The slimes wobbled in front of me, their jelly-like bodies bouncing closer and closer.
I tightened my grip on my spear and swung with all my strength.
Slash!
My spear cut through one slime, then another, their gooey bodies bursting apart—but there were just too many of them.
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
Before I could react, a group of slimes lunged at me from behind. I didn't even have time to turn—
Swish!
A whip cracked through the air, curling around me and knocking the slimes away before they could crash into me. Claude stood firm behind me, his whip snapping like the tail of a manta ray, striking down every slime that dared to get close.
"Thank you!" I shouted.
But then my eyes widened. "Claude! Behind you!"
Dozens of slimes in every color—blue, green, violet, red, even yellow—were bouncing straight toward him.
Yet Claude didn't panic. He took a steady breath, planted his feet, and closed his eyes, as if focusing on something deep within himself.
"Tidal Smash!" Claude shouted, swinging his whip behind him.
CRASH!
The whip struck with the force of a raging river. It was as if a rushing current of water had gathered into the lash itself. The energy roared outward, sweeping through the swarm of slimes behind us.
Splaaaat! Plop!
Every slime caught in the strike burst into goo, their jelly-like bodies splattering across the ground. In just one move, the battlefield behind us was cleared.
"All gone!" I said with relief, lowering my spear.
Claude and I regrouped with Dahlia. She was still busy finishing off the last slime, her trident stabbing forward in a sharp thrust.
"We've beaten so many slimes already!" she said, pulling her weapon.
"I hope we run into a Mother Slime soon," I said, gripping my spear a little tighter.
Claude grinned, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Perfect! I love hunting. The bigger, the better!"
Shlurp… squish… plop.
From the shadows of the trees, two enormous shapes wobbled into view. They were pink, slimy, and at least ten times bigger than any slime we had ever faced. Just like the smaller ones, they had no eyes—only smooth, pulsating jelly.
Two giant slimes had arrived, bouncing slowly toward us with heavy thuds that made the earth tremble.
Claude's grip on his whip tightened. "They must've sensed our body heat," he said grimly.
[!] Monster Classification [!]
[Monster: Mother Slime]
[Rank: C-Class]
The Mother Slime is a giant variant of the common slime, known to spawn slime children. Unlike regular slimes, its body is ten times larger. Mother Slimes are slow but durable. They swallow victims into their body and dissolve them with acid, and they have a core inside their body.
Special Trait: [Acid Spit] – The Mother Slime can spit a corrosive acid from its body that can melt through skin if it hits.
With a loud plop, two enormous Mother Slimes appeared. Suddenly, glowing goo spilled out from them, slithering across the ground. The goo wriggled and split apart until it reshaped into ten smaller, colorful slimes that bounced in unison.
"Yuck…" I muttered, gripping my spear tighter.
The three of us stood ready. We tightened our hold on our weapons as the slimes jiggled closer. Then, without waiting, we charged.
I twisted my body and swung my spear in a wide slash. Three slimes burst apart at once, their jelly spraying across the dirt.
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
Above me, Claude leapt into the air. For a brief moment he hovered, swinging his whip sideways. Then he landed in front of me with a powerful stomp and smashed his whip down with a sharp sound, snapping like lightning as it struck several of the bouncing slimes, sending them flying backward until they burst into goo.
On our right, Dahlia appeared in a flash. Her trident gleamed as she spun it in circle, water swirling around the weapon like a whirlpool. The swirling water gathered together, forming into a glowing medium-sized sphere of water that pulsed in her trident.
"Aqua Sphere!" Dahlia shouted, thrusting the trident forward.
The sphere of water shot out, crashing into the slimes with explosive force.
Boom!
Water burst outward, sweeping the jelly creatures off. At the same time, dust and mist rose into the air, clouding the battlefield as the slimes were wiped out in a single, powerful wave of attacks.
"We should celebrate later. We still have drools to smash," I said.
Claude chuckled. "At this rate, the whole forest will need a mop and bucket."
The three of us tightened our grips on our weapons and charged toward the two massive Mother Slimes.
‹ Mother Slime ›
HP: 250/250
Just as we closed the distance, I spotted acid to the left of us. I instantly stopped in my tracks. They noticed me stopping and stopped in their tracks too.
"Phoenix Flare!" I shouted, thrusting my spear to the left.
Flames burst from the tip. The fiery strike collided with the white acid, burning it away before it could touch us.
But the Mother Slimes weren't done.
Right ahead of us, the two Mother Slimes began spitting more acid at once. The ground hissed and bubbled where the drops landed, leaving behind blackened holes.
Claude jumped backward, grabbing Dahlia, his whip glowing as icy energy gathered around him.
"Icy Mist!" he yelled.
He spun his whip in a wide arc, faster and faster, until a cloud of freezing mist exploded outward. Tiny crystals of ice sparkled in the air, spreading like a frosty veil. The acid met the icy breath and froze away harmlessly, leaving only mist in the air.
I grinned. "You can counter them easily. Ice magic beats acid."
Claude smirked. "Guess I'll freeze their drool before it melts us."
But then—
Plop!
The ground trembled as another giant slime oozed out from the shadows of the forest. So the acid that I burned away earlier had come from another Mother Slime.
"Great," I muttered. "Now there are three!"
The three Mother Slimes bounced threateningly, acid dripping from their glowing bodies.
One on the left and two ahead.
Dahlia stepped forward, spinning her trident. "Let's split up. Each of us takes one."
Claude and I exchanged a quick glance. Then, at the same time, we shouted: "Right!"
Without hesitation, I rushed at the Mother Slime on the left, spear in hand. Beside me, Claude and Dahlia charged together toward the other two.
As I charged, I noticed something strange about the Mother Slime. It shuddered, and suddenly, thick globs of goo shot out from its body. The goo wobbled and split apart, quickly reshaping itself into dozens of smaller slimes—each one a different color, bouncing wildly across the ground.
I tightened my grip on my spear, my eyes narrowing. There were too many to strike one by one, so I prepared my wind magic to sweep them all away at once.
I swung my spear from right to left, gathering momentum, feeling the wind coil around the blade. I twisted my body many times midair, spinning like a whirlwind, and then—at the perfect moment—I unleashed everything I had. A roaring flap of winds shot out from my spear, cutting through the air with a sharp, slicing whistle, scattering the colorful slimes before me.
"Wind Flap!" I shouted, my voice carrying across the battlefield.
A gust of forceful wind erupted from my spear, slicing through the colorful slimes. They tumbled backward, bouncing and wobbling before dissolving into harmless puddles of goo.
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
Just as the last of them vanished, a glowing notification screen appeared before my eyes:
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
Lv. 8 → Lv. 9
A surge of energy coursed through me. I grinned and readied my spear again, knowing that an even bigger challenge—a Mother Slime—was waiting just ahead.