[That's a Slime.]
... "Eh?"
What the fuck is Meta saying all of a sudden? Did she hit her head? No, did I hit my head and somehow this affected her?! Meta is broken...my system is broken! No I always knew this right from the day it didn't even let me see my stats...God of this new world, the one who brought me here...I want a refund! Give me a better cheat!!
'What nonsense are you talk about?'
How could she be comparing a low level cute slime...to such a hellish feind!!
"If this was a slime, I wouldn't be having my chest bent inward now, would I?!"
[Do not underestimate Slimes. That race is actually one of the most troublesome and underated specie out there. At you're currently level, you'll most likely die to one. Talk less of Demon Slime like this one.]
"..."
She's not kidding.
There was no amusement in her voice. Well, actually, there's never any feelings in Meta's voice, but this time I could tell she wasn't just saying this to mock me or piss me off.
Meta was just saying facts.
"That's a Slime?"
No, more like...how the fuck are Slimes this crazy?? Aren't they supposed to be like, level one or something?! Isn't this unfair?!
[There's no time. Slimes are impervious to mundane physical attacks, you can't win. Especially not against one this rank.]
I watched as molten silver slither down the arm of the Silver Sentinel and form into a polished great sword, that glistened with an almost ghostly light.
Impervious to physical attacks...? So, it's not because it's armor would be almost impenetrable, but rather because of its nature as a specie?
I had questions, dozens of them, as to how exactly was the Silver Sentinel an actual Slime. But I knew better than to waste unnecessary time pondering that at the moment.
I knew to an extent, Meta wouldn't say something at random. If she said this was a slime, then it definitely wasn't just a Golem.
Once again, I cat my Appraisal skill.
...
[Name: Demon King Slime
Type: Monster
Level: ???
???
???
???...]
____
____
...
Shit...it really is a slime.
But why did the appraisal skill change all of a sudden? And what's a Demon King Slime? That's ominous as fuck.
'Meta, you've got a lot of explaining to do when this is over.'
[Affirmative. Just don't try to dodge the next blow.]
As Meta said, the Silver Knight was already just above me, with its great sword raised above it's head.
This...is gonna' hurt...I cursed and smiled as I looked up at the Knight.
"Round three, Motherfucker-!!"
Then the Great blade fell against my neck like a guillotine and everything went dark.
-SHING!
[You have died.]
***
.
.
.
[You have died.]
.
.
.
[Respawning in 3...2...1...]
[Ding! Welcome!]
My head buzzed as the first thing I opened my eyes to see was a red interface staring back at me.
'I can never get used to respawning. '
Does it count if I'm reincarnated though? It should be the same, respawning only lets me return from death. Either way, I still die and come back.
Huh. How many times have I died now.
A bullet to the lung...gutted out by the Knight, and now decapitated.
"Hehe...Meta, I fell like I'm doing more dying than living in this life..." I gave a self deprecating laugh and stood up slowly.
Just like before, I respawned back into the large cavern with glowing crystals. Ahead of me were the three large tunnel paths shrouded in gloom and darkness.
For a moment, I remained in a daze will staring at them.
'...Meta, status. '
[The Silver Sentinel was instead a Demon Slime capable of devouring, hoarding, and shapeshifting. ]
'So the Slime shapeshifted into a Golem then, into the Silver Sentinel? ' I asked.
[It seems likely. It's more likely that, a wandering Slime had somehow ended up down into the Dungeon and the Boss Lair, and devoured the original Boss, which was the initial Silver Sentinel. Only for it to take it's place as the last dungeon obstacle.] Meta explained and the gears in my head creaked as I frowned.
"Woah, woah, woah. Back up a bit, Alexa. None of this..is making any sense. " I rose to my feet and pated down my body, before lamenting with a deep sigh.
... Respawning didn't let me bring back my spear or armor.
I returned just as how I was like a week ago; dressed in bloodied rags and mostly naked.
For the moment, I restrained away in my heart the burning emotions that came with losing my weapons after days of precariously crafting them from scratch and focused on the current matter.
'I didn't know slimes could do that. While deliberating internally with Meta, I started making my way back to the part of the inner cave which I made my residence.
At this point, it was back to the drawing board.
[Slimes have the potential. Usually they could, but can't.]
'Now you're really not making any sense...'
I wasn't much of an avid gamer back on Earth when I was still young...but I knew quite a bit about Slimes at least. Mostly roughly general knowledge.
Slimes, this is based on the various RPG games and Fantasy novels and series, are weak low level monsters initially used to farm experience points for beginners.
They were small and would usually die in one hit. I had never heard of a slime as fiendish as the Silver Sentinel before.
[Slimes are commonly known as weak and low level Monsters amongst many inhabitants of Aethoria. But you forget, just like many other Monsters, even Slimes have the possibility to rank up. But Slimes are just a special case.]
'What do you mean? '
[Though classified as Monstes, Slimes are otherwise, mundane organisms that just exist and feed endlessly. They have next to no attack power and just as much defense. They also aren't particularly aggressive, or expressive of anything at all, actually. Slimes just existed.]
... That is kind of sad.
[It is because of this that Slimes are seen as easy prey and mostly low level. It is rare to find a Slime that is above Mortal Rank, and even rarer to fine one like the Silver Sentinel.] Meta added.
A Demon King Slime...
[That's an Evolution Pathway to a Slime.] All of a sudden, Meta said.
"An Evolution Pathway, what's that?" This was the first I was hearing of this.
"You mean Rank?"
[All living creatures on Aethoria possess an Evolution route, mostly separate from other species. It is different from Ranks. An Evolution means a creature becomes something else entirely, with that Slime reaching a new existence.]
A Demon.
I listened to Meta's explanation silently and weighed the information as I walked. Soon enough, I arrived at a certain corner of the wide and expansive cavern where the ground sloped downwards and into the wall.
That was the part of the cave where I had made my base since day one when Meta brought me back. The Aether concentration was much higher than up here mostly thanks to the Aurora tree that was below.
'Meta. This is all unnecessary, all what you've said so far. At least at the moment.
[...]
In then end, I truly couldn't give two fucks about what race or existence the Silver Sentinel truly was. I'd have to get passed it anyway to escape the dungeon after all.
I took a step forward and slid down the downward slope, into the hidden cave that was deeper below. Immediately, I felt the air that was filled with rich level Aether bathe my skin as fill my lungs as I passively grew stronger.
Since the respawning sequence brought me back to the same state I was prior to entering the Boss Lair, I was uninjured and there was no groove in my chest.
Up ahead was the Aurora tree, standing as tall and as majestic as the first day I saw it. Its sapphire leaves glistened with a ghostly hue, and a mystique sense of allure to them.
"Just tell me how to get by that Monster."
All I've managed to confirm was, the Silver Sentinel was just a much more dangerous Monster than I initially expected. But actually, this didn't change the difficulty or the level that much.
[Slime's are mostly impervious to mundane physical blows as a result of their construct. Neither do they feel pain, but they do sustain damage. A Demon Slime is no different, but more grander.]
"Okay, so I can't throw my fists then. Well I wasn't even considering hitting that steel armor anyway... ' just thinking of it made my knuckles burn.
I looked up at the broad branches of the Aurora and my eyes settled calmly on the leaves.
"Aura...then."
[That's you're best option.]
I scoffed and rebutted.
"That's my only option."
Argh, all of this is just becoming more and more of a bigger pain.
"Haha. When hasn't it ever been."
"Okay. New plan!"
I turned around sharply and said, then stopped as my expression crumpled a little.
"Actually...same plan. Just a little better this time!"
Slimes were impervious to mundane physical attacks from regular weapons. This meant I could only deal reasonable damage through Aura or magical means by using Aether.
I didn't need Meta to tell me Magical weapons of something like that could also work in dealing damage against Monsters, but unfortunately, I didn't have that option.
"Hmm, I could confront the Sentinel one more time with Aura based attacks. Now that my Aura is more robust and refined than normal, I should have a better chance.
But that's where the limit of my advantage stops.
My experience with Aura was average at best. I still hadn't gotten proper training from the family or received an art. Although I was already on my way to making mine, for that last part.
But ultimately, I was still far off.
[Armament is a unique prospect for an Art. It takes close characteristics from Battle arts and combines them with the intricate Aether manipulation needed in Aura control.]
Basically it's an Art that highly compliments Martial arts and close combat. But I still can't augment my weapon, and it was only an Art in name.
The prospects was all in my head and had yet to fully materialized.
Realizing this, I inadvertently gave a sigh.
"I guess it's about time I really completed my Art.
At the very least I needed to learn to be able to use Armament on my weapons.
"There's not much time... I might have to delay my return to the real world by one more day."
That was one week down here.
In one week...again!... I will return back to the Boss Lair!
***
[Progress 2/6 chapters]