Raid: Toxic Slime Cavern (4)

"See ya," They all say in unison as I make my way towards the next group of delicious prey.

Ah… It's too easy.

For the next hour, I began to converse with all of the groups whom some fell for my bait, and some just ignored me as I was a child.

I didn't really mind it, though, as I figured out tons of information that I could use later.

"We're taking off again!" The raid leader yelled, and we all gathered around him like a group of moths flocking towards a flame.

Now, we were going to try and make it towards the boss room as everybody had rested up, and we pushed past the most problematic part… or so we thought.

…

"BACK UP! BACK UP! STAY BEHIND THE TREE LINE AND MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS HAVE SOMEBODY NEAR YOU! EVEN I WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE YOUR ASSES IF YOU GET SWARMED!" The raid leader shouted, and I could already see the discontent on almost each and every face here slowly stacking.

The only ones who still favored the man were the people in the leader's group when we took a break.

SHING

I crouched behind a tall tree, holding my spear tightly against my chest before swinging around and eliminating a few slimes.

We were currently being attacked by countless slimes who had come from the toxic green lake… only reinforcing my theory, but I still couldn't come to a conclusion

"Where was the boss room again? Wasn't it supposed to be at the end of the cavern?" I muttered before jumping back and swinging my spear again.

It cut through two more cores, but a pile of slimes quickly squished their way through the tree line and burst towards me.

Tup

I used the end of the spear to quickly push me away from the horde, saving the mana of the mages behind me who were already exhausted.

The archers were also pretty much out of arrows, so they were fighting with their knives which didn't do much damage.

Only chunks of slime were ripped off the monsters in front of us, and it quickly regenerated, so most of the archers were forced back to the porters.

Also, the frontline was in shambles as nobody had died yet due to the natural defensive system trees, in front of us, but everybody was utterly exhausted.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF…"

And, of course, I wasn't an exception.

"Oomph,"

Suddenly, I threw up from exhaustion, causing me to wobble to the side, and before any slimes could reach me, a swordsman picked me up by the back of my shirt and threw me behind the mages.

It was an incredible feat of strength that I would never be able to pull off.

Ah, it's the leader… I didn't even notice that was him… Damn, my vision is so blurry.

I managed to just catch my breath with the help of the mages in front of me, but just as I was about to hop right back into battle, the leader shouted,

"RETREAT! FOLLOW ME!"

Everybody began to run back, but it seems the slimes were expecting this as they quickly approached us from the side as we tried to run past the treeline.

Before, it was a natural fortress, but now, it was a cage threatening to keep us enclosed by the toxic slimes surrounding us.

"RUN! FUCKING RUN!" The leader shouts, fighting off any slimes that tried to attack us from behind, but nobody else noticed this as they were too fixed on making it past the wall of slime quickly approaching them from the side.

My heart was practically beating out of my chest from the nerves as it felt like luck was the only thing that could save us now.

Dammit. Will I make it in time? Will I...

So many questions flooded my mind.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF,"

My vision was tinted in a light blue color, and I felt a bit lightheaded as I passed the tree line.

The slimes beside me made a disgusting squishing sound, and their toxic nature caused the ground below them to melt instantaneously.

Though I might be immune to their toxic slime, I can't hold my breath forever as I was only previously able to escape due to me crushing all of the cores.

But if the slimes before me combine into one mass… and I get trapped in there… No doubt about it, I'd suffocate to death.

Exposing my immunity was the least of my worries.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF,"

A second wind hit me like a breath of fresh air, and my legs felt as if they were lighter than a feather.

My feet slammed against the ground as I ran and ran as fast as I could, even passing a few of the swordsmen in front of me.

Squish

I dove out of the way, feeling the warm slime splash against my skin.

"ARGHHHHHH!" I hear a few voices scream as they are dragged into the blob of slimes who just managed to form into a wall.

"RUN! FORGET THEM!" An assassin beside me shouts, and regretfully, the leader leads us away from the slimes, hearing the torturous screams erupt from the toxic wall.

"HELP!"

"PLEASE HELP!"

"CURSE YOU! WHY WON'T YOU HELP US!"

"YOU'RE A TERRIBLE LEADER!"

"NO WONDER I NEVER LIKED YOU!"

With their dying breaths, they cursed the leader who looked as if he was about to cry.

Being a leader is stressful but rewarding… but that's only if you manage to do a good job.

The repercussion of not doing a good job are the curses of what used to be your fellow raid members, who you were supposed to take care of.

I could even see the pressure weighing down on the leader.

"There's a mountain on his back," I muttered as we ran into a cave.

"HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF... HUFF... HUFF..."

Everybody collectively caught their breaths before glaring at the leader, who was being comforted by two men and a woman.

And all three of them were part of the group I saw earlier with him.

Upon feeling the adrenaline wash out of my body, I couldn't help but slightly grin… as everything was adjusting in my direction.

There were unknown variables, but somehow, they only worked to my advantage.