A blue trail of destruction could be seen snaking it's way through the dungeon. Quite a few mushrooms were consumed, and several bugs were too slow to escape.
Ant hill-5 had to be evacuated and the frustrated queen and her workers have decided to relocate to the forest for the time being.
Surprisingly most of my plants survived. The blue slime engulfed a blueberry bush and dissolved all the berries and leaves. It seems to have trouble digesting wood, so when it moved on the bare bush was still there. Almost immediately, the bush sucked in some mana and started sprouting new leaves.
The two goblins had not been idle while this was happening. They had quickly dug a small pit and gather together some small rocks. Seeing them nod to each other I figure it's time for round 3.
"Whiz!" A pebble flew through the air.
"Plop" it hit the slime, and passed right through it, knocking some blue goop away. Trap is happy with the result and grabs another stone.
Angered again, the slime flailed around buy failed to locate its attacker.
"Whiz!" A second rock flew. Trip has good aim and it's another hit.
The slime is visibly upset, but as more and more rocks impact it, the direction of the force points it in the right direction. Slugging forward at a decent speed, the slime's tendrils grasp about in search of the enemy.
Trip and Trap are actually having fun, this is a much safer way to deal with the issue. Why get up close and risk yourself when you can toss stuff at enemies from a safe distance. Their ideology of how to fight had shifted dramatically.
A few rocks bumped the slime's core. Cushioned by the goop, they lost too much force to deal significant damage to it. Nevertheless, the bombardment had slowly reduced the amount of slime that surrounded the core.
Switching to his spear, Trap'rat prepared for the final showdown. Trip'nut kept hurtling pebbles to pull the slime closer.
Suddenly, as if crossing an invisible boundary, the slime got close enough to sense the goblins. Charging in their direction, the slime moved to retaliate.
"Plop!" It dropped into the small pit.
The pit was part of the defenses I had built previously that the goblins had expanded and deepened. It was deep enough that if a goblin stood up straight at the bottom, their eyes would be level with the floor.
As soon as the slime fell into the trap, it tried to stretch its body up to reach the other side.
"Thwack! Thwack! Piak!" Each time the slime reached for the edge to climb up, Trap'rat would swat it with his spear. The tendrils that rose to fight back were also systematically severed with a quick slash.
Although Trap was doing well, this would not be a sustainable way of fighting. The separated goop would rejoin the main body after just a few seconds, so no progress was possible.
That's when Trip'nut executes his part of the plan. Using his new bucket he tossed its content onto the slime. Sand, dirt and small rocks landed on the slime.
It wasn't very effective, but the buildup of particles inside the slime that couldn't be digested did make the monstrosity a bit sluggish.
With their plan progressing as anticipated, the goblins got a boost to their courage. Trip moved to dropping large rocks onto the slime, the force of each impact disrupting its control over its tendrils.
Eventually the slime was partially buried, and could no longer stretch far enough to reach the surface. Trap'rat's job being done, switched to tossing sand and dirt.
After completely burying the slime, the goblins paused to catch their breath. Nervously, Trap pokes the pile of dirt and sand with his spear. Seeing no reaction the two goblins started stomping the dirt down, compacting it and hopefully crushing the slime more.
Seeing the two goblins do their stomping and dancing on the filled-in pit, I wonder if I should tell them that the slime already perished a while ago. How do I know? They are now unlocked in the shop.
"Well done you two, the first slime has been defeated!"
The goblins pause, then look at the dirt beneath their feet.
"Now that you have experience dealing with a slime, I hope you can continue to hunt down the other slimes down there to prepare for us to conquer more territory."
The two nod hesitantly.
"Another goblin will be joining us thanks to the DP we earned from defeating the slime. They will be working with you, so teach them the ropes as you go."
"Crash!!!" I hear a sound that is accompanied by a slight shaking of the ground. Checking for the source I realize the first tree has been felled. Two buff goblins soon return for a break and a drink carrying a bundle of trimmed off branches.
Teturning to the task at hand, I pull up the menu and get another goblin from the shop. Soon, another little green dude is standing there in confusion. After getting his bearings gob-11 is passed on to the two sneaks to be trained. It's a good fit as this goblin is also on the smaller end of the spectrum.
The 2 older goblins decide to spend some time making sure the newest recruit is settled in and equipped for the task. They also get to work preparing a few new pit-traps for future hunting purposes.
As they work, I roll over to the place the slime was defeated. I can feel the presence of the mana-core beneath me. I reach out with my mana to connect to it, and soon the pebble sized core is drawn out of the ground by its magnet-like attraction to me.
Repeating the familiar process, I lead it to a safer space before starting to absorb it. My mana vortex cultivation method is going full speed! I can feel my body expanding!
Time to level up again!