After hearing Freya's words, I gathered my courage and charged straight toward the Mother Slime—the same one I had fought earlier.
"Ahghh!" I yelled, running with all my strength.
Plop!
The massive slime quivered, and from its body spilled dozens of smaller slimes. They bounced toward me with wet, sticky sounds.
I didn't panic. I slammed my spear into the ground, gripping it tight as I spun around the shaft. My legs lashed out in every direction, kicking away the little slimes that leapt at me.
[-5]
[-5]
[-5]
[-5]
Damage numbers floated above their heads, but it wasn't enough. Only five damage each! My kicks barely hurt them at all.
Then—plop!—one of the slimes suddenly leapt higher than the rest, coming straight for my head.
My eyes widened.
Before it could strike, clang! A trident slashed through the air, smacking the slime away.
I turned to see Dahlia standing beside me, her trident raised.
"We decided to help you first," she said firmly, her gaze locked on the Mother Slime. "Let's bring them down one at a time!"
At the same moment, Claude joined the fight. He lashed his weapon in wide arcs, deflecting the acid that the two other Mother Slimes were spitting from the corner of the battlefield. The burning liquid splashed onto the ground, missing us completely.
"The big ones are slow!" Claude shouted. "They can only rely on their acid and the smaller slimes they spawn!"
With Dahlia and Claude fighting at my side, my heart steadied. I gripped my spear tighter.
"I'll take care of blocking the acid and taking down the smaller ones! Malachi, just focus on killing your Mother Slime first!" Claude shouted.
"Understood!" I exclaimed.
Dahlia and I charged together, our weapons ready.
The Mother Slime reacted quickly. With a loud splurt, it spat another burning acid directly at Dahlia. She bent low, narrowly dodging as the liquid splashed behind her, then lunged forward to charge again.
The ground hissed where the acid touched it, leaving holes.
We closed the distance fast. The Mother Slime quivered, its massive body shaking.
"Aghhh!" I shouted, putting all my strength into my swing. My spear cut deep into the slime's body, slicing through its thick, jelly-like flesh.
At the same moment, Dahlia struck with her trident. She thrust it forward with precision, piercing straight into the Mother Slime's side.
[-50]
[-45]
The numbers floated above it—a clear sign of the damage we had dealt.
The Mother Slime rippled and shook violently, its huge body reacting to the blows. Acid dripped from the fresh wounds we created, sizzling as it hit the ground.
‹ Mother Slime ›
HP: 105/250
The huge slime trembled, its jelly-like body wobbling from the damage it had already taken.
"We should finish this!" Dahlia shouted, her trident glowing faintly in her hands.
I nodded firmly, and together we rushed forward once more.
The Mother Slime reacted quickly, spitting burning acid toward us. My eyes widened, but I stepped in front of Dahlia, swinging my spear with all my strength. Each strike split the acid midair, scattering it into drops that hissed against the ground.
"Thank you!" Dahlia called from behind.
Dahlia lifted her trident high above her head as she leapt into the air, aiming straight for the slime's pulsing core.
Thrust!
Her weapon pierced the slime, sinking deep. I jumped onto the tip of her trident, pushing down with my weight and forcing the weapon even deeper. Together we shouted, pouring every ounce of strength into the attack.
"Aghhhh!"
The tip of the trident finally reached the glowing core hidden inside the slime.
[-105 Critical Hit!]
[You have slain a Mother Slime!]
The Mother Slime let out a horrible squelching sound before exploding into a shower of slime, splattering across the ground.
[!] Quest Updated [!]
» Slay 5 Mother Slimes
Progress: 1/5
A glowing notification screen appeared before both of us. We exchanged a proud nod, but there was no time to celebrate.
In the distance, Claude was still surrounded by a swarm of smaller slimes. His icy whip lashed back and forth, striking every slime that came near him while at the same time freezing the acid attacks from the two Mother Slimes farther across the battlefield before acids could reach him.
"Let's go help him!" I shouted, already sprinting toward my best friend.
"You took long enough!" Claude called out with a grin as we arrived at his side.
The three of us charged forward together.
Plop!
The two Mother Slimes shook violently before releasing twin spits of acid at us.
Snap!
Claude struck first, his glowing icy blue whip as it cracked through the air. Thanks to his passive ability, Frostbite Lash, the acid instantly froze into chunks of ice.
We exchanged positions in a flash, our movements flowing together until our backs met, slashing at the frozen projectiles with our weapons and shattering them into glittering shards.
With the path clear, we readied our weapons once more.
Together, we charged at the two Mother Slimes ahead, fully prepared to bring the monsters down.
Claude swung his whip again and again, striking at the wobbling body of the Mother Slime from a distance. Each smash of his weapon echoed through the battlefield, forcing the slime to stumble back.
Seizing the chance, Dahlia and I rushed forward together. I attacked from the left side as Dahlia closed in from the right, our weapons moving in perfect rhythm as they sank into the Mother Slime's sticky, slimy body. I didn't stop there. I kept sliding my spear along its body, pushing through the resistance of the gooey flesh.
The more we attacked, the more the Mother Slime shook and wobbled, clearly in pain from the damage we were dealing. Dahlia and I met at the end of its body from behind.
Ahead of us, Claude raised his whip high above. I glanced back just in time to see water magic flowing along the length of his weapon, glowing and swirling like a wave current caught in the ocean. His voice rang out, strong and commanding.
"Tidal Smash!"
With a mighty sweep, Claude brought his whip down. The water magic burst forward, crashing into the Mother Slime's body like a wave. The impact was so strong that the creature's slimy form split apart, its body tearing into two massive halves.
Claude landed the final hit.
We readied ourselves again, this time for another Mother Slime waiting on the other side of the battlefield.
With a disgusting splurt, it released more of its smaller slimes, sending them wobbling toward us again.
"Ugh, I'm so tired of these slimes!" I groaned, gripping my weapon tighter.
"Then let's finish this quickly! We should combine our skills!" Dahlia exclaimed.
Without hesitation, we charged forward together. The smaller slimes rushed to block us, but we cut them down as we advanced.
My spear slashed clean through two of them, their bodies bursting apart into harmless goo.
[You have slain a Slime!]
[You have slain a Slime!]
Beside me, Dahlia swung her trident with speed and precision, slicing through three more.
Before I realized it, I hadn't noticed that the three of us had leveled up to level 9. For a brief moment, I glanced across the battlefield. Efren and Freya were locked in their own fight, battling fiercely against their Mother Slimes.
But my attention quickly snapped back. In another corner, the massive, towering Slime Queen began to wobble, its body moving in a strange rhythm—as if chewing or forcing something out.
No way… is she trying to create another group of Mother Slimes?!
We couldn't give her the chance. With the path now clear, Dahlia and I rushed straight at the Mother Slime before us.
Together, we thrust our weapons deep into its body.
"Phoenix Flare!" I shouted, fire surging down my spear in a blazing torrent.
"Aqua Sphere!" Dahlia shouted, her trident glowing as a swirling ball of water erupted into the body.
The fire and water collided at the point of impact, combining into a violent explosion. The Mother Slime's body burst apart, chunks of slime scattering in every direction.
[You have slain a Mother Slime!]
[!] Quest Updated [!]
» Slay 5 Mother Slimes
Progress: 3/5