

Everyone cheered in unison at their achievement, still not fully believing what had happened.

—CURRENT STATS——————————

PLAYER NAME: CHO JAE-HWA // LEVEL: 4 <0/135 EXP>

BLESSING: none

TITLE: Giant Slayer

HEALTH: 54/140

DAMAGE: 20 (+7) // DEFENSE: 24 (+6) // ENERGY: 0/40

WEAPON: Ceremonial Metal Spear

ARMOR: Hunter's Garb

SKILLS: , , , ,

CREDITS: 45