Raid: Toxic Slime Cavern (10)

With each tendril that I cut, I could feel even more continue to wrap around my legs, trying to pull me down.

"DAMMIT!" I shouted as I poured all my energy into one last sprint.

The slime continued to rise, and I could feel all of my energy begin to drain quickly as I sprinted with all my might.

My hand tightly gripped my spear, which probably wasn't the best choice, but it was instinctual as the stress seemingly ate away at my inner self.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF,"

I took a knee as I hopped up a few stairs and watched the slime that continued to rise up.

But, it seems I wasn't in the clear yet as a few tendrils latched onto my ankles, trying to pull me down the stairs.

SHING

I quickly cut them before continuing my climb up the stairs, which felt more like a mountain than anything.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF,"

After reaching far enough up the stairs, I noticed the slime coating the massive cave began to come together to form a gigantic blob of slime.

I couldn't help but gulp a significant drop of saliva before pushing myself to continue up the stairs.

The next room should be the cave before these stairs, so I should be able to escape there… I'll just hide behind a corner or something.

After clawing my way up the stairs, I was met by a wall of stone, but without hesitation, I lunged towards it.

I phased through the wall before using my hands and arms to shift my way behind a rock near the corner of the cave.

I also threw my spear in the opposite direction of the way I was crawling, just as extra insurance.

It was a pretty small cave with a wide entrance at the very front, similar to the one I was in before.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF…"

Squish

The horrifying squishing sound came from behind me, and in order to suppress my presence as much as possible, I smothered my own mouth with my hands, forcing me to breathe in and out of my nose.

My face turned pale as I tried to hide my presence as much as possible.

Revealing myself now would only result in my death as I was too tired to grip a core or even break it at that.

Squish Squish Squish

The squishing all of a sudden began to creep towards my direction, and now I was holding my breath even though it wasn't a conscious effort.

Squish Squish Squish

Didn't I throw my spear as bait?

Squish Squish Squish

All of a sudden, after the squishing met its maximum, it stopped, but I didn't leave from my space behind the rock just yet.

Squish Squish Squish

And then it resumed before trailing off into the distance.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF…"

I uncupped my hands from my mouth and then breathed in and out with deep breaths that made my head feel like it was in the clouds.

Tons of thoughts began to flood my mind as I slowly peeked out from the corner of the rock, trying to see any potential threats.

None.

Thankfully, my spear was also saved, but parts of the blade had been melted and the edges were lined with rust.

Dammit… I didn't think far enough ahead… I've made way too many mistakes this trip… Dammit, dammit, dammit…

After picking up my spear, I trailed my fingers along the blade before admitting to myself,

"No… I've gotten rusty," I muttered before lying back and doing my usual process of reflecting on my hiccups and seeing what I could've done better.

This was the reason I was able to become so good at the things I liked, as I wouldn't stop reflecting and trying again until I got it down perfectly.

First mistake: underestimating and overestimating my targets which eventually led to me having to change my plan.

I need to always keep a plane view of my targets; otherwise, this result will keep happening… it seems I've gotten a bit too soft.

"When was the last time I was swayed by my emotions," I muttered.

It was hard to admit it, but I ended up letting my arrogance get the best of me which caused me to underestimate the adventurers… who I was soon reminded of the reason why they were adventurers in the first place.

People who have passed the pussy stage, otherwise known as the E-rank, become D-rank adventurers who clearly have enough determination to continue doing this job…

So, I will have to just readjust myself for the next time I work with people weaker than me… and then, the next problem… I overestimated yet underestimated the leader at the same time.

I underestimated how strong he was after noticing him fight on the front lines towards the beginning of the raid.

Most of the swordsmen were mostly on par with his strength, so I assumed the only reason he was C-rank was because of his leadership… but boy was I wrong.

Next, I overestimated how much patience he had as his light, and glowy aura soon shattered into pieces upon being back into the corner.

Well, I guess any noble animal turns into a rabid beast when cornered…

"Next… I got a bit too cocky after my successful manipulation of the group, completely forgetting I had to actually complete this dungeon,"

I continued to bash myself over this one thing as I hadn't gotten this cocky in a while…

It was such a simple mistake, yet it led to such a heavy downfall… and here I was, barely alive after surviving an encounter with dozens of toxic slimes.

First, I revealed myself to the leader after he was on the brink of death, thinking I could pull off another move and didn't look far enough into the future.

Then, even after he got knocked down into the cave before the boss room, I jumped down, well aware of what this dungeon was capable of.

"Ugh… So stupid,"

Bum Bum Bum

I repeatedly knocked my head with my fist over and over as I wasn't going to make the same mistake again… never.