"Hey— Mi~ ru~ ku~ Miss~!!"
Ariana crouched next to a massive backpack, calling out for Miruku.
"What's her deal?" Layton pointed at the pack on the ground, looking confused.
"No idea. Maybe she just found a tight, dark spot to hide in," Anyi replied casually.
Right after they got back, Miruku had pointed them in the general direction, described the Royal Slime's appearance, and then immediately dove into the large backpack Layton was carrying.
The rations inside had already been devoured, leaving just enough space for her to fit inside perfectly.
"Anyway, let's get moving," Anyi said.
Miruku had already spent a lot of time going back and forth; it would take the three of them even longer to reach the spot on foot. There was no time to waste.
Layton hoisted the backpack containing Miruku onto his shoulders. Anyi took point to clear the path as usual, with Ariana following close behind him.
"By the way, Anyi, the Royal Slime's Endurance is listed as a weird symbol. What does that mean?" Ariana asked.
"That infinity symbol means the Royal Slime's Endurance is literally limitless," Anyi explained.
It wasn't a specific stat value, nor was it 'Max'; it was represented by the infinity sign: ∞.
This monster basically had no ceiling.
Its energy source was the entire forest. Unless someone torched the whole woods, it would keep drawing power indefinitely through the forest's ecosystem.
And burning the forest wouldn't even work: Anyi had already tried a fire attack earlier.
The Royal Slime protects the forest; it would extinguish the flames itself before they could spread.
Thinking about it that way... the damn thing was actually quite the environmentalist.
"Infinite Endurance?! How the hell are we supposed to wear it down then?!" Layton said, well aware of how crucial the Endurance stat was.
"That's why we need to end it fast!"
Before Anyi could even get a word in, Ariana chimed in.
Even if she didn't have special abilities for direct damage, she could rely on multi-target spellcasting by burning through her Mana to take the opponent down!
Anyi reflexively touched his neck and said, "Infinite Endurance means its attacks don't drain stamina, so it can just keep swinging forever.
However, its Durability is only 10. Both my Strength and Mr. Layton's are over 10, and Your Holiness's Mana is over 10 as well.
So, with our combined abilities, taking it out isn't exactly impossible."
"But its Agility is 10 points too, isn't that super fast?" Ariana asked, a bit worried.
You have to remember, Anyi's Agility was exactly 10 points.
Comparing human physique to a demon's, the Royal Slime would inherently be much faster. It wasn't just this slime; most demons with the same stats as a Hero still outperform them in practice.
"True, but as long as the Taunt sticks for even a second, we can end this," Anyi said, glancing back at her.
"Taunt?! Got it! Leave it to me!!" Layton caught the vibe and slapped his chest.
He'd been getting pummeled all way; finally, he could play a clutch role! He was practically tearing up with joy.
"Considering the enemy used a massive amount of tentacles earlier, it's safe to assume it'll use the same tactic again. Miruku and I will focus on protecting Your Holiness. You just need to find the right opening and coordinate with Mr. Layton to one-shot the Royal Slime," Anyi continued laying out the battle plan.
"Understood!" Ariana said firmly.
Miruku, still curled up in the backpack, didn't speak.
[Thorn Hero: Copy that.]
"By the way, Anyi, why are you still being so formal with us?" Layton couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, seriously. I told you, just call me Ariana, okay?" Ariana had been dying to ask that too.
"Well, you use honorifics for Mr. Layton but keep calling me by my name," Anyi countered, flipping the question back on Ariana.
"Because... because Mr. Layton is a family man! And he's way older than me. But you and I are basically the same age, right?" Ariana explained quickly.
Anyi turned to Layton, pointed a thumb back at Ariana, and said, "What she said."
"Explain it properly yourself!!" Ariana barked, unable to resist roasting him.
"Hahaha!" Layton let out a hearty laugh.
He really looked at these three like his own younger siblings or protégés.
"You still haven't explained why you insist on calling me 'Your Holiness'!" Ariana dragged the topic back.
"Because... I respect you deeply," Anyi said flatly.
In reality, he just didn't think they were close enough yet to be on a first-name basis.
"Ah..." Ariana blanked, momentarily speechless.
Res... respect me?
Huh? Respect me?
Wait, what? He respects me?
If Annie were here, she would know instantly that Anyi was just talking nonsense with a straight face again. When it came to deadpan BS, he was a total pro.
After walking for a while longer, Miruku finally crawled out of the backpack, though she followed behind in silence.
Ariana went over to check on her, but Miruku just stammered out some excuses. She definitely wasn't going to tell the others that she'd just tried to solo the Boss. The team had been grinding so hard for so long; if she'd swiped the kill for herself, they'd probably end up hating her, right?
While she was stuck in her own head, Anyi suddenly tossed a topic her way.
"Can you tell us how you managed to track down the Royal Slime?"
"Oh... it wasn't much, really."
Miruku then began to describe the search process, from the initial discovery of traces to the final tracking. The key was her analysis of the marks, which allowed her to pinpoint the Slime's actual location.
"Whoa! Miruku, that's amazing! I would never have thought of that!" Ariana praised her with genuine admiration.
"Exactly! Spoken like a true Hero of the Thorn!" Layton added with a thumbs-up and a grin.
"Yeah, smart call," Anyi added, nodding in approval.
Miruku glanced up at everyone, then lowered her head, shyly scratching her hair with a bashful giggle. "No, no... you're exaggerating... hehe... hiiihihi..."
Anyi thought to himself: 「Yep, she's easy to handle.」
A couple of compliments would probably keep her happy for two days. She'd likely remember this when she's fifty and still get so hyped she'd roll around in bed.
...
The Royal Slime sensed the four of them getting closer and closer. If it had a mouth, it would be grinning ear to ear. If it could devour these four, its power would skyrocket!
Now, it just had to play the waiting game and let these humans walk right into its trap.
...
In the dim forest, the sky was turning a hazy blue, no longer a deep, pitch black. This meant dawn was approaching.
Thinking back, they had entered this forest early yesterday morning. Between clearing slimes and surviving the Royal Slime's ambush, time had flown by. In the blink of an eye, the second morning was almost here.
[Sword Hero: We only get one shot at this. Timing and coordination are everything.
I'll go in first to draw the Royal Slime's aggro. If I get into trouble, Miss Miruku, you flank and help split its focus.
Once its attention is divided between us, Mr. Layton, get in close as fast as possible and use Taunt.
Finally, Your Holiness, finish it in one blow. Shatter its core.
Is everyone clear?]
They were now incredibly close to the Royal Slime's location, close enough to peer through the gaps in the trees and see that massive black slime sitting in the center of the clearing.
Though they had already discussed the plan, Anyi laid it out for the three of them one last time.
[Holy Hero: Ready!
Shield Hero: Understood!
Thorn Hero: I'll do my best.]
Miruku lacked confidence.
Anyi's plan was solid, but it relied on an ideal scenario.
I will fix the formatting, remove the long dashes, and maintain the capitalization as requested.
As for what variables might actually occur, it was still a total unknown.
For example, what if Anyi was blindsided and killed during his charge?
What if the Royal Slime ignored her own attacks and kept focusing its firepower entirely on Anyi?
What if Taunt failed? What if Ariana's strike couldn't kill the Royal Slime in one hit?
A sea of variables made Miruku incredibly uneasy.
「I must... focus!
Focus!!
Resolve the Royal Slime before the variables spiral out of control!」
If the plan didn't go as intended, she was the only one fast enough to potentially shift the tide of battle.
Only her speed could end everything before the situation became unmanageable!
Hiding behind a tree, Layton gripped his shield, his expression grim.
He admitted to himself that his shield wasn't strong enough yet.
His shield could only protect one person at a time.
If things went sideways, he could only guarantee the safety of one comrade.
He didn't want to choose: he wanted to protect everyone.
Therefore, he had to use his ability at the exact, perfect moment.
On the other side, Ariana was feeling equally restless.
She couldn't be sure if she could truly one-shot the Royal Slime.
If her attack missed, or if the Royal Slime broke the Taunt early and dodged, what then?
Or what if her strike failed to shatter the core, leaving the monster alive?
Could they still rely on Anyi then?
All three looked weighed down by their thoughts, while only Anyi remained as calm as ever.
He understood exactly what they were feeling.
Before entering the forest, they had known nothing and stood at the peak of overconfidence, feeling invincible after killing a few lowly slimes.
But after a day of bitter fighting, they had fallen into a slump, their confidence in their own strength wavering.
Almost every rookie Hero goes through this phase.
After witnessing the Royal Slime's first two forms, they knew for a fact that without Anyi, they would have certainly died by its hand.
If the enemy's mere camouflage was that powerful, just how strong was its true body?
Once you've tasted helplessness, you tend to overestimate the enemy.
Anyi really wanted to just say, "Just wreck the thing," but technically he "didn't know" how strong the Royal Slime was yet, let alone how to make the others stay confident.
They needed to kill it once to realize the enemy wasn't all that terrifying.
"Get ready."
Anyi's voice cut through their thoughts.
The three nodded simultaneously, a flash of determination in their eyes.
Things had come too far; there was no more time for hesitation!
"Go!"
The moment the words left his lips, Anyi dashed forward at top speed, charging toward the Royal Slime in the center of the clearing.
The next second, the three in the rear froze.
Time seemed to slow down; the very air felt frozen.
In that split second, they watched as the ground directly in front of Anyi suddenly split wide open.
The earth gaped!
Like a giant maw, the ground cracked in two without warning!
Anyi, who had been leading the charge, plummeted straight in, leaving the other three completely caught off guard.
Everything happened too fast!
Miruku hadn't even started her acceleration; Layton hadn't had a chance to protect him; Ariana's attack hadn't even begun.
Anyi simply vanished from their sight.
Is he... dead?
"You! Bastard!!
You cowardly piece of filth!!!"
Layton let out a thunderous roar, his eyes bloodshot with rage as he raised his shield and charged forward.
In an instant, countless black tentacles erupted from the ground, lashing out at him.
[Skill: Shield Bash!]
BOOM!!
An extreme burst of Strength exploded from the shield. The violent impact instantly tore the wall of incoming tentacles into tattered shreds!
The Royal Slime's Durability was only 10. Against Layton's massive 28 Strength, it was as fragile as thin paper.
Layton, sprinting with his shield raised, was like a juggernaut of cold steel, unstoppable! Irresistible!
He smashed through wave after wave of tentacles, snapping countless coiling limbs. Like a ship cutting through a storm, he plowed straight toward the heart of the Royal Slime!
Sensing the threat, the Royal Slime immediately tried to leap backward.
"Don't! Even! Think about it!! You gutless freak!!
Taunt!!"
VWOM!
The Royal Slime's movements stuttered. It jerked to a stiff halt before suddenly surging forward to engulf Layton.
The Taunt landed!
The very next second, dozens of meters behind Layton, a blinding golden light erupted from the forest. It pierced through every leaf and branch, more brilliant than the sun.
「Skill: Beam!
Multi-target release! Mana consumption 100%!!」
[Skill: Beam
Multi-target release: Final Flash]
Ariana hovered slightly off the ground. Her Saintess robes and golden hair billowed in a non-existent wind as radiance spilled from her golden eyes.
In front of her, the floating staff spun rapidly, eventually forming a shimmering golden disc.
"HAAAH!!!"
Ariana thrust both hands forward. In an instant, the disc unleashed a dazzling pillar of light, a man-width wide, roaring toward the Royal Slime!
The air turned hazy; the scenery warped! The Beam seemed to distort all visible light, punching through every tentacle in its path and slamming directly into the Royal Slime!
BOOM!!!
A sound like rolling thunder shook the forest. The massive shockwave kicked up gale-force winds against the trees. The power was so terrifying that the three of them felt for sure it was over.
However...
They watched in horror as the Royal Slime shifted its form into a bowl-like shape, catching the Beam head-on!
The slime's gelatinous body vibrated violently, sending out ripples across its surface, but the devastating Beam simply could not reach its core.
It was defending!
But defense wasn't its primary goal!
The next moment, the bowl-shaped Royal Slime suddenly snapped back like a spring, reflecting the Beam directly at the now-exhausted Ariana!
「Oh no!」 Miruku gasped in terror, preparing to flash forward to the rescue.
[Special Ability Triggered.]
In that heartbeat, a brilliant white blur streaked toward Ariana at a speed the naked eye could barely follow.
"Absolute Defense!!"
BOOM!!!
The massive power of the reflected Beam slammed straight into the suddenly appearing Layton!
...
The Royal Slime can burrow.
Guess what treasures it swallowed into the earth?
The Royal Slime is merely a high-tier demon within the slime species. Its primary means of dealing damage, aside from physical attacks, is simply drowning victims in its gelatinous mass.
As for its corrosive ability, its method of eating, it isn't particularly strong at this stage of the Royal Slime's evolution. At the very least, it's not going to melt clothes on contact and start handing out fan service to the audience. You'd need an Acid Slime or a Venom Slime for that kind of high-tier corrosion.
After Anyi was swallowed, based on his current stats, he shouldn't have been able to escape the Royal Slime's envelopment. Slimes are liquid-based, after all: they can absorb the Strength behind almost any physical movement.
However, being liquid also means it has one glaring weakness.
Low temperatures.
The moment Anyi was pulled in, he activated an ice-element skill he hadn't yet shown the others. Before he was completely encased, he flash-froze the slime's fluid and shattered it.
Anyi was just wondering how to get underground when the enemy personally delivered him there.
The damn thing was actually being quite helpful.
The slime's true body was right beneath its camouflage.
By freezing a path through the slime's veins and pushing forward, he would find the core in no time. Even if it were just a simple trap not directly connected to the main body, it wouldn't be a problem. He'd just use his sword to cleave through the soil until he reached it!
As for the three on the outside, Anyi had no intention of letting them know he was still alive.
They were bound to start screaming about "bonds," "friendship," or "justice" before charging the slime anyway. Letting them scrap for a bit would be good combat experience; everything would end once he located the Royal Slime's core.
...
Moments ago, Anyi had fallen into the enemy's trap, his fate unknown. Now, as the Royal Slime reflected Ariana's magic, Layton stood before her with his shield, desperately holding the line. It was a scene Miruku would never forget.
She thought to herself: if she could have just killed the Royal Slime a step sooner, they would have won it all. Now that Anyi and Ariana were out of the fight and Layton lacked the means to finish the beast, she had to realize this might be the only chance she'd ever get.
[Special Skill: Backstab
An ability to deal a one-shot kill, ignoring all attributes.
Activation Conditions:
Must not be in the enemy's line of sight, must not be heard, must not be smelled, must not be touched, and must not be sensed by the enemy.
Cooldown: One month.]
This was Miruku's special ability, and her ultimate trump card.
Anyi had pointed out that her skill set was completely devoid of direct damage skills. She had realized that it was probably because this one lethal move existed that all her other skills were designed specifically to help her vanish.
The activation conditions for this ability were incredibly strict, but Miruku had been testing the waters during their journey.
"Out of sight" and "out of sensing range", these two factors were dynamic and could change at any moment. As long as she broke the enemy's line of sight and moved beyond their perception, those boxes were checked.
However, the conditions "not being heard," "not being smelled," and "not being touched" were irrevocable once breached during an engagement. This meant that if the enemy had already heard her, caught her scent, or made direct contact, Backstab would be rendered unusable for that encounter.
The status of the [Backstab] conditions was displayed clearly within the system interface:
[Not seen (1/1)
Not heard (0/1)
Not smelled (0/1)
Not touched (0/1)
Not sensed (1/1)]
Currently, the three irrevocable conditions hadn't been triggered, while the two dynamic conditions were already met.
That meant she only needed to stay out of the enemy's sight and perception to keep the [Backstab] ready!
But this also implied she would have to use her specific skills to vanish from the enemy's view, then return in a split second to deliver the blow before the conditions could reset.
The window of opportunity had to be so brief that the enemy wouldn't have time to process her presence or sense her arrival.
It had to be an instant. Not just "fast" in a descriptive sense, but a literal, mechanical instant!
The moment Layton stepped in front of Ariana, while the reflected Beam was still roaring through the air, Miruku simply vanished from the spot.
With 40 points in Agility and the acceleration from [Fleet-Footed], her speed reached an absolute peak!
Layering [Shadow Meld] over her movements turned her into an invisible wraith, a shadow within shadows that left no trace in the darkness of the forest!
Having reached Level 5, everyone had unlocked a new skill. Anyi's was a thrust, Layton's was a shielded dash, and Ariana's was her Beam. It seemed their skills were all direct, linear releases.
Miruku was no different. Her new skill was a high-speed forward dash called [Longstride].
Even though it was a standard system name, she thought it sounded incredibly lame. So, she gave it a much cooler name of her own!
In a heartbeat, Miruku had already circled hundreds of meters away from her companions' position.
[Not seen (0/1)
Not sensed (0/1)]
As expected, the enemy hadn't focused on her at all, so they hadn't noticed her disappearance. Even Layton and Ariana were completely unaware she was gone.
Keeping her distance, Miruku took a wide arc, eventually banking back toward the Royal Slime's location at extreme speed.
Maintaining this level of velocity for even a few seconds felt like her body was being pushed to the brink. Her bones groaned and creaked as if they were about to shatter under the g-force.
But it wasn't enough!
She had to maintain this speed to trigger her ability before the opponent could react!
250 meters! 200 meters!
150 meters... 100 meters!
[Skill: Longstride]
She renamed this skill:
「Shadow Arrow!」
One hundred meters from the Royal Slime, a dark shadow struck toward the enemy like a flash of lightning. To a human eye, it was like an arrow shot from a bow, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye!
[Special Ability [Backstab] Triggering...
Determining Activation Conditions...
Conditions Met.
Permission to Activate Granted.]
「Backstab!」
The moment the ability activated, Miruku's form materialized mid-air, her two simple daggers now wreathed in pitch-black energy.
She was the final hope!
It was all or nothing!
「Watch closely! This is my life's final strike!」
One-shot kill! Backstab!!
BOOM!!
At that moment, Layton, who had just finished blocking the Royal Slime's reflected attack, and Ariana, who had collapsed from Mana exhaustion, caught sight of a dark blur flickering past the Royal Slime's side.
Like a mosquito, she plunged into the Royal Slime's gelatinous body, and then...
Before she could even get close to the core, her movements froze halfway through. Like someone drowning, she struggled, her limbs flailing desperately.
Quickly, she went still...
"Mi—ru—ku—" Ariana cried out, her face covered in tears.