Bosses in Dungeon End weren't like the ones in other games I knew; they weren't confined to the final room of a level, waiting like a final exam you had to pass to progress.

Instead, they roamed their territories as freely as any other creature, making them unpredictable and much more intimidating.

"You really never know where one might turn up," I muttered to myself as I watched the chaos unfold below.

In Dungeon End, a boss didn’t guard the passage or hold the key to the next floor; they dominated their environment, patrolling it as any predator would its hunting ground.

This meant that they could impact your journey at almost any time, turning a corner could suddenly shift from routine grind to a fight for survival.

Although the likelihood of running into a boss was relatively low due to the vastness of each floor, much depended on luck or your ability to scout effectively.

In the economy of boss encounters, it was often a matter of first come, first served.

However, not everyone was eager for these confrontations.

individuals like me, lacking a strong team or sufficient combat skills, would do everything possible to avoid them.

Even high-level adventurers often bypassed lower-level bosses, preferring to conserve their limited time in the dungeon and their resources for more lucrative challenges on upper floors.

Truly, only those well-matched in level and prepared for a tough fight tended to seek them out.

And below me, it looked like the adventurers had tried to avoid the boss but couldn't escape its clutches.

Their desperate efforts to fight back and regroup showed how dangerous running into a boss could be.

I could see them scrambling and hear their shouts filled with fear.

"Hold it steady!" A relatively burly man barked, planting his shield firmly against the onslaught of the giant slime boss.

The tank, a burly figure with a shield almost as tall as he was, lunged forward. "Boulder's Guard!" he shouted, his shield glowing with a stony resilience that seemed to increase its bulk.

As the slime lashed out, its strike was absorbed by the shield, its impact lessened by the protective stone.

Beside him, the swordsman weaved through the battlefield with agility. "Blade Gust!" he called out, swinging his sword in a wide arc that sent a slicing wind towards the slime.

The gust cut through the slimes whip like limbs, causing it to shudder momentarily.

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At the rear, the first mage channeled her energy, her hands glowing with a bright light. "Lightning Lash!" she exclaimed, releasing a bolt of electricity that snapped at the slime, sizzling as it struck.

But each strike, spell, and maneuver brought them only meager progress against the massive slime.

Its regenerative abilities outpaced their damage, healing almost as quickly as they could inflict wounds.

They were gradually forced back, cornered against the grotto's walls.

At the height of their desperation, when hope seemed dim, the female mage, glanced upwards.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of me clinging to the wall above the fray.

"Hey!" she shouted, pointing upwards to alert her companions. "There's someone up there!"

The rest of the group momentarily turned their attention upwards, following her gaze.

"Hey, up there! You've got to help us!" yelled the tank, his voice echoing against the grotto's walls as he struggled to maintain his ground against the slime's relentless assaults.

"I'm not exactly equipped to jump into a fight with a boss!" I replied.

"Don't give us that! Look, we'll split the loot with you! Anything you want!" the swordsman bargained, parrying a viscous strike with his blade.

Despite their pleas and the offer of loot, I knew my limits all too well.

Jumping down there wasn’t bravery; it was a death sentence for someone like me.

"I-I can’t. I’m sorry!" I shouted, feeling a mix of guilt and frustration as I began to inch away,

"Please, we really could use a hand! Maybe I could make it up to you personally... if we get out of this alive." the mage added, her voice laced with a hint of seduction.

"Look, I'm not cut out for this. I don't have the gear or the skills. I'd just be another casualty!" I tried to explain, feeling the weight of each word.

The tank slammed his shield into the slime, pushing back as best as he could. "You can do something! Anything! Don’t let us die here!"

The desperation in their voices was palpable, and for a moment, I wavered, torn by their plight and my own safety.

"Even just a distraction would help!"

The thought of throwing my slimes into the fray as a distraction crossed my mind, but the logic was flawed.

"Even if I sent them, it wouldn’t change anything," I muttered to myself.

They can’t deal damage, and without that, they won’t draw its attention away from those already fighting.

The mechanics of aggro in this dungeon were unforgiving.

A monster like that boss, once fixed on a target, would relentlessly pursue it until a more pressing threat emerged—something my slimes could not mimic since they lacked any real offensive capability.

"I’d just be sending them to get destroyed, achieving nothing," I reasoned.

I glanced down, the sight of their impending doom gnawing at me.

But fear held me back. "I’m sorry, I really am." I murmured, more to myself than to them, as I started to retreat toward stable ground, moving cautiously away from the chaos.

Their cries grew more desperate. "You're just going to leave us?!" the swordsman yelled, his voice cracking under the strain.

"Coward! Spineless rat!" the tank roared, his voice echoing angrily as he parried another blow.

Their bitter accusations struck deep, and I paused, their desperation echoing in my ears. I stood frozen for a moment, torn by guilt and survival instinct.

"You heartless bastard! You've left us to die!"

"Damn you! May the dungeon take you too!"

"Hope you rot down here!"

"..."

Finally, quiet followed their last insults.

As I walked away, the haunting silence behind me was a stark reminder of the harsh reality i was living in.

"Hahaha, self-imposed limitations? What a joke!" I spat out the words, mocking my earlier optimism.

"I wanted to believe I was holding myself back, that I could somehow rise above this... But every single time, reality slaps me in the face."

I looked back one last time. The silence was complete now, likely filled with the finality of death for those I had left behind.

"There's no grand path to power here, just a desperate scramble for whatever scraps you can find..."