Chapter 6: Forte Slime
Chapter 6:
Forte Slime
Part 1
I PUT THE BLACK LIZARD on my back, and we made our way toward the cave. I was still worried about the Dragon Scale Powder. If I saw any sign of it harming my friends, I’d leave and go live by myself. Or would it already be too late?
Maybe I’d use Divine Voice Lv 4’s simulation power once I saw the orangurangs, just to be sure… The thought of using the Scale Powder made me feel sick, but I needed more information.
We reached the edge of the cliff, and I was just about to spread my wings when I suddenly sensed something terrible. It must’ve been from that new skill, Psychic Sense Lv 2. I looked behind me and saw a puddle-like thing crawling across the ground. I remembered it; I’d seen it near my cave a while back. It was some kind of slime that my View Status skill wouldn’t work on.
It had some skill that blocked other monsters from checking up on it. I mean, I hadn’t even noticed it until Psychic Sense picked it up. I could have crossed its path a bunch of times before without even realizing it. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
The only times I hadn’t been able to view someone’s status was when I couldn’t see Doz’s and the mahawolves’ conditions, and with this slime.
And the slime was headed straight for the village.
Was this the monster controlling Doz and the mahawolves? The only evidence I had to support my theory was the shared hidden statuses and the fact that it was headed towards town.
That, and the incredibly terrible aura I felt emanating from it.
“Kssh?” The black lizard made a questioning noise, wondering why I’d suddenly stopped.
All right, let’s try to check the status again. My View Status skill is at Lv 5 now, so I might be able to see more details than before. And even if that doesn’t work, I still might figure something out.
Let’s see what you are.
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 5 is unable to provide that information.
ϔ#Ǣ: Forte Slime
&MΔЀ(: N*
Ƹ^: 27/35
zӘ: 148/148
ӤᾸ: 67/67
Á£j°Ĉ: 88
ʘf$\Ǝ: 77
Ξp)Ϟ%: 75
@£iĈΔu: 68
ΦG˂ꓭ6¢: D
*****:
**Mage: Lv —
*****:
Slime B**: Lv —
St***th: Lv —
Poison Belt: Lv —
**** Sense: Lv —
Gr***an Lang****: Lv —
Au***atic MP Recovery: Lv —
Su*******: Lv —
Mag** ***rgy ******ission: Lv —
***ic Energy Reception: Lv —
Sn***: Lv —
Swords***: Lv —
Impact Suppression: Lv —
Super Regeneration: Lv —
Recovery+: Lv —
Dark Vision: Lv —
*****:
Phys*****tance: Lv —
Da*****stance: Lv —
Con*****sistance: Lv —
*****Resistance: Lv —
Water R*****nce: Lv —
Lonel*****sistance: Lv —
*****ling Resistance: Lv —
Hung*****stance: Lv —
So*****tion Resistance: Lv —
Fir*****stance: Lv —
Ear*****tance: Lv —
D*****sistance: Lv —
***** Resistance: Lv —
***** Resistance: Lv —
***** Resistance: Lv —
Poison Resistance: Lv —
*****
Trans****: Lv —
Skill *****]: Lv —
Bi**: Lv —
Sho**wave: Lv —
***me Slash: Lv —
Intimidation: Lv —
Spider****k: Lv —
***** Tongue: Lv —
Double Poison: Lv —
Petrify: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Hellscissors: Lv —
Vi** Sta***: Lv —
Shell Re****: Lv —
I*** Tackle: Lv —
Slow: Lv —
Rest: Lv —
Life Dra*n: Lv —
Swell: Lv —
Au** Regen: Lv —
Ma** Dr***: Lv —
R*ll: Lv —
Black Fog: Lv —
Jeweled Cage: Lv —
Death Needles: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Armor Break: Lv —
*****
*****: Lv —
Calamity: Lv —
Da***** King: Lv —
****Thief: Lv —
*****Scale: Lv —
*****: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Puppet M*****: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Corpse Ea***: Lv —
Pain seared through my brain. It felt like I’d trespassed into some top-secret information, and this was punishment.
Its rank had changed, but I was sure it was the same thing I’d seen before. I had a hard time believing there was more than one of these things.
It had a truly outrageous number of skills, but “Mag** ***rgy ******ission” and “***ic Energy Reception” made me sure of it. This was the thing controlling the mahawolves. With Magic Energy Transmission and Magic Energy Reception, it could send instructions remotely to the mahawolves.
How in the world did a monster of a completely different species have that skill?
Not being able to check the levels of its skills was pretty unsettling. I didn’t want to confront it, but I didn’t have a choice. It was clearly headed for the village. If I hadn’t run away when I saw it that last time, maybe the whole incident with Doz wouldn’t have happened. And if I ignored it again, who knew what kind of terrible monstrosity it could become.
Gr***an Lang****: Lv
Swords***: Lv
Sho**wave: Lv
***me Slash: Lv
Intimidation: Lv
Some of those were definitely Doz’s skills when I’d seen him before. I recognized some normal mahawolf skills on that list, too. There was only one explanation—this slime could steal skills from other monsters.
A skill that stole other monsters’ skills made sense, but I had to imagine there were limits or conditions on it. That must be why the slime used mahawolves as minions, even though they weren’t very strong, and why it chose Doz to carry the egg. But why did it go to all that trouble to control the Little Rock Dragon?
Whatever the reason, the dragon was its target. That damn slime was nothing but trouble.
I lowered my head and let the black lizard clamber down. I felt bad about sending the black lizard away so soon after we’d reunited, but I had no choice.
“Kssh?”
I turned my face towards the cliff, trying to communicate that it should go home without me. It could go the long way around to get back across. This enemy was clearly strange, unlike anything I’d faced before. And I still didn’t know what it could do.
Maybe it wasn’t so strong after all, if it had to use magic to control other monsters. I had a feeling it was either incredibly strong or incredibly weak—there was no middle ground. Possibly no one had ever survived to tell of their encounter.
The black lizard didn’t seem to care about humans like I did; I couldn’t get it involved in such a dangerous fight.
“Kssh?”
It tipped its head, looking puzzled. I didn’t think it understood what was going on.
“Raar.” I made a little noise and gestured towards the slime. The black lizard turned and followed my gaze, finally spotting it. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it either if not for my Psychic Sense skill. Even now, I felt like I’d lose it if I took my eye off it for too long.
“Kssh!” The black lizard let out a cry and then hopped onto my back. It climbed all the way up to my head and opened its mouth wide, sticking out its tongue. I practically heard it saying it was ready for a fight.
“Raar…” I made a soft noise, asking if it was sure. It bared its teeth and snapped at the air, glaring at the slime.
Part 2
I LET THE BLACK LIZARD down for a moment so I could circle around and cut the slime off. I was hoping to get the first strike, then let the black lizard attack with venom from its hiding spot. And if that didn’t work, it could provide backup with Clay Gun. Typically, I would have the orangurangs take up the vanguard, but they weren’t here right now. If I couldn’t take it head-on in my new form, there was absolutely no way I’d put the black lizard in harm’s way.
I didn’t have much MP left but…I wondered if I should I go ahead and run the Divine Voice simulation.
Nah, I didn’t want to waste my remaining MP. And who knew if it would work against an enemy with hidden stats, anyway. Besides, even if I only had a slim chance of victory, I couldn’t just walk away now.
If it told me the odds were good it might change my tactics, but then I’d have less MP to attack with. I needed to go into this battle in the best possible condition. This was my second battle in a row; I didn’t have a lot to work with, and my MP was tragically low. But thanks to Automatic HP Recovery, I was about 80 percent healed.
I could still work with it. My resistance skills were beefed up even if my overall stats went down when I evolved.
The slime had a lot of worrying special skills, but if things went well, I could kill it in one hit. Its agility was low, and in a worst-case scenario I could always retreat and try a different approach. And if it was just impossibly strong, then I’d go rampaging through the village and force the villagers to flee.
The slime stopped. It appeared to have a Sense ability; it might’ve figured out I was here.
I leapt down from the tree and attacked.
“Raaaaaaaaaaar!”
Why was it headed to the village? I really wanted to know, but it wasn’t like the slime was going to tell me.
I slashed through the air, talons intent.
Its wide, humanlike mouth opened, emitting a black fog.
Was it poison? It didn’t matter. The black lizard could just cure me later. This first, experimental attack was more important.
I cut through the black fog with my talons and whacked the slime, feeling it respond to the hit. My claws stuck and punctured the soft flesh into the bodily fluids beyond.
I aimed a second punch, but my fist met the ground instead.
Huh? The fog was too thick to see where it went, but I didn’t get an experience point message, so I must not have defeated it. I took a few steps backwards out of the fog, nervous about my visibility.
The fog didn’t seem to be poison, and no condensation gathered on my scales, so it must not have actually been fog, either. It was pitch-black inside the cloud. Maybe that was all it was—magic meant to lower visibility?
Not having access to my opponent’s skills unsettled me. It had never happened before. I almost wished the cloud would poison me, at least then I’d know what I was up against. But I didn’t want to tempt fate. I retreated out of the black fog and waited for the slime to make a move.
From this distance, I could counter any trick it had up its sleeve. The fog began to clear, slowly revealing what was inside.
Two human silhouettes stood at the edge of the cloud. A moment later they were revealed as two small children, a boy and a girl, hugging each other and trembling. Their faces were similar enough that I figured they were twins.
“How… Where are we?”
“H-huh? What happened?”
I was certain they hadn’t been there a few moments ago. Absolutely suspicious, but I didn’t have time to worry. I needed to find the slime and get them away from it. It might be trying to catch me off guard and attack while I was saving the children. While I scanned the black cloud as thoroughly as I could, the boy looked at me and raised his hands up. His fingertips turned blue, stretching out. His fingers fused together, their tips sharpening.
I reacted too slowly to dodge, taking the hit on my shoulder. The limb scraped against my scales and then bounced back like a yo-yo.
I kicked off the ground, retreating. What the heck was this thing? The girl watched the boy with concern as he stared at me with listless eyes.
Their bodies continued to turn blue, and they held on to each other so tightly I couldn’t see where one ended and the other began. Finally, one of them opened their mouth wide and swallowed up the other. They briefly became a puddle, then took human form again. This time they had a single androgynous body, with hair down to their shoulders. They were naked, but even though their body was the size of an adult’s, it was like a mannequin. No sex characteristics at all.
Their lower body sank into the puddle even as their upper body tried to crawl out. This time the skin was a semitransparent blue. So not only could this creature transform, it could also change colors, take human form, and become a pair of twins that could converse.
That reminded me…it had the Grecian Language skill, probably stolen from Doz. So it could even mimic voices? That would be useful. All I could do was roar.
It opened its new mouth and spoke. “Your skills have changed so much since you evolved. Annoying.”
All right, this thing is much smarter than I thought it was. It remembers me. Or did the mahawolves send it info using the Magic Energy Transmission?
So…was it saying it had been using its skills to hide and keep an eye on me? I caught a glimpse of what might have been eyeballs inside its semitransparent body, floating through the gelatinous flesh.
“I see a black lizard in the trees, too.” Well, it had a Psychic Sense ability; the black lizard hiding was pretty pointless. Apparently realizing it had been found out, it shot Clay Gun from its hiding place in the trees, sending a steady stream of clay bullets at the slime.
The slime’s body writhed a bit but didn’t make any real move to dodge. Instead, it flowed like water, coolly avoiding most of them. A few hit, though, and passed right through.
Its HP didn’t change at all. Still at max, 148/148. That made sense, since the bullets slid through, but it also meant my claws had no effect, either. But I’d felt a response when I touched it. Did it already heal?
It had a bunch of recovery skills: Automatic HP Recovery, Super Regeneration, Recovery+, Auto-Regen, and Life Drain.
So here I was in my old pattern again. One hit wouldn’t be enough.
“This is quite…inconvenient for me,” the slime said. “I only like fights when I know I can win.” Its googly eyes bulged as it glared daggers at me and the black lizard in turn.
Part 3
“YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME, can’t you? If you just let me pass peacefully, I do not intend to do you harm.” The slime sounded annoyed, like I was making it late for something. “You can see inside me, so I’m sure you understand what I want. All I wish is to go and safely collect the skills from the Rock Dragon and the dead villagers.”
That lent more weight to my theory that the slime had been what drew the Little Rock Dragon into town. I wouldn’t even be surprised if it had sicced the mahawolves on Myria to lure me as well.
I hadn’t found Myria quickly after I’d first heard her screams. It was a miracle that she was still safe when I finally reached her. The slime must have been holding the wolves back.
Attacking a village with so many skills would be simple, but the slime seemed hesitant to let humans see it.
“It won’t benefit either of us if you attack me unprepared. Just let me go.”
It had a point. I had no advantages. But come on, “Hey, I’m gonna head over to the village so I can mess with a bunch of dead bodies,” really wasn’t gonna fly with me.
There was no guarantee it wouldn’t harm the townsfolk. And besides, I owed it payback for sending a Little Rock Dragon to a populous village in the first place. I’d promised Gregory I would protect the town. I wasn’t breaking that promise.
“Raaaaaaaar!” I roared loudly to indicate my rejection of the slime’s truce. It started to open its mouth, but I let out a stream of my upgraded Baby’s Breath attack, Scorching Breath.
Flames surrounded the slime’s body. It could shape-shift to avoid taking damage, but it seemed unable to effectively deal with attacks with a wide area of effect.
Since the slime had Resistance Skills and Recovery Skills, this wouldn’t be enough to deliver a finishing blow, but it would make it pause. I chased after the trail of my flames, jumping at it and digging my claws deep into its body, carrying it with me as I flew. I used Paralyzing Venom Claws, my talons buried so deep that it should be immobile for a bit even with resistance. I flew towards the cliff, still holding on to the slime.
Surely it couldn’t survive being thrown into the chasm from this height, could it? And even if it did, the swift current of the river would wash it far away.
I flew to the top of the cliff and quickly spun into Roll. This wouldn’t work if I couldn’t get the darn thing unstuck from my hands to throw it. I was used to the momentum, but anything else would be disconcerted, to say the least. As I spun, I held the slime high above my head, waiting for the right moment to hurl it down into the chasm.
The force of it threw me off balance, but I spread my wings and braced myself.
Normal Skill “Meteorite” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
The slime plummeted straight down like it was being sucked into the chasm. I glided sideways, changing directions to land on the edge of the cliff.
“Kssh!” The black lizard ran over, letting out a sigh of relief as it saw me. It continued to look warily around the cliff edge. I wanted to tell it not to worry—I took care of the slime—but for some reason I hadn’t gotten the experience notification. And I doubted it was just the Divine Voice holding out on me.
Could the slime really survive a fall from that distance? Maybe I’d have to rely on the black lizard’s special venom after all. Even if it was still alive, it couldn’t get back up here. I’d thrown it into the river, taking care not to let it get caught on the edge of the cliff or anything. That was far enough away from the rock wall that I shouldn’t have to worry. There was no way it could slither back up here…
A noise coming from the side of the cliff had me and the black lizard both reacting at the same time, our bodies jolting with alarm. I took a step backwards, then froze. Something sprang up and landed in front of me—a Giant Taranturouge. And unlike the one I faced before, this one was pure black.
“Kssh…” The black lizard let out a little noise of relief that it wasn’t the slime. I felt better, too, but it only lasted a second.
ϔ#Ǣ: Forte Slime
&MΔЀ(: N*
Ƹ^: 27/35
zӘ: 148/148
ӤᾸ: 67/67
It wasn’t a taranturouge at all! It was the slime! I smashed it down to the bottom of a cliff and it got back up here literally right away! The black lizard looked at me, sensed something was off, and quickly began shooting clay bullets at the camouflaged slime.
It made a weird noise with its mouth, and I realized it was shooting spiderweb nets to parry the clay bullets.
One of them passed through the web and struck the slime’s front leg, knocking it clean off. But instead of bleeding, the leg hit the ground and turned into a blue, sticky liquid. A new front leg appeared in its place.
I remembered then that it had some skills that involved webs and silk. It probably shot a thread of spider silk towards the cliff as it fell and launched itself back up here. At this point, anything was possible.
Abruptly, the color of the spider’s body began to fade from black, to blue, to semitransparent. Its upper body slowly took human form—that androgynous form from before, stuck onto a spider’s body. It reminded me of the myth about Arachne.
“How irritating. I can’t stand it when someone interferes with my carefully laid plans.” The slime stretched out one of its arms, fingers fusing together, its arm growing wider and thicker.
Its arms now resembled pointy blades, like a praying mantis. Its lower body was a spider, its upper body was human, and it had two praying mantis arms, and yet the whole of it was a slime. Stop mixing up body parts, you freak!
It swung its claws around, looking satisfied at the sound they made as they slashed through the air. Then it dug them into the ground. “If you won’t let me pass, I’m going to have to stop playing around. And I’ll start with your weakness. I’m not a very generous creature, you see.”
The slime looked at the black lizard and licked its lips.
Part 4
“RAAAR!” I let out a loud roar, urging the black lizard to leave. It nodded silently and used Roll to retreat, hiding behind in a tree some distance away.
The slime had a Sense ability, so it didn’t matter if the black lizard hid, but I guess it did make it more difficult for the slime to predict where the clay bullets would come from.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure the Clay Gun attack would do any damage at all. I used Meteorite to bash it down a cliff and it bounced back up like it was no big deal. I had no idea what else to try.
The black lizard’s Special Venom might work. If we timed it just right, that could be our only chance. The problem was, the black lizard’s defense and HP were much lower than mine, and the slime had skills that could pierce right through my scales. We couldn’t just jump right into this.
Even the poisonous fog of Double Poison required the black lizard to get in close. The slime wasn’t fast, but its movements were unpredictable. Its shapeshifting ability meant it could surprise us easily.
Honestly, I wasn’t confident I could react fast enough. It had turned itself into children to take advantage of my compassion, after all.
It didn’t seem especially concerned about the black lizard’s Special Venom attack, either. It was possible it didn’t know about it or was trusting in its Poison Resistance ability. And with its boatload of skills, surely it had something in there to counter the Special Venom?
But right now, we had to take the chance and at least try.
“Fine. If you won’t withdraw, then I have no choice. But are you certain you won’t regret this?” As it spoke, the slime lifted its two large claws. They glinted red, and suddenly I was surrounded by flames.
“First Flame Slash, now Shockwave!” The slime turned its back on me and swung its arms, letting loose a fiery Shockwave attack.
I caught a glimpse of the black lizard using Roll to escape, hiding in the brush. The Shockwave hit a tree with a tiny explosion, leaving a mark on the trunk. Then, a blast of wind from Shockwave extinguished the flames. A moment later, the tree fell.
“Pretty crafty, eh? When you combine the skills, they become even more deadly. I’m far more versatile than a human or a dragon. I can even do this.” It lifted both of its arms and slashed them through the air in my direction. Several fiery Shockwaves flew at me.
Judging by the way its MP kept going up and down, the slime’s recovery magic was awfully fast. With my much-higher stats I’d managed to hold my own this far, but now it was practically cheating. If it survived and kept absorbing skills from monsters, there was no limit to how strong it could become.
I spread my wings to shield my body as I ran straight at the flaming Shockwave attack. I prioritized speed, not bothering to dodge. The Shockwaves that hit my wings turned into hot little whirlwinds, but they didn’t penetrate my scales. I took a little damage, but as long as I kept my guard up, this couldn’t hurt me that much.
“Trying to use your higher stats to your advantage? I’m tougher than you, so you’re probably better off avoiding my attacks. I think you made a poor choice.”
I peeked at the slime through my wings. It opened the big spider mouth on its lower body and shot out a stream of blue spider silk. It really had an endless array of possible moves.
I took to the air and flew at a low altitude to avoid the silk, then dove at the slime. It had its sights on me now that the shield of my wings was gone, letting loose another flaming Shockwave. I slashed at it with my claws, dissolving it.
Abruptly, the slime separated the upper and lower halves of its body, making the taranturouge and human two separate beings. As I swooped down, preparing another attack, I watched a strange bulge appear on the left side of the human’s upper body. It looked like a shell.
The shell began to take on color, transforming into a perfect replica of a large turtle shell. I couldn’t stop the momentum of my arm, and my talons jammed right into the shell.
Deep lines etched into the surface, cracks appearing, but I really felt it in my claws. The pain was so intense I thought they might snap off. I yanked my arm back automatically, like I had touched a hot stove.
The slime used that opportunity to get back up on its many spider legs and retreat.
Damn it! Looked like it even had the Tortoise Shell skill. I had no idea you could use it that way.
Now that it was farther away from me, it paused and smirked. The shell shrunk, disappearing back into its body. The gaping wound I’d left vanished as well.
“Haven’t you realized yet that it’s no use? Give up. Run away. I’m not fast enough to catch you two, even if I gave chase. As I’ve said, I have no desire to fight you.”
When the slime realized I had no intention to withdraw, it tipped its head at me, tongue lolling out of its human mouth and stretching all the way down to the ground. Something sizzled, and the grass at its feet erupted in flames. Oh, now this thing had Paralyzing Tongue, too? And it had to be a pretty leveled-up version.
Even the most difficult skills became extremely versatile when the slime used them, paired with its ability to shapeshift at will.
The spider half of its body opened its mouth wide, sucking in a breath and exhaling a black fog, covering the area around it in a dark mist.
At first, I thought it was blinding itself with that move, but it had a Special Skill called Dark Vision. This wasn’t a normal fog but some sort of light-blocking smoke, and that was where Dark Vision came in handy.
Should I try to get out of the dark fog? No point. I could follow the slime based on sound. I folded up my arms, legs, tail, and wings and Rolled after its footsteps.
Something whip-like lashed out at my body, probably its tongue. My scales were intact, though, and the paralysis didn’t have any effect.
I sped up and charged right into the slime. The instant we collided, I twisted my body to control where it went. I was right; a fragment of the slime’s body flew off to the right.
“Tch…irritating.” It momentarily lost its shape but reformed it and rose up once more. “You won’t win. I was being generous, but now you’ve upset me. You’re going to regret it.” The slime looked at me as its head regenerated.
The black lizard lunged at it from behind.
The slime was so focused on me that it hadn’t noticed my companion sneaking around and waiting for a chance to strike. It had totally overlooked the black lizard.
“Hey! Is this why you forced me over here?” The slime tried to counter the black lizard’s attack with its arm, faster than I’d expected. I should have punched it to focus its attention on me—I could tell that this surprise attack was going to fail. The lizard’s bite just barely missed the mark.
I was too trigger happy, but I also knew that if I waited too long, I might miss my best chance to strike. That was what I was thinking anyway…but then the black lizard took the brunt of the slime’s counterattack—an attack I thought it would easily avoid.
“Kssh!” It cried out and collapsed.
What? With the black lizard’s speed, it should’ve evaded that no problem!
“Raaaaar!” I roared and ran over to its side.
The slime sighed. “See? That’s why I gave you so many warnings.” It looked down at the black lizard, its face crumpling into a smile. It raised its claws to strike, aimed its blades, and…weakly dropped its arms. “Th-this poison! D-damn it! Why? I have plenty of resistance!”
I watched as a dark cloud of something moved through the slime’s semitransparent arm…the black lizard’s special venom. It must have bitten or scratched at the slime during the counterattack. That was why it didn’t dodge—it was making sure it injected the slime with its venom.
Part 5
“LOOKS LIKE I underestimated our cute little lizard friend, hm?” The slime’s voice was thick with anger.
I ran to the black lizard’s side, checking on the slime’s status as I went.
ϔ#Ǣ: Forte Slime
&MΔЀ(: Poison α
Ƹ^: 27/35
zӘ: 144/148
ӤᾸ: 24/67
All right, we finally gave it the status effect. It had an abnormally fast HP recovery skill, but the poison had really slowed it down—it must’ve been harming it faster than the creature could heal itself. If I got in a chain of attacks here, I could win.
I’d tell the black lizard to run away and then deliver the finishing blows. “Raar!”
The black lizard leapt up as soon as it heard me roar.
“I won’t let you get away! Clay! Slow!” Purple and yellow lights flew towards the lizard.
The purple light was sluggish, but the yellow light was very quick. The black lizard must’ve still been slightly dazed from getting hit, because it staggered and lost its balance, giving the yellow light plenty of time to catch up. It began swallowing up the lizard’s legs, flashing down to the ground and transforming into sharp needles right underneath.
The black lizard sprang backwards to avoid being stabbed, but that was when the purple light struck it, entering its body.
I’d been tortured way too many times by that purple light during my fight with the potortoises—it was magic that lowered your agility. I could see the black lizard’s movements getting slower and slower.
That was when the slime attacked.
I rushed between them and slashed at the slime’s body with my claws, hitting it at the shoulders and slashing diagonally across its torso. My attacks made barely a ripple, though, and the slime ignored me, its tongue whipping out towards the black lizard, wrapping around its body and squeezing. I raised my talons to try to cut the tongue off, but the slime opened its mouth and blew out a dense cloud of gas. Darkness fell, and my claws sliced through empty air; the slime had evaded me.
“Raaaaar!” I relied on my instincts and the noises around me, slashing through the air. I longed to let loose a stream of Scorching Breath, but I didn’t want to accidentally hit the black lizard in the dark.
I couldn’t hear a sound.
Was the slime staying still and going for stealth? The black gas was interfering with my Psychic Sense. I tried not to panic and paused, straining my senses. Just as the dark cloud began to lift, I pinned down the slime’s location.
“Raaaaar!” I jumped towards the spot where I thought I felt its presence the most and stabbed my talons forward. I felt them hit but then bounce off. Tortoise Shell again?
The slime was gradually coming back into view as the black fog dissipated. Its outline was more angular than before, blue body turning translucent and sparkling like a jewel.
I froze. I didn’t know what skill this was, but the creature had stopped moving and seemed to be raising its defense. The black cloud finally disappeared.
The black lizard’s body was inside of the slime’s taranturouge lower body. In a panic, I checked the black lizard’s status and saw that its HP and MP were both ticking downward.
Life Drain and Mana Drain!
“Raaaaaaaaaaargh!” I screamed and struck the slime’s body with my claws. I scratched the surface, but I didn’t do any meaningful damage.
Calm down. Its defense is definitely higher right now. But doing that meant it was frozen, so it couldn’t transform to evade or do any fancy tricks to avoid taking damage.
My strongest attack was Nutcracker, but if I used it I’d hurt the black lizard, too.
I spread my wings and flew to the top of a nearby tree. I set my sights on the slime’s neck and then kicked off the branch. Behind me, the tree creaked and collapsed. I glided down towards the slime, focusing all my momentum and all my body weight into my claws. They dug deep into the slime and broke off with a loud snap. I flew past the slime and landed heavily. My broken talons stabbed deep into the earth, and the slime’s head, which I’d forced off, fell to its side. The rest of its body lost its form and melted into a puddle.
I ran over to it and stuck my hands into the goop, pulling the black lizard out.
Just when I thought we were out of danger, part of the slime’s body transformed into countless needles and shot towards us.
Several of them hit me, but I took flight with the black lizard still in my arms. Somehow I managed to escape to the top of a tree.
For a monster with low attack power, the slime sure was good at penetrating my scales.
Must be the Armor Break skill. It really is dangerous. It’s got way too many skills!
“Ks-kssh…” the black lizard cried weakly.
I checked its status—my friend’s HP was almost gone. I looked off into the distance and roared quietly.
The lizard let go of me reluctantly, but it must have realized it would only hinder me if it stayed. It curled up and rolled away from the slime, leaving me alone.
The slime transformed again, pulling its needles back in. Its wolf’s face crumbled and began to grow into a human torso, like some sort of wolf-centaur. Its human form was that same androgynous one as before—it seemed to like that one.
“Hm? That isn’t right.”
The slime closed its eyes and poked a fingernail against its forehead, drawing a horizontal line. The line opened up and another eye appeared—the third eye of a mahawolf. Wow, this slime really could do anything. Honestly, it was getting ridiculous at this point.
With the third eye in place on its forehead, the slime nodded in satisfaction and reopened its other two eyes.
“Ah, that was close. You startled me. I should be more careful when I take a new special skill from an opponent. I didn’t realize it was such a dangerous ability. Not that it will work on me ever again, of course.”
The slime shrugged. Then it shook its head slowly from left to right. Was it trying to provoke me?
This was weird. Why did it sound so confident? By now it should be on death’s door from the black lizard’s venom. I had a bad feeling, so I checked its status.
ϔ#Ǣ: Forte Slime
&MΔЀ(: N*
Ƹ^: 27/35
zӘ: 148/148
ӤᾸ: 67/67
Wait, it recovered from the poison already?! I glanced automatically in the direction the black lizard had escaped. There was no way I could defeat the slime now; I might have to call the lizard back to help.
“Maybe take a closer look? I really shouldn’t be the one telling you this, but knowledge is power.”
I hated doing what it told me, but there was no reason not to check. At that point, I should have known that nothing was impossible for this creature.
Trans****: Lv —
Skill *****]: Lv —
Bi**: Lv —
Sho**wave: Lv —
***me Slash: Lv —
Intimidation: Lv —
Spider****k: Lv —
***** Tongue: Lv —
Double Poison: Lv —
Petrify: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Hellscissors: Lv —
Vi** Sta***: Lv —
Shell Re****: Lv —
I*** Tackle: Lv —
Slow: Lv —
Rest: Lv —
Life Dra*n: Lv —
Swell: Lv —
Au** Regen: Lv —
Ma** Dr***: Lv —
R*ll: Lv —
Black Fog: Lv —
Jeweled Cage: Lv —
Death Needles: Lv —
*****: Lv —
Armor Break: Lv —
Neutralize Poison: Lv —
The slime had a new skill at the very bottom of the list, one I was certain belonged to the black lizard. It must have grabbed it when it had the lizard in its clutches and then cured its own poison.
We were back to square one.
Part 6
THE SLIME was a strange centaur-like creature now, with the lower body of a wolf and the torso of a human. It put a dramatic hand to its forehead and let out a languid sigh. “Only three of them nearby, hm?”
In the distance, monsters howled a response. The slime had to be summoning the mahawolves in for backup with Magic Energy Transmission.
“You really are stubborn, aren’t you? Are you that afraid to leave me alone? Or do you not like the idea of me messing with the village? I know that little black lizard friend of yours is hiding nearby. Should I set my sights on it instead?”
I had my reasons. I couldn’t let something so dangerous into the village—or let it get away with setting a dragon on the villagers, either. Myria’s there, and I promised Gregory I’d protect everyone.
And if I let this monster go, it would just keep accumulating skills and growing more and more powerful. We lived in the same forest; we’d bump into each other again. Both the black lizard’s and the orangurangs’ lives would be in danger. I absolutely could not let this thing roam free in my forest.
When I used Meteorite to smash it to the bottom of a cliff, it just spider-silked its way back up with no problem at all. It stole the Neutralize Poison skill, rendering the black lizard’s Special Venom useless. But that didn’t mean I’d exhausted all options. I didn’t want to use it, but I still had something up my sleeve.
“Awoooo!”
“Gawwoo!”
“Grrr!”
Three blue mahawolves appeared, third eyes locked on me. The slime’s reinforcements had arrived.
The slime ordered the mahawolves to advance. They bared their fangs and growled viciously as they came.
Their levels weren’t that high. I could wipe out their HP with one swipe of my tail, which I was sure the slime realized. They were just pawns to distract me, to split my attention so it could find an opening.
I also beat the slime in overall stats, and even though it had a lot of skills, there weren’t many I didn’t recognize. Once I figured out how it performed all those crafty moves, I could end it. It must’ve realized this; it couldn’t whittle my HP down any further with the same old tricks.
The slime watched as two of the mahawolves headed towards me. Well, they didn’t come right at me—they split up and circled behind me, one to each side. The third lay in wait a little farther back to attack from the middle. A flawless, elegant strategy. I was really starting to hate this slime.
Well, at least it didn’t have a ton of HP. The slime bragged about how tough it was, but it couldn’t afford to take too much damage.
I split my attention, waiting to see what my enemies would do.
The slime beckoned towards the waiting mahawolf, and it trotted over obediently. The slime placed a hand on its forehead. For a moment I thought it was going to steal a skill from it, but it already had all the mahawolves’ skills.
It had enough HP for now, so I supposed it was doing Mana Drain. Compared to its Automatic HP Recovery skill, its MP Recovery skill was quite slow. It made sense it had a tactic to drain MP from the monsters it controlled.
I checked the slime’s status. Yes, definitely low on MP. Now was the time to attack. I swung my arm up, letting off a Whirlwind Slash from my claws.
I aimed for the slime’s outstretched arm; I was far enough away that it evaded easily, but I did interrupt its Mana Drain.
I took flight and glided straight towards the slime. The two mahawolves flanking me gave chase.
The slime and the mahawolves took different sides; they were going to try to surround me. I stretched out my legs and landed, aiming for the slime’s eyes.
“Graaaaaaar!”
The mahawolves howled from behind, trying to distract me. I continued straight ahead, whipping my tail behind me and bashing one of them in the snout. It was a solid hit, too—enough to incapacitate it.
A mahawolf leapt at me from the left, and I finished it off with a Dragon Punch. It yelped helplessly as I knocked it into the air.
All right, two down. Now for the one coming at me from my blind spot.
I whirled around and spotted the third mahawolf. I could get rid of it in one hit, but I wasn’t going to make myself vulnerable in front of the slime. As I spun, I spotted another mahawolf.
A fourth one?! There were only three before! I quickly checked its status. Yep, definitely a mahawolf. So that meant…the third mahawolf was the slime. Oh crap!
I spun quickly, but the slime-turned-mahawolf was already closing in on me. I should’ve figured it would do something like this when it attacked from all sides. Once again, I played into its hands and gave it the advantage.
“Raaaaar!”
I backed up and readied Paralyzing Venom Claws. The instant my claws scratched it, the mahawolf’s body dissolved, losing its color and turning semitransparent again. It shifted into the sea of needles and came at me.
I took the attacks in both arms, and a few got me in the stomach. As the sharp pain raced through me, I felt fangs penetrate my back. I whipped my tail around, knocking out the third real mahawolf for good. Its face was crushed, its neck broken, and its body spasming. Its front leg and its ribs were broken, too.
The three of them weren’t dead, but they were close to it. They wouldn’t be getting up and attacking me again.
The slime still didn’t have much MP left. Not only that, but it was currently a ball of needles. Probably wasn’t too easy to move around like that. I’d rendered the mahawolves powerless. This was my best chance for victory.
Part 7
I SCOOPED THE SLIME UP and held it tightly in my arms. It reacted with needles. They pierced my scales and drove all the way into my flesh, but I didn’t loosen my grip. A line appeared on its fibrous body and opened up into a mouth.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
I couldn’t talk, so I had no way to answer. I wouldn’t have answered even if I were able to, though.
I carried the slime as fast as I could over to the cliff. I kicked off the ground and spread my wings, flying higher and higher. Suddenly, I sensed something and looked down at the ground.
I saw a small girl with familiar orange braids, holding a staff almost as tall as she was. It was the Elfingle-human, Marielle.
She stared up at me with her mouth wide open.
Had she come to take me on? Why? She had to know there was no way she could win. Well, it didn’t matter—I was glad to have an audience for this. It would eliminate one more of my worries.
I saw the black lizard looking up at me, crying out. Ahh, I hoped it didn’t cross paths with the orange-haired girl.
Once again, I’d have to leave the black lizard behind. I didn’t have a choice. The longer I stayed in the forest, the more warriors and magicians they’d send after me. And I was still concerned about the Dragon Scale Powder thing, so I couldn’t ask the black lizard to abandon its home and come with me.
“Hey! I asked you a question? What do you think you’re doing, Plague Dragon?” the slime yelled. I ignored it and flew higher.
About halfway to the cliff I felt the fatigue hitting me. The slime’s needles kept stabbing in and out. If I lost my stamina in midair this whole thing would be meaningless. I decided this had to be high up enough.
I paused right over the chasm and looked down.
Too late to chicken out now.
I couldn’t let this monster go to where Myria was. Not when she was the one who named me. And I couldn’t break the promise I made to Gregory, who called me by that name. I couldn’t let this creature roam around the forest where the black lizard and the orangurangs lived. Not when they’d all been so kind to me.
“You’re going to throw me down to the bottom of the cliff again? How predictable. What will happen if I do this, I wonder?” The slime stretched its feelers and needles, trying to wrap around me and stab my entire body.
Damn it! My HP is plummeting!
But…its attack power is low. I can handle this.
“If I’m tangled around you like this, you won’t be able to throw me. Too bad. How foolish you are, to use an attack I already know how to defeat! I can attack you as much as I please. You’re defenseless! See, see, see?! Ha ha ha! I never thought I’d kill a Plague Dragon right after a Rock Dragon! Don’t worry, I’ll keep all your skills and take very good care of them! Once I have your Dragon Scale Powder, I’ll be able to wipe out entire villages without any help! Ha ha ha ha ha!”
This slime was pretty cocky. But I was actually fine with it wrapping itself around me, because my greatest worry was that it would escape before I could take it down.
It was digging its own grave, and I would be the one to bury it.
“Hey! What are you smiling about? Something’s wrong…”
I tightened my grip on the slime, stabbed it again with Paralyzing Venom Claws, and then dove straight for the bottom of the cliff. If it dodged damage from Meteorite with its spider silk, then I’d just have to bash it directly with Nutcracker. And if I held on all the way down, there was no way it could slip away and dodge like last time.
The distance we were falling was so great, there was no way it could escape taking a ton of damage, no matter how many resistance skills it had.
“I-Idiot! Stop it! You’re going to smash me into the bottom of the chasm?! I’m not going to let go of you, you know! And if you get caught in that current, we’ll die together! So stop it! Stop it!!”
It was right. The river’s current was too fast. Even if the slime cushioned my fall, we were wrapped together so tightly that I would certainly take serious damage.
I doubted I’d have enough stamina left to fly after this, either. I probably would get swept away by the current. And who knew what would happen to me afterwards?
I might die. Or I might get washed away to some unfamiliar place. Or maybe I’ll be surprised and the current won’t carry me away after all. Who can say?
But I did know that if I did this, the slime would no longer be a threat to the village. And since there was a villager right here to watch me fall, people wouldn’t have to live in fear that a Plague Dragon could show up at any moment.
“F-fine! I lose! I won’t go to the village! I’ll leave the forest! S-so…!” The whiny slime opened its mouth wide and screamed.
As if I’d believe that. I knew full well that once its stats surpassed mine, I’d have no chance of beating it.
“Stop, stop, stop! Stop! I can’t die! Not here! Not now! Stop!”
The slime changed shape, mouths appearing all over its body. And all of them were trying to swallow me. I ignored them and glanced down at the bottom of the chasm, aiming for a huge, rocky crag.
“Nooooo! Not here!!” Spider silk shot out from the slime’s body, aiming for the top of the cliff. It hooked onto the edge and slowed us down. It was trying to lower the damage we’d take on impact.
“Stop! Stop! Stop! H-ha ha ha! I made it! I made it! I’m sav—”
It gloated as the silk attached to the edge of the cliff. I let go of the slime with one arm and sliced through the thread with my claws.
“No! You stop that! Stop! Stop! Stop! Illusia!”
I changed positions and thrust my arms out, pushing the slime down. My HP was already pretty low. If I screwed this up, the blowback would kill me. But I couldn’t prioritize my own safety, because then the slime might escape. I had to time it perfectly.
“Stop! You have to! Stop! Why?! I’ll do anything! Stop! I’m going to be the strongest!” Its mouths were all begging at the same time—I could barely make out anything it was saying.
“Stop!”
“I can’t die!”
“Not here!”
“Because—!”
“I promised—!”
“The Divine Voice!”
I slammed the slime into the jagged, rocky crag. It stopped talking.
The rock shattered, splinters flying everywhere. My claws snapped off, an intense, sharp pain racing all the way down to the bone. I stretched my legs out and pushed off the rock as hard as I could to stop my body from being broken as well. I felt the scales on the bottoms of my feet being torn clean off.
But it worked. I floated through the air in an arc. But just as relief settled on me, one of the slime’s tentacles reached out and grabbed hold of me, slamming me down onto the rock.
“Raaaaaargh!”
My head crashed into the crag, knocking me unconscious for a split second. The current caught my legs and swallowed me up, pulling me into the muddy water. The parts of the slime still holding on to me were torn away. And then everything went black.