Chapter 30: Slimes Can Fuse
The faint wind rustled the canopy of the monster zone, brushing the leaves together in a steady hiss. Tyler tracked every shifting shadow, his head snapping toward the underbrush at the slightest rustle of foliage. He fell into step beside James. The older hunter walked with his steel sword drawn, his grip firm on the hilt.
"Be ready for anything," James said, keeping his eyes on the tree line.
Tyler gave a single nod. He followed close behind, the crunch of damp earth beneath their boots filling the quiet. After a few minutes, Tyler broke the silence.
"What kind of quest did you get?"
"It's a quest for a level thirty slime core."
"A level thirty slime..." Tyler murmured. "How do you know if it's a level thirty?"
"Size. Level thirty slimes are bigger, so they're easy to spot. Plus, the core is about this big," James said. He held his calloused palm open, gesturing the width with his fingers.
"That makes sense. Since I can see the levels, I wondered how people who couldn't see them could be sure."
"Even if we can't see the numbers like you can, we look at the beasts," James said. "Every monster has a specific feature that changes as it ranks up. A haxhorn's horns will grow by an inch with each rank. An E-Rank pexil has ten tail feathers, but a D-rank has twelve. They pack on more mass, too."
"Huh," Tyler said.
"Keep sharp. We're getting closer to slime territory."
"Territory?"
"Yeah. Every monster has a territory," James said, stepping over an exposed root. "Think of it like a base. Most of them spawn there. Monsters avoid each other's territories. Well, except for slimes. They wander all over the place. Brainless."
"Yeah," Tyler said, turning the information over in his head as they walked.
Suddenly, a glowing system panel materialized in Tyler's vision.
[Level 16 SLIME HAS ACTIVATED SKILL BASH]
Tyler's breath hitched. His grip on his sword tightened. "Look out!"
A round, blue mass launched itself from the heavy brush on James's left. James pivoted. He swung his sword in a flat, horizontal arc, the steel shearing straight through the center of the gelatinous body. Heavy blue fluid spattered the dirt in two separate, quivering heaps.
Tyler stumbled backward. The tip of the blade swept past, stopping inches from his chest. "Whoa!"
"Watch your spacing," James said, lowering the weapon. "Don't stand too close to a drawn sword."
"My bad," Tyler said.
James stepped toward the remains. A dark gray core rested in the center of the dissolving blue sludge. He plucked it from the mess, the smooth stone pressing into his leather gloves, and dropped it into the pouch hanging at his hip.
"You take what's yours," James said, a grim smile touching his mouth. "If you don't kill a slime soon, you're going to leave here with nothing once we find the level thirty."
James turned and continued into the trees. Tyler followed, staring at the older hunter's back.
*He's right*, Tyler thought. *If I don't kill anything, it will all be for nothing. I need to level up. I need to grow stronger.*
They advanced several more meters into the brush. Tyler kept his head on a swivel, his grip tight on his hilt, scanning the shadows between the thick trunks. Suddenly, James shot his arm out. Tyler’s chest collided hard with the older hunter’s rigid forearm, stopping him in his tracks.
James narrowed his eyes, staring through the foliage. "Wait."
"What?" Tyler whispered.
He followed James's gaze. In the distance, two hunters, a man and a woman strode through the clearing. Each carried a one-handed axe in both hands, the steel heads catching the dim light. Their voices drifted over the damp earth, carrying the harsh, clipping tones of an argument.
"I wouldn't want them spotting you," James said, keeping his voice low. "They could get us arrested. Or, knowing hunters, they'd make us pay them to keep their mouths shut."
Tyler swallowed hard. "Oh. I guess I have to be more careful."
"Yeah," James muttered.
They waited in silence until the two hunters disappeared deeper into the timber. As Tyler relaxed his posture, a flash of blue caught the corner of his eye, tucked behind the base of a nearby tree. He instantly lifted his sword, angling the steel forward.
He crept closer. A Level 7 slime sat motionless in the dirt. But through the translucent, gelatinous blue mass, Tyler could see the faint outline of a small, snake-like creature trapped inside. It was a Slither, only much smaller than usual. The slime’s body stretched and pulsed up and down. Inside it, the Slither bubbled, the flesh shrinking rapidly as if dissolving in a vat of thick acid.
Tyler’s jaw slacked. *Is it eating it?*
The moment the Slither dissolved into nothing, the glowing system panel above the slime distorted in a wash of static. The text flickered and changed.
[LVL 9]
The dark core inside the slime swelled. A second later, the blue jelly mass expanded outward, packing on sudden weight.
[Slime has activated skill: Bash]
The slime launched itself from the dirt, hurtling straight at Tyler’s chest. Tyler clenched his teeth, his breath hitching. He swung his sword upward in a harsh, diagonal arc. The blade met the heavy, viscous mass. He felt the dense weight of the gelatinous body drag against the steel, fighting the edge before finally splitting apart.
Before the two severed halves could even hit the ground, they disintegrated into a shower of bright blue dust.
Tyler reacted on instinct, dropping his empty hand to snatch the dark gray slime core out of the air. He caught it in his palm, the stone smooth and cold.
He looked over his shoulder. James stood a few paces back, watching him with a small, tight grin. "Good job. Let's go."
The core shimmered with a faint blue light and vanished into Tyler's inventory. Tyler fell back into step beside the older hunter. "That slime was eating another monster back there, and it suddenly leveled up."
"Yeah, that's how it works," James said, his boots crunching over the dead leaves. "Monsters eat each other out here. The stronger the prey, or the more it consumes, the stronger it gets."
Before Tyler could process the thought, a chorus of wet, erratic chirping sounds erupted from the brush directly behind them.
Both men pivoted instantly, weapons raised. A cluster of blue masses shimmied out from the dense undergrowth, fanning out along their flank.
"How did they get behind us?" Tyler asked, his pulse hammering against his ribs.
"We must have missed them." James’s leather gloves creaked as his grip tightened on his hilt.
Glowing system panels hovered over the approaching monsters. They varied drastically in size, but the most massive one sat in the rear of the pack: a Level 27. The smaller slimes surrounding it displayed their numbers clearly to Tyler: Level 16, 17, 14, and 12.
"The Level 27 looks so big," Tyler said, the tip of his sword wavering. *Can I even handle it?*
[Slime has activated skill: Bash]
[Slime has activated skill: Bash]
[Slime has activated skill: Bash]
Three of the smaller slimes launched themselves at the hunters simultaneously, becoming flying blue projectiles.
James moved. Tyler barely tracked the shift of his boots before the older hunter became a blur of motion. James swung his blade in a vicious upward strike, the steel whistling as it cleaved the first slime. Without breaking momentum, he twisted his wrists, bringing the blade crashing down through the second. A final, fluid upward flick severed the third.
He killed all three in mid-air.
Tyler gasped. The gelatinous bodies dissolved into blue dust, leaving only three heavy slime cores to clatter against the dirt.
Now, only the Level 12 and the massive Level 27 remained.
*How the hell did he do that?* Tyler thought, staring at James.* I saw his movements, but it was just a blur. He didn't even use a skill.*
Suddenly, the core inside the Level 27 slime flared with a bright, pulsating blue light. A second later, the core inside the Level 12 slime did the same.
The larger slime surged forward, launching its heavy body directly onto the smaller one.
Tyler’s grip on his sword slipped slightly. James planted his feet wider, his eyes locking on the monsters.
The two bodies merged. The translucent blue jelly writhed, squeezing and churning in on itself with a thick squelching sound. Deep inside the gelatinous mass, the two dark cores scraped togethernand fused into a single, jagged stone. The sheer volume of the slime violently expanded outward, growing thicker and taller.
"What is happening?" Tyler asked.
"They're fusing," James said, his face deadpan.
"Slimes can fuse?"
The writhing mass stabilized into one singular, hulking beast. The system panel above it flickered and updated.
[Slime: Level 39]
Tyler stumbled a step backward. His knuckles turned white around his hilt. "It's bigger now."
"Relax," James said, not taking his eyes off the beast. "It's still just a slime. Plus, it's a D-Rank. The exact kind of slime I'm looking for." He turned his head slightly toward Tyler. "Do you think you can beat it?"
Tyler’s head snapped toward him. "What? No, I can't. This thing's level is too high."
"Didn't you say you fought a Level 36 before? You leveled up after killing it, didn't you?" James shifted his stance, freeing up his off-hand. "This monster is no different. Even if it's three levels higher than what you fought. Slimes are weaker compared to other monsters. Fight it."
James slammed his open palm hard into the center of Tyler's back, shoving him forward into the clearing.
[Level 39 Slime has activated skill: Bash]
The massive jelly beast contracted, then launched its heavy bulk straight at Tyler. Tyler froze, his sword dipping as the blue mass filled his vision.
Seeing the hesitation, James reacted instantly. He drove his heavy boot hard into Tyler’s hip. The sudden impact sent Tyler crashing to the damp dirt, forcing him into a clumsy roll onto his side. Using the recoil of his own kick, James pushed himself backward in the opposite direction.
The massive slime tore through the empty air between them. It slammed directly into the thick trunk of a tree behind them with a heavy, wet impact. The wood groaned, and the entire tree shook violently, raining dead leaves down over the dirt.
"What are you doing?" James yelled.
Tyler scrambled to his feet, gripping his sword tight. He looked up to see James's brow pulled down, the older hunter's lips pressed into a thin, hard line.
Tyler exhaled. The slime launched itself at him instantly. Tyler swung his sword in a flat, horizontal arc to the left, letting out a sharp grunt. The steel edge rammed into the dense, gelatinous body of the slime. Instead of slicing through, the massive jelly rebounded off the blade, hitting the dirt with a heavy slap. A violent vibration shot straight up Tyler’s forearm, rattling his bones and forcing him a half-step back.
It didn't cut? Tyler's eyes widened.
"Attack!" James barked, his voice cutting through Tyler's thoughts.
Tyler rushed the creature. Before it could compress to launch again, he swung his sword. The blade struck the thick jelly, shoving the beast backward. He brought the weapon down a second time, and then a third, but the steel failed to bite into the rubbery mass.
As Tyler landed the fourth heavy strike, a spiderweb crack fractured the length of the iron blade. A small system bar materialized in his vision.
[Durability: 48%]
*Already?* he thought.
[Level 39 Slime has activated Skill: Bash]
As the massive slime launched itself from the dirt, another system panel flashed in front of him.
[Skill: Rush Activated]
A faint blue glow flared in Tyler's eyes. Energy flooded his veins, snapping his muscles taut. He threw himself out of the way. The surging slime missed his chest by an inch, slamming heavily into a patch of grass.
James gripped his own sword, his jaw locked tight as he watched the fight.
Tyler’s heart hammered against his ribs. The rush of adrenaline burned in his chest. *If I can't cut it, then I'll just have to stab it.*
The slime compressed again and launched itself directly at Tyler. Tyler ground his teeth together. He lunged forward to meet it, driving his blade out in a straight, one-handed thrust.
The point of the sword rammed hard against the center of the dense jelly. The iron bowed under the immense pressure. With a sharp, ringing crack of rupturing metal, the blade snapped. The sheer kinetic force of the slime's attack traveled straight up Tyler's arm, ripping a grunt of pain from his throat. But his forward momentum carried through. The shattered blade and the hilt sank deep into the core of the slime's body.
The monster let out a wet, high-pitched chirp. An instant later, its massive body disintegrated into a heavy cloud of blue dust.
Tyler released his trembling grip. The broken hilt clattered to the dirt, followed by the heavy thud of the dark gray slime core. A system panel flashed before him.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
A sudden rush of heat flooded his veins, and the sharp, tearing pain in his shoulder and forearm evaporated instantly. He let out a long breath. The heavy ache of exhaustion wiped clean from his muscles. He wiped a slick layer of sweat from his forehead.
"See? It wasn't hard, now was it?" James said, walking over.
"Yeah," Tyler breathed.
"Great. Now let's go back. We have what we came for." James bent down and scooped up the oversized slime core. It completely filled his palm. He shoved it into his leather bag.
They turned and began the walk back. Tyler fell into step behind him.
*I leveled up. I'm stronger now. I can feel it.*
He summoned his status screen, checking the updated numbers.
SPECIES: Human
NAME: Tyler Evans
RANK: F
LVL: 14
CLASS: Craftsman
HP: 67/67 MP: 66/66
STR: 50 AGI: 53 +[4]
DEF: 46 +[37] STM: 49
SKILLS: Weapon Craft-Lv1, Weapon Craft-Lv1, Rush-MC20
PASSIVE SKILLS: Weapon Mastery-Lv1
*Everything updated nicely. My inventory spaces must have... increased by four as well.* He let out a steady breath.
James looked over his shoulder. "You're not hurt, are you? You can still go for another round, right?"
"You mean after this?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah, after we complete the quest," James said. "Remember, we want to get you to E-Rank."
"Wait, you want to get me all the way to E-Rank today?"
"Yeah. It's not impossible," James said. "Or at least F-Rank plus, if you think it's too much."
"I leveled up twice back there," Tyler said.
James stopped walking. "Really?"
Tyler nodded. "Yeah. I'm level fourteen now."
A low chuckle rumbled in James's chest. "To think a level twelve would defeat a level thirty-nine. I never thought I'd hear those words come out of my mouth."
Tyler smiled a little as he continued walking forward.
*I lost my sword back there, but it doesn't matter. I have two more. Even if those two get destroyed, I can craft some more swords with the materials left. And I also have my hand cannon. But I'll only use it if it's absolutely necessary.*
"You lost your sword back there," James said, glancing at Tyler. "They break easily, don't they?"
Tyler nodded. "Yeah, my skill's pretty weak right now. Maybe the durability will increase once I level up and craft more items."
James gave a single nod of understanding.
*Speaking of crafting, I didn't acquire any recipes today, Tyler thought.*
He thought back to the fight with the heavy slime. He remembered the dense impact of the jelly, the near miss, and the severe lack of reach he had against the massive body.
*The only long-ranged weapon I have right now is the hand cannon, and I think it would have been better if I used a spear to kill it. Its surface was too hard, so a wooden spear wouldn't have worked. My sword broke. If anything, I need a metal spear.*
A blank, translucent system panel materialized in front of him.
*System, I want a recipe for a metal spear.*
A small circular loading bar appeared in the center of the glass, spinning smoothly. A moment later, the panel vanished, replaced instantly by another.
[Congratulations! The user has received a recipe for a Common Weapon.]
Tyler's breath hitched slightly. A common weapon?
The prompt faded, and the final recipe outlined itself in glowing text.
[Weapon Recipe: Steel Spear]
1Large Steel Ore
1 Small Iron Ore