ruins part 3

Alex, to his dismay, couldn't avoid the sneak attack from the slime and took a direct hit. His clothes were almost gone, with massive holes in them. The areas touched by the slime turned black and caused him pain.

It was the most intense pain Alex had ever felt. Fortunately, the acid had burned his nerves, so the pain subsided after a few seconds. Catching his breath, he thought to himself, "Damn, that hurt. I should have seen that coming."

As Alex recovered from the brief burst of pain, he realized that he might very well die in this situation. He felt impending doom and vowed to himself, "I'll kill that slime if it's the last thing I ever do, goddamn it." Numbness had taken over most of his body; he couldn't even feel his own skin. All he wanted was to eliminate that slime.

Filled with determination and murderous intent, he thrust his sword into the core at lightning speed.

The slime dissolved, splitting the core in two and revealing three items. The first item was a rare healing potion. Boss drop items are usually more powerful than those found in treasure rooms, and treasure room items are more potent than man-made ones.

The potion, made of glass shaped like crystals, had a rough bottom and a golden cap resembling a crown. Alex wasn't familiar with its properties, but without thinking, he downed all of the red liquid in the bottle.

Suddenly, a green light surrounded Alex, accompanied by a circle of runes. His wounds healed completely, leaving only a scar. The other two items were a ring and a sword.

The ring, made of gold with an emerald in the middle, had an unfamiliar marking on the outward-facing side. Consulting the system, Alex discovered it was a Ring of Fireball, an incredibly rare find. It was a C-class item capable of casting a fireball every ten seconds, with its power increasing over time. This discovery was unusual since F-rank ruins typically yielded F to D rank loot.

The last item was a sword made of steel and lithium, making it unnaturally light and exceptionally sharp. Alex consulted the system again and learned it was a B-class item. Obtaining a B-rank item as a boss drop in an F-rank ruin was an unprecedented event. However, he couldn't take credit for it, as he was likely "dead" by now.

The sword was a semi-magical item, possessing magical properties that required other items to utilize them. In this case, the required item was air. By focusing, the user could make a stream of acid shoot from the sword's tip.

This item was from a unique slime boss known as the "Toxic Slime." It was likely a trophy for being the first to defeat the slime boss alone without using a skill during the battle.

Alex was incredibly shocked by the high quality of the items he obtained. They were far superior to what should be expected from an F-rank ruin.

Stunned and unsure of what to think, Alex took some jerky out of his bag and started eating it. He was in awe and wonderment about what had happened, surprised that he was still alive, not to mention the incredible items he had acquired. It took him a moment to fully comprehend everything, his mind racing while he enjoyed his jerky.

He thought, "That was close," "What incredible luck," and "So I guess that was a unique boss; that explains a lot." Alex knew what unique bosses were but also understood their rarity, with only a 1/10,000 chance of encountering one, and those who did survive were few.

Unique bosses posed surprising challenges, catching most hunters off guard due to their individuality and unpredictable attack patterns.

Like how the slime had played dead to gain the upper hand. Until now, all that was known about them was the increased rewards they offered. However, Alex now understood that there could be additional win conditions to obtain even better rewards.

He replaced his old, half-dissolved sword with the new one, which was well-balanced and lightweight. It was undoubtedly a cutting weapon, designed for precision rather than chopping due to its sharpness and lightweight construction. The handle, made of grippy leather, felt secure in Alex's hand. The sword measured 2 meters and 24 centimeters in length, as indicated by the system.