Live or Die
AN: Yo, I am back. Feeling good again and I'll return to posting stuff again, expect peak, and now enjoy.
The final staircase seemed endless. Each step echoed through the dark, humid cavern as Po and Jin-Woo descended to the boss floor. The air felt thick, carrying the stench of damp earth and something... venomous.
Po's eyes narrowed. His senses, sharp and honed beyond mortal limits, caught the subtle shift of scales against stone. A predator lay in wait.
From the shadows, a low, guttural hiss resounded. A towering serpent slithered into view, its golden eyes gleaming with primal hunger.
Kaska. The Swamp King.
The Alpha of this Dungeon.
Jin-Woo's grip on his sword tightened, his knuckles white. His body, despite the leveling, still felt the ache of the battles before. Yet, his spirit burned hotter than ever.
Without turning his gaze from the beast, Po spoke, his voice chillingly calm:
"You fight it."
Jin-Woo's eyes flicked toward him, confused. "What?"
Po's expression hardened. The warmth was gone, replaced with cold steel.
"If you die here, it means you were too weak to survive in the first place." His tone was dark, unyielding. "No one's going to hold your hand forever, Jin-Woo. If you can't beat this thing, then… you're not worth saving."
Jin-Woo's heart pounded. The words hit him like a blow.
'Too weak...?'
His knees threatened to buckle. His mind screamed at him to protest, to demand why Po wouldn't help.
But then—
A flash of memory.
His mother, lying motionless in that hospital bed, her life draining away.
His little sister, waiting for him to come home.
His father—gone, his fate unknown.
Jin-Woo's hands trembled—not from fear, but from the weight of everything he was fighting for.
He clenched his jaw. No.
No more weakness. No more excuses.
His eyes blazed with newfound determination. He accessed his system quickly, pulling out the Reinforced Armor Po had given him and equipped it—but made it invisible.
Protection without obstruction.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the sturdy yet unseen armor mold to his form.
Then he stepped forward, his voice low but resolute:
"I don't need saving."
Kaska's forked tongue flicked, tasting the tension. Then—
It struck.
Jin-Woo dove aside, rolling across the slick cavern floor. The serpent's fangs slammed into the ground where he had stood, cracking the stone.
The ground shook, but Jin-Woo was already up, charging forward.
Po remained where he was, arms folded. His stance was unmoving, his gaze sharp.
But he wasn't idle.
From the darkness, several canine beasts—remnants of the pack—emerged, their eyes glowing with hunger.
Po didn't even look. He lashed out with a single palm, and a blast of Chi—**like an unseen shockwave—**ripped through them, scattering their broken bodies.
Another wolf lunged from his shadow—
Po turned his palm, and a spear of darkness—born from his newly acquired shadow energy—skewered it mid-air.
But his focus stayed on Jin-Woo.
'Come on, kid. Show me you're more than just a player in someone else's game.'
The serpent lashed its tail, and Jin-Woo leapt, barely avoiding the crushing force that shattered the ground beneath him.
But Kaska was fast.
Faster than anything he had fought so far.
Jin-Woo felt its body coil, and—
WHAM!
The tail caught him mid-air, sending him crashing into the cavern wall.
Pain erupted through his body, his ribs screaming in protest.
His vision blurred, but he forced himself up.
'Not... yet.'
Kaska lunged again, its jaws wide and ready to devour.
Jin-Woo dropped low, sliding beneath the massive head, and with every ounce of strength—
He drove his blade upward, slashing deep into Kaska's underbelly.
A screeching hiss erupted from the beast as black blood poured from the wound.
Jin-Woo pressed his advantage, his body a blur of strikes—
But then—
The serpent's fangs found their mark—sinking into Jin-Woo's leg.
A white-hot burn spread instantly.
Po tensed from afar. His instincts screamed to intervene—
But he didn't.
This was Jin-Woo's fight.
Jin-Woo collapsed to one knee, his vision dimming from the venom coursing through his veins.
The system flashed warnings—
[Poisoned.][HP rapidly decreasing.][Use a potion.]
But his hands refused to move. His body felt like lead.
His lips parted, gasping for air. He was seconds from death.
But he wasn't done.
His voice—hoarse, raw—tore through the cavern:
"I... WILL... NOT... DIE HERE!"
The system responded.
[Emergency Quest: Survive][All attributes temporarily doubled.]
A shockwave of power erupted from Jin-Woo. His eyes flashed an icy blue, and his body moved on instinct.
The serpent struck again—
But Jin-Woo—he was faster.
He vaulted over Kaska's head, landed on its back, and with a final, primal roar—
He drove his sword through the beast's skull, piercing through to the ground below.
Silence.
Then—
[You have defeated the Swamp King, Kaska.][You have leveled up.][You have leveled up.][You have leveled up.]
Jin-Woo stood there, chest heaving, covered in blood—his, and the serpent's.
The system's healing effects were already working, the venom burning away as his newly strengthened body fought back death.
Behind him, Po finally walked over, clapping once.
"Good. Real good." His grin was wide, but his voice carried a proud warmth. "Told you. If you survived, you'd prove yourself. And you did."
Jin-Woo's legs gave out, but before he hit the ground—
Po caught him.
As Jin-Woo gasped for air, his voice weak but laced with sarcasm—
"Tch... You... really had me thinking... you were gonna let me die."
Po chuckled, the deep, rich sound echoing through the cavern.
"Trust me," he said, "If you were really about to die, I'd have stepped in."
Jin-Woo stared at him, exhausted but... grateful.
The dungeon exit shimmered into view, and the two stepped through it—together.
The cool air outside felt like the first breath of a new life.
Jin-Woo, with his newfound strength and conviction.
Po, with a new player in his game.
A player... who could one day become a King.
To Be Continued...
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