He'd thought it was a ferocious Slime hunter, but it turned out to be a gourmet crab from the deep, delivered right to his door.
Best of all, this feast conveniently settled the restless Slime instincts that had been plaguing him for so long.
The acid in his stomach was still churning with delight. Even after he'd slurped the last trace of sweet, savory meat juice from the carapace, Chen Yu's round eyes still stared, full of longing, at the empty shell within his body.
[Devouring and Digesting Lv. 2 Triggered—Digging Beetle's characteristics have been recorded. A new talent is gestating (1/10).]
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Reputation Title: Slime Warrior (A Fledgling Slime)
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'He'd been curious about how to get reputation titles. Judging by the requirements for "Slime Warrior," it seemed you had to complete some kind of challenge, defeat a powerful enemy, or pass a trial to earn one.'
'Could other monsters also get reputation titles by completing trials?'
'He felt it was highly probable.'
'After all, the attribute panel was based strictly on his physical data, and Slimes are native monsters in Zeyarira. Perhaps other monsters and members of Alien Races could also meet the conditions for a reputation title, whether they meant to or not.'
'In that case, had he unintentionally uncovered another of Zeyarira's mysterious rules?'
After completely digesting the Beetle, Chen Yu spat out its carapace.
The jet-black carapace rolled out of the grass nest, an eerie gleam flowing across its glossy surface. The thing had a ferocious outline, exuding an air of might from every angle. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.
This Beetle was a true treasure trove. Not only did its delicious meat taste of crab roe and matsutake mushrooms, but it also came with such a magnificent, natural carapace.
Recalling that unique, savory flavor, the acid in Chen Yu's stomach couldn't help but let out a few GURGLES.
He leaped out of the grass nest and carefully squeezed inside the carapace. His Slime Gel filled the gaps within until his body fit snugly against the shell.
And just like that, the first heavy-armored Slime was born.
Or possibly, the first heavy-armored Slime in the history of Zeyarira.
From the little ones' perspective, it looked as if a glistening green Slime had donned a thick, ferocious helmet. The jet-black color even made the cute Slime look a bit more solemn.
The little guys bounced around excitedly, their released pheromones like shouts of "Awesome! So cool!"
It was just like the hype-men in an adventurer's party, cheering for the hero when he obtains a legendary sword.
Chen Yu was also quite satisfied with his new equipment. Although his eyes had a 360-degree field of view with no blind spots, he still habitually bounced and spun around to look at his new gear.
After moving around for a bit, he discovered that wearing the Beetle helmet made his movement speed a little slower than usual, but it was still acceptable.
'At least with this heavy armor for protection, forget about a Moss Monster's acid; even a Poisonous Sting Bee's Poisonous Sting would have a hard time hurting him now.'
'What's being a little slow? If worse comes to worst, I'll just eat all my enemies. Then I won't have to worry about my speed.'
Chen Yu left the Slime Nest and swam upward, wearing the Beetle helmet. When the other floating Slimes saw him, their fear instincts were instantly awakened, and they froze in terror, not daring to move.
He had no interest in bullying these Slimes. After surfacing, he looked up at the sky, only to see that the once-bright morning sky was now overcast, and a light rain was falling.
After the incident with the Beetle Knight's invasion, he realized that the Swamp Forest had indeed become more dangerous than usual after a downpour.
Based on his month of experience in the Swamp Forest, Chen Yu guessed that the region was likely in a season similar to spring.
That meant as time went on, the Swamp Forest would only grow livelier, until the arrival of the cold, quiet winter, when the cycle would begin anew...
The Beetle Knight's invasion was no accident. At the height of summer, there would likely be even more predators invading this land.
If he didn't want to just sit back and wait for death, he'd best deal with the Poisonous Sting Bees as soon as possible, seize the territory under the Twisted Oak Tree, and become the Slime Lord.
Once he had a territory, building defensive fortifications would be the logical next step, and many of the plans he had in mind could be gradually realized.
'Don't forget, he was a Slime that was also a Cultivator.'
'Isn't a territory just the equivalent of an immortal's abode? With an abode, a Cultivator has way more tricks up their sleeve.'
'I guarantee this bunch of savage monsters has never seen anything like it.'
「The next day.」
While practicing the Little Arrow Skill outside his thatched hut, Chen Yu also went ashore wearing the Beetle helmet, ready to test its defensive capabilities.
It was unclear whether it was the intimidation from the Beetle helmet or the effect of his "Slime Warrior" reputation title, but his action caused the Moss Monsters in the farm under the tree to stir restlessly, even from a great distance.
When the Moss Monsters saw him, they either trembled on the spot or fled in a panic—a complete reversal of their usual aggressive tendencies toward Slimes.
Chen Yu boldly ventured deeper among the trees, launching a Flying Sword with every step and skewering every Moss Monster in sight.
This blatant invasion of their farm quickly caught the attention of the Poisonous Sting Bees in the tree. Four jet-black Poisonous Sting Bees flew down, their wings vibrating with an irritating buzz.
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. Once the Poisonous Sting Bees recognized the Slime under the Beetle helmet, they fired their Poisonous Stings without hesitation.
The Poisonous Stings struck the helmet with a series of dull CLANGS, but they only left white marks, failing to even breach its defense.
'This really is a good piece of gear.'
Chen Yu was overjoyed. His mind began to race, and his courage swelled. Right in front of the Poisonous Sting Bees, he started picking up the corpses of the nearby Moss Monsters.
After recovering most of the Poisonous Stings, he sent them flying out again in an attempt to attack the Poisonous Sting Bees overhead.
Unfortunately, these Poisonous Sting Bees had been dealing with him for so long that they had already witnessed the strange Slime's Flying Sword techniques. They were extremely wary of him, generally flying three to four meters above the ground where his Flying Swords couldn't reach.
Having not yet mastered the Little Arrow Skill, he could only watch the Poisonous Sting Bees in the sky, itching with frustration but unable to do anything about it.
However, the Poisonous Sting Bees were powerless to stop him from snatching the Moss Monsters from their farm. They could only watch as he swallowed more than a dozen Moss Monster corpses, collected the Poisonous Stings, and then swaggered away.
The moment he jumped into the swamp, Chen Yu sensed something. He thought he heard an even louder clamor coming from the tree.
Looking up, he saw a Bee Guard suddenly fly down from between the leaves. It was twice the size of an ordinary Poisonous Sting Bee. Its tail was a waxy yellow, and from it, a thick Poison Needle was partially exposed, its cold glint terrifying.
'Although he wasn't sure if that Poison Needle could pierce his Beetle helmet, he had no intention of risking it to find out.'
The thought had barely formed before his gelatinous body silently sank beneath the water, slipping back to his lair.
'Once he mastered the Little Arrow Skill, that would be the time for him to emerge from his seclusion and sweep away the Poisonous Sting Bees.'
With this in mind, Chen Yu kept a low profile for the next three days, focusing wholeheartedly on practicing the Little Arrow Skill and the Sound Transmission Skill gifted to him by the rat-whiskered Cultivator.
The Sound Transmission Skill hadn't been very useful in the Void Profound Heaven, but it might have some unexpected applications in Zeyarira. Since he had the time, it was more efficient to practice both skills together.
While he lay low, the Swamp Forest, in contrast, grew even livelier.
The Digging Beetles, like the one that had previously attacked the Slimes, weren't social monsters, but they often migrated in large groups.
Soon, the rich Moss Monster farm beneath the Twisted Oak Tree caught the attention of a swarm of Beetles. Noticing that the surrounding swamp was also inhabited by plenty of Slimes, they took a liking to the area and decided to build their nests under the Twisted Oak Tree.
This decision was obviously made without the consent of the Oak Dominator, the Poisonous Sting Bees. To Chen Yu's surprise, the two local tyrants actually began to fight over the territory.
The Digging Beetles couldn't reach the flying Poisonous Sting Bees either, but they knew how to climb. They swarmed resolutely toward the bee's nest, causing a great deal of trouble for the Poisonous Sting Bees in the tree.
As a third party enjoying the show, Chen Yu was naturally delighted to see this unfold.
'Fight, fight.'
'Hopefully, they'll both end up crippled.'
'He wasn't a picky eater. Whether it was Beetle paste or a Poisonous Sting Bee dessert, he'd take either.'
However, the unexpected is always just around the corner. The struggle for dominance between the Poisonous Sting Bees and the Digging Beetles was soon overshadowed by something else that drew his attention: the tracks of Sub-humans, which were starting to appear frequently throughout the forest.
He had a feeling that something unexpected was about to happen.