V3 Chapter 67

Rain watched them closely, and his eyes widened in surprise at what he had seen.

One of the Minotaur poked its large ax at the bush, sweeping it at the side. And what was there, was a girl. Well, not a normal girl. It has a female figure, with an incredibly curvy body. However, the difference is that, in place of a normal body, a body out of flesh and blood, the humanoid figure that resembled a girl, has an opaque gooey substance that had been shaped into something approximating a humanoid female. Though, from her knees, the 'body' seemed to dissolve into a pool of slime.

Yeah, slime.

A slime girl? Rain wondered in surprise.

Truthfully, this is not the first time he had seen a slime. He had fought slimes before. They are mindless, blob, gelatinous fluid that varies in color. The colors correspond to the kind of slime they are-such as brown, sticky mud slimes that looked incredibly like mud. Metal slime appeared like melted metal. Of course, they vary in kinds, such as iron, silver, or gold. And there is even one of the most hated types of Slime: the Corrosive Slime. It looks like a blob of pale white gelatinous fluid that is constantly having bubbles inside it, like a carbonated drink.

As for how they became like that, Rain theorized that it has to do with something they eat like those that happen in the fantasy novels he had read about slimes before. Nevertheless, no matter how popular they are back on Earth, here in this world, they are just mindless creatures- well, they only have a small core within them that acts like their hearts. When that part is broken, they die easily. But this is the first time, Rain had seen this kind of slime.

A Humanoid Slime. Is that even possible? He didn’t hear anything about it from Zarda and the others. Not even Threia who is quite knowledgeable about monsters inhabiting the Desolate Cave mentioned that humanoid slime exists in this place.

So how come a Humanoid Slime exists?

Well, of course, it could exist, this is a fantasy world, after all, Rain made a rare retort in his mind. His lips curved into a wry smile when he did.

[Humanoid Slimes do indeed exist, but they are very rare,] - that was not his voice. It was Sylphy’s voice. It was then followed by an even more detailed explanation by the Grimoire:

[Though, they are also much more dangerous. A Humanoid Slime can become a Slime Queen, and when it did, with its intelligence higher, it could become a monster much powerful than a Slime King.]

[Sime- is a liminal magic-born race whose bodies are composed almost entirely of a gelatinous substance. Slime King-a giant slime that doesn’t differ in appearance from a normal slime, just incredibly bigger. However, they are strong and are also an accumulated group of slimes merging into one.

Humanoid Slime- an even rarer variant. Possessing unlimited Potential and Growth. An evolution is attained when requirements have been met. This includes Self-Awareness, High Intelligence Attributes, and consuming Humanoid races. ]

Words appeared in his mind, and immediately he knows where it comes from. Teacher Arch, surely.

Humanoid Slime, huh… suddenly, Rain’s brows furrowed.

When the Slime Girl was found by the Minotaurs, they would take her with them, after all, it’s a girl. But to his surprise, or perhaps not, one of the Minotaur raised its ax and suddenly attacked the Slime Girl.

Rain heard the Slime Girl shriek and hurriedly rolled on the ground. Though she was actually hit by the ax, and even a part of her has been cut off. But she was still alive. Or rather, that severed part immediately regenerated. As long as her core is intact, then her life is, by no means, in any danger.

The Slime Girl hurriedly retaliated in desperation, attacking the Minotaurs with her gooey tentacle. However, her attacks seemed, slow… and very simple that one of the Minotaurs just easily cut it off with its spear. The Slime Girl cried out loudly, and once again attacked, but like before, the pair of Minotaurs easily deal with them.

It was then Rain noticed something peculiar.

Is a Humanoid Slime this weak…?

Well, slimes are weak, but Humanoid Slimes should at least be a bit stronger since they had undergone an evolution, right?

Even against two Minotaurs, there should be no big gap between them. Evolution is not as simple as growing taller or becoming bigger. It also reflects their power. Like how a Big Slime becomes an incredibly tough and troublesome opponent. Humanoid Slime can’t be this weak!

However, as if answering his confusion, Sylphy’s voice rang out.

[The Humanoid Slime’s mana fluctuation is unstable. It could be heavily wounded or it’s just a newly evolved monster.] she said, surprising him.

[The magical aura within the Humanoid Slime is found lower than normal, unstable, and unbalanced. Her core is already battered and couldn’t take any more damage, and can then be safely assumed that the slime has been in a very desperate battle a few moments ago or it has just evolved and has yet to solidify its evolution. Its current power is no different than that of a normal slime. Defeating high-level monsters in its current state such as the Minotaurs is impossible.]

…Came the more accurate answer from Arch Grimoire. But still, unstable, is it? Rain watched as the Slime Girl desperately tried to escape but the two Minotaurs were quite persistent and seemed to be on the kill. But why? He wondered. The Slime Girl was a woman, so they should have been quite lenient. What boorish men.

[A Humanoid Slime is still a monster, Rain] Sylphy said with a clear giggle resounding in his mind. [No one would dare have sexual intercourse with them. After all, they are just monsters who feed, and more so, commonly known as brainless piles of goo that dissolve whatever matter becomes enveloped by their bodies. The Minotaurs are aware of this, and thus, the obvious reason for their action.]

“Being monster aside, she doesn’t seem to be brainless,” Rain smiled wryly.

With his empathy skill, he can judge a monster of their nature with just one look. Whether they are fierce, dangerous, or not. But the Slime Girl that was desperately trying to survive in front of him is certainly not one of the bad guys.

Perhaps, it has something to do with the path of its evolution, but he cannot sense any evil from it as he did to other monsters. More like, it was a plain, almost white sheet of paper. Innocence and ignorance are still intact. Maybe it was because it’s not that long yet since it had evolved?

He knows that there were a group of humans inside the Desolate Cave, so it was not strange for it if a slime found a human corpse and devoured it. Thus, obtaining one of the requirements of its evolution. Still, he was surprised to learn that its intelligence attribute was much higher compared to its other attributes when he appraised the humanoid slime.

Her [Strength] and [Agility] attributes are both low, almost as good as that of a Goblin. And though her [Mana] is fairly high, her [Intelligence] is on another realm- it’s actually higher than both his [Strength] and [Agility] combined. It seems like its evolution focused solely on its intelligence.

As Rain continued watching and observing the battle. Suddenly, the situation turned worse for the Slime Girl. The Minotaur’s large ax gleamed brightly in red, a sign of a battle skill being invoked. And with a roar, it swung the ax downwards.

The slime could only watch the ax expanding in its sight, coming with ferocious power, as the poor slime girl was being stopped by the other Minotaur, its attention cannot be divided between two strong monsters. If it tried to stop the incoming ax, the spear-wielding Minotaur behind it will attack again and strike at its defenseless core.

... ...

Whiizzz!!

Without any hope of survival, the Humanoid Slime could only wait in despair. However, as the battle was approaching its ending, an azure streak of light flew through the air and struck the Minotaur’s weapon, causing sparks to spray out.

Bang!

As a loud noise resounded, signifying the sudden plot twist, in which the ending was, the climax of the battle, the distance between the Humanoid Slime and the Minotaur widened- the latter skidding back from the sudden burst of impact from the clash.

As the humanoid Slime sat numbly on the ground, she then saw a human boy now, standing in front of it. He had black hair and wore black clothing. He wasn't all that tall, but an overwhelming presence radiated from him.

A human?!

The Humanoid Slime stepped back as she felt an instinctive fear. Ever since she was born, the fear of a human has been deeply engraved in her core. The humans who slaughtered and killed her kind in cold blood, and had chased after her to kill her just a few hours ago- now, here once again, in front of her.

‘Hii!!’

Suddenly their eyes met. And the strange liquid-like substance making out of her entire body noticeably trembled, clear ripples could be seen on the surface.

“Ahh, ah, I think I should start training my busybody nature. I need to at least weaken it, or else I would surely be in a lot of trouble in the future, don’t you think so, Sylphy?”

The black-haired human muttered, seemly speaking to itself. Then, suddenly, he bent his body down and advanced at an incredible speed. All of it happened, from its almost despaired fate to the sudden appearance of the human in front of her, almost in a blink of an eye. And when the Humanoid Slime snaps out from her daze, the human boy had already stood in front of the Minotaur.

Looking at the sudden appearance of a human, the Minotaur’s eyes widened and a surprised snort came out from its nose. However, the black-haired human didn’t miss the opportunity and charged straight at it.

On his hand was a long, slender sword that had apparently blocked its Power Strike from before, and even reflected some of its power, causing its hand to become numb from the rebound. Still, the Minotaur let out a roar, snapping out from the short stunning effect of the human’s attack, and raised its ax high up into the air.

“Too slow,”

Rain waited until the ax was nearly upon him before exerting more strength on his right foot as he steps, and sprung forward like an arrow. He thrust his slender blade, which is now gleaming in crimson into the Minotaur’s exposed belly, with such speed that anyone watching the quick exchange would have thought he missed if not for the smear of crimson viscera coating the beautiful blade of his sword.

Rain passing through the monster’s large, burly body like a ghost, skidded to a halt, swirling to the back of the creature.

Annoyed, and furious, the Minotaur spun to meet its accursed attacker, feeling its stomach for the wound. Enduring it, it charged towards its opponent with a bull-like charge, sending chunks of dirt and grass flying under its thundering hooves. Rain stared at it. But not a hint of worry could be seen in his eyes. He clenched his fist and was about to meet the monster’s charge, when suddenly, a spear lanced up at him from behind and he hurriedly ducked to the side, narrowly missing being pierced through the spear’s tip.

He rolled on the ground and saw the other Minotaur snorting like a mad bull, ready for another charge.

The ax-wielding bull saw its companion and calm down, then, Rain saw it hurriedly reach into the hanging leather pouch on its waist, and plucked green sand-like fine grains and touched it to the wound.

His brows furrowed when he saw a quick blaze of flame envelop the gash in smokeless heat- is that a kind of healing item? He wondered, however, the corner of his lips curved upwards. It’s no use.

Opposite of Rain’s expression, the Minotaur was surprised and more disturbed as it saw its wounds continued bleeding. It displayed a bewildered expression.

Rain smirked. Though [Bleed Edge] an Assassin-Rogue type skill, didn’t have other flashy effects like any other combat skills of other classes, it’s still considered one of the deadliest skills of high-level assassins, with its effect of continuous bleeding after being cut by it.

Within 3 minutes, wounds created by the skill would continue to bleed, and only Intermediate-tier recovery magic, or at least rank 2 healing potion could erase the effect.

Furthermore, Rain had use Assassin and Berserker Class skills; [Mutilate], [Sneak Attack], [Eviscerate] and [Rapture], coupled with the [Eye of Death] that lets him see his target’s weakness, the effect of that seemly simple attack improved significantly, and become a nightmare for the victim.

If not for their well-endowed muscular body, and thick, tough hides, that attack alone had already killed it, or at least, injured it fatally.

Rain let out a sigh, calming his mind and nerves. Looking at the two Minotaurs in front of him, he held his blade upside down in his hand as he crouched lower, placing his other hand on the ground. His blue eyes turned crimson, and round black pupils become sharper.

The ears at each side of his head slowly distorted, then merged into his skin and disappeared. And a pair of long, oversized wolf’s ears sprouted from within his black hair, standing tall and erect, the left ear even twitching. A pair of canines at the corner of his mouth started to grow, sharp, and long, and he emitted a low growl.

Seeing the human’s transformation, the two Minotaurs turned toward him with vigilance, and they slowly back out.

The bloodthirsty aura from Rain was becoming stronger- not only that, the two Minotaurs felt as if they are not facing a human and instead, a large, enormous beast.

“… I can’t let this battle continue longer. So I need you to die fast,”

As soon as he said that, his body disappeared.

The Two Minotaurs were startled, panicking they look around. Rain reappeared just behind them, and his strike hit the back of the monster while its attention was elsewhere.

The wounded Minotaur, the top of its spine pierced through, trembled, and immediately let out a loud painful roar. The other Minotaur furiously roared, then turned around and swung its large spear that looks more like a metal pole, at him.

Smirking, Rain immediately sidestepped to dodge, then twisted his body mid-air, and did a roundhouse kick.

His right leg wrapped in a blue light effect, signifying the start of a skill combo: [Hardened Skin], [Enhanced Leg Strength], [Reflect Damage], [Toughness], and the Magic Enhancement Skill [Boost], enhancing his attack, and added with the damage of the combat skill: [Lashing Tail Whip], his leg clashed against the steel pole, creating a large explosion.

“Gyaaaaah!!!”

A scream echoed, and the steel spear twirled in the air, making an arc, while the Minotaur’s large body fell on the ground.

Rain didn’t stop, and using [Flash Step] he appeared in front of the fallen MInotaur, and thrust his sword, wanting to kill the monster immediately.

“...?!”

However, as he was about to succeed, an alarm rang out inside his mind, and hurriedly used [Blink], disappearing from his former place in an instant.

A second after, a large ax smashed the ground, creating an enormous crevice. The other Minotaur had saved its companion. Rain snorted in annoyance, and his crimson eyes narrowed.

“…annoying,”

A cold voice echoed in the area, and suddenly, around the two Minotaur that was standing together, Bone Spikes came out, skewering their hooves and legs.

“Gyaaaah!!”

Another painful cry echoed, as they swatted their weapons, and broke the bone spikes that suddenly appeared on the ground.

Their faces are covered with horror- they know this skill. It’s the only, and unique skill only possessed by the Bone Eaters that inhabited the infamous Bone Temple of the Desolate Cave.

But how is this human able to use it?

Fortunately, their hides were tough as metal that the bone spikes only managed to barely pierce through their skin. Still seeing this strange skill, the fear in their hearts intensified.

“[Thunder Strike]!”

A lightning bolt suddenly came out from the heavens, and struck the other ax-wielding Minotaur, causing another painful scream.

However, it stood tall, its skin sizzling in smoke, appearing unaffected.

So Lightning can barely hurt them, Rain grunted. He then appeared a few meters away from them, “Then, what about [Fireball]!” with extended hand, a ball of burning crimson flames with a meter diameter congealed in front of his palm, and launched it towards the Minotaurs.

Looking at it, the Minotaur with the spear came over and stood in front of the other. The spear twirled in his hand, which was now shining with crimson color, a sign of a combat skill being activated.

The spear rotated like a propeller in front of the monster, and when the fireball struck it, it was easily erased, like an ember crashing against a storm wind.

“Ho?”

Impressed, Rain narrowed his eyes, he didn’t know what kind of skill is that still, he didn’t stop his charge.

The other Minotaur suddenly raised its leg and stamped on the ground.

The ground trembled, almost causing Rain to lose his balance. He growled, and leap, as a long crevice occurred originating from its stamp.

It must be a skill. And judging from that power, if that hit his body, even with his newly forged body, he would be injured.

Chasing him in the air, the spear-wielding Minotaur suddenly bent its knees and jumped- it was quite surprising to see its massive figure springing out the ground, jumping so high seemly disregarding gravity. Furthermore, Rain can see a ripple on the ground, like still water disturbed.

The Minotaur thrust his spear towards him, the shaft of the spear glowed red, covering it with blazing flames.

Coating his spear with fire is a good combat skill. But fighting Rain in the air is suicide.

Rain snorted, as he twisted his body mid-air, his waist seemly no bones as they easily did what he wanted. With high-level [Body Control] skill, and [Nimble Body] skill, coupled with [Uncanny Dodge] something like this is easy. Even in the air, he’s like a fish in the water.

Seemly surprised that Rain even dodges his attack easily, it let out a surprised snort. But Rain completely ignores the blazing heat of his attack. His resistance is not something easily passed. But for the Minotaur, this is surely a bad situation.

Rain brushed past its body, but when he did, his hand grasped its arm, and with it, easily somersaulted in the air, changing his position. Now, he was facing its back, his hand pasted against its muscular vertebral: “Fire Shockwave!”

Hot sparks erupted, and immediately after, the sound of a loud explosion appeared, as a red, almost invisible arc of light passed through the Minotaur’s body.

In the end, the Minotaur started falling on the ground, groaning.

The Axe-wielding Minotaur who saw that hurriedly charged towards the descending opponent.

But before it could reach him, Rain’s body became wrapped in a pale blue light. The moment he landed on the ground, he immediately ran through the six meters separating the other charging Minotaur from him in an instant.

Like a lightning bolt, his body moved so fast, he covered that distance in a blink of an eye.

At the same time, the large bipedal bull let out a loud, furious roar, while poising with its large ax shining with a yellow glow, and slashed at a speed that could hardly be seen.

The power behind its swing seemed capable of cutting a large tree into two. Even before it came, Rain had already been struck by wild raging winds. Still, he remained calm. Then, he boldly used the momentum of the attack to his advantage.

He sidestepped the blow, feeling the incredible momentum brushing past his face, and even cutting several strands of hair on his bangs. Then, without wasting the advantage of the creature being stunned for a moment after using a big skill, his sword struck.

"U…oooh!!"

The sword- [Piercing Rain] thrust horizontally, hitting the Minotaur’s chest with a metallic sound. However, that was just the beginning-blood spurted, but before the Minotaur could recover and attack again, he clenched his grip on his sword, and his arm becomes a blur- slashing, stabbing, hacking, jabbing, the crimson light of his eyes showing in the dimness.

Anyone who watched him at this moment would be surely amazed at his speed and grace.

This attack of his was more like a dance, blades spinning so fast they were a blur, and the Minotaur who could only receive could only stand there, the ax slipping through its hand, as the blade made horrible wounds on its body, chest, and arm.

When Rain finished, the Minotaur’s body was now covered with terrible cuts across its entire body. And it had already lost its life. Rain didn’t know from when, either when the blade struck its throat, or its chest, or perhaps when he made several holes on his chest.

The Minotaur’s lifeless body slowly fell and hit the ground with a loud thud. Large beads of sweat covered not only his face but also his entire body. Fighting the two Minotaurs gave him very good training. He didn’t try to rely solely on magic and used combat skills instead.

This was a good opportunity for training, apart from that of Drova. Especially the [Dance of Madness] combat skill of a Berserker. It’s a combat skill that focuses solely on the offensive attack and disregard defense. Truly a skill only a mad person would do.

He had also tried to use [Rapture], [Mutilate], [Bleed Edge] and more skills during the combo, to improve it further, but as expected, it’s very difficult. Several times, he had almost broken the combo- only [Mutilate] was able to merge with the skill successfully. Perhaps, it’s because of the similar nature of the skills that they manage to complement each other…?

In the first place, from what he knows, only a few people in this world can merge two skills simultaneously to improve the effectiveness of the skill. It seems to require incredible talent and skill to do it. And only skills with identical nature can be merged into one, enhancing the power of the skill. Even Drova can only do three combo skills that merge two combat skills into one skill. Other than that, it’s almost impossible.

Well, in the first place, one person mostly has three to four combat skills, while five and more can already be considered elites.

Someone like Rain who possesses countless skills, much less, skills from different classes is an anomaly that is unique in this world. And with his [Predation] skill, he even also easily obtained monster skills with incredible and flexible nature than human combat skills. Perhaps, in this world, there’s no one other than him who has this number of skills in his skill set.

Rain can do dozens of combo skills that merge two or more skills into one, which even almost shock Drova to death, and even made her envious. Some of these were the skills he had used such as; [Flame Shockwave]- a combination of [Flame Blast] and [Shockwave], and [Reaper’s Mark], a technique from combining [Bleed Edge], [Mutilate], [Sneak Attack], [Eviscerate] and [Rapture]. Though, he mostly uses this with the [Eye of Death] for a sure-kill technique.

As of this moment, he can at most combine five or six skills into one, though, only those with incredibly compatible nature such as the Reaper’s Mark. Other than that, it’s almost impossible, and most of all, extremely difficult to control. Fortunately, due to his [Predation] he has a lot of different skills but with more or less similar nature or effects that could be used as a combo material. Still, there are also a lot of limitations, and not all skills can be combined, regardless of effect and compatibility.

Just like how he wanted to incorporate [Bleed Edge], [Mutilate], [Rapture] and many more identical skills to the [Dance of Madness], thinking it would surely become an incredible OP sure-kill attack. However, sadly, up until now, he had never succeeded.

It seems like there are still a lot of [Laws] and [Rules] to follow in accordance to combining skills and Combo attacks… and not just because ‘you wanted to’ but more of a ‘according to the rule’ kind of condition.