The sudden ambush shattered the peace of the sli colony in an instant.
“Blorp! Blorp!”
The startled, panicked slis erupted into chaos, bouncing wildly around the muddy clearing. Every ti their gelatinous bodies slamd into the ground, it made a squelching "blorp"—like soone squeezing wet rubber.
The whole area looked like a boiling swamp, the slis agitated and feeding off each other’s panic. Round, glossy black eyes scanned frantically for the attackers.
Gauss, anwhile, didn’t even try to hide. He stood calmly, observing them with curiosity while digging through his mory.
According to what he’d read, even weak monsters like slis could occasionally produce more powerful variants—so capable of sensing mana, allowing them to detect enemies without relying on sight. Others could reportedly cast spells, change shape, absorb energy, even rge with each other and grow to monstrous sizes.
There were even wild stories about slis stronger than dragons—but most people chalked those up to drunken nonsense.
Back to reality: this group was clearly just basic, entry-level slis.
As the creatures whipped around in a panic, one of them finally spotted Gauss and his teammates.
No one knew exactly how slis communicated, but within seconds, the entire group had locked onto their position. Perhaps sensing that there were only three enemies, the naturally cowardly—but opportunistic—slis collectively decided to go on the offensive.
“Blorp! Blorp!”
A tide of twenty goo monsters surged forward, bounding through the mud like angry jellyfish.
Gauss and the others didn’t flinch.
They calmly prepared for a second volley.
Arrows were nocked, triggers cocked, staff raised.
The next wave of long-range attacks launched.
This ti, though, Oliver and va’s arrows only embedded themselves in the slis' outer gel. No kill shots. The cores inside—about the size of ostrich eggs—were constantly shifting, and the arrows had missed by a hair.
Still, the shock made the creatures twitch violently before continuing the charge.
Gauss, however, took his ti. He focused, once again activating his “bullet-ti” ntal state, and nailed two slis dead-center.
“Boom! Boom!”
The blasts punched through both cores and exploded into the ground, spraying mud everywhere.
Casting with a wand really was on another level. Gauss couldn’t have pulled this off barehanded.
[Slis Slain ×2]
[Total Monster Kills: 28]
It wasn’t that Oliver and va lacked skill—their target was just too erratic. Gauss’s edge ca from a combination of his bullet-ti focus, wand bonuses, and the sheer speed and range of Magic Missile over arrows.
Nearby, va side-eyed him. Yeah, she wasn’t imagining it—his spell speed had clearly improved.
He’s gotten stronger again...
And yet, despite the casualties, the slis didn’t retreat. Surrounded by their kind, they seed emboldened. In fact, they sped up, launching themselves out of the mud and onto solid ground.
Right on cue, the rest of the team erged.
Laevin and Doyle burst from cover, shields raised, while Daphne stepped out from behind a tree, ready to provide support.
The full squad formation snapped into place.
Seeing their enemy count double from three to six, the sli horde hesitated. Their boldness evaporated. The two in the back—already wounded and slowed—flat-out stopped moving and began to tremble.
That was the plan all along. Gauss and the others had been bait. The real team waited until the slis were fully committed and on unfavorable terrain.
“Doyle! With !”
Without wasting a second, Laevin charged, worried the lead sli might retreat and scatter the group. If the slis fled into the forest, it’d be a nightmare to chase down twenty of them with just six people.
“Boom boom boom!”
Laevin exploded forward, skill activated.
Shield Charge!
With a shout, he raised his oak tower shield and barreled toward the slis like a tank, feet pounding the ground.
Doyle followed close behind, shield up and sword ready.
The lead sli—massive and angry—bounced up to et them.
“Splat!!”
It launched a glob of thick, green acidic goo, which splattered hard across Laevin’s shield. Steam hissed from the impact, but the shield held. Laevin kept going without missing a beat.
Step by step, he closed the distance, until—
“WHAM!”
The shield slamd into the lead sli. Even though the monster had been charging too, it didn’t stand a chance. It flattened under the sheer force.
Then, Laevin roared and slamd forward again.
“THUD!!”
He bulldozed through the sli line like a freight train, scattering them left and right.
Doyle moved in imdiately after, sword flashing.
anwhile, the ranged team shifted to the side, quietly flanking the field for sniping opportunities.
Gauss, low on mana after firing two Magic Missiles, only had one shot left. He couldn’t afford to waste it—not with teammates in the fray.
So instead of launching his final spell, he drew his rapier and moved up behind Laevin, small wooden shield raised.
“SPLAT!”
Doyle, clearly experienced, swatted away an incoming blob of sli goo with his shield and brought his sword down.
Cross Slash!
“Slice! Slice!”
The sword lit with silver light, slashing through a sli core in two clean arcs. The creature instantly lted into a puddle.
“Use your small shields to block their acid! They can’t spit again right away—when they do, strike fast!”
“But stay alert—don’t get surrounded!”
“Oliver, va! Provide cover if anyone gets overwheld!”
Laevin shouted out orders while continuing to press forward.
Gauss nodded and spotted a lone sli—about 35 centiters wide, trailing behind and wobbling badly. Probably one of the ones that had taken a direct hit from Laevin earlier.
Its core twitched wildly inside its jelly body, shifting erratically to avoid being targeted.
But Gauss didn’t hesitate. He moved in—rapier ready.
Reviews
All reviews (0)