Inside was a massive throne room forged from gold and silver, but the ground and walls were made of stone. Ten white pillars lined the walls, each carved with twisting vines and different delicate types of flowers. Sunlight streamed through high windows, casting long shadows across the floor. And a red carpet led to the throne.
And above the throne, the Fairy King, Oberon, towered.
He was a giant humanoid. Muscles coiled like steel beneath skin as black and polished as obsidian. His face was monstrous, yet almost human. A single, wide eye rested on his forehead, glowing like a dying star that stared us down. It didn't blink; it simply watched, as if already knowing how we would die.
The moment we stepped on the red carpet, Oberon's eye shifted to us. The pressure hit us like gravity had doubled.
His wings stretched out behind him. It was broad, veined, and gleaming like the wings of a Dysphania palmyra moth. It was beautiful in a way that made your skin crawl. Iridescent and deadly.
Oberon let out a nasty grin at us as a system window appeared above his head:
[DUNGEON BOSS]: [FAIRY KING OBERON] — (LEVEL 100)
[HP]: [200/200]
The battle began.
The pillars suddenly twisted and morphed into ten giant Venus Flytraps, jaws snapping shut on nearby players who had been caught off-guard. Then, thick, muscular legs sprouted from their stem. It let out a shriek and leapt in front of us with a thud.
The world-rank trio: Adam, Leon, and Claire, stepped forward with their weapons ready.
"Stay back," Adam said, voice firm. "We'll handle this."
"Conserve your energy," Leon added, pausing to glance at the others. "You'll need it later for the boss fight."
"Just sit back and enjoy the show," Claire chimed in, winking and sticking out her tongue in a playful grin.
Excluding me, the male players snapped to attention, stepping forward and saluting like loyal soldiers in front of Claire. Their voices rang out in unison, filled with admiration, their eyes practically sparkling with heart-shaped stars.
"ROGER THAT, MADAM CLAIRE!"
Claire clapped her hands together and tilted her head. "Such very good boys!" she said, striking an adorable pose.
Blood shot out from the male players' noses as they toppled to the ground, faces flushing bright red.
"What the hell…" I muttered, staring at the heap of embarrassing men. "Simps…"
Then, the Venus Flytraps shrieked and lashed out, launching razor-sharp vines directly at the world-rank trio.
Adam stepped forward and activated a skill: Sentinel's Might, summoning a car-sized transparent shield in front of him, deflecting the razor-sharp vines.
A Venus Flytrap lunged at Adam like a maniac after the shield disappeared. He charged forward to battle it. He swayed low and kicked its legs, making it lose balance, then he sliced its snapping mouth in a single, fluid motion. Leaves, thorns, and sticky sap erupted into the air as it died.
Leon swung his sword toward a Venus Flytrap in a wide arc, slicing through its body, then kicked it, sending it whipping toward the ceiling. He then activated a skill: Chilling Strike, releasing a blue-colored mist from the tip of his sword that shaped into a mini crescent moon, shooting toward the Venus Flytrap. When it hit, the monster withered and disappeared into thin air.
Adam sprinted toward Claire. Then he jumped, spinning through the air, landing a devastating kick that knocked a Venus Flytrap off balance as it tried to sneak up behind Claire while she fended off six others. He then drove his lance straight into the monster's underbelly, activating a skill: Blinding Pain, unleashing a beam of light that shot from the tip of his lance. The Venus Flytrap shrieked in pain as it withered and disappeared into thin air.
"Oh, thanks, baby!" Claire said, winking at Adam.
Adam's right eye twitched, his face pulling into a pained grimace. "I'm not your… baby…" he muttered, voice cracking with embarrassment.
Then, Claire spun as her orb started spinning around her, pulsing slowly as she activated a skill: Love Orbs. Six massive orbs circled her and launched one by one at six Venus Flytraps, sending them crashing on the stone walls, enveloping them with a cloud of smoke.
As the cloud of smoke subsided, the Venus Flytraps retaliated, lashing out razor-sharp vines that sliced through the air like living whips. One razor-sharp vine nearly skewered Claire's arm, but a lightning-fast roll followed by a pink energy beam that shot forth from her palm severed the vine mid-swing, sending sap and shredded leaves flying.
"That was close!" she said, pushing herself upright on her knees, breath quick but a confident grin still on her face.
Then, the world-rank trio gathered and moved as one to battle the six Venus Flytraps. They fought like a single flowing entity.
Adam and Leon's weapons cut through the razor-sharp vines while Claire activated a skill: Absolute Adoration, sending a pink shockwave that stunned four Venus Flytraps that were caught in it. Then she finished them with another skill: Pure Love, a massive pink beam that shot forth from her palm.
Leon appeared behind a weakened Venus Flytrap that thought it had escaped death. He activated a skill: Double Strike, attacking twice in one swift motion and killing it instantly.
"One more," Leon and Adam said in unison, slowly walking toward the last Venus Flytrap that was clearly in a state of panic.
As the last Venus Flytrap fell, Oberon roared. His wings spread wide as he rose into the air, his massive form casting a shadow over the battlefield. His eyes glowed, and a beam of searing red energy blasted from his mouth, slicing through players like a scythe. Those hit screamed as the laser struck, their bodies shattering into fragments.
Archers and mages gathered, launching volleys of arrows and spells toward him, but Oberon twisted his body midair, dodging effortlessly. He landed a second later and slammed the ground with the violet claws extending from his knuckles, sending players flying across the room from the impact.
Oberon suddenly turned to me and lunged like a giant grasshopper, his claws aimed straight at me. I ducked under his swipe and rolled to the side, feeling the rough ground scrape against my palms.
From a distance, a female healer in white robes helped me, activating a skill: Lesser Protection. A shimmering barrier wrapped around me just as I started to sprint away from Oberon. It was just in time to potentially block a follow-up attack from Oberon: a blast of fire that splintered the ground as it made its way toward me.
"Shit!" I shouted as the burning heat smashed against the barrier like a wave.
The barrier shattered like glass hit by a hammer, and the blast sent me flying me into the air like a ragdoll before I crashed behind a fallen giant slab of stone.
"T-Thanks!" I shouted to the female healer, coughing as I pushed myself up onto my knees. "I'm still breathing because of you."
The female healer gave me a firm nod. "I got you!" she shouted back.
As I glanced to the right, I spotted the Cryomancer who had helped me fight the Leviathan Hermit. He activated a skill: Icy Trap, and the ground beneath Oberon froze, slowing him for a moment. Even so, Oberon roared, and more violet laser beams shot from his eye toward us.
"Hit it with all you've got!" he shouted, pointing at Oberon.
A high-level archer tried to fire from a distance, but Oberon caught the arrow mid-air and snapped it in half. His gaze locked onto the archer, and he fired another violet laser. The archer screamed as it hit him, his body shattering into fragments.
The players ran across the room, dodging lasers as they screamed in panic.
"RUNNN!!!"
"I-IM OUT OF HEALTH POTIONS, I'M GONNA DIE!!!"
"SOMEONE HELP!!!"
The remaining mages gathered together and cast spells in unison, trying to catch Oberon off guard. Water blasts, fireballs, and bolts of lightning shot toward his massive body, raining down in a colorful storm. Each hit landed with a thundering impact, but the attacks barely left a scratch on him.
Oberon rose above, flapping his massive wings as the Icy Trap faded. His glowing eyes locked onto the remaining mages. A searing red beam shot from his mouth, tearing through the air, shattering them into fragments. Then, he roared and dove toward Leon and Adam, a violet laser firing from his massive eye, piercing through the air.
Adam reacted instantly, activating a skill: Retaliation. His lance glowed with white energy as he hurled it straight into the violet beam. Sparks erupted on impact, erasing the violet beam into thin air. The spear drove deep into Oberon's body.
Leon followed, activating a skill: Soul Cleave. Black crescent waves sliced through the air as he swung his sword. It hit Oberon midair and applied a debuff: Paralysis.
As Oberon plummeted to the ground, Claire followed up with an attack.
"Here's more!" she shouted and activated a skill: Pure Love. A massive pink energy beam shot forth from her palm that slammed into Oberon on the stone wall. Dust and debris exploded in every direction, cloaking Oberon in a cloud of dust.
I threw my spirit dagger at Oberon's body. As soon as my dagger landed, I activated its skill: Ownership, reappearing at its location with a tight grip on its hilt. Then I realized I was now standing somewhere right around his massive body.
"I'm sure that I'll be able to deal some damage to this monster despite the level gap," I thought, preparing to strike Oberon's body, which was covered with a cloud of dust.
"Hey! Watch out!" Claire's voice snapped me out of my focus, panic filling her voice.
"Take this—" I started to shout as I braced to slam my dagger into Oberon's body. But my words and muscles were put to a stop as the smoke of dust cleared just enough to reveal his enormous dilating eye that was staring right through my soul.
Before I could react further, its jaws snapped open inches away from my face, and flames began to gather inside it.
"Holy... shit…" I muttered as heat radiated toward my body.
I activated my dagger's skill: Intangibility. My body flickered and phased just as the flames erupted, the heat rushing past me without leaving a mark.
By the time the skill faded, I was already sprinting behind a giant slab of stone that had fallen from the ceiling. I pressed my back against it, trying to calm my ragged breathing. "I almost died there…" I whispered, wiping sweat from my face with a shaky hand. "I'm not doing that shit again. EVER."
I let out a tense breath, fingers tightening around my dagger as I peeked over the edge. "I'll just go out after its health points drop to thirty percent," I thought, watching Oberon fighting dozens of players. "It's still too dangerous for me to come out."