After our victory against the raptor, the 40th Floor Guardian, our next target is to defeat the 50th Floor Domain Guardian. Before that, we need to make preparations and make ourselves stronger.
"Take this, you disgusting swine. Exploding Fist."
"Boor—"
Before the B-ranked Orc King finished its anguished yelling from my prior strikes, its pig-faced head burst like a watermelon as I hit it with my newly learned Level 7 Close Quarter Combat Technique.
Exploding Fist is a technique that stores a massive amount of energy in the fist and releases it upon hitting its target, creating a little explosion of crushed flesh.
"Eww, so disgusting. Let's check out my sister a bit."
I complained then conjured a Waterball to wash my blood-soaked right fist. I opened my Omnidirectional Perception and discovered my sister surrounded by a dozen C-ranked Orc Generals. But all got chopped in half by my sister's single blade swipe.
"How's it going, Sis?"
I asked her immediately after I warped myself to her location. Sister didn't flinch at my sudden appearance since she's used to it.
"Well, I'm able to gain more than usual. But the winds are becoming colder and colder."
"Yeah. We're at the beginning of winter after all."
Since seasons also exist inside the dungeon, we are now experiencing the cold winter winds just like on the surface. We're currently in a forest on the 49th Floor of the dungeon. No, this floor was the forest itself.
The 41st to 49th Floors are called Forest Floors. Three-kilometer-high pitch-black walls surrounded the five-kilometer radius circle. Of course, it still had the barrier on it.
Although it is not as dense as the Great Forest of Darkness, it is still designated as a dangerous area. Monsters of at least Level 166 up to Level 299 lurk in these vegetated floors to prey on their victims. But if we ask, it's a huge source of unlimited EXP.
"Say, Raphael. Are our Levels enough to gain a safe and absolute victory against a Level 500 monster?"
"Well… I can't say it would be safe, but we will be victorious.
"Maybe we need to Level up more." she muttered as she was clenching her fists.
"Everything is not about Levels, you know? Everything cannot be defined by numbers. You just have to compete with what we have…" I paused and fixed my gaze on her. "…But the most important thing is that..." then pointed a finger at her.
"My breast?"
"Not that! The heart! Heart!"
"So that's what you meant. I thought you were blinded by your lust."
"I'm not as bad as you think!"
She provoked me with a sarcastic expression, which made her more annoying but still beautiful. Just what have you been thinking about who I am?
"Anyway, our current strength is already enough to defeat the one below."
"Escaping your issues, huh."
Since we cannot guarantee our victory if we face the unknown 50th Floor Guardian, we've been killing monsters to gain experience and level up on the Forest Floors for more than a month. The dungeon is yet to be conquered, so we won't get resurrection after death. It's better to be safe than sorry.
"Shall we take the 50th Floor Guardian now? Our month-long winter break is just around the corner. And after that, we only had a month to bond before you left for the academy."
"Now that I think about it, we've been focusing on attempting to conquer this dungeon so much that I even forgot my upcoming departure."
"Although we spent much time inside the dungeon, not only did we get stronger, we also made valuable and unforgettable memories together."
"If you say so… Well, I'll just use the winter break to spend more time with mothers, too."
Winter break is an annual month-long break where we cease all our monster hunting operations. The intense drop in temperature made our movements duller, which might affect our performance.
"It's decided, Raphael. We will defeat the 50th Floor Guardian after talking care of these literal beefheads."
"As Her Majesty's wish."
After we one-sidedly massacred a herd of Bicorns, I used Warp and teleported us down to the 50th Floor.
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"Are you ready, Sis?"
"No need to ask me."
"If things go so south, hold on to me so I can use Warp or Portal to withdraw."
"Okay."
When things settled, we pushed the door open and opened it wide to its limit. We hold the door from closing as much as we can to inspect and analyze the sleeping monster longer.
"What's that? A type of slime?"
"Looks like it…"
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Race: Abyss Slime
Title: Unnamed Dungeon 50th Floor Domain Guardian
Condition: Dormant
LV: 500
MP: 10000
STR: 5000
DEF: 4000
MAG: 9000
MDEF: 12000
AGI: 5000
Unique Skill: Organic Domination
Racial Skill: Infinite Regeneration, Acid Body, Fragmentization, Crystalization
Extra Skill: Auto-MP Recovery, Intimidation
Skill: Detection, Danger Detection, Weakness Finder, Nocturnal, Enhanced Senses
Magic Skill: [Elemental Magic: Dark: 4, Water: 3] [Non-Elemental Magic: Acid: 8, Poison: 5]
Resistance: Pain Nullification, Exhaustion Nullification, Asphyxiation Nullification, Physical Attack Nullification, Corrosion Nullification, Poison Nullification, Natural Effect Nullification, Temperature Nullification, Hunger Nullification, Magic Attack Resistance, Fear Resistance, Impact Resistance, Blast Resistance
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Organic Domination - a skill that allows the user to absorb and manipulate all organic matter within its grasp. It consists of the following subskills:
Biological Analysis - a skill that allows one to breakdown, study, and modify the genetic information of an absorbed specimen while also tracking its genealogy.
True Transformation - a skill that allows the user to biologically copy the traits and appearance of an absorbed specimen on the user's own body, fully or partially.
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"What a stat…"
"Forget about the stats. The problem lies with its skill set. It's the annoying Infinite Regeneration and invalidations again, like that lizard. And it even has a broken Unique Skill!"
"Really?"
"Really."
Because Sister only had the Appraisal Skill, she only peek at its stats, titles, and condition. But not me, who had the superior Analysis Skill from the God's Eye Blessing. I can see its skills like daylight.
In terms of appearance, it had a jet-black, jelly-like body, like that of a Black Slime. It had an indefinite and irregular shape, but I could tell that this slime was several times larger than the Black Slime—around five meters in diameter—but slightly smaller than the humongous pale-blue, A-ranked Gluttonous Slime.
"If it's like that lizard, we already know how to deal with it. It's even easier now that it has a lower Level than the lizard."
With confidence in our words, we let go of our palms and let the doors automatically close.
"Look at this, Sis."
I opened my Inventory and took out a single monster's corpse. It's humanoid in shape, about the size of a child, with a green hue on its skin. In other words…
"A goblin? What are you going to do with it?"
"Wait for it."
Shut. Thud.
Immediately after the doors shut, I threw the goblin corpse in front of the ominous slime. The slime started to move a little and fixed its gaze at the goblin. It doesn't have eyes or any body parts, so I cannot distinguish most of its actions.
Suddenly, a part of the slime detached from the main body. The part then starts crawling on the stone floor towards the corpse. As the part touches the lifeless body, it spreads on the corpse at high speed and then slowly but grotesquely consumes it. Due to its Acid Body, the corpse emits smoke and is burned.
"Disgusting… and creepy. If it wasn't for the Mental Attack Resistance, I would have been messing up with this place." Sister bellyached after witnessing an unpleasant scene.
The goblin disappeared as if it hadn't been there before. The fragment didn't even enlarge a bit, though it swallowed a whole body. As if pulled by a rubber band, the fragment flew back towards the main body, and the real magic begins.
The slime gradually reduces its size until it reaches a three-foot diameter. It changed its shape and took the form of a three-foot tall humanoid. The jet-black, jelly-like surface of the humanoid was then altered into green skin.
In just less than a minute, the five-meter wide S-ranked Abyss Slime turned into a naked, one-meter-tall F-ranked Goblin.
"That's the power of its Unique Skill."
"So it can transform into anything that it ate?"
"Biologically, yes. But don't let your guard down. Even though it transformed into a mere goblin, its stats and skills were the same as before."
"You're right."
As we are having conversation, the goblin opens its right palm to us. It suddenly shoots its jet-black, fragmented gloop forward.
"Anti-Physical Barrier."
Before the gloop reached us, the immediate erected the translucent dome to protect us from the gloop. As I observed the slimy substance attached to the dome, I noticed that it was moving and alive.
"Beware of these slimes, Sis. Don't let it touch you, or else you'll become its fodder."
"Of course. I won't let that filth touch my body."
After I draw the barrier, our battle begins.