<Chapter 5. Trickster's Karma - 5>

"Is it the... boss room?"

The sewers dungeon he had entered had quite a simple structure. Though it thoroughly had roads that split off, other than the small waterway that organisms couldn't go in or out of, there were only a few wide passageways, so he could just thoughtlessly kill the slimes and follow the path.

And at the end of this path was this. He had a suspicion that the passageways were gradually merging into one, and it turned out it was all because of the boss room.

'There's probably no reason to hesitate at this point.'

It did seem like he had killed all the slimes, and he didn't have a reason to turn back without killing the boss.

But he hadn't felt danger from an enemy even once in this dungeon, and he was a bit exhausted, so if he were to fight the boss in this state, he might lose one of his precious lives, so before fighting the boss, Lee Shin Woo yelled out to refocus himself.

'I need to put on my equipment too.'

He hadn't worn his equipment for the past five days, so it felt a bit awkward. Lee Shin Woo wore the Dire Wolf Bone Armor, confirmed that his health had indeed increased, and raised the Bone of Thunder Lasting in his hand. This time, his strength and magic increased. When he checked his status in this state...

[Lee Shin Woo]

[Skeleton Avenger Blessed by God]

[Treasure Hunter]

[Lv - 2 (Status Effectiveness 110%)

[Strength - 98 + 16 Agility - 95 + 10 Health - 95 + 30 Magic - 102 + 15] (While dungeon bonuses are being applied)

[Passive skills - Invisible Heart Lv3, Acting Lv4, Beginner Avenger Lv1, Low Rank Bursting Thunder Lv4, Low Rank Magic Affinity Lv2, Low Rank Stealth Lv3, Beginner Command Lv3]

[Active skills - Bone Reinforcement Lv3, Low Rank Sprint Lv2, Beginner Shriek of the Dead Lv9, Beginner Regeneration Lv9, Beginner Catapult Lv8, Beginner Flames of Revenge Lv7, Beginner Power Slash Lv5]

[Resistance - Acid - Beginner Lv9]

There wasn't much change in his strength, agility, or health. At most, his skills leveled up, or his stats increased slightly as an additional effect of receiving a portion of the Barbarian's karma. However, the change in his magic was huge.

He trained his Low Rank Magic Affinity, and reinforced himself with the slime bone cores he occasionally acquired; as a result, his stat which had, funnily enough, been the lowest, was the stat that exceeded 100 first! Because of that, his stats reached a total of 390. If he raised his stats by 10, he would reach a total of 400, and would soon reach level 3.

'If we add in the bonus, I'm already level 3.'

It happened when he saw the equipment's effects, as well as the dungeons bonus on his stats. He thought he needed to be really focused, yet when he saw his persistently increasing stats, he couldn't stop the rushing feeling that he didn't need to be afraid of anything.

'No, I can't do that.'

Lee Shin Woo hit his cheek. It was annoying that he didn't even hear a slapping sound but instead heard a stiff sound, but he was able to get a hold of himself.

"Hoo... Alright."

His preparations were perfect. His health and mana were full, and his combat senses were well polished, unlike before. His Acid Resistance had also increased sharply due to his body resisting so much acid.

Lee Shin Woo approached the circular iron gate after exhaling a deep breath. And daringly opened the door.

[Guooooh...]

There was a really huge clearing within, and a really big slime filled about a third of the clearing. ...A really big slime.

[Lv3 Great Slime]

[Guooh?]

"..."

All of his concerns until now had been pointless. The moment he saw it, his abundant confidence disappeared into the ground.

Despite sufficiently preparing for the boss fight, he hadn't imagined that this kind of situation would be awaiting him. Why the hell did a level 1 dungeon have a level 3 boss?

[Guooh...!]

However, he didn't have time to spare quibbling over why. That's because the Great Slime noticed him, lightly sprung up from its position with its chubby body, and... with an astonishing speed, rushed towards him!

[Guoooh!]

"You asshole, that's cheating!"

'Would it just rush over like that?' is what he stupidly thought and survived as a result. He instinctually used his Sprint and was able to avoid its attack.

Instead of hitting Lee Shin Woo, the Great Slime collided with the iron gate, forcibly closing it due to impact, and making this place a secret room.

'Huh?'

Lee Shin Woo saw that and momentarily felt like something was strange, but that didn't continue for very long. Since it was already too much just to be completely focused on this fight!

[Guoooh!]

"Ugh!"

It seemed like it wasn't very hurt even after hitting the wall as it once again bounced in place and rushed towards him. Like it was proving that it was level 3, it rushed at him with an absurd speed he hadn't yet experienced before!

"Uaah!"

To think that a skeleton was dodging a slime bouncing in place; someone observing from the outside would think of this as an extremely comical scene, but honestly, Lee Shin Woo, who was facing the slime, felt like he was a soldier that came across a clump of rock launched from a catapult.

"Tch!"

[Guooh!]

The trajectory of its charge was really simple, so as long he grasped its charge beforehand, it wasn't actually that hard to dodge it.

However, he couldn't just dodge like this forever. Lee Shin Woo really didn't like this situation. It made him think of when he was in high school, competing in dodgeball, and him being the only one remaining in the ring.

[Guoooooooh!]

He would've rather gotten hit quickly and gone out, but just getting hit on purpose was kind of awkward, so he had run around hectically; it felt really miserable back then!

Remembering that, spite welled up in his (nonexistent) eyes. This was revenge time. He would inflict his past revenge on this guy instead! Certain individuals might say that he was accusing the wrong person or passing the blame, but he wasn't concerned with that.

'Flames of Revenge.'

As he dodged its fourth charge, he manifested a mass of black flames atop one of his hands.

If he did as he wanted, he would've fought by putting the flames on his weapon, but if he clashed straight up with the slime, which was continuously charging without pause, his weapon or his body would be crushed, so it was impossible.

[Guooh!]

Lee Shin Woo rolled his body, and even as his body got wet from the dirty underground water, he once again dodged the Great Slime's charge. It once again hit the wall, creating a tremendous noise. And for a brief instant, it didn't move.

'Now!'

Lee Shin Woo, who had been waiting for that opportunity, swiftly blew the black flames forwards, hitting the mark. It had a homing ability, so the accompanying flames accurately hit the Great Slime's body, started draining his mana from far away, and began to burn lively.

[Guoooooooh!]

Its response was truly fierce. Slimes' common weakness was fire, and it going completely up in flames in real time was proof of that! It rubbed itself in the dirty water in an attempt to extinguish the fire, but it wouldn't be called the Flames of Revenge if it were that easy to extinguish.

[Gugeugeugeugeugeugeuk!]

"Wow, you sure burn well."

This moment was the most fulfilling moment in his life. It would've been nice if he could've also burned those bastards that had only aimed for him in dodgeball like that!

[Gooooguaaah!]

But that leisurely thought only lasted for a moment. The intensity of the flames gradually expanded, and when its body was engulfed and burning, the Great Slime seemed to shake... and instantly erupted in a grand explosion!

"What!?"

After the fire had attached to it, it had disassembled a portion of its body into pieces and erupted everywhere! It was like a missile that had slammed into the ground and exploded. Since there was nowhere to dodge, he just hurriedly curled up his body and protected his head.

"Ugh, urgh...!"

In a split second, he curled himself in a ball and the Great Slime shot out fragments of itself like shells, flying towards him and pummeling him. It hurt immensely. Each of those fragments contained a devastating acid within, and he felt his arms and legs, as well as various parts of his body being perforated in real time.

[Gooooooh!]

At that moment, the Great Slime shrieked once more. Lee Shin Woo was sure that it was a sign that the Great Slime was going to charge, and he grit his teeth and rolled onto the floor, even though his body was full of holes.

As expected, immediately after, he could hear the sound of the wind being split terrifyingly, and the Great Slime grazed past him and hit the ground with a thud. Its collision emitted a sound akin to an explosion!

'Regeneration!'

Since it came to this, he couldn't afford to conserve his mana. Lee Shin Woo hurriedly stood up, recovered his body through regeneration, and secured a clear view. In the process of tearing its body apart for the suicidal explosion, it had definitely gotten a lot smaller.

[Lv3 Great Slime]

'The level's still the same even though it's a lot smaller now... The magic within its body seems to be the same, too.'

The Great Slime, by exploding a portion of its body, had managed to extinguish the fire that would never go out unless its target was dead.

Due to that, its body had gotten smaller, but the magic was focused and condensed within its body, so its strength hadn't lessened one bit. On the contrary, although its stats were the same, due to its smaller size, it seemed to be even faster!

[Guoooh!]

"Eeeek...!"

However, despite the situation taking a turn for the worse, he was sure that his method of attacking was correct.

If he were to nitpick over its natural abilities, it was a monster that far surpassed the Treasure Eater. He couldn't even imagine taking it head on, so he needed to reduce its size this way.

'I'll burn its body using the Flames of Revenge, causing it to shake it off by using its suicidal explosion. I'll recover the damage I take from its explosion, and in the process, the slime's charge will gradually become faster. I'll dodge its charge and then hit it once again with my Flames of Revenge. ...Yeah, it's perfect. It's a perfect nightmare.'

As he repeatedly trained in this dungeon, he had certainly grown in stats, skills, and experience; yet he felt frustrated that he still had to struggle against the boss.

However, truthfully, it was the opposite. Because he did his best to train and went through the motions to learn his skills through firsthand experience, he was able fight this monster 1 on 1. If he hadn't thought of training his Flames of Revenge, no, if he hadn't thought of immediately becoming familiar with his Regeneration skill, he wouldn't have even stood a chance in this battle.

"Sseup, there's no helping it..."

Lee Shin Woo, with the feeling that he was a newtype [1] relying on his machine to plunge into the atmosphere, formed his Flames of Revenge. He didn't know if his health and magic would endure until the end of this battle, but he had no choice but to try it right now.

[Guuuuu...oooh!]

"Ha!"

It was preparing its charge again, but no matter how fast it was, the fact that its route was simple didn't change. Lee Shin Woo had also become familiar with it, so the instant it charged, he used his Sprint and avoided it; simultaneously, he successfully hit it with his Flames of Revenge.

[Gureureureu!]

"It's coming...!"

It bounced so quickly that it wasn't aware of the incoming fire and was struck by a direct hit. It hit the wall, its body rolled, and then... when it realized that its body was on fire, it rampaged about like last time, and exploded for the second time!

However, just as Lee Shin Woo had prepared beforehand, he protected his head, and the instant he took damage, he withdrew the stockpiled materials in his inventory and used Bone Reinforcement, healing his wounds.

'I have to use Flames of Revenge again, so I have to endure by using the bones in my inventory for now.'

Though his Low Rank Magic Affinity had grown, it was still low rank, and despite how much higher his magic had gotten, he was ultimately still level 2. He couldn't endlessly utilize both his Flames of Revenge and Regeneration at the same time.

Although Lee Shin Woo possessed an ability that allowed him to face his opponent, he lamented that he was unable to use it as much as he wanted, and moved unceasingly. He would survive this battle no matter what, and next time, he would be a bit stronger.

[Guoooooooh!]

"Yes, yes, you damn Pudding. Let's play some more...!"

Lee Shin Woo grit his teeth, muttered, and used Sprint. Immediately after, the Great Slime, which had lessened in size again, slammed into the spot he was just in. As expected, it was gradually becoming faster and faster.

... It seemed that his Sprint skill, which he had neglected in this dungeon, would get some good training in the end.

[1] T/N: Mobile Suit Gundam reference. It's about giant mecha, and newtypes are basically people with psychic abilities.

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