Death's Door: King Slime's Tentacles
Tentacles made of jelly sprouting from the King Slime at death's door.
Splat—
"Guh—"
The attack I'd thrown out, thinking it would be the same as before, bounced right off. Then that tentacle slammed straight into my gut, sending me crashing to the floor.
Way too careless. I'd cleared the previous boss and the rest of the floors so easily that I'd let my guard down.
"Fuck… that hurts, I'm gonna die."
My abdomen throbbed where the tentacle had hit. Lucky me, no major wounds, but the pain wasn't going away anytime soon.
"Ngh…"
But I couldn't just stay down. If I did, more hits would come, and I'd be totally out for the count.
I snatched up the kitchen knife I'd dropped and eyed the thing. It didn't look much different from the one on the first floor, except for all those extra tentacles. Those were probably its real weapons.
I moved to track the tentacles' patterns and figure out its moves.
Thud—!
Whoosh—!
The tentacles shot toward me in unison, matching my movements. I counted about ten of them. I kept my eyes glued to their paths as they rained down like bombs.
One, two. Dodging them, I closed the distance in a flash. I activated my cooking skill to harden its slime skin.
Effect reduced by 50% due to user's insufficient capability.
That "user's insufficient capability" message crushed me.
Whoosh—!
Splat—
"Grrgh…! You fucking bastard…!"
Hit by another tentacle. I rolled across the floor, and the distance I'd gained slipped away again.
"Tch, guess I have no choice."
The gap with the slime kept widening. My HP was dropping, injuries piling up. A desperate situation.
But I'd started analyzing it. Why couldn't I touch this blue jelly blob? Lack of skill? Info imbalance? Bad matchup?
Nope. Pure overwhelming power gap. Its speed, the weight of its attacks, its toughness—it felt like a wall. Too much for my level.
Simply a level difference.
"…Was saving these, but."
Not insurmountable, though. A bit of a shame, but…
Whoosh—!
"Hoo…"
I dodged the incoming tentacles and pulled up the system window.
All the stat points I'd been hoarding. Wanted to save them and spend slowly, but no choice now. Might not even be enough to close the gap.
'Put 5 each into Strength, Stamina, Agility, and 10 into Mana.'
The points distributed instantly at my command. No messages about allocation or increases—I ignored them and charged the King Slime.
Fwoosh—!
Boom—!
"Now I can see it properly."
The subtle satisfaction and rush from the stat boost. My speed felt real now, and the distance to the King Slime shrank.
It sensed something off and whipped its tentacles harder. But they only grazed me. No direct hits.
Reaction speed alone wasn't perfect—Agility still a bit low. But I'd mapped its patterns. And that gap when it swung tentacles, the clunky connection between them—it was obvious now.
Whoosh.
Boom—!
Aiming for those openings, I dodged one after another and reached the King Slime up close.
And then.
"You're butter cake now, you punk."
Fwoom.
Stab—!
I drove the kitchen knife into its body with the cooking skill. The same technique from my first kill.
But rougher, more brutal now.
Stab. Stab. Stab—
I spammed the cooking skill, stabbing and ripping the same spot. Until the core showed.
No dignity. Just until this damn jelly blob vanished from my sight.
I'd been stabbing and burning for a while when.
Groooan.
Splat—!
The King Slime, half its body gone, twisted its tentacles like a spring in a final spasm.
"F…uck…."
Pinned in my left side, I had to pull away from the slime.
"Cough— Heuk— Hic—"
Even breathing hurt. I'd twisted anticipating the last gasp, avoiding death, but my ribs on that side were probably cracked.
Not heart or head, but pain's pain. Vision bloodshot and blurring, strength fading. That eerie sensation as my eyes started to close.
Then.
'No way, only cleared up to the 5th floor and I die here?'
A strange rage bubbled up inside.
Life was already shit hard. Finally awakened, and it ends here? Bullshit.
"Even if… I die… I'll take you with me…!"
I dragged my broken body up. Right arm creaking, left not moving. But it was the same for that thing. Its last attack had burst all tentacles, and the mangled body wasn't regenerating.
Slowly, dragging my numb legs, I reached the collapsed jelly.
And.
Stab. Crack—!
Like a pearl nestled in an open shell, I smashed the exposed core.
"Urgh…."
Core shattered, my legs gave out, and I collapsed there.
??? Difficulty 5th Floor Boss Room……
The tower's clear message didn't register. Breathing was hard. Exhausted fingers trembled.
Vision flickering out as my eyes closed.
Suddenly, light flashed, and the floor's feel changed. Somehow, I'd returned to the tower lobby.
And a window popped up.
……Acquired Stat Points, 2x Advanced Recovery Potions.
The tower's reward. Two vials of red liquid appeared before me.
"…Fuck."
No time to think. Advanced recovery potion. The timing was perfect—hesitate, and death.
Pop—!
I grabbed one with my still-working right arm, yanked the cork with my teeth, and chugged it. My blurring vision slowly cleared.
*****
Meanwhile, outside the tower at the Seoul Association HQ.
"What the hell, overtime till 3 AM?"
Lights still on in the association building at dawn. The man, an association office admin, muttered just low enough not to be heard.
His name: Han Myung-chul. Your average C-rank Awakened, association hunter.
"Sigh… Always overtime, nothing to do, so boring."
Stuck in the same routine, he sought new thrills like a pro salaryman Lupin, browsing galleries on the office PC.
Then.
"Wh-what the hell is this?"
"For real? Emergency?"
His face froze like he'd seen the impossible.
[2nd Floor Ranking]
No. 1 ??? [Difficulty: ???] 21,322 points
No. 2 Aquila [Difficulty: Hard] 11,200 points
No. 3 Heavenly Demon [Difficulty: Hard] 9,820 points
▼ View more
He checked the site just in case—it confirmed the change. This ranking shift? Ironclad wouldn't stay quiet. He always reacted most sensitively to updates.
And now, a massive upheaval. Ironclad Lee Cheol-ho was definitely bumped down.
'D-does that mean…'
Gulp— Han Myung-chul swallowed, sensing something.
And right on cue.
Boom—!
"Error my ass! What the hell is going on here!!! "
Despite the dawn hour, Ironclad Lee Cheol-ho's roar shook the association interior.
Myung-chul felt it. This wasn't getting brushed off.