Chapter 23: Slimes (1)

Walking out of the fortress that humanity had built in this realm for teleportation, the four that are wearing backpacks saw a wide grassland with some hills and few trees as far as their eyes can see

Although Keon already knows what kind of realm they would be sent into, he still can't stop himself from sighing. If possible, Keon wants to be sent into a realm that looks like a giant forest

With trees, they would have an easier time hiding from enemies that they can't defeat. However, since the terrain was an open space with little to no place to hide, the danger level would surely be higher

Fortunately, the dominating race of this realm is not that powerful. They belonged to the race that has large numbers but has a weaker individual strength

This realm was full of countless slimes that have mediocre power. The good thing is that the slimes that have fast running speed are quite rare thus, escaping from them shouldn't be that hard

The only problem was that the slimes have different elemental affinities. If they meet a fire, water, and light type slimes, the attacks from Keon's team would be weaker than they should be

Now, Keon is really thankful that he gained a card-type ability. He has access to different elements and can kill slimes easier

"Ahh, I'm both excited and fearful! I want to fight these monsters but I also fear that we will meet overpowered monsters" Nath said with a sigh as they continued to walk slowly away from the fortress

The area around the fortress was regularly cleaned of monsters and is a relatively safe place compared to other areas. They need to walk for some time before they will encounter any monster

Ignoring Nath, Keon gives a suggestion that will benefit the whole group. "How should we distribute the monster corpses? I think it is better for us to take the corpse we killed ourselves to avoid fighting each other"

Before killing the monsters, they naturally have to form some kind of agreement first to avoid conflict

Nath immediately approves of that as he thought that it was fair but Gabe shook his head. Keon thought that because Gabe and Mady have a rank above him and Nath, the man would want to take more corpses for himself. After all, Nath and Keon were indirectly given some sort of protection after being in a team with two Level 3 Mystics

"Distribute the corpse equally" Keon was surprised at that and the growing dissatisfaction he had towards Gabe in his heart vanish instantly

Does Gabe actually want to distribute the corpses equally? Isn't he making a loss if they really do that? It was common sense that he and Mady will kill more monsters than Keon and Nath, why does he want to do this?

In fact, if the three agreed with Keon's suggestion, he would offer to be placed in the front as he can sense where the monsters are. In that way, he can be the first one to attack and Keon will gain more corpses

"Are you sure?" Keon asked in doubt and Gabe nodded his head before looking at Mady that also just nods her head

"Wow! I knew it, you both are always quiet but you have big hearts!" Nath chimed and the way he looks at the two changes rapidly

"Alright, if that's what you want it's fine. But I actually happen to have a strong sense of danger, if I walk to the front, I can sense where the monsters are" Keon offered with a half-lie. It was Kreon that has that kind of ability but they are basically the same person so it wasn't entirely false

Keon thought that they would agree but Gabe immediately disagrees

"No, walk in the middle. It would be better if I or Mady will take the front"

Keon blinks his eyes repeatedly. Why does he felt like these two are treating him too .... kindly. What's wrong with them?

Remembering the 'abnormal dream' he had half a month ago, the doubt in Keon's heart continue to grow

After a few minutes, the four finally finished their arrangement. Mady will walk in the front followed by Keon and Nath in the middle while Gabe will be at the back

Keon and Nath were literally protected by the other two from the front and back. This causes Nath to almost tear up as he thought that his roommates were really kind

Although Nath doesn't like his friends protecting him like this, he still knew that this arrangement is for the best. Nath can only vow to make himself stronger and protect his friends in the future too

The four went on their way and with Keon guiding them as Kreon's enemy sensing ability actually covered an extremely wide range

If there is something that makes the slimes more dangerous it was their ability to blend in with their surroundings

If not for Keon pointing out that the two human-size boulders in front of them are actually a group of earth type slimes, they might just ignore it

"Wow! Keon, you're really amazing! You easily found these slimes!" Nath exclaimed as he watched the boulders dividing into smaller size

The human-size boulder was divided into basketball size earthen brown slimes but before they can even do anything, Mady already made her move

A lotus flower made from fire appeared above Mady's palm and the lotus shoot out small needles of flame that pierces the body of the slimes

Inside the slimes' bodies were their core and destroying the core will also kill the slimes. Some creatures have cores that can be considered as treasured but the slimes are different

Their cores are just like their brains and there won't be a waste to destroy them. Even the slimes' mystic energies are contained in their bodies, not in their core

Since this area is still close to the human fortress, the first group of monsters they have met is still not that strong. After all, it would be bad if the humans let monsters near the fortress to grow strong and all the slimes are only Level 1 Monsters

Seeing Mady easily killing the slimes, Keon smiled awkwardly. The disparity in strength is really too high

After the slimes died, their bodies turned into a gooey puddle and Mady didn't waste any time as she holds out her hand to Keon and Nath that was confused by her action

"Energy core" Mady simply said and the two unconsciously gave her one of their energy cores

Mady threw the cores to the gooey puddles and they watch as mystic energies filled the cores. The puddle managed to fill the two cores before they ran out of energy and Mady threw them back towards Keon and Nath

The difference in every level is really not to be underestimated. Level 1 creatures have 1-20 cubic meters of Cube World filled with mystic energy. As for Level 2 creatures, they have 25-60 cubic meters. The more than twenty smiles only managed to fill two energy cores with a little bit of surplus energy

The embarrassment that Keon has grown and Nath also becomes embarrassed. They didn't do anything yet one of their energy cores is now fully filled. How can they not feel any embarrassment?

"I-I can't take this, I didn't do anything" Keon said and Nath furiously nodded his head in agreement. However, Mady just shrugs her shoulder

"Fill your cores first and help fill ours later. Filling Level 3 Cores are harder" Gabe said and due to their insistence, Keon and Nath can only agree in the end

Since the slimes were all dealt with by Mady, the four continued exploring this realm. However, aside from the more than twenty slimes earlier, they barely met any slimes again even after walking for a few hours

To be safe, they planned on walking near the perimeter around the fortress but turns out that the number of slimes around is really pitifully low. It was only luck that they encountered more than twenty slimes earlier

With this, their progress was stuck and they weren't even able to fill another core again. Thus, Keon can only propose a risky idea. Well, it can't be helped, they only have three days. If they can't fill the minimum cores, they will die

"How about we head farther from the fortress? We might not fill our cores if this goes on" Keon's proposal was met with agreement and they rest for a while before continuing

With the Body Serum that they used before, it wasn't a problem for them to continuously walk for hours. But since they will probably encounter strong enemies, they need to be always on their top condition

After resting for a bit, the four walks in a different direction away from the fortress, and just like they thought, they really met strong enemies easily

The four encounter a group of ten slimes with three of them being Level 3 Monsters. Since the slimes have weak individual power, it was much easier for them to advance their rank

Even if Keon doesn't want his team to fight 3 Level 3 Slimes, 5 Level 2 Slimes, and 2 Level 1 Slime, this was already the weakest group they have encountered. The other slime groups have bigger numbers and higher ranks

"Nath, let's go" Keon said to Nath and they charged at the Level 2 Slimes and below. The strongest ones are for Mady and Gabe to deal with

"Un!" Nath nodded his head and he followed Keon to defeat the slimes

The level 1 slimes are the size of a basketball, Level 2 are the size of a 2-year-old kid and for Level 3, they can reach the waist of an average height human

This group of slimes has different colors meaning they have different elements

Keon and Nath were met with fireballs, water balls, and wind blades coming from the slimes. Nath moves in the front and his swords barely destroyed all those attacks. Nath focuses on defense and Keon focuses on offense

Nath's skill is still mostly suited with close-range combat while Keon mostly used long-range attacks. To complement the strength of each other, they had a tacit agreement that Nath will destroy the attacks coming to them with his swords and Keon will attack from the distance since reaching the slimes that will spew out elemental attacks is a bit hard due to their numbers

Keon made five cards in front of him and they all turned metallic gray in color. Thick and sharp metals were fired by the cards and they targeted the core of these slimes

In just a single attack, Keon successfully killed three of the seven slimes they are facing with two of them being the weak Level 1 slimes

The three slimes were turned into a puddle but they still can't absorb all those mystic energies yet

"Nath switch" Keon shouted and Nath nodded his head. Although Nath managed to destroy the seven attacks from the enemies, it still used up a considerable amount of his mystic energy. No matter what, five of the slimes are still at the same level as him. His light swords were even destroyed after defending himself and Keon while his hands felt a bit numb

Keon naturally knows that and decided to switch their roles. He conjured five cards with different elements and use four cards to counter the elemental attacks from the slimes while Nath used that chance to get close to the slimes

Nath charges at the slimes and forced his numb arms to hold swords again before Keon's remaining card sticks to his body. Nath's hair and clothes fluttered with the winds and he felt his body turning lighter

With that, Nath's speed exploded and he immediately reaches the slimes with his swords accurately piercing the cores of two slimes killing them as a result

With Nath and Keon's perfect teamwork, only two of the seven slimes remained!