The ogre burst out of the ground, roaring. Saber, stressed but trying to stay composed, spun his sword to hold the blade downwards. "This is gonna be fun, right?" he muttered. "Shall we start?" he asked, his eyes showing a hint of excitement. "From the beginning?" Both Saber and the ogre took their stances for battle.

Chloe’s group felt the earthquake. "A Terraquake?" Marco asked, shocked.

"Probably a major fight has started," Lead replied.

"Hey, by the way, what level dungeon is this?" Marco asked.

"Probably rank 3," Lead said, suddenly remembering something. "Hey Chloe, that boy. What rank is he in?"

"I didn’t ask him, but he did say it’s his first time. Why do you ask?" Chloe replied.

"This is bad for that boy; the strongest boss limit of this dungeon is at rank 3 or 4!" Lead explained.

"Shit!" Ergo exclaimed.

"That’s why I warned that idiot, but he ignored it," Lead said.

"So this Terraquake can be…" Marco began.

"An already started boss fight," Lead said seriously.

"This early?" Argil asked.

"Think about it, there are hundreds of players here, so this is normal for the dungeons," Marco noted.

"It’s true but not completely. Though the players are hundreds, the entries for today are only 39 groups," Lead explained.

"Which means that the major groups are waiting for the second gate," Chloe said.

"Exactly, since the first event gates are always in ‘easy’ mode for new players to adapt and level up for the main gate," Lead confirmed.

"Wait, so does it mean that we’re not gonna get any loot here?" Ergo asked.

"Other than a few pretty rocks? No," Lead replied.

"We’re here to level up Chloe, not loot," Marco said.

"So that she can be ready. Even if she falls, the higher level will reduce the taken damages. But now that she has taken an interest in that boy, I simply can’t ignore that wish. Everyone MUST stay in their best condition, physically AND mentally," Lead said.

"So does it mean?" Chloe asked.

"We’re going to save that brat, for real this time," Lead said with a smile.

Chloe jumped in happiness and hugged Lead. "Thank you!!!"

"But only on one condition," Lead said.

"And that is?" Chloe asked.

Back in the field, a stab crashed into the wall. "What’s wrong?" Saber asked. The ogre looked back to see Saber sitting on one of the tall dug-out stones. "You’re so blind that you could miss the sun at high noon, dude," Saber taunted.

The ogre jumped at him, smashing the area. Saber clapped, mocking the ogre. "HAHAHA…. Well done! You should get a medal in distance jumping," he said, showing a thumbs up.

The ogre roared in anger. "Aww, are you pouting, my little drama queen? Let me buy you a pacifier," Saber continued to taunt.

The ogre dashed at Saber, but he dodged with his own dash, causing the ogre to crash into a wall. "Surprising! You have your ‘dash’ too? But with that big fat body, you can’t even outrun a snail," Saber teased.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The ogre turned towards him. "You’re so slow with that big, fat ass, I’m surprised the ground hasn’t filed a complaint," Saber said, making the ogre roar and run towards him again, only to miss again.

"If you really like running so much then let’s see… how you’ll run without THESE!" Saber said, using ‘arm’ to punch the ogre’s shin. The ogre screamed in agony with tears. "You’re wide open!" Saber shouted, slicing the ogre’s knees.

The ogre caught Saber and threw him at the wall. Saber crashed into the wall. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, this hurts," he groaned. The ogre threw a stab at Saber, who was sitting on it like a throne. "Aww, how sweet, thanks for the gift. If you wanted my attention, you could’ve just said so," Saber mocked.

The ogre took out his hammer. "Where were you hiding that this entire time? You really have a huge tunnel, don’t you?" Saber said, shocked.

The ogre jumped at Saber and smashed the area. Saber used dash to escape but slipped and fell. "Damn it! Bad luck, I guess," he muttered.

The ogre kept swinging and smashing the ground, but Saber dodged every single one. "You really don’t know how to swing, do you? Let me show you," Saber offered, taking the hammer from the ogre and smashing its face with it. "DUMBASS!" he shouted.

The ogre stepped back, crying. "And THAT’S how you swing a hammer," Saber said.

The ogre ran towards Saber with the hammer and swung at him. Saber punched back with ‘arm’, the recoil speed smashing the ogre’s face. The ogre fell down, hands covering its face, crying.

"You just smashed your own face with your own hammer, HAHAHAHA…. That might be the biggest disrespect ever, in my opinion," Saber laughed hard. "Are you really a ‘King Ogre’? Because there’s no ‘king’ about you. Are you crying? Did your girl leave you? Oh wait, you don’t have a girlfriend," Saber continued to mock.

The ogre removed its hands, revealing a squashed nose. "HAHAHA… you look like a squid got chloroma. HAHAHAHA…" Saber laughed his lungs out.

The ogre threw a stab that took Saber to the wall. He came out unharmed. "And that’s how you’ve officially earned an enemy, pickled jelly," Saber said.

The ogre rubbed its leg like a bull. "Oh? Is that a challenge? Then let’s begin," Saber smiled. Both ran towards each other. Saber threw dusty rocks at the ogre’s face with his left hand and dashed behind the ogre.

"Feel the thousand years of pai—" Saber tried to shovel his fingers up the ogre’s ass but broke the sword and fingers instead. "Is your sexy dumpy coated in metal or something?" Saber asked, shocked.

The ogre grabbed Saber. "Sorry?" Saber tried to be friendly, but the ogre slammed him on the ground. Saber peeped inside his own hands, making the ogre curious. "Wanna look? See," he said, showing a middle finger.

The ogre looked, and Saber slowly swung his hand back and poked the ogre’s eye with his finger. The ogre screamed in pain, and Saber jumped down, backflipping and kicking the ogre’s nuts with force. The ogre fell down with its ass up and hands holding its crotch, screaming in agony with tears.

"What’s wrong? Did you crack your nuts, or did life hit you below the belt?" Saber taunted. He bicycle-kicked the nuts again, making the ogre scream more in pain. Saber took the sword and shoved it between the balls, green blood spilling from the cut.

"Tch tch tch. Too bad, so sad," Saber said sympathetically, smiling evilly. He jumped and pushed the sword more with his knee. "I feel bad for all the male audience who felt this. I humbly but not seriously apologize— I’m sorry and I’ll do it again."

Saber ran and stood in front of the ogre. "Hey Ogre!" he called out. The ogre, in tears, looked up. Saber backflipped and kicked the ogre under the jaw. "Headshot!"

"Combo Exp. Earned," the system announced.

The ogre fainted

Saber, exhausted and panting, took a moment to catch his breath. "Fewwh! Job’s done, I think," he said, looking around to ensure there were no more immediate threats.

"System? The progress," he inquired, eager to know the outcome of his efforts.

PROFILE

LEVEL 5

New Weapon Unlockable!

New Moves Accessible!

"At level 5 already, huh? Sweet!" Saber said with a satisfied grin.

ALERT

Phase 2 is starting

"Huh? What’s ‘phase 2’? And why now? Wait a min—" Saber stammered, hearing the ogre roar.

He looked back in horror as the ogre stood up, now surrounded by a red aura and glowing red eyes. "H-hey buddy!" Saber said, scared.

Lead’s team was running through the passage, feeling the earthquakes.

"That’s the sixth Terraquake till now," Marco noted.

"That means, we’re getting closer," Lead replied.

Please be safe, Saber! Chloe thought, worried.

They felt another earthquake.

Saber was slammed against the wall, coughing. This thing’s tougher now, huh, he thought. "Well it’s a good thing, I enabled the painless mode," Saber said.

INNATE SKILL

ENABLED: PAINLESS MODE

The ogre walked towards Saber, its red aura glowing menacingly. But I don’t know how much will it help, Saber thought, feeling the weight of the situation.

The ogre slammed Saber against the wall again, making him cough blood. Ah! I’m at my limit, Saber thought, his vision becoming blurry. The ogre stood in front of Saber, swinging its hammer at him. Saber became unconscious.

BOOM!

A voice called out, "Saber? SABER!"