Chapter 140: The Stone and the Wind — Last Part

“Master Viola, is that you?” asked Sila just to be sure, since he had never seen Viola’s human form before.

“Who else would I be? Don’t waste my time. Follow me,” said Viola.

Sila was used to being ordered around by seniors and elders, so he didn’t object and obediently followed her. So did Bow, who jumped out from his clothing and hopped next to Viola. On the other hand, Vata was looking at Viola with frightened eyes.

Noticing that Vata didn’t follow him, Sila turned his head to call out to her. “Is there something wrong, Miss Vata?”

“T-T-There is! She is a human-form Lord Rank monster, isn’t she? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“No problem. I personally know Master Viola. She is an Independent NPC.”

“Independent NPC who takes on the role of a monster?! Isn’t that more dangerous?”

Sila was more confused. For him who had met many Independent NPCs, he was quite indifferent to their peculiar characters. However, for ordinary players, the existence of Independent NPCs was far more dangerous than normal monsters, because Independent NPCs had more freedom and they were very unpredictable compared to system-generated monsters.

Viola didn’t like to waste her time, so she said without looking back. “Girl, if you waste any more of my time, I will send you back to the city via a quick trip.”

Vata’s face went pale and she grabbed Sila’s sleeve, following him closely. All of them walked for a few hundred meters and arrived at the place where the peach tree used to be, but now was currently an open field.

Bow asked for permission to play with other slimes, which Viola allowed.

“Eh?” Sila’s head moved left and right. “Where are the Millennium Peach Tree and the Great Millennium Apes?”

“I destroyed the tree. Without it, those apes won’t respawn as their duty is to protect the peach,” Viola said flatly. She sat down on a chair made of stone and extended her hand toward him.

“Did you bring the slime rock with you?”

Sila nodded and handed the slime rock to Viola. She lightly squeezed and it easily broke. Within it, there was a tinier shining green rock.

“What is that, Master?”

“It’s the Dragon Sealing Stone. Sila, you are a member of the slime race so these slimes won’t attack you under normal circumstances. I left the Dragon Sealing Stone for you so that the slimes would know it was you who came to take my trial. They can sense the nemesis so they can attack the right person.”

“I heard they attacked everyone though.”

“It’s my order. The level of these kids is still low so they can’t follow complex commands. I ordered them to grind so they have been attacking every creature invading our Slime Kingdom.”

“That’s something I would like to ask. I thought that the Slime Kingdom was still sealed, no?”

“This exact location is the place where our Slime Kingdom locates if there is no seal. Sila, you have destroyed half of the seals so our kingdom has regained some of its previous influence. All slimes became stronger and their levels are higher. Our territory has also expanded. Once you destroy all of the seals, our entire kingdom will replace this spot.”

Sila finally understood why he could use the Invitation Card in Stone Forest. It was due to the fact that this territory belonged to the slime race.

Viola fell silent for a moment. “How is Bow?”

“She is fine. She loves to eat and play all day, but she hasn't neglected her training.” The last line was Sila’s guess based on his standard that everyone always practiced when they got free time.

“Mn, glad to hear that. It might be about time, then.”

“What time, Master?” asked Sila.

“I’ll tell you later. By the way, why are 2,518 players coming this way? Are they your friends?”

Sila was confused at first and then realized that they must be the ones who were tracking him down. He was surprised that Viola could accurately tell the number of people.

“I think not. More like, they are trying to hunt me.”

“Do you need me to take care of them?” said Viola casually as if the task would be as easy as lifting her hand.

Since it was a problem that he had caused, Sila decided he should be the one who took care of it. He declined, “No, thanks, Master. I will take care of them myself.”

“Up to you, then. I don’t want to meddle in a kid’s affair anyway.”

Vata couldn’t help but ask. “I heard that you... um... are an Independent NPC. Usually, you won’t have the right to hurt players without proper reason. So, why...”

“Hmph. I sure can. The duty of us Slime Guardians is to protect slimes from all harm, current and potential. If someone were to just scratch a slime, I would have the right to kill. Even if they managed to come to this place without touching any slimes, the fact that they entered the Slime Kingdom without permission is enough reason for me to justify killing them.”

Vata gaped, as Viola’s interpretation was too extreme and covered almost all kinds of actions. “But, at the very least, you should warn them first. They might do that without being aware of what they did wrong.”

“I already did, on the boulders. ‘Don’t attack. Don’t dodge. Violation of these rules will result in death.’ My warnings are very clear.”

‘They’re not clear at all!’ was what Vata wanted to argue, but she didn’t dare.

“Sila, rest well. I will let you fight Pythia soon. Hurry up though, I don’t have all the time for you.”

Vata interrupted, “Wait! By Pythia, do you mean the Wind Dragon? That’s crazy! No one can fight a dragon one-on-one, especially Pythia. This dragon is...”

“That’s our problem, kid. You shouldn’t meddle in,” flatly said Viola, so Vata didn’t dare continue talking.

Viola had already been in this place for around two weeks, so how come she had no time to wait for just a little while? Sila wanted to ask this question but he was aware that it wouldn’t change anything. He sat down on the ground and hurriedly started circulating Tiger Dragon Qi.

Viola’s lips crooked up. “You have indeed grown stronger. Your qi is no longer an in-game matter. It’s strong, yet flexible. Similar to His Majesty’s power.”

Sila’s interest was piqued. He had witnessed a part of Poluk’s, Viola’s, and Divine’s arts and had even heard some of their names. However, for the Slime King’s, he was clueless. All the Slime King did against him during his training was use the three slime skills. The Slime King had never shown his own art.

“What kind of the art does His Majesty use?”

“Similar to yours. I’m not comfortable with talking about someone else’s ability and skill, so you should ask His Majesty yourself.”

Realizing that his question was quite improper, Sila shut his mouth. Still, hearing that His Majesty’s art was similar to his made him be more curious about the Slime King’s art.

Poluk’s art was an extreme offensive art. Viola’s was an extreme defensive art. Divine’s was still unknown to him but Sila guessed that it would be something defensive. Then, what about the Slime King’s art? Each Slime Guardian was already so strong. What is it that made the Slime King stand above these three people?

“Hey, Sila. Is that really okay with you? This person didn’t actually mean it, right? It’s a dragon we are talking about,” Vata whispered while lightly pulling on Sila’s sleeve.

“It’s okay. This is not the first time I’ve had to solo a dragon,” replied Sila while circulating qi at a fast, yet steady pace. He was clearly aware that forcefully accelerating the circulation speed might bring him more harm than good.

‘Not the first? Is what Varee said the truth?’

Unsurprisingly, Varee had told Vata about Sila. Most of them were about general facts, like, Sila was an unperturbed type of person who liked to sneak away to solo a dragon. To be honest, Vata had always thought that it was a metaphor. Never in her wildest dream that she expected Varee to mean it literally.

‘Solo a dragon? How could he do that?’

Slaying a dragon alone was the action that contradicted common sense. Dragons were the strongest race and every single one of them possessed extraordinary stats, such that most attacks couldn’t even scratch their scales. To be able to kill one, players needed to compensate for their significantly inferior stats with sheer numbers.

Unbeknownst to her, Sila held a favorable position in a fight against a dragon because he possessed slime skills, which were deadly for the dragon race.

Viola didn’t care about Vata. She knew that Sila needed some time to regenerate his power, so she used this chance to have a conversation.

“While you are circulating qi, listen to me. Once you have fully recovered your power, I will order all the slimes to come under the radius of my Divine Raiment’s protection...”

“Eh? Can the radius of Divine Raiment extend?”

“Hmph. Do you already want to run despite having just learned how to walk? That’s right, it can. Not only my Divine Raiment, but Poluk’s Genesis Punch and Divine’s Moon Reflecting Mirror also have unique uses that are beyond your ability. Well, I mean, for the time being.”

Sila nodded as he understood what she said. Personal profound arts naturally required experience and insight for the learners to be able to show their full potential.

“Once Pythia comes out of the Dragon Sealing Stone, you will have to defeat it as soon as possible. Remember that the longer time you take, the harder it is for you to slay it.”

“May I ask why that is?”

“Just ask that girl behind you. She seems to know the reasons.” Viola turned to look at Vata.

“Y-Yes. Pythia, the Wind Dragon, is one of the most troublesome monsters in Monster Soul. Even though its stats aren’t exceptional, it possesses overpowered techniques that make it impossible to be hunted by a single player...”

“Nothing is impossible,” Viola threw a short line.

“...I-I see. It is said that there are three reasons that make Pythia almost impossible to be killed by a single player. Firstly, Pythia is faster than other dragons by a great margin. Landing an attack on it is imposs... I mean, a very difficult task to accomplish. Secondly, its Dragon Domain, Sky Castle, has a wide area of effect. If Pythia were to be released here, its domain would easily cover the entire Island of Beginnings. Within this domain, all enemies will be under constant attack by invisible slashes, Wind Blades, while its health points will be regenerating at high speed. The last reason is the most terrifying. Pythia has the unique spell, Dragon Shadow Clone, that allows it to create an unlimited number of copies of itself. Each clone is physically real and possesses the same stats and appearance as the original.”

“That is all, Sila. So, you need to get rid of it as fast as possible. Your important task is to find its original body. Pythia’s body is not strong, just a single Genesis Punch from you will be enough to end its life.”

Sila was pondering these new findings. Based on what he just heard, defeating Pythia wasn’t the main problem. The biggest problem was finding it and landing his attack.

“What should I do, then, Master?”

“Come up with a method yourself. Think of this as a trial. You already possess the potential to kill it. Choosing the right skills and arts to defeat the opponent is also an important aspect you need to master. Try to figure out how I captured it and you will be able to land a hit.”

Sila stood up and drank a Fountain of Life. “I’m ready.”

“Another warning from me, Sila. With your current ability, I think you can use Divine Raiment for less than ten minutes. You will have to take this into account.”

Sila walked toward the open field in the middle of Stone Forest and Viola ordered all the slimes to come near her.

“Girl, do you want to come here as well?” Viola called Vata.

Vata hesitated for a moment before declining the offer. “No. I will help Sila. I can’t leave Varee’s friend to face danger by himself.”

Viola frowned. “To be honest, I don’t think you can be much help. The most you can do is delay the dragon’s attack for a few seconds before dying.”

“Even if that is the case, I will do it. Sila is Varee’s friend. If I flee when his life is at risk, how can I look Varee in the eye from now on?”

Vata’s determination caused Viola to stop her warning. “Up to you, then.”

Vata approached Sila from behind. The magic staff in her hand glowed with a faint light while her entire body was covered in magic power.

Forming a spherical dome with her Divine Raiment to cover all the slimes near her, Viola tossed the green Dragon Sealing Stone toward Sila.

The emerald-like stone shattered mid-flight.

The clouds in the sky above the Island of Beginnings started to unnaturally tremble. Strong winds blew and the trees shook.

Without the system window, Sila didn’t get to hear the system’s notification like others. Meanwhile, all the players on the Town of Beginnings got to hear it and were in a panic due to what was about to happen.

The Town of Beginnings, which was said to be the safest city in Monster Soul, was about to experience a major storm.

And it was literally a great storm, not a metaphorical one. Moreover, it was only the first of many.