Slime King?!

The Slime King was only 700 meters away now, tantalizingly close—but Miruku hadn't realized it. The Bestiary entry for the Slime King had not been unlocked yet.

It wasn't necessary to defeat the creature to unlock its entry in the system. Simply seeing a monster for the first time would provide the basic information. If Miruku had laid eyes on the true body of the Slime King, the system would have immediately revealed what she needed to know. 

[Tale Second Stage: 

Destroy the Slime King's disguise under its relentless assault.]

Anyi knew exactly what they were facing. The "body" that Miruku thought she saw—it was a decoy, part of the Slime King's clever ruse. 

The Slime King had three distinct phases. The first was all about survival, with the heroes searching for its true form. Only upon finding and destroying its disguise would they enter the second stage, where the attacks would briefly cease.

But they hadn't met the condition for advancing to the next phase. The battle raged on because Miruku had not found the true body.

If she had, the Slime King would have immediately halted all assaults and shifted its focus entirely to defending itself. It would have entered a desperate state—its body being its weakest point. Exposed, it would prioritize escape over defense, employing a tactic that fooled many unsuspecting heroes: the Fake Body.

Once its disguise was shattered, the Slime King would pretend to be dead, ceasing all tentacle activity, hoping the heroes would mistake its dummy body for the real one. In this world, with no health bars to guide them, many fell victim to this insidious trick. Without prior knowledge, few realized they hadn't actually vanquished the true Slime King.

But for Anyi, this wasn't a mystery. Once a hero gained experience, the system stopped awarding any rewards for defeating a Fake Body, signaling to the wary that their foe had not yet been truly slain. 

Unfortunately, Miruku lacked the necessary experience to recognize this. She was still too green, her senses and instincts unrefined. But that wasn't her fault. Every novice hero faced this learning curve.

[Thorn Hero: Right ahead!]

They burst through the thick jungle and stumbled into a clearing. Before them, looming in the center of the space, was a grotesque sight—a massive, pulsing mass.

A tumor.

A ball of flesh, riddled with blood vessels, pierced the earth like a pulsating heart, roughly ten meters in diameter.

"It's over," Anyi muttered grimly.

Without warning, Anyi did something that left the others stunned. He set Ariana down gently and, faster than a bolt of lightning, surged toward the grotesque mass. 

Simultaneously, a wave of tentacles surged from the ground, lashing out in all directions.

"Watch out!" Layton's voice boomed, his shield raised instinctively.

Miruku, quick as a shadow, used her Escape into Shadows, vanishing from sight in a heartbeat as she moved to protect Anyi. 

'Windy Elemental Sword, Wind Cut. 

Multiple Release.'

[Promoting skill: Wind Cut -> Windmill]

Anyi twisted in mid-air, the blade of his sword glowing with a fierce green light, the wind swirling around him in a violent storm.

"Windmill."

A deafening roar followed as his sword slashed through the air. The force of the attack created a hurricane-like explosion, with him at the center. Sharp, howling winds cut through the tentacles, shredding them into pieces. The powerful gust blew the remaining tentacles away, scattering them across the battlefield, unable to draw near.

'Earthy Elemental Sword, Chop Down. 

Multiple Release.'

[Promoting skill: Chop Down -> Crack The Ground]

Anyi rode the fierce winds of his previous strike, using them as leverage as he vaulted onto the pulsing meatball before him. His sword, now aglow with earthen energy, swung upward and then came crashing down in a single, devastating stroke.

"Crack the Ground!"

The air trembled as his blade connected with the mass, the impact so powerful that it seemed to echo through the jungle. The moment the sword touched the flesh, the surface of the giant tumor collapsed inward with a horrific tearing sound. A deep wound snaked along the entire length of the meatball, cracking it apart with violent speed.

In seconds, the massive creature split cleanly in two.

For a moment, the world stood still.

All eyes locked on the scene—Layton, Ariana, and Miruku were frozen in disbelief, stunned by the sheer force that had just cleaved the enormous monster. It was impossible to comprehend how Anyi had managed such a feat with one single blow. 

Then, as if on cue, the writhing mass of tentacles slumped to the ground, lifeless. The once relentless, suffocating onslaught dissolved into nothing, the monstrous limbs melting into puddles of goo.

Anyi dropped gracefully from the ruined meatball, but before he hit the ground, Miruku darted forward. Her instincts kicked in, and she threw herself beneath him, catching his fall with an awkward but determined embrace, flinging him back into the air to break his descent.

Anyi's head landed squarely on her chest as they toppled to the ground together. His voice came out soft, almost playful. "Thank you."

"Uh..." Miruku's smile was stiff and uneasy. 

'So... so heavy.'

"Are you alright?!" Layton rushed over, his voice filled with concern.

Ariana, quick to assess the situation, had already put two and two together. "Anyi, eat something!"

Without missing a beat, Layton pulled a few pieces of dry rations from his pack, crouching down beside them to feed Anyi like a soldier after a long campaign.

"Thanks." Anyi opened his mouth, accepting the food, though in truth, he wasn't nearly as drained as he appeared. He had only used a fraction—perhaps 10%—of his stamina. It was all part of the act.

There was a reason he didn't pretend to be out of mana—everyone could see his health and mana bars floating above his head, a feature for the Heroes. Anyone glancing in his direction would see that his reserves were still far from empty. 

Stamina, on the other hand, was a different story. It was invisible, an intangible resource only known to the user, so faking exhaustion was much more convincing.

And why was he pretending?

Simple. He wanted to prevent Ariana from using her trump card, [Heavenly Sphere]. If she cast that, they would almost certainly retreat to replenish mana and restock supplies. Anyi couldn't stand the idea. They were this close, standing on the precipice of victory. Retreating now would mean delaying the inevitable—more grinding, more battles with lesser creatures.

In Anyi's mind, retreat was not an option. Not now. Not ever.

Even against the Demon Lord, he wouldn't take a single step back.

"Hm?"

Lying atop Miruku, still being fed by Ariana, Anyi made a small sound of confusion. His brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Ariana asked, concern coloring her tone.

"Why... no experience points?" His voice remained level, but the statement carried weight.

"No experience points?" Ariana repeated, slow to catch on.

Miruku's face twisted in realization. Her gaze shot to Anyi's head, her eyes wide with sudden fear.

Her thoughts raced as she pieced it together.

'The core... the Slime core hasn't been destroyed yet?!'

Panic surged through her.

But why? Why had the tentacles disappeared if the core was still intact?