306 Inside Jibblinplip’s Body

Jibblinplip's lair was its own massive, bloated body.

"The only way to kill Jibblinplip is to find that single, original mote of ooze. It is in the absolute heart of the creature. Tear it out, then banish it to whence it came," said Sebastian.

"Banish it? Can't we just kill it?" The Princess asked while the armies took the front, checking for traps.

Sebastian shook his head. "It can't be killed in this plane. It'll just reduce to a smaller size that the naked eye couldn't see and escape for its life. It would just consume everything again and we're back to square one."

"But how do we banish it? No one knows what magic circle those wizards used or what spell they cast to conjure the monster."

"Not to worry," reassured Sebastian. "I know how to send it back. But it's a must to banish its core, or all will be for naught. Remember. Make no mistake. Even with the Amulet of Ooze in our possessions, entering Jibblinplip is no easy feat. So gather your wits, and prepare for a bodacious challenge of skills."

The Centaur further explained, "Each tier of power adds a new room to the lair, and the newer the room, the closer it is to the edge of the ooze. We must go through them in order to reach the central core. Each room has a unique trait, and oozes spawned in each room are uniquely adapted to that room's obstacles."

"How do you know all this?" Evie asked. "Have you been here before?"

Sebastian was similar to Ren, but a lot more talkative and was a much better guide. If it were Ren, he would withhold a lot of information. They would always be surprised by something unexpected — like maybe another Ooze Colossus at the end, and then he'd smirk upon seeing their shocked faces. He would always keep the suspense and the excitement rolling, but he did it too much that it was bad for the heart.

This was especially true for Ragnar, who didn't like surprises.

Sebastian answered Evie's question, "My eyes are all-knowing. It's one of my skills to see beyond what any mortal could see."

"Is that so?"

Sebastian's voice was loud enough for the players and inhabitants alike to hear. The volume of its voice was further magnified as it echoed inside the enclosed space.

The others also noticed that the Centaur was especially close to Ren and his group.

It was obvious that Sebastian stuck to them, unlike neutral NPCs, like the armies and the Princess that maintained their distance from the players. They couldn't help but wonder how Ren managed to get a powerful NPC on their side.

Some even attempted to get closer to Sebastian by making small talk, but the Centaur was quick to dismiss them as fast as he answered them. It was even impatient — based on the smoke blasting from its nose.

The guilds and the players that made it inside Jibblinplip were as follows: Golden Phoenix with Silvia, Pamela, Lucia, Sumeri and a DPS; Guns and Knives with Isolde, Xian, a healer, and two DPS; Roaring Tigers with Tor's lead; Fighting Lambs with Roxy, Rox and three mages; Dimitri from Fate Alliance Guild; White Unicorn with Eric and Erica; players from Sleeping Dragon, some other players from different guilds that supported Ren, and those who bought amulets from him.

There were fifty players in total, but soon, their numbers would dwindle.

Players of Golden Phoenix were chatting amongst themselves while Silvia secretly winked at Ragnar's way, to which the latter responded with a glare.

Roxy, Rox, and Tor caught up with Evie while Ren was occupied with Isolde.

"Too bad about Leonel," Isolde said. Though she did feel sorry for Leo, she wanted to talk to Ren. It felt like so long since she had last spoken to him. She took it upon herself to stick with his group rather than her guild.

"Don't worry about him. I'm sure you'll be reunited soon enough," replied Ren, tone bored. He didn't want to be reminded how lovey-dovey they were.

Isolde was deaf to Ren's reaction, though, as she continued. "Can you believe that we're inside a World Boss? Now that I think of it, it's kind of gross."

A resounding cry stopped everyone, and they noticed dozens of tendrils attacking their parties. The armies immediately cut them to pieces, while the tendrils that made it to the players took the life of at least a dozen of them and left a few with grave injuries that caused their HP to decrease near zero.

Ren pushed Isolde aside and leaped away when the Tendrils struck his location. Evie and Ragnar both had high ATP, so they managed to avoid the incoming attacks.

However, others weren't so lucky and received a huge gaping hole in their stomach or were flung against the wall, suffering blunt damage.

Fortunately, the attack ceased, and the armies' white mages healed the injured inhabitants and players alike.

But their dilemma didn't stop there. Sinkholes appeared beneath their feet. At first, they thought it was an entrance, but they turned out to be acid-filled traps.

Some were caught off guard and fell right to their death.

Dimitri was close to Evie when that happened. Not knowing who she was, he pushed her aside when the ground he stood gave way.

Evie gasped when she fell into a newly opened crevice, but Ren quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her to safety.

"You okay?" Ren asked, panting a little.

Evie gave a hesitant nod, face paler than before, but Ren's warm hand that held hers brought some color back to her face. "Y-yeah. Thank you."

Although he couldn't see her eyes behind her helmet, Ren was sure that she was looking straight into his eyes and he couldn't pull away.

"I think this area is full of traps," Ragnar said in a monotone voice as he watched the two with dead set eyes.

Startled, Evie pulled her hand from Ren's grasp.

"You think?" Ren spat at Ragnar for ruining the moment.

"You must remain vigilant at all times," said Sebastian, face calm as a monk. "Failure to do so will result in your immediate removal."

"Oh, we're vigilant, alright. But some just don't know how to be careful," Ren said, eyes narrowing at Dimitri.

Dmitri merely shrugged. "Sorry," he apologize, not that he was really sorry. "But every man for himself. I did it out of instinct to survive."

Ren's pupils constricted into a dot. "Funny hearing you say that when you plunge yourself deeper into death's grasp with that very same instinct you so proudly proclaim."

Dimitri frowned. Did Ren just threatened him?

( . . . continuation are in NOTES)