Change is constant in the world, it will always be the only thing going in motion. Time changes, people changes, even values changes over time.
One thing that bothers me about changes are the changes we are not aware of that is happening to ourselves.
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This is a very eerie place as far as I have observed.
{YOU HAVE ENTERED THE 5TH FLOOR}
|☠️TREAD WITH CAUTION! CORROSIVE SLIMES AHEAD! TURN BACK IF YOU ARE UNPREPARED!☠️|
A bunch of signboards are erected right in front of me as I got off from the staircase.
[Incidentally, how many monsters have you detected?]
[There's multiple, pilot] (Ronin)
It is a slime with corrosive properties, moreover with its corrosive property.....I am pretty hesitant to let Ronin take an action against it, and that goes with the drones and for the spectres.
[I am calling you off for now partner, see you later]
[Take care pilot] (Ronin) Vanishing into light particles, Ronin went back to standby mode.
[Entering low power mode] (01) The spectre before standing frozen handed me the spitfire, and then got into that mode.
Plasma drones 1 and 2 are the only ones left behind to assist me since they could fly above the attack range of the corrosive slimes.
With that, my preparations to face the boss ahead should be done.
Since I have the ability to use ordnance abilities, that also means I can spawn a certain amount of explosives as well as stun grenades. I am confident that I can throw that far, but whether it would hit the enemy would be questionable.
Next, since the monster I am facing is a slime....fighting it with a bullet-based weapon would be tough. So I need to fight it with a plan in mind.
Although bullets would have been effective to normal slimes as I only need to hit their core, however the corrosive slime is a bit different. With a black sludge like body, it can shift its core inside it, moreover it isn't semitransparent like a normal slime.
Man......I am glad I read the books that had monster ecology in it. I will thank whoever the author is, but for now I have to face the thing that stood in my way to the 6th floor.
"Listen Jack, you will die if you are naive. You will die if you are afraid, but you will also die if you are brave"
"Hmmm"
"So use your head even when under pressure. Foolishly fighting an enemy head on would mean certain death, plan it well, think well, and fight while using your head. Knowing yourself means you knew how to use your body and skills to fight an enemy you also knew about"
Who was it again that shared the quote "not knowing oneself is the self's greatest enemy"? I could not remember who he/she is, but whoever they are I will thank them for that as those words were always stuck to my head.
I then faced the boss room.
The only thing that separated us from the boss is this huge double door made of some kind of metal. I touched it and...
*Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!*
...automatically opened as if welcoming the challenger to their victory or to their death.
The hairs on my skin is standing as I felt the surge of cold toxic air brush up against the sleeves of my outfit. One good thing about the militia's titan pilot outfit is that it is free to be customized, which in this situation just increased my chances of dying.
A few parts exposed my skin, and I have no means of covering the areas. My only saving grace in this fight is my agility, skills, luck, and my bravery.
I clenched at the explosive I had in hand, and that was when I saw what the boss was like.
Should I call it a boss when there are 5 of them lumping together with each other?
Noir black in color, they have this outline of ethereal blue, and their cores were hidden in their dark gelatinous body. The corrosive slimes started to pump itself up as soon as it sensed someone, me.
[This will be really hard, like for real]
I looked back and saw the door closing on its own.........hahahaha....ahahhahahhaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Locking me up to face the boss until one of us dies.
[Bring it on!] This will be the battle that will tell whether I have successfully become a dungeon diver or not.
Everyone, in the case that I might die in the dungeon, just remembering my name in my grave is enough to make me smile.
[Oraaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!] I did the preemptive strike, the grappling hook shot to the ceiling, pulling me up as I saw the slimes surged to where I originally stood.
Eat this grenade.
I tossed 3 HE grenades, and all of those were immediately swallowed.
*Boom!*
The problem? The slime tanked it. As its body expanded as the explosion occured inside, it probably mitigated the explosion to an extent leaving it unscathed.
Holy shit. Other than being bullet resistant, they are also explosion resistant. They must have shielded their cores to safety. This makes my plan crumble.
[Damn] I saw all of these as I was suspended in the ceiling, and soon I have to move.
[PTU!] (??)
[?!] I dodged that it a nick of time because I saw it pumped its body momentarily.
SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The part of the ceiling that it hit melted into a mush........that was an acid shot, one of the most corrosive compounds ever known to man.
[Hohohohoho, and it is accurate too. What are you? An archer fish?] I steeled my senses and readied myself for the chaotic being that I have to fight.