Chapter 64

A dripping mass of gelatine sitting lifelessly in the corner of the room.

A ravenous portal to another world in the centre of the room.

And―

“Hm...?”

―An engraved wall on the left of the room. With but a glance, Jae could tell that it was a language he had never seen before.

Is it some kind of ancient language? I wonder if it’s related to...

His gaze snapped to the Slime. Still, it merely sat there. As if it wasn’t alive. However, Jae knew the truth of the matter.

Soul State - Gluttonous Slime Soul Level : 3 / 500

Title : Hungry Slime

Age : 8 Months Health : ―

Magic Energy : 3,000 Power : 14

Magical Ability : 21

Defence : 26

Magical Defence : 58

Resistances : 90

Speed : 17 Condition : [Hungry], [Sleeping]

“...It’s sleeping, and not even a year old. Doesn’t seem to be a threat.”

Upon hearing Jae’s words, Bailey lowered his guard. The boy appeared quite tense, seeing such a bizarre creature with his own eyes for the first time. He was used to fighting terrifying monsters with many limbs, sharp teeth, and knife-like claws, so seeing something with absolutely none of that was, despite what one may think, even more frightening.

In other words, the strange, almost innocent appearance of the Slime gave off a sense of incongruity when compared to the legends the old farmer had told of.

“Master, should I kill it?”

Bailey asked Jae, to which two thoughts materialised inside his mind.

So, is Gluttony a Slime?

―This was the first thought.

What kind of skills will I get when I eat it?

―And this was the second. Following a short moment of silence, Jae gave his assent.

“Sure, go ahead.”

There was no reason not to kill the Slime. In fact, they were required to kill it because it was the monster specified in the elimination request. After this mission, they would gain a lot of rank experience.

Jae watched as Bailey approached the sleeping Slime with trepidation. Swiftly, in silence, and with movements that could only be described as those of an expert, he ended the Slime’s life in one slice with his magic-coated longsword.

He half-expected the monster to wake up and start regenerating itself after the attack, as Jae recognised it as being a common trope among Slimes in his previous world. However, seeing as Bailey immediately sheathed his sword and straightened his back, it appeared that that was truly it.

“I levelled up!”

“Oh, good job.”

Walking over to the boy and ruffling his hair, Jae congratulated him. He was about to eat the Slime without thinking, but instead, he thought back to when he just exited the Wrath Dungeon.

...Dragon’s Beloved... Really, I should’ve equipped it much sooner.

The Mythical-ranked Title, which Jae initially assumed wouldn’t have much of an impact, completely changed the game for him. After levelling up to Level 250, his Status pretty much doubled from what it was. Further increasing his Agility with the 50 extra Distributable Points he obtained, he was a vastly stronger person compared to one month ago.

〔Status〕

Jae Kang

Level 250 [MAX]

Class : Dragon’s Beloved

Health Points (HP) : 43,443 / 43,443

Mana Points (MP) : 766,493 / 766,493

Title :「Apostle of Sin」

Strength : 1,331

Endurance : 1,277

Race : Undead

Dexterity : 1,424

Agility : 1,394

Age : 22

Magic : 1,802

Wisdom : 1,667

Trait :「Steadfast Mind」

Luck : —

Distributable Points : 0

But this wasn’t all. Upon reaching Level 250, he also acquired three Title Skills.

The first was a Communication Skill,「Draconic Language Comprehension [Lv.MAX]」. This... Well, its effects are self-explanatory. Of course, there has not yet been any opportunity to make use of it―after all, there are no ‘true’ Dragons in the normal realm.

The second was a Magic Skill,「Draconic Magic Comprehension [Lv.MAX]」. Whenever Jae tested it out, all he seemed to figure out was that it allowed him to effortlessly grasp the concept of all magic and mana-related things, as well as granting the ability to use magic without consciously thinking about it. He felt that there should be more to it, but he hasn’t quite figured it out yet.

Incidentally, these two skills started at [Lv.MAX] when they were acquired.

The third and final skill was one belonging to the Active Skills category.

It was called「Dragon Body」, and was acquired at [Lv.1]. When Jae tried it out for the first time, it appeared to have the effect of causing the growth of pitch-black scales in various places around his body, such as on his arms, legs, torso, and face, exactly like armour. The skill required a constant usage of MP while it was active, but it was nothing too serious. He presumed that the number of scales and their toughness would rise with the skill’s level.

Jae has been using「Dragon Body」as much as possible when no one else is around to try and increase its level, seeing as it also gave a slight increase to his Strength and Endurance while it was active. Furthermore, while it was active, the level of the Passive Skill「Scales」quickly increased to [Lv.MAX] and evolved into「Steel Scales」, which also began to rise in level.

In any case, he was like a completely different person from before. Although he may not be able to defeat Ariel without「Mark of Death」, it wouldn’t be long before he became capable enough with his current rate of growth.

Only a month since Wrath... I really didn’t expect there to be another Dungeon so soon. Gluttony... Is anyone there?

“......Tsk. Still? They haven’t said a word for a whole month...”

A bad feeling creeping at the back of his mind, Jae tried to escape the unsettling feeling by moving on. He hastily grabbed the Slime carcass and inspected it, but there was nothing that unusual, aside from the contents. It was literally just a blob of Slime or gelatine with some half-dissolved rocks and tree branches in the centre of it.

Since the Slime was almost completely transparent with a slightly blue tint, it was possible to see right through to the other side. Although it didn’t seem to have any organs of any kind, the Slime not only required sleep, but it was also able to go hungry, which Jae thought more than just a little strange.

...Well, here goes nothing. It can’t possibly taste worse than raw goblin flesh, right...?

Tearing off a handful of the stuff, Jae threw it in his mouth and began to chew.

―Instantaneously, he was taken aback with a pleasant surprise.

“Hm? It’s good...”

He didn’t expect it to taste decent by any means, but on the contrary, let alone tasting somewhat edible, it was as close to a delicacy as he could’ve imagined.

Swirling the Slime around in his mouth for a bit while chewing, Jae thought the texture was very similar to that of a panna cotta, although the taste was a bit off. It had the watery, mildly sweet flavour of cucumber or melon, and it was chewier than the Italian dessert, but overall, Jae thought it was good.

In the end, the Slime was transferred to Jae’s stomach with a gulp.

Skill「Gluttony」has activated Skill「Efficient Digestion」has been acquired Devouring essence Magic increased by 1 (+1) Endurance increased by 1 (+1)

An immediate +4 in stats from eating but a mere Level 3 monster. It was only possible because Gluttony had levelled up since Jae’s fight with the Scylla. Unfortunately, because it only levelled up after the Scylla was eaten, the same benefits were not reaped.

At Level 5, it unlocked the ability to devour the essence of eaten enemies, the ‘essence’ being the target’s highest stat, and the amount of that stat that was gained scaled with the level of the target when it died. However, essence could only be devoured when the target was at least Level 30.

At Level 6, this ability evolved to devour the target’s second-highest stat in addition to its highest. At Level 7, it was able to devour the target’s two highest stats without requiring it to be Level 30. And, at Level 8, Gluttony doubled the stats that were gained upon devouring.

If two more improvements were made upon reaching Levels 9 and 10, Gluttony would become the ultimate growth skill.

...No, it’s already an unparalleled growth skill. It would just become that much better.

Despite it being such a long time since he acquired Gluttony, every single time it activated, Jae felt like his journey was just beginning. Like the protagonist in an RPG.

He placed the rest of the Slime carcass into the Inventory before making sure everything was ready.

“Alright. Bailey, are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Then, let’s go.”

Jae didn’t even need to explain to the boy where they were going―he already knew their next destination from the moment he entered the room.

“As always, make sure you never let down your guard inside the Dungeon. If my guess is right, this Slime managed to escape from inside the Dungeon, so there will probably be quite a few of these guys. Some of them, well... might be tough to handle, so watch out just in case.”

“Okay. Master, can I help you this time?”

“Help...?”

Jae echoed his request in surprise. Glancing at the boy’s hands, which were tightly grasping the amulet that hung around his neck and one of the jewel-encrusted rings that decorated his fingers, Jae recognised them both as artefacts he personally created for Bailey a while back.

The enchanted equipment had invaluable effects, but it seemed that Bailey was grabbing them for a different reason.

“...”

Bailey, this kid...

A smirk slowly rose on Jae’s face. In the next moment, he ruffled the boy’s fluffy brown hair and patted him on the shoulder.

We should get back to the castle as soon as possible. I also feel like I’ll die if I can’t see Rena again soon.

“Ma-Master...? What is it?”, he asked in a fluster. Staring him straight in the eyes, Jae snorted.

“Hah. Exactly who is the one that needs help?”

“...A-Ah, I’m sorry, Mast--”

“--Did I ask for you to apologise? Just try your best.”

“Uh... Master, what...?”

“You asked for it, right? You better work hard. You don’t want to fall behind Rena, do you?”

“Ohh! Yeah, I’ll work hard! I’ll stay ahead, Master.”

Boasting a large, confident smile on his face, Bailey straightened his back. Satisfied at seeing his motivation, Jae gestured towards the vibrant pink Dungeon entrance.

“Well then, prove it in there.”

With great force, a gigantic lance of ice flew through the turbulent air, unabated, striking its intended target without issue.

{RAAAAAOOOUUUUHHHH...!}

The injured creature thundered in distress upon being hit by the magic, to no avail. Not even the Elder Wyvern’s unyielding scales, tested by time, could prevent the ice lance from penetrating its flesh.

As its body was chilled from the inside out, the monster of reptilian-descent simply could not resist the sharp, bitter cold.

It didn’t take long for the wyvern to fall from grace. When the monster―which crashed violently to the ground―took its final breath, silence ensued.

A short distance away from where the wyvern crash-landed, someone collapsed onto their butt. Following this, they complained with a loud groan.

“Ahhhhhhh... My legs are shaking. I can’t stand up.”

The one who complained was Nicolas. He spread his body out flat on the rocky ground and sighed. It seemed as if his body had completely run out of energy as he lay, almost lifeless.

“Nico, are you alright? You look dead.”

It was Kaitlyn who asked out of concern.

“I... am okay... Huh. Whose idea was it to make me a distraction again...?”

“Of course, it was Ryan. Did you really forget already? He’s the only person who could make you do such a stupid thing anyway. Why did you listen to him when you could have easily died, you idiot?”

“Ah... Well, it worked out, so it’s fine. If I felt like I was going to be attacked, I’d use「Presence Erasure」to get out... Fuuh... Jeez. I’m tired after all that.”

“I swear. You are hopeless... I’ll get you some water, so just wait for a second.”

As Kaitlyn sighed, she turned around to find someone and called out.

“Emi, do you still have some MP?”

Amelia responded with an exhausted smile as she wiped her forehead sweat with a fresh towel, “Yes...? Oh, did you need some water? It’s fine, I always make sure to keep enough for water. Here,「Water Ball」.”

Thus, a floating sphere of pure water materialised atop her palm. She moved it closer to Kaitlyn’s mouth to make it easier to drink but was quickly stopped.

“It’s for Nico.”

“Oh, okay. Are you sure you’re okay? I have enough MP for everyone.”

“I’m alright, thank you for the offer though. Just look at the state he’s in, he needs it more, haha.”

She pointed with her thumb to Nicolas, who continued to dazedly stare into the bleak sky while on his back.

“Ahaha, right, I see what you mean. He’s definitely... out of it.”

“Right? Honestly, I’m angry at Ryan for causing him to be like this.”

The two, who walked together over to Nicolas, talked like close friends. Without warning, Amelia leant in and whispered in Kaitlyn’s ear.

“By the way, Kaitlyn, has nothing happened between you two yet?”

In response, she naturally jolted her head back, “Wha--What are you talking about?”

“Really? So nothing has happened... That’s a shame. Personally, I think you match each other quite well.”

“...I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“My... Feign ignorance all you want, but it’s quite obvious that you like him. Look, your cheeks are flushed already.”

“D-Do you think I would like such an idiot? He almost got himself killed just now. Why would I like someone so reckless?”

“Hm. It doesn’t look that way to me though. I mean, why are you getting angry for his sake and coming to ask me for water for him?”

“It’s common sense! Of course, I just don’t want my friends to die.“

“Well. Fair enough. But, you looked very happy for some reason when you were coming to ask me for water, and you blushed a little when saying it was for him. That’s not all, either. You do stuff every day that gives it away, albeit only small things that most might not notice.”

“......Really?”

“Yes. Don’t think I’m the only one who knows, either.”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t know.”

Kaitlyn sighed in relief upon hearing those words, but immediately became embarrassed after Amelia’s next words.

“―It’s only me, Ryan, and Rena who know.”

“You all know then?! Wait, how the hell does Rena know? And Ryan...?!”

“Well, that’s because I told her. I also told Ryan, but he doesn’t care.”

“You...!”

“It’s fine. Rena and I are both rooting for you, so go for it whenever you’re ready. Oh, but don’t wait too long or else it’ll get annoying.”

Just as she felt betrayed by her friend, the two arrived at Nicolas. He was in the same position as before, staring into the air with foggy eyes. They looked at him with agape mouths for a few seconds before Amelia muttered.

“...Wow. He’s really going to die if he doesn’t get this water.”

Without hesitation, she lowered the water so that he could drink and had Kaitlyn raise his upper body. Thankfully, Nicolas wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t drink by himself, so they didn’t have to do much.

While he continued to hydrate himself, the two girls looked over to the remaining members of the group, Rena and Ryan. They were each doing their own thing, with Rena looking solemnly into the distance as usual, and Ryan carefully taking a crystal ball out of his bag and setting it on a table hastily-created with Earth Magic.

“...I feel bad for her. She just wants to see her dad, right? Argh, she loves him so much, and yet he goes and leaves her here for months and months while he goes to the Southern Continent. What an ass. I don’t understand how Jae is putting up with him.”

“Mmh... But, Kaitlyn, the Southern Continent is extremely dangerous, isn’t it? I heard that it was almost entirely a desert and that it has many places with an even higher average temperature than Death Valley on Earth. If it really is a place like that, then it’s no wonder that he didn’t want to take his daughter to such a place.”

But he was fine with taking Jae there. I won’t forgive him for taking him to a deadly place, even if Jae was the one that wanted it.

“Yeah, it’s super dangerous. So? That’s no excuse for leaving her, Emi. If he was as capable as she claims, he would be able to protect her in such a place. And clearly, he is capable enough to protect Jae there. And anyways, even if he can’t protect someone else, then just don’t go to the Southern Continent!”

“Now you’re just being unreasonable... Kaitlyn, you know that it’s common sense that fighting gets increasingly harder the more people you have to protect, right? Her dad is already protecting Jae down there, so it’s both irrational and selfish to assume he can protect himself, Jae, and Rena, you know. Leila herself said that Rena wasn’t taken along because it was too dangerous.”

“Hmph. Well, we’ll find out. Anyway, Emi, you know she’s been strange lately as well, right?”

“Ah, that. Yes, Rena does seem to have had a problem recently, but she never says what it is exactly.”

“Yeah. She just stares into the distance like right now and says something about her dad. It just makes me even madder at that guy, even though I’ve never seen him.”

“Haa... Please, don’t just go and attack him when we meet him for the first time, okay?”

“I won’t, I won’t, I just hate him... Seriously, what kind of person...”

Next, they looked at Ryan, who, after fiddling around with the crystal ball for a moment, injected his mana into it, illuminating it and the surroundings brightly. Then, he spoke into it.

“Oi. We just killed an Elder Wyvern. I think there’s only one last monster at the top of the mountain. Has anythin’ happened yet ‘bout Jae’s return? ...So he’s not back. Tsk. What a troublesome fucker.”

He seemed to be speaking to Leila through a magic communications device. It was nothing out of the ordinary, as they had all used mobile phones back on Earth, and they were already used to reporting back to Leila after every battle on the mountain anyway.

“What? Yeah, we’re at the top already. I thought it’d take more than just one month too, but your daughter is an absolute monster. The Elder Wyvern? What about it? Oh. No, it was easy. After throwin’ out some bait, she used Ice Magic and killed it. We didn’t even get to do anythin’. We can prolly just go for the last monster right now because of that, so we’ll contact you when it’s done.”

After that short conversation, Ryan ended the call and packed up the communications device. The faces of everyone who was listening to the conversation darkened at the word ‘bait’ being used to describe Nicolas’ courageous efforts.

After a short rest of about one hour, they continued on the last of their journey up the mountain. Despite being something far larger than Mount Everest and infested with outrageously strong monsters, the group was able to reach the summit in one month. This incredible feat was only possible because of two things:

Firstly, the Status, which allows them to reach the same level as superhumans.

Secondly, Rena, a prodigy when it comes to magic. Because she can use all the elements, there were no monsters the group couldn’t exploit the weakness of, and her immense strength and rate of growth made the trip almost too easy by the end.

As they hiked the final stretch, the group’s excitement grew massively. The anticipation of reaching the summit was boundless, and they couldn’t afford to wait any further to see what awaited them atop the peak.

The presence at the top felt colossal. The magic energy it emitted was overwhelming, and as they approached, not only did everyone fall silent, but they became nervous. Scared, even.

But, when they finally arrived at the summit, what was waiting for them was no monster. It was not even a creature, to begin with.

No, what they saw was different―A tremendous, swirling mass of overbearing, purple magic energy.

―They didn’t know it yet, but what they were staring at, was the entrance to the Pride Dungeon.