Chapter 24: Dungeon Conqueror
"We are charging in," Alex drew out his sword.
He held it diagonally in his right hand, looking through it at the forest. In that heated moment, Alex sincerely wished for a skill that would allow him a fast and powerful charge! Alas, Alex's current skills were all about close combat.
In his left hand, Alex clenched a health potion, however. He slipped it into his sleeve, in which it would patiently wait for its mission.
Since Alex's clothes were similar to general's, his sleeve closely stuck to his skin. He wouldn't lose this potion, even if he were to move his limbs like a boxer.
That health potion was a low-grade item.
Of course, using potions during a battle was quite wasteful. Just a scratch would stop its effects. Therefore, Alex planned to use it immediately after distancing from the monster.
He put it in his sleeve before fighting because he couldn't use his system seamlessly during the battle. He would have to click through system messages to take out a potion, which would be a fatal mistake.
Not only he would waste precious seconds in the battle, but Alex also would expose himself to the monster, possibly losing the potion's effects.
'It might be naive of me to use a potion in the rain that slows us down… But I can't waste my left hand, can I?' Alex chuckled inwardly.
Although players relied on the system heavily, it was a matter of time before they could use it through sheer will. In Alex's case, he already could use skills through his mind alone. Just thinking about [Chilling Slash] was enough for him to bring out the skill.
Alex didn't know whether it was his talent. Perhaps, the time he'd spent with the Deathwill Sisters brought him closer to the game system.
Anyway, he believed he would be one of the first players to use the system with his will alone.
"Let's go!" Alex shouted and began the charge.
Behind him, Olivia nodded decisively. She also had her weapon drawn, her system no longer before her eyes. Nothing disturbed her vision.
She followed her boyfriend as much as she could. However, Alex distanced himself considerably from her in just a few seconds.
It was just a level gap. As a spear user, Olivia increased the same stats as Alex.
Nonetheless, Alex knew she would catch up to him fast enough. He didn't stop his charge at all.
At last, the mush rain wholly drenched him wet.
Alex felt his speed slowing down and his stamina bar going down faster. Those stats were so valuable to him that a spark of indignation rose in Alex's heart.
But he remained composed and vigilant of his surroundings.
'You are here, huh,' Alex smiled inwardly, his eyes on the familiar mushroom monster.
As if he was a guard protecting the forest's border, the forest monster didn't leave his former place, from which he'd attacked Alex.
He reared his unique head and stared at Alex with killing intent.
It was a great contrast from what he'd shown before.
Alex smirked, 'No longer acting cute. Alright. His next move… It will be obviously the same move… Before, he attacked my eye… So vital points…'
After thinking of possible moves from the mushroom monster, Alex slashed his sword before himself. He inferred that the beast would repeat the same attack until Alex got close.
He wasn't sure whether his enemy would aim for eyes again, but Alex made sure his slash was wide and big enough to cover a few more vital points!
His choice was right!
The moment he swung down his weapon, Alex received the system message.
[Your first weapon's durability has fallen down by 5 points.]
Fortunately, the acid didn't have any corrosion effect!
It took a second for Alex to read those messages. His body never stopped moving, and he was slowly getting closer to the monster.
He did a few more swings. Alas, the enemy's target had changed already. Alex's right shoulder suffered the blow.
But before any of the poison effects spread across his right arm, Alex thrust his weapon in! He inflicted considerable damage with his thrust skill, then three more [Chilling Slashes] swept through the mushroom monster.
[-110 HP!]
[-143 HP!]
[-127 HP!]
But for each slash, Alex received two blows!
"This speed is too much of a bother!" Alex reacted loudly, kicking the ground.
He distanced himself from the monster before suffering more losses. He didn't know what kind of close skills the monster had, and Alex wasn't in a state where he could try them head-on.
He immediately fished out the potion, then gulped it down.
That was when Olivia's time to shine came.
Bypassing her boyfriend from the right side, Olivia's long spear sparked. Blue sparks swept through her weapon, increasing her speed. For a moment, she took all debuffs off her body.
Her weapon was also longer, reaching the monster faster!
BANG!
"Lightning?" Alex's eyes shone as he liked that element.
His girlfriend didn't reply to him yet. Instead, Olivia focused on her combo. After one thrust, a few more followed, each carrying lightning! She then retracted her weapon and loaded the crowd control skill.
In short, CC was an effect that would disable opponents.
Olivia's spear let out more lightning. She then wiped space before herself in a cone, opening the wounds she'd inflicted beforehand.
From those wounds, lightning rose, temporarily stunning her opponent.
Buying herself a time, Olivia went to her boyfriend's side, "Ready for a joint attack, handsome?"
"With you? Always," Alex smirked, then the couple attacked together at the same time.
Their combination was quite off, but their weapons successfully landed on the mushroom monster, ending his life.
In his last moments, the monster shrieked. His body exploded like a mini bomb, his poison splashing on Alex and Olivia abundantly.
They started at the purple stain on the ground with squinted eyes.
"We kinda worked too much just for one monster…" Alex whispered.
Olivia nodded, "Let's try a few more, okay?"
Although she liked to challenge herself, Olivia also knew that her boyfriend wouldn't want them challenging themselves for the whole day. Alex wanted to be productive, and such challenges would be like wasting their time and efforts.
She knew it well, so Olivia went for a compromise.
They stepped forward and searched for more monsters.
But just a few seconds later, the third party's voice rang out in Alex and Olivia's ears.
"You two have never played any MMORPG. Who the fuck comes here unprepared? Where are antidotes? Are you really going to let this fucking rain affect you? How lame," A male's voice in his early twenties came from behind.
Alex and Olivia turned around, instantly finding a man in black clothes. He looked like a thief or rogue class, in particular, due to his black robe.
But that black robe was a peculiar item!
Upon a closer look, Alex noticed that the mush rain slid down his body!
"Alex… I think we found a big fish," Olivia pulled Alex's clothes, her eyes on the man's status.
Although the man in black didn't expose his nickname, he revealed one of his titles.
[Dungeon Conqueror.]
"Is he what I think he is?" Alex asked.
Before Olivia replied, the man tilted his head, "Hey… I will nicely explain it to you. In exchange, I want you to tell me where you got your class from."
"What class?" Alex narrowed his eyes.
"Don't play dumb, okay? I am interested in your cat class. You looked pretty fast, even while affected by the mush rain," the man smiled.
Inwardly, Alex sighed with relief, 'For a second, I thought he could see through my hidden nickname. Well, then…'
Alex reciprocated the man's smile and replied merrily, "Your black robe looks like a good item for this kind of environment. Give it to me, and I will give you a clue about the cat class. How about it? I find it a fair trade."
"Hah. Someone wants to die," the man took hands out of his pockets and entered the battle stance.
Now, Alex and Olivia were faced with a much harder enemy.
And for Alex, it would be the first time fighting the player!
The man revealed his nickname.
[Marvel Levram Lv. 19 HP:??? MP:???]
[Guild Master Of Vile Evil.]
"It's not like I planned to let you two just go," Marvel licked his lips.