[Slime Barrier]
[Rank: Common]
[Description: When the user is about to be hit from any direction, a slime barrier will appear and absorb the blow in their place. 30-minutes cooldown.]
---
But that wasn't all.
The moment Sam examined the scroll, something else activated.
Just like with monsters, the faint black aura around his body pulsed softly—[Hell-Mode Analysis] was activating on its own again.
'So it really does work on more than just monsters,' Sam thought to himself as the next panel unfolded in his mind like a mental projection.
[Hell-Mode Analysis: If the power of the incoming attack is too strong, the slime barrier will shatter and the hit will pass through.]
This was information that hadn't even been hinted at in the main description.
Without [Hell-Mode Analysis], Sam never would have known it.
In fact, most people probably wouldn't.
It was crucial to know because, for a skill to evolve or become stronger, the user had to fully understand its mechanics, its limits, strengths, and hidden details.
Only then could it reach its potential.
Understanding a skill in-depth was the first step toward affinity and eventual evolution.
With that thought, Sam opened the scroll, placing his hand over the smooth surface.
It pulsed with a faint glow before the dark aura enveloped it, then melted into his palm. The scroll crumbled into fragments of light.
A soft chime echoed inside his mind.
[Congratulations to Sam Walker for learning the skill: Slime Barrier (Common)]
At the same moment he learned the skill, the silver mist that had blocked the path behind him dissolved.
The fog cleared completely, exposing the rest of the awakeners to the exit of the ruins.
The system's rule was clear: only by defeating the boss could you leave the dungeon.
Now that Sam had slain the boss, the way was open again.
As the mist vanished, he heard voices. Dozens of them.
He turned to find a crowd of stunned awakeners staring at him, jaws slack, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Holy shit?!"
"He actually beat the boss? No fucking way!"
"What?! Alone?!"
More people had arrived during the short time his battle lasted.
It had been less than two minutes, yet the number of awakeners outside the lair had more than doubled.
He hadn't noticed it before, but apparently word had spread that the boss was unbeatable.
And Sam had just defeated it.
They couldn't see the battle because of the silver mist, but the fact the boss wasn't here anymore confirmed it.
Yet even though Sam would have felt happy about this, especially after gaining a skill...
'Oh, wonderful,' Sam's eyes narrowed.
After all, the first person to step into the boss room now that the mist had cleared… was him.
The red-haired bastard from the bus. The same guy who had tried to intimidate Sam.
"He actually beat a mutated boss by himself?"
"No way... it was level three. I heard bosses usually vary, but if a mutated one already showed up here, what's waiting for us later?"
Many were whispering in fear, eyes darting toward the hallways beyond the ruins.
The implications of Sam's victory had shaken them.
But more than that, they couldn't ignore what it meant.
Sam, the guy they all dismissed as weak, had done something none of them dared to even attempt.
They couldn't explain it. Had he awakened his class during the battle? Used an item? Was he hiding his power all along?
Either way, it was obvious now: Sam Walker wasn't the same as the person they thought he was.
Still, not everyone accepted the truth.
"So you beat a weak boss and suddenly think you're above the rest of us?" the red-haired man stepped forward, his presence loud and aggressive.
His feet cracked the stone floor as he moved, aura blazing with deep red energy.
The pressure he gave off wasn't weak, that much was clear. But Sam didn't flinch. He simply gave him a quiet glance.
Sam pulled up his status window with a thought.
---
[Name: Sam Walker]
[Class: Primordial]
[Rank: Novice]
[Level: 1 → 2]
[Strength: 5 → 6]
[Agility: 4 → 5]
[Constitution: 5 → 6]
[Soul: 8 → 10]
[Affinities: Shadow]
[Class Skills: Spatial Inventory, Primordial Evolution, Hell-Mode Analysis]
[Skills: Intermediate Sword Technique (Uncommon), Shadow Bullets (Common), Slime Barrier (Common)]
---
He was satisfied with the progress, but he didn't stop there.
He also scanned the status of the red-haired man standing across from him.
---
[Name: Morgan Lockman]
[Rank: Novice]
[Level: 3]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 5]
[Constitution: 7]
[Soul: 2]
---
"Hm," Sam muttered.
The man had a high level, but his soul stat was pitifully low.
Probably a brute-type class. A straightforward brawler. Strong and durable, but lacking in technique or deeper insight.
Then, right beneath that panel, [Hell-Mode Analysis] revealed its verdict.
[Hell-Mode Analysis: Typical young master. He'll keep harassing you for no reason whatsoever. You can either ignore him forever or...]
Sam raised an eyebrow as the final line appeared.
[Kill him =)]
He couldn't help but grin a little.
The truth was, inside an area, or "layer" of the Forsaken Realm—deaths weren't tracked.
If someone died here, no official record or video existed. Just rumors and survivor words.
Which meant one thing: if someone tried to start trouble, they had to be prepared to pay the price.
Fwish!
Sam lowered his body and shifted into his battle stance, eyes sharp.
[Hell-Mode Analysis: Kill him it is, then.]
Sam nodded once.
"You wanna fight me? You'll regret challenging me!" Morgan snarled as red aura surged around his fists. His confidence was overflowing, but it was misplaced.
Without warning, he leapt into the air and spun before slamming his entire weight down with a full-strength punch.
"POWER… SMASH!"
BOOM!
The entire floor trembled violently. Dust exploded upward and small cracks shot through the stone beneath them.
But Sam had already jumped back, avoiding the impact without a scratch.
He landed lightly a few meters away, eyes still locked onto Morgan.
"My turn," Sam said flatly.
Fwish!
In a flash, he crossed the distance, drawing his sword and slashing at Morgan with swift, precise motion.
"!!!" Morgan's eyes widened.
It wasn't the attack itself that scared him, but the sheer aura around Sam right now was so intimidating that Morgan thought of running away.
But of course, he knew he couldn't.
"Grr—GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" Morgan screamed, barely dodging to the side and countering with a furious fist glowing with crimson energy.
This time, Sam didn't move.
Morgan's punch flew forward, aimed straight for Sam's chest—and struck something.
SPLOOSH!
A strange resistance met his knuckles. A gelatinous wall formed in an instant—[Slime Barrier] had activated.
"The hell?!"
The blue slime had absorbed the blow completely, protecting Sam from what could've been a fatal hit.
And that was all the opening Sam needed.
Without a shred of hesitation...
SLASH!
His blade cut through the air like lightning—clean and merciless.
Morgan's head separated from his body.
There was a heartbeat of stunned silence as his body stood upright… then collapsed to the floor, head rolling across the hallway with a hollow thud.
"OH MY GOD!"
Some in the crowd gasped and stepped back, faces pale.
They had never seen an awakener killed right in front of them before—not this early, not like this.
"Morgan attacked and lost. That's it."
"Yeah. In the Forsaken Realm, the strong survive. He lost."
The rest accepted it with a cold practicality. The rules of the world were brutal, and it was better to learn them now than later.
Sam stood in the center of the room, expression neutral, eyes unreadable.
He didn't feel anything—not regret, not fear, not pride. Just... necessity.
He knew the truly important people wouldn't appear here, not yet.
The first layer was like a filter, sorting out the weak from those with potential.
The "heroines," the core characters of the world, the powerful forces moving behind the curtain—they were either deeper inside or in separate instances entirely.
This wasn't the real stage. Not yet.
For now, his only goal was growth.
So, without another word, Sam turned away from Morgan's corpse and began walking toward the hallway, the exit to the ruins finally open and waiting for him.
But then... just as he took his first step out...
Ding!
A familiar sound rang inside his head.
[Absorbing…]
Sam froze.
"…Wait, what?" His eyes widened slightly. "Didn't it already absorb the boss monster?"
He paused, confused… until the realization hit him.
"Oh."
He understood exactly what it meant.