Floor 4 -- Part 2

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I clenched my fists, my breathing ragged but determined. The monster loomed larger than ever, a direct manifestation of divine wrath.

"Guess I'll just have to prove you wrong," I whispered, my voice defiant, even as the massive creature lunged, its body quaking with the force of its assault.

The cavern shuddered violently as the Order-Cursed Slime's acid tendrils lashed out, carving molten grooves into the rock.

Each movement radiated raw, destructive intent. My breath came in ragged gasps as I threw myself to the side, narrowly avoiding a burst of searing acid that hissed against the stone where I had been standing.

"Focus," I muttered, clenching my fists. My reserves were dangerously low but were now being replenished, but each maneuver still drained me further. The slime's luminous core pulsed erratically, radiating mysterious energy like a beacon of malice.

I could hardly focus on anything else except trying to keep myself from being overwhelmed, both from cosmic energy and the monsters' assault. As if sensing my panicked state.

"M-must k-kill you," the monster said in a hoarse voice.

"The core. It's always the core." My eyes locked onto it, analyzing its movement. While I couldn't move much, my brain was still able to think fast, which increased my chance.

Not like it was very useful though. The monster was higher in ranking than I. It had achieved this status only by the intervention of an external being.

But even with that, the weakness which I had ignored in the other slimes was very obvious here due to size.

The core was larger than before, glowing with unnatural intensity, but it wasn't invincible. The divine enhancement had made it unstable---vulnerable, even.

I just needed to survive long enough to exploit that. That is if my plan works...

The slime lunged, its tendrils flailing wildly. I twisted space again, elongating the distance between us just in time.

My feet skidded against a narrow ledge, and I had to steady myself quickly to avoid tumbling into one of the empty pits below.

The cave I was teleported to when I entered the floor was quite large and it has been the saving grace for me.

There were narrow sections in both west and east direction. It was a passage that led to one of the peculiar objects I discovered before.

My spatial sense buzzed with information, highlighting the cavern's layout. I needed to execute my plan, and do it fast.

"No more brute force," I murmured. I couldn't afford to waste energy splitting space or freezing large sections. I needed precision. Efficiency.

A sudden hiss from behind made me whip around. The acid burst that the slime had released was also intelligent enough to be a threat. It was truly a monster not fit for a newbie like me.

A smaller tendril of acid shot toward me, faster than I could dodge. Instinctively, I opened a tiny crack in space, redirecting the tendril upward.

"Please let it work!" I said as I hoped to use the terrain to my advantage.

The acid struck the cavern ceiling, which groaned ominously. Chunks of rock crumbled, some falling directly onto the slime. It shuddered but quickly absorbed the debris, growing even larger.

"Okay, that's not going to work," I muttered, backpedaling.

I took some seconds to re-examine my plan:

First step: Adapting the Strategy

I closed my eyes, activating my spatial radar again. The slime's core was shifting, moving erratically within its gelatinous body.

The divine enhancement wasn't just powering it---it was making it unpredictable. But there was a pattern, however faint. I just needed to observe long enough to find it.

The cavern's oppressive air pressed down on me as I drew in a deep breath, focusing on the natural cosmic energy around me. Gently allowing it to enter into my body.

"My mental state is affecting me in this way huh?" I questioned myself as I discover that the calmer my emotions are, the easier the cosmic energy flowed into me.

The difference wasn't that much, but it would have to do.

I opened my eyes just as the slime sent another tendril my way.

Instead of dodging, I twisted space around it, causing the tendril to loop back and strike the slime itself. The impact was minimal, but the divine glow around the core flickered slightly.

"Gotcha," I whispered. The slime was resilient, but its divine enhancement wasn't limitless. It could be disrupted.

My second step was to find a way to exploit the environment anew. Just trying to crash rocks down randomly wouldn't be enough for the job.

My spatial sense pinged an anomaly a few meters away to be directly above the slime.

The ceiling---it was supposed to be exposed after rocks fell down on the slime, but instead it was laced with faint pockets of energy-rich fungus. Serving as a background over which the rocks was laid.

If I could bring it down at the right moment, it might destabilize the slime long enough for me to attack its core directly.

After all it took about 10 seconds for it to dissolve rocks, but since the fungus was alive, it would take a few more seconds before it would devour it.

I sidestepped another acid burst, forcing the slime to follow me toward the west narrower section of the cavern. Its massive body quaked as it advanced, tendrils lashing out and carving into the walls. Each strike sent vibrations rippling through the cavern. Perfect.

But about two-thirds of its body was now directly over the exposed ceiling. I closed my eyes immediately to maximize my attention. I planned to expand the exposed ceiling and bring down fungus this time.

With a sharp gesture, I compressed a small section of space above the slime. The ceiling groaned and cracked, energy-rich fungus and chunks of rock crashing down onto the creature.

The impact sent a shockwave through its body, and for a brief moment, its movements slowed. Its divine glow flickered again, more violently this time.

"Now's my chance!" I surged forward as I opened my eyes, drawing every ounce of cosmic energy I had left. My hands glowed with spatial energy as I focused on the core.

"Spatial Compression!" I shouted, twisting space around the core itself. The air shimmered violently as the core's movements slowed. The slime roared, its body writhing in agony as the compression intensified.

But the core resisted, pulsating with divine energy that pushed against my control. My vision blurred, and I could feel the strain tearing at my mind. This wasn't enough. I needed more.

The slime's tendrils lashed out blindly, one narrowly grazing my shoulder and searing the fabric of my cloak.

I staggered but held my ground. Gritting my teeth, I extended my hands further, pulling on every scrap of cosmic energy I could muster.

"Spatial Vortex!" A spiraling void materialized around the core, its pull overwhelming.

The slime's body convulsed as the vortex tore at its essence, dragging divine energy away from the core.

The glow around it dimmed, then faltered.

With a deafening roar, the slime's core imploded, collapsing into a dense singularity before vanishing entirely.

The rest of the creature disintegrated, its acidic body evaporating into harmless wisps of vapor. The cavern fell silent.

I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air. My entire body ached, my reserves utterly depleted. The system chimed softly, its usual detached tone returning.

[Floor Boss Defeated: Order-Cursed Slime. Threat Level: E-Rank.]

[Survival Likelihood: less than 1% Surpassed.]

[Double Rewards is being calculated. While level up is being delayed]

I forced myself to my feet, glancing around the cavern. The slime was defeated, the pits were now permanently empty, and the oppressive atmosphere had lifted.

Just as I thought I had a moment to breathe, the system chimed again, this time with an unsettling, reverberating tone.

[You have gotten the attention of higher order beings.]

[The God of Order has observed your victory.]

[The God of space has smiled at your victory.]

[The Constellation martial saint* has expressed mild interest.]

[The Constellation Watcher of Dying Stars approves of your ruthlessness.]

[Some Gods and constellations are displeased at the interest in the one who is yet to obtain qualifications to be an explorer]

Their attention wasn't new, but it never felt any less intrusive. Knowing I was being scrutinized by gods and constellations added weight to my already exhausted body.

[The Goddess of Light has turned an annoying gaze to the beings involved.]

[System Override Detected. Communication Link Established.]

[Divine Message from Goddess of Light: His Explorer's certification has been validated. The rules were to defeat a being of higher status and he has done that. So it is annoying if you know the rules we set and yet you pretend to discard them.]

[Divine Message from God of Order: he has shown he had the right to bend order around his will. But he must still take the 5th floor trial]

[The God of Order has interfered with the tower.]

[Warning! You cannot resist!]

I exhaled slowly, trying to shake off the discomfort. The last thing I needed was one of them interfering directly.

The system spoke again, its tone sharper this time.

[The God of Light power has been consumed to satisfy causality!]

[Proceed to Floor 5? Y/N.]

I laughed weakly, my voice barely a whisper. "Not yet. I need to rest first---"

But before I could finish the thought, the cavern around me was dissolving into light.

[System has received permission to Manually Override explorer's choice. Proceeding to Floor 5 immediately.]

[The Goddess of Freedom and Choice is displeased at this blunt intervention!]

[The Goddess of Freedom and Choice has intervened in the 5th floor trial!]

[The Goddess of Freedom and Choice power has been consumed to satisfy causality!]

[A lot of Gods and constellations are surprised by her actions!]

[Divine Message from the Goddess of Freedom and Choice: Make your choice known to us in the next floor, Explorer!]

"What? No! I said---" I did not have enough time to fully understand what the system was displaying before I tried to shout out...

The world shifted violently, and the ground vanished beneath my feet. I was weightless for a moment, tumbling through a vortex of shimmering light and chaotic energy.