Earth Shatter (Part 1)

My heart was racing; I could feel every single heartbeat in my chest. That monster was something we were not ready for yet. "Go! GO!" I started shouting at the spaced-out Jieun. She was standing still, scared once again, too afraid to run. Did she want to die? What's up with this kid?... "Move, Jieun!" Noticing her state, Malrang bit Jieun's ankle, which finally snapped her awake. Her little body moved with lightning speed as she fled. "Thank you, Malrang." We looked at each other as if understanding what we both felt and quickly followed behind her.

Meanwhile, Kim Seong-Hoon was screaming like a little girl, dodging the bite attacks of the lizard monster. "Big sis! I'm going to die here. Lend me a hand... something, anything! Please!" He pleaded for my help.

What am I even supposed to do against that thing? It's too strong. The goblin king was already a gamble, but at least I could see its level. But this thing... whatever it is, it must be at least triple our level... I turned my head to face my idiot friend, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he was always good to me and was the first to rush to me after my last battle, but on the other hand, he is an idiot and should die for his mistakes... I was dashing away as fast as I could.

The monster was closing in on him more and more. It looked like a salamander but a hundred times bigger. When I looked back, I saw its tongue almost hit Kim Seong-Hoon, who tripped and fell because of it. It was time for me to decide... Help my friend or run away from the situation, letting him die. I stopped, unable to decide. What do I do? I don't want to run away and let my friend die... but... but! I can't die out here; I just arrived in this world. If that means letting people close to me die... then... I turned away from Kim Seong-Hoon, ready to leave him to die. I did something that could haunt me for the rest of my life...

"Big sis...! I'm sorry, keep on living." Kim Seong-Hoon's voice echoed in my ear. My heart was in turmoil. Fuck! My body moved on its own; I had no control over it. Perhaps because I was once abandoned by everyone, I could not do the same to the people I considered friends. Even if I have to die today, I will not run away. I will control my own life and my own decisions. I will kill that damn beast! Fuck this! My scythe quickly materialized in my hands; its golden glow was now even more radiant, almost blinding to the eye, and the black handle was as dark as the abyss itself. I could feel the power flowing through my arms. It felt... different than before, as if I had a deep connection to my weapon, as if we were one and the same.

Kinetic Slash!

My scythe vibrated like never before. My stats had multiplied since I became the Ruler; my soul trembled inside, and I could feel the energy flowing through my body even more clearly. A two-meter tall black crescent moon attack traveled at lightning speed, connecting with the reptile's body just before it could bite Kim Seong-Hoon.

A sharp, piercing screech tore through the air as the lizard writhed in pain. A small wound appeared on its tough, scaly skin. At that moment, I could feel the predator's eyes land on me. Its gaze was full of anger and killing intent; it no longer cared about Kim Seong-Hoon, rushing at me with impressive speed. It seemed it had been toying with him like food. Dammit!

Kim Seong-Hoon got up and didn't hesitate to summon his dragon sword. His hand was quickly wrapped in a chilling dragon aura. A fearsome dragon cry sounded, and a powerful frost attack struck the monster's tail, leaving a tiny scratch. He's too weak...

I quickly activated my darkness steps and space distortion simultaneously. I could feel my agility and strength increasing as I dashed toward the monster. It was big and slow—or so I thought. Within seconds, I was met with a thick, club-shaped tail end. Using space distortion, I barely dodged it to the right. But I was careless; without even being able to react, I felt a claw press down on me from above. "Ugh." I could feel the entire world pressing on my body; my bones cracked slightly but were still intact.

The lizard growled at me and kept increasing the pressure, its eyes bloodshot, crazy, and full of anger. I could almost feel its emotions: "How could you, a lowly insect, dare to injure me?" I imagined it saying to me.

"Celestial blast!"

"Dragon Frost slash!"

Fwoosh!

Three powerful attacks hit the monster simultaneously.

"Creee!"

The lizard shrieked and moved away from me to cover its face from my comrades' attacks. Laying on the ground, I could see Jieun breathing heavily, most likely just overcoming her fear of battle. She was trembling, but her expression betrayed her determination and anger.

Malrang was running to me, shooting her Hellfire blast from her tiny mouth nonstop, her fox-like fur standing on end, ready to rip the lizard to shreds.

As for Kim Seong-Hoon, he unleashed an attack I had never seen before. His expression was wild, as if he were about to lose something precious. I couldn't understand why he had suddenly turned from a fool to a warrior. His sword was roaring, making the lizard slightly agitated.

"Come at me, you bastard. I will rip you to pieces," he shouted at the top of his lungs.

I pushed myself off the ground, quickly distancing myself from the monster. "I'll take the front! Support me from behind with your long-range attacks! Don't get too close; if it hits you, you'll die instantly!" I commanded my mates.

I activated space distortion and slashed with Kinetic Slash at its eyes, making the beast fall back slightly in defense. I took that chance to look for my comrades on the battlefield. I remembered what the system said before; forming a party at this moment would probably benefit them. If we can slay this beast together... then our party will grow stronger. First, I dashed to Kim Seong-Hoon and shook his hand quickly. "Form a party with me, quick!" He nodded just before launching another attack at the beast. An illusory dragon head formed over his shoulders. With a roar, he jumped in like a beast, his Hanbok dancing in the air gracefully and dominatingly, slashing at the lizard and managing to make a small wound on its neck.

-Party has been successfully formed. Current members: 3. Party strength has been increased by 5% due to the human player's connection level.-

Connection level? What's that about? But a 5% power increase is pretty advantageous. Then if Jieun joins...

I could feel my power surge as the party formed with Kim Seong-Hoon. Now, if only I could reach Jieun... She was at least 200 meters away. Running there would take too much time, and I can't afford to let the beast get close to her. Jieun was casting her abilities from afar, panting and looking exhausted. Her attacks couldn't do much damage to the lizard but made a good distraction. Wait... I have new abilities! After my battle with the Goblin King, I gained several new abilities that I hadn't been able to test yet. One of them was:

-Space Shatter Level 1: Shatter the space around you to create a rift you can use for teleportation. The travel destination must be imagined in your mind and only works for places the player has already visited.- (200 mana)

That's it!

I imagined being next to her, and the shadow rift slowly manifested in front of me in a whirlpool. Without hesitation, I launched myself inside it, appearing next to Jieun as if I came out of the shadows.

"Eep!" She shouted, startled by my sudden appearance.

"Big sis Gaon, how did you—?" She looked at me like I wasn't real.

"It doesn't matter right now. Quickly shake my hand and accept the invite!"

Jieun nodded and shook my hand.

-Party has been successfully formed. Current members: 4. Party strength has been increased by 7% due to the human player's connection level.-

Only 7%? Not 10? Does it have to do with how long we've traveled together or...? Whatever, I must rush back. Kim Seong-Hoon is under pressure!

Using Space Shatter again, I burned a lot of mana, but I completed my task. We now shared experience points and gained a small power boost, which was a pleasant surprise.

My mana was now at 2010/2800. Using Darkness Steps and Space Distortion consumes a lot of mana, but because of my status as the Ruler, I could finally afford to be wasteful.

"Jieun, keep firing smaller attacks to save your mana. Distract him by aiming at its eyes! Kim Seong-Hoon, use brute force and keep slashing at its legs! Malrang, burn our dinner's face to a crisp! I'll take it down for us!" All four of us were ready to stand our ground.

"Hrrrrrhhh!"

The beast roared. The ground around us shattered, and all of us were sent flying in disarray. Rubble and dust replaced the battlefield. I could feel the pressure rise, forcing me to kneel down. But my spirit resisted, unleashing pressure of my own. With a great effort, I forced myself to stand up, my knees were trembling, but my soul burned like an inferno. I will not kneel to you! My rage burned, and my eyes turned bloodshot and shone in a purple light. Fuuuuck! I will rip you to pieces! For some reason, I was not able to control my anger, as if something had taken over my body. I'll show it hell... I felt Kim Seong-Hoon's location through our party connection, and after I was sure he was nowhere close to the beast, I decided to unleash hell in my anger.

"I've never used this ability, so sorry if it burns you to hell itself, you garbage!" My anger rose to the maximum.

Let's see what this bad boy can do!

I inserted my scythe into the ground, blade up, and twisted the ground like a clock.

"Earth shatter, you bitch!"

-Earth Shatter Level 1: Shatter the earth in front of you to inflict heavy damage in a straight line, leaving a lava pool on the ground that does heavy fire damage to enemies standing in it.- (1000 mana)

The ground split into a straight line, quickly cracking the path to where the beast was standing. In a split second, the earth around the monster shattered, creating a 40-meter-wide lava pool.