[Alert: Player is in Critical Condition]
Then, as the demon raised another attack, I saw a swift attack that cut off the demon's arms. If that attack had hit me, I would've been dead.
[Monster Defeated]
[Participation EXP 0.4]
What? How is it dead so quickly? Just who attacked it? Then I saw them, a male, looking only a couple of years older than me, walking towards me.
"Dumbass, what are you doing here. You nearly died," they said.
"I have a quest, why else would I be here?" I exclaimed.
"It's been 8 hours, you should've been long done," they replied.
"My quest is to… kill the boss. Pretty difficult since I've never used magic and have bullshit stats." I said.
"Killing the boss? The quest difficulty seems scaled with your power, and you've never used magic? That seems impossible," they said with surprise in their voice.
"I have no reason to lie. Anyways, I'm Kyle, nice to meet you." I exclaimed.
"You're half dead and you're introducing yourself, either you're a complete dumbass or a complete dumbass. I'm Vextor. Get yourself healed up, I see your wounds slowly healing," he said with utter disappointment.
Ooh, this Vextor guy seems pretty smart. He figured out I have regeneration from my wounds' healing. That's impressive, It's pretty dark here. So in short, this new guy is smart and strong, a good deal.
"So, Vextor, have you completed your quest?" I said, genuinely curious.
"Yes, I was just making my way out, I was trying to find an exit", he replied.
"Ah, so I'm like the only one left doing my quest," I said feeling like I was screwed.
"Yes, you got unlucky. You will probably fail your quest," he replied.
Wait, so I'm that screwed. This isn't fair. The only thing I can do is eat mana crystals and hope I don't die. Oh well, at least I had 10 years of peace. I'm alright with dying here.
"Oh well, you can make your way out, I'll heal up in a bit," I said.
"I can't, the system automatically put us into a party, it says I can't leave until all party members complete their quest," he said, frustrated.
Oh damn. So if I don't complete the quest, then we both die. Wait, can you not leave a party?
"Party Menu."
[Current Party]
[Members 2]
[Member 1: Kyle]
[Member 2: The Strongest Mage]
…
"HAHAHAHA OH my why did you set your name as 'The Strongest Mage', that's so cringy. That's crazy.", I said, bursting out laughing.
"Shut up," he says while going beet red.
I got some guy in my party called 'The Strongest Mage', that's some wild name, I don't think you can change it, so every time this poor guy is at a party, he'll be constantly reminded of his player name. Thank god I didn't do some cringy shit like that. Great decision, leaving it just 'Kyle'.
Okay, okay, enough laughing, it's been a while already, my wounds are nearly healed.
"Quest."
[Current Quest: Survival of the Fittest]
[Time Left: 39 hours]
How has it been 3 hours? I gotta have some perception disorder, it feels like it's only been an hour max. That guy gotta be pissed for me taking so long. Oh well, 'The Strongest Mage' can chillax since he is soooo strong.
Vextor sat down beside me, he had the expression of a parent who caught their child doing something stupid.
"So what's the plan? Are we just going to sit here before you heal up?" he said, frustrated.
"By the way, that demon I killed, that wasn't the boss, that was the sub-boss", he said.
Only the sub-boss? Wait, that actually makes sense. My quest would've been over if that were the boss.
"Yup, we will just sit here until I heal", I said.
"I've got one question for you. How did you survive for so long? You said it yourself, you have bullshit stats and no experience in magic." he said, suspicious of me.
"Lucky, I guess. I also got this skill cause of 'Causality Negation', it avoids fate or something." I said, wondering if I revealed too much.
"Avoids fate? Isn't that hella strong? Isn't everything fate, like death, making a mistake?" he said, now genuinely interested.
That's a valid question. Isn't he right? Fate is everything, including death. If I were to die, couldn't that count that I was fated to die, and died? This skill seems way better than I originally thought.
"I guess I haven't thought about it like that. Anyway, I'm healed now, we should get going," I said.
"Aight, let us get going, we gotta hope that skill you got comes in clutch," he said.
As we both stood up, we started walking through the dungeon, coming across a couple of occasional low-level mobs.
[Guide: The dungeon's difficulty has doubled since you entered the dungeon]
My luck is crazy, twice as difficult, even with Vextor, I have no idea how I'm beating this dungeon.
Then, as I was mid-thought, there it was. A massive wooden door, like those I've seen in thousands of manga. The walls were covered in vines, and the aura beyond the door sent chills down my spine…
I don't know if the two of us can beat this boss. Even Vextor seems to be impacted by the aura coming from there. If the two of us are already frozen from just the aura, which is behind a door, then we are genuinely screwed…
[Alert: Next Room is the Boss Area]
[Danger: The boss's level is far greater than the player's. It is recommended for the player to leave and grow stronger before attempting the boss battle.]
[System Notification: Do not enter, you will die]
[Message Sent from Ester]
Okay, it seems like a horrible idea to enter. I've had two warnings, one from the system and one from Ester. We probably shouldn't enter.
[System Notification: Don't enter if you're a weak shit]
[Message Sent from System Administrator]
Oh, now we are trying to get me mad and enter. Ha you think ill enter just since you called me a 'weak shit'. I already know I am. This System Administrator has just been trolling me, bro.
I feel like I'm getting bullied by the system. 0_0
[System Notification: If you beat the boss, I'll buff your stats by 5, and I'll give you basic fire and water magic skills. It's a good deal for you.]
[Message Sent from System Administrator]
Okay, fine, I'll enter. If I die, it's on you. Either way, I have to enter at some point.
It's now or never…