The production efficiency of flesh slimes wasn't very high.
Roughly ten corpses were needed to summon a first-rank flesh slime.
Coincidentally, this matched the summoning requirements for small skeletons: one first-rank skeleton soldier also required ten corpses.
By this calculation, aside from consuming a bit of elemental crystals, flesh slimes were actually reasonably cost-effective.
Unfortunately, Hel didn't have an abundance of first-rank elemental crystals on hand.
After several wars with the orcs, she only had a little over 100,000 first-rank elemental crystals remaining.
It was just as people said: fortune favors the prepared.
Hel had made a small profit initially and then arranged for the Golden Marquis to purchase large quantities in nearby cities. Otherwise, with her small baronial territory, she couldn't have acquired so many elemental crystals.
With these 100,000 elemental crystals, Hel successfully created 100,000 first-rank flesh slimes. After synthesizing them with the Necromantic Emblem, the final flesh slimes were seven stories tall—clearly monstrous in size.
Originally, since the raw materials were decayed flesh, the slimes were dark red and carried a strong stench.
However, after being upgraded to sixth-rank, the flesh slime was completely different.
Its color was a pure, blood-red, semi-transparent, resembling a coagulated ball of fresh blood, and the stench was gone.
At its center lay a core made entirely of flesh, with countless veins intertwined and even pulsating.
Hel reached out to touch it, and to her surprise:
The outer layer of the flesh slime was very fragile. She only poked it lightly with her finger, and it easily penetrated.
"This is a bit weak," Hel frowned. Even as a Grand Mage, she could easily pierce it. What would a warrior do?
Yet she didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.
Next, Hel upgraded Skeletal Berserker to sixth-rank. Its full name was now the Skeleton Berserker King.
It was noticeably stronger than before, with blade-like bone spikes growing at its joints, exuding immense combat power.
Above its head, a crown made of bones appeared, enhancing its imposing appearance.
If the fifth-rank Skeletal Berserker looked like an elite monster, the sixth-rank version was undeniably a proper boss.
Hel didn't upgrade Skeletal Berserker to test its strength—it was to evaluate the weight of the sixth-rank flesh slime.
The battlefield was inside the Necromancy Space. After clearing the remaining skeletons, she prepared a wide open area.
Unexpectedly, the battle ended in just one turn.
At first, she let the flesh slime attack. Despite giving it all its strength, it couldn't even touch Skeletal Berserker.
Skeletal Berserker, in contrast, lightly swung a single strike. The furious combat slash cleaved the flesh slime in two.
The cut was smooth and symmetrical.
But soon, the flesh slime began to rapidly heal, even its central meatball rejoining visibly.
"This regeneration is incredible," Hel remarked.
From this, she realized the slime's capabilities: it had massive bulk. Used as a meat shield, it could tire enemies out but wouldn't die easily.
However, against an opponent of equal rank, it couldn't even withstand a single strike.
In short, it was overpowered against small monsters but utterly helpless against strong foes.
Unfortunately, Hel's current path focused on elite units. She needed strong single entities, not slow-moving living targets.
"Sigh… better harvest it then," Hel sighed. She had hoped a sixth-rank flesh slime would be stronger, but a slime was still a slime.
High-Rank Death Magic: Blood Extraction
Countless streams of blood were quickly drawn from the flesh slime, gathering in Hel's hands and forming five crystalline blood stones.
Compared to previous blood stones, these five were larger and more transparent.
"The quality of blood crystals from a sixth-rank undead body is really good. Hey, Lily, stop drooling," Hel said, rolling her eyes at Lily, who was staring at the blood stones as if she wanted to eat them.
"Although blood stones created from flesh slimes are effective, the energy inside is purer; it doesn't mean any toxins from the original blood are gone. Don't risk poisoning yourself," Hel added.
"No, no, I'll pass," Lily quickly refused.
Hel smirked and teased, "Don't worry, you can drink it safely—I can always resurrect you."
"Uh… maybe not," Lily hesitated.
"At worst, it'll feel like drinking hot water; a bit uncomfortable for a moment," Hel explained.
"No, really, I'll pass," Lily firmly refused again.
Seeing this, Hel didn't press further. She carefully stored the five blood stones and turned to the flesh slime.
The flesh slime was now completely drained. Not only had its transparent outer layer disappeared, but even its central meatball was completely empty of blood.
A light touch from Hel caused the dried flesh to collapse entirely, scattering in pieces and revealing a dodecahedron the size of a tennis ball.
"A sixth-rank elemental crystal," Hel said.
From the heap of flesh, she carefully extracted the crystal.
Hel had created the flesh slime partly to see if a sixth-rank flesh slime had any unexpected transformations, but mainly for the elemental crystal itself.
If she fully absorbed the energy within, she would instantly become a Crown-Rank Mage, no longer fearing most threats.
Even if her presence was discovered, and the War Witch attacked, she and the sixth-rank Skeletal Berserker together could easily defeat the opponent.
"But Master, how do you plan to swallow something this big?"
At that moment, Lily bluntly pointed out the biggest problem.
Hel fell silent, staring at the elemental crystal in her hands. She truly had no good solution.
"Maybe… Master, you could try letting it enter your stomach through another opening?"