Ep. 5 — Chapter 20: Forest of Mist (3)

It was like a calm place in contrast to the rest of the area. Everywhere else was ravaged with thick clouds and blinding seas of haze, but here, it was tranquil. There is even a streak of sunlight beaming down from above. It was like being in a circular shaped room, but without doors or a roof. And the walls are made of mist and clouds.

After being inside the fog for so long, the sudden feeling of fresh air struck me, making me almost in a trance-like state. Damn, I could finally breathe now after being in that Hell-like place.

[You have entered a 'Boss Area'.]

Right, this is where that bastard is. I clutched the chains tightly, making a gap in between my feet. I prepared myself for any incoming attack from the boss…wherever it may be. I glanced around the place, scanning the vicinity. There was no sign of life other than my own. It was peaceful and quiet here. More like a tiny utopia within these clouds of mist.

"Boss Area, is it? Where the hell is the boss?" I asked no one in particular, becoming impatient. It seems the fog was still having an effect on me mentally, so I wasn't able to think rationally. I wouldn't be surprised if I threw a tantrum now, wailing for the Boss to appear.

"Hey, damn it! Where's the boss?! System!"

Damn. I'm losing myself. "Screw this fog…"

[You have invested 1,000P into Mentality.]

[Your mental ability has increased sharply!]

[Your current Mentality is at level 19!]

My mind became a subtle bit more clearer and focused. It was still in a weird and confused state, but more manageable now. I took deep breaths, readying myself for whatever comes my way.

[Your Mentality is offsetting a portion of the 'Fog's effect on you character.]

"System, where am I now?"

[You are currently in the 'Boss Room'.]

Oh. I didn't even know I could ask questions and it would provide me with answers. Well, I suppose we could ask things like that. We weren't able to actually browse the system settings like I did while playing the game. So verbal requests are needed.

I wonder how much I could push the system. I had a pretty vague idea of it, but I wanted to see if I could get more information on this world, which is most likely impossible.

"Where is this place?" I asked, wondering if it would understand what I meant. I was sure it's going to give me the city's name or even something like 'Earth'.

['World—90534'. Current status: Disconnected.]

What? Ah, it did appear something like this. Back then, during the tutorial level. But what about the disconnected part? "What does that mean?"

[The current world is not connected to the ≪Online World System≫.]

≪Online World System≫. I wasn't sure about this whole thing.

Nevertheless, I should stop worrying about that for now.

The boss still isn't here. Shit, this bastard is only wasting my time. I glanced at the time, and there was only less than 50 minutes. If I continued to stay here, I might as well just die.

I continued to glance over between the empty circular boss room and the timer.

Damn, I can't stay here, even if I wanted to. I turned to look above me, the sunlight beaming down. It was a pretty tall wall of white clouds. But I think I could make the jump. The problem was the thickness of this damned mist. How far does it extend to?

Screw it, actually. I just need a glimpse of the area.

[100P has been invested in Agility!]

[100P has been invested in Strength!]

[100P has been invested in Durability!]

…

I continued to add little by little, trying to balance out all of my stats at once.

[You have spent an overall of 10,000P!]

[Your physicality is reaching its possible peak!]

[You have experienced explosive growth! All physical stats have reached level 20!]

I squatted slightly, looking upwards. I felt the energy rushing to both my legs and I tried to get the correct angle to reach the highest point. I searched for the shortest parts of the wall, realising that they were all equally high. Explosive energy surged throughout my body, and I added in an extra factor to boost myself up even further.

[Skill, 'Lightweight Lv. 6' is activated! Your body weight has been reduced greatly!]

I shot up with great force. Some of the clouds were drawn in and scattered about before falling back into place. Meanwhile, I flew up, reaching just a few inches away from the walls of mist. My forehead went above it, and I felt myself straining to get my eyes past it as well.

Half of my nose went above the wall before I started falling back down. However, I was able to catch a quick—extremely quick glimpse of the overall area.

My feet lightly tapped the ground and only a portion of the impact surged through my body, which felt like nothing. The area enveloped in mist was big. I suppose that even without the fog moving around and redirecting our movements, it would still take a while to get to the other side. I glanced around before shooting a glare at the timer again.

[49:21].

The time was running out. I should get the hell out of here, but I couldn't help but wonder. Where is the boss? Clearly, I was in the boss room now. The boss battle arena. It should have commenced a while ago…

[You are currently in the 'Boss Room'.]

Without a doubt, I'm in it. I even rubbed my eyes a few more times, just to make sure that it wasn't the fog making me see things still.

Sure enough, it's real. I'm here, in the boss room, and the boss battle should have begun the moment I stepped foot in this place. But it was like this. No boss, or even anyone else in here. Even the Wanderers never showed up.

"Damn this quest…"

I couldn't stay here any longer, no matter what. Time is going to run out, and if I stay, forget about the boss, I'll die before even seeing him. I quickly turned towards the direction I saw closest to the exit when I was airborne and started spinning my chains. I ran straight inside the clouds of mist, the chains revolving around me and clearing a path for me.

[You have entered the 'Fog'. Prolonged exposure may cause damage to your physical body.]

The message appeared once again, like at the beginning. I suppose, even if they don't touch me entirely, being close enough would still have an effect.

It was then when I heard a rumbling screech coming from afar. It echoed throughout this forest of mists.

"Sounds?" I was taken aback, chuckling in excitement when I finally heard some things other than my own voice and footsteps. And the chains clicking together. Perhaps, I was finally reaching the end of this place.

Another set of roaring emerged from the mist. And this time, it sounded like grunts of pain and struggling moans. I halted in my movements and turned towards the origin of the noises. Tempted to see what it was, I ran in that direction. I wasn't sure why, but I did it. This fog might be playing a role in messing up my rational thinking…maybe I shouldn't blame it too much.

The cries continued to come. Again and again, until I finally felt uneasy about it. It certainly belonged to something big, considering the deep vocals of the cries. Only one thing flashed in my mind at that moment.

The boss of this level.

The ground started to tremble faintly. I continued to move towards the noise, and the intensity of the shaking only increased more and more. Every time a cry is heard, a loud crashing sound comes along with it and the ground shakes tremendously.

Was Leon fighting the boss now?

I finally got close enough, and with the chains clearing my field of vision, I could barely make out the silhouette of a large being on the ground, and another man standing above it. I could now hear their conversation. Surprisingly, the voice that came out sounded barely humane.

[Please…let me go…]

Huh? I slowed down and quietly approached the final layer of mist that separated us. On the other side, I saw a giant being. A boar-like creature. It was on the ground with its arm stretched out, as if it was begging to be spared. On the opposite side, I was surprised to find someone else that wasn't Leon, towering over the creature.

It was then when a message came flying in my direction. No, I think the other two must have received it.

[You have encountered the current level boss! Initiating the 'Boss Battle' sequence!]

Shit. Now the two of them suddenly turned in my direction. Suddenly, the boss emitted intense killing intent, causing me to stiffen up a bit. How come he's acting so differently now?

"Who are you?"

It was a rather soft-spoken voice. A clear voice that one could consider calming. But it came from an expression that showed clear agitation and nothing but a killer look. If he could, I would have died by him glaring at me like that. Somehow, I found it more disturbing than the boss itself.

"Get out of here. The exit is that way. Keep running straight and you'll make it out of here." He raised his sword and pointed it to his right.

It was a peculiar looking blade.​​ The material was like obsidian, pure black. A black sword, emitting faint blue coloured light. I couldn't help but gawk, much too mesmerised by its essence and beauty that I didn't realise the boss was jumping towards me.

"Hey! Watch—!" He cried out, causing to snap back to reality. A fist flew in my direction. Like a charging bull, the boss lunged at me, blowing steam from its nose. Damn, now I know where this thick fog was from.

Luckily, my agility points were high and I was able to dodge the heavy blow. It struck the ground, causing a deep crater to form.

A blue streak of light went past me at a blinding speed, and before I could react, I saw the man already engaged in combat with the boss.

[Ha…! Foolish human! Do you think you can still beat me now?!] The boss cried out. [I've only let you land a few blows on me. How cocky…]

"..."

The guy was silent, only swinging his blade. However, the boss was able to deflect and parry his attacks with an arrogant grin. I was wondering about the situation. Surely, the boss was begging for his life earlier. Where did this prideful nature come from, then?

[2 Players have engaged in the 'Boss Battle'. Boss difficulty will increase in accordance with the number of Players!]

Ah, this is what it's about.

I watched in amazement. Even though the boss's strength had been amplified from my entrance, it was still absurd to think that someone was able to easily push the boss down, to the point where it'd beg for its life to be spared. This guy is the real deal. Even his weapon was something straight out of a fantasy novel.

Even so, the boss was still on its feet, unlike before. It made me wonder just how much of his power would increase if only one more person entered.

[Give up. You cannot defeat me now.] His arrogant tone declared. Unlike before, his voice was resounding. It was clear just by his voice alone that he had gotten a lot more powerful. His voice contained intense power and authority within them.

"You! Get the hell out of here!" The guy yelled, his black sword clashing against the boss's huge forearms.

Perhaps, he knew that the boss would grow stronger. That was why he's sending me away. It's definitely not his first time here. I could clearly guess what this person wants here.

"You want the Boss's drop, right?" I asked him.

"You're still yapping…!"

I spun my chains around, getting into a battle stance. "I will help you."