Chương 22: Another New Spell

Whoosh! A razor-sharp sound tore through the air. The slime that had leapt to the front was instantly split in half! Wind Blade! Vaelis and Marcus turned around in shock. That spell just now... came from Zelier? He had learned another new spell? Ignoring their surprised expressions, Zelier immediately began forming the next spell matrix after releasing the first Wind Blade. With the enhancement from his ashwood wand base, his casting time for Wind Blade had been reduced to just over three seconds.

Its power had also increased slightly, making it exceptionally effective against slimes. The destructive power of Wind Blade was now roughly equivalent to a warrior's full-force strike. But Marcus' strongest slash could only cut halfway through a slime's body. Zelier's Wind Blade, however, cleanly sliced straight through it. And even after cutting one slime apart, the remaining force was still strong enough to carve into another slime behind it, continuing its path of destruction. Zelier silently wondered.

Could it be because of mana? Did mana-based attacks have some kind of special damage bonus against slimes? After a brief moment of distraction, Marcus and Vaelis quickly returned to the fight. However, the main damage dealer of the team had now changed. It was Zelier. His Wind Blades swept through the battlefield like hot knives through butter. A single strike could carve away the bodies of two or three slimes, making him far more efficient than either of his companions.

Even when the Wind Blade failed to strike the core and kill a slime instantly, losing a large portion of its body severely slowed it down. At that point, it no longer posed any real threat and could easily be finished off. Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Invisible blades of wind began tearing through the battlefield. Large chunks of translucent gel scattered across the ground. They were all pieces sliced away from the slimes by Zelier's attacks.

Marcus and Vaelis only needed to follow up at the right moment, driving their blades and arrows into the exposed cores to finish them off.

"Hah!" Marcus brought his shield crashing down with a powerful strike. The damaged slime exploded like a water balloon under the impact. Vaelis also abandoned his bow and drew the curved blade at his waist, joining the close-quarters combat. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Before long, the more than twenty rampaging slimes had been completely wiped out.

The final slime attempting to escape was finished off by one last Wind Blade from Zelier. The entire battle had been incredibly efficient. It lasted less than five minutes.

"Phew..." Zelier let out a breath of relief. He had released six or seven Wind Blades in total. The mana stored within his Soul Space had dropped significantly, leaving him with only about half of his reserves remaining. At the same time, his experience bar continued to rise. From Lv. 3 (33/150) to Lv. 3 (87/150). A total increase of 54 experience points. Zelier made a rough estimate. More than ten slimes had died directly to his attacks.

The rest had been weakened by his Wind Blades before Marcus and Vaelis finished them off. The experience from assisting with those kills had apparently counted as well. He was still 63 experience points away from leveling up. If there were no other monsters inside this cavern, he would probably need to take another quest.

"I have to admit, you've far exceeded my expectations." Vaelis patted Zelier on the shoulder.

"You're improving way too quickly."

"Thanks." Zelier accepted the praise with a smile. A mage capable of using Illuminate, Fireball, and Wind Blade was already an incredibly valuable member of any low-tier adventurer party. Someone like that would never struggle to find teammates. However, Vaelis still had some doubts hidden in his mind. Zelier had already revealed two new spells, and he was also carrying an ashwood wand base now. That thing couldn't have been cheap either. Four gold coins.

Was that really enough to buy two spell scrolls and a wand base? No matter how Vaelis calculated it, something didn't quite add up.

"We'll split the reward based on contribution." Marcus looked at the others.

"Zelier gets forty percent. Vaelis and I will take thirty percent each. Any objections?" Vaelis had no complaints. Zelier also accepted the larger share without hesitation. After all, he had contributed the most during the battle. He deserved it. The team then began cleaning up the battlefield. They had eliminated a total of twenty-four slimes. According to the bounty, they would receive seventy-two silver coins. Just like the previous Wild Wolf extermination quest, the reward was only for monster kills.

Any loot they obtained belonged to the adventurers. Each slime core was worth two silver coins on the market. Twenty-four slime cores could be sold for another forty-eight silver coins. Their actual earnings came to one hundred twenty silver coins in total. One gold and twenty silver. Zelier's share was forty-eight silver coins. Not bad. After collecting all the magic cores, Marcus looked deeper into the cavern.

"Let's go further inside and take a look. There might be more slimes. We need to make sure they're completely eliminated." The quest specifically required them to investigate the situation thoroughly. And this was a request issued by Blackstone Town's government office. If something went wrong afterward because they failed to investigate properly, they could be held responsible.

"No problem." Zelier had no objections. In fact, he was happy to find more slimes. He needed experience to level up. The group continued deeper into the cavern. Small streams of water had begun appearing on the ground. They were branches of the underground river flowing from deeper inside the cave. Vaelis crouched down to inspect them, then slowly shook his head.

"As expected... there are more slimes deeper inside. The water is contaminated too." As the group advanced, the acidic stench grew stronger. The temperature also continued dropping, becoming cold enough that everyone wanted to cover their noses. Soon, they heard the familiar sound again. Plop... plop... But this time, the sound was much heavier. Every impact seemed to make the ground tremble slightly.

"That doesn't sound right." Zelier frowned.

"Can a slime really weigh that much?" Marcus and Vaelis' expressions also became serious. They slowed their pace, moving as quietly as possible. After walking for several more minutes, an even larger cavern finally appeared before them. A branch of the underground river cut straight through the area, its water rushing violently. And beside the river... A massive slime over three meters in diameter was slowly moving. It was practically a small hill. Its gelatinous body was far darker and denser than ordinary slimes.

The creature's enormous body suddenly contracted, as if gathering strength. Then— BOOM! It launched itself high into the air and crashed into the river. A huge wave erupted. As the water flowed past the creature's body, it instantly became thick and viscous. Countless unknown substances traveled downstream through the underground river, flowing toward Blackstone Town. And Zelier could see countless smaller slimes splitting away from the giant creature's body, only to merge back into it moments later.

The endless movement made his skin crawl.

"What the hell is that thing?" Zelier suppressed his disgust.

"Giant Slime." Vaelis lowered his voice.

"An abnormal mutation of ordinary slimes. Very troublesome."