Lesser Purgatory [V]

Bloodserker is a semi-passive skill for Berserkers, categorized as such due to its ability to provide effects even when not actively activated. When in an idle state, Bloodserker grants the user additional attack power, with the strength of the effect increasing as the user's health decreases. When activated, the skill provides an increased damage buff and boosts the critical rate, but it comes at the cost of 100 HP per second. It's a risky skill, but the advantages are well worth it, especially considering that Bloodserker's benefits persist even when it's idle.

Furthermore, there are two deployment modes: full and partial. In full deployment, the user gains increased damage, a higher critical rate, deals double damage in a single attack, experiences no mana consumption, and receives 60 seconds of invulnerability to damage, all in exchange for 1,000 HP per second. In contrast, partial deployment only consumes 100 HP per second while providing increased damage and critical rate.

Berserkers derive significant benefits from this skill, as they possess some of the highest HP pools among all classes. For a Berserker, 1,000 HP per second is a negligible cost. However, for someone like me with an HP pool of around 2,000, I'd be dead in just two seconds without enjoying the 60-second invulnerability.

Because Lina's healing skill is still in effect, my HP loss is constantly being healed while the HP loss from the ogres also continues to drain my HP. I didn't waste any time and attacked the ogres before my HP reached critical levels, where they could easily hit me once and kill me.

-10,000! Critical

-10,000! Critical

-20,500! Critical

...

The numbers are satisfying to the eyes, if not for the fact that I'm losing 100 HP every second. Since the active effect of Bloodserker keeps sapping my HP, it won't be long before my HP drops to critical levels. The silver lining is that I'm making the most of this opportunity to take them all down while my HP is also dwindling.

"Master! Your HP is rapidly declining! My healing magic can't keep up with the HP you are losing!" Lina looked worried about the state of my body.

"Just keep healing me and don't forget to cast Hex once the monsters' effects have disappeared!" I shouted.

Although I have the extra-large potions I asked Lina to buy, I'm saving them for the mini-boss battle and the boss battle later. The boss has ridiculous HP, and Bloodserker's full deployment will be needed soon.

It took me two minutes to take down the remaining ogres, allowing me to level up to 24, raising my level twice. Still, my HP is miserable after the battle, with only 600 HP left. Despite the level-up heal, it doesn't really matter if your HP keeps dropping, and I leveled up twice after killing the third and fourth ogres. The fifth one only gave a small amount of EXP, which didn't push my level to 25, where I would have been easily patched up.

"Master, are you alright?" Lina asked as she handed me an intermediate potion to drink.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," I said, shaking my head. Losing too much HP in the game can cause dizziness, adding a realistic effect to the blood loss. This game blends reality and gaming, which can be a bit annoying at times.

"Should we rest for a bit?" Lina asked.

"Yeah, let's do that. Besides, Leona needs to devour those corpses," I nodded and let Leona do her thing.

As soon as I said that, Leona nodded and quickly flew towards the corpses, starting to eat. I'm not surprised as to why Leona can keep eating without stopping despite consuming monsters' carcasses larger than her. All the meat she eats immediately converts to EXP, allowing her to keep consuming it without feeling full. She'll only get full if she eats actual food items.

I sat down for a moment and felt sore in my body. I need to train my real body soon so my muscles can catch up with the movements I make in the game. If only my body from the past were also transported here, but sadly, it's my untrained body, so I have no choice.

"Master, I know this is a bit rude to ask, but why won't you go to a party with others?"

"We are at the same party, right?" I looked at her with a confused expression.

"I mean, go with other adventurers like you. I heard adventurers like to band together when they go to dungeons. Why are you going solo? And you even challenged the Normal and Hard Modes at the same time."

"Oh? Did you notice that? I never expected you to find out that I am avoiding others."

"Your actions are easily predictable, and I am quite aware of it. The only thing is that I am wondering why you are doing so. Isn't it better if you team up with them?"

"You have yet to see the cruel side of these people. Maybe I will trust other people in the future, but that doesn't change the fact that I will continue to avoid them."

Lina looked at me, surprised by my remarks; however, she did not voice her disagreement. She just looked away from me and decided to stay quiet. I shrugged it off and waited for Leona. As for the drops from the ogres, I won't be checking them yet, but I know I got lots of good drops. It didn't take too long for Leona to devour all of the ogres' bodies, and she leveled up finally to level 2 despite not gaining experience in battles yet.

"Let's get going, guys. We're not yet in the middle of the dungeon."

Our journey inside the dungeon was going fine, and the monsters were manageable. I also managed to reach level 25 after defeating a group of Hell Hounds. The regular mobs were easy to kill, but the Elite monsters were a bit trickier. Still, with my past experience of repeated hunting, I didn't need to think hard about the strategies to fight them. When we reached the middle of the dungeon, the mini-boss finally appeared. This time, the mini-boss was the boss in Normal Mode. As soon as the boss came into my vision, it stood up and growled.

"What the heck? You again?! Are you not satisfied with the Normal Mode earlier and want to challenge the Hard Mode? You're looking forward to beating up my ass again, right? RIGHT? No way, man, once a day is enough. It's a tough job being a boss! Don't make it harder for me!"

Me: ...

Lina: ...

What the f*ck? What the heck is going on? Is the boss... this boss is talking back like it knew what I was doing before?