Chapter 17 - Demon Slime (1)

As Jellybean finished consuming the fourth slime, a notification flashed before his eyes.

[You have leveled up!]

[HP: +5]

[Mana: +2]

[Unallocated Stat points: +1]

Finally...

Zhang Ying had been waiting for this notification to appear. He immediately used the point to increase his control. At the moment, he had used eleven control points to tame the goblins and Jellybean and needed fifteen more to tame the demon fox.

However, the rate he was leveling up was extremely slow. At the current pace, it would take him over a week of grinding to tame the fox. But he doubted Alana would leave him be for that long.

I have to get fifteen control points today.

Zhang Ying thought while turning to look at Gao Rong. Consuming Arcana was the quickest way to level up. Unfortunately, beasts like slimes rarely dropped arcana.

I guess Gao Rong should have a few on him.

However, an unexpected notification interrupted Zhang Ying's thoughts.

[Green Slime slain!]

[You gained 10 EXP.]

[Jellybean gained 5 EXP.]

[Jellybean is evolving!]

"What!?" Zhang Ying mumbled.

It was the first time one of his pets was evolving. Zhang Ying wasn't surprised by that, though. What caught him off guard was how quickly Jellybean was ready to evolve, when Gobrina and Gozan showed no improvement.

[Most monsters have evolution levels. Once they reach that level, they can evolve with preparation.]

[Slimes are an exception. They can evolve through feeding.]

[The user is strongly suggested to learn more about their class—anything at all would help!]

The letters flashed before Zhang Ying's eyes as a blinding light enveloped Jellybean. When the light faded, Jellybean had grown considerably in size.

For comparison, one could say it went from being a tennis ball to a basketball. Not only did it grow bigger, but it also got something like eyes. Well, calling them eyes might be a stretch since they were just light sensors and its color changed from cobalt blue to cyan.

[Jellybean has evolved into a Gelatinous Slime!]

[You've evolved a beast! Control +2]

[You'll receive a special bonus for your beast's first evolution! Control +5.]

[Jellybean has learned a new move: .]

Woah...

Before Zhang Ying could comment on it, Gao Rong hurried to his side, praising him.

"You're quite strong, aren't you?" he said, slinging his arm on Zhang Ying's shoulder.

"...I get lucky sometimes," Zhang Ying replied.

Despite Gao Rong's words and smile, Zhang Ying could sense the bloodlust leaking from him. He was planning the same thing as Zhang Ying. Only one of them would leave the dungeon alive.

The group continued their journey ahead. Unlike Gao Rong, Zhang Ying knew the perfect spot to kill him, with no evidence. After all, they were headed towards the dungeon's sealed boss' room.

Dungeons were supposed to be temporary creations, set to disappear after being cleared. But low-level ones, like slime dungeons, were never fully cleared and ended up being used as training spots for beginners instead.

How did they accomplish it?

By sealing off the dungeon's boss' room. As long as the boss didn't die, the dungeon would remain active and spawn monsters regularly. It was a nice business model.

But sometimes, arrogant or foolish newbies broke through the boss' room. It wasn't common, but happened so many times that no one usually batted an eye.

Zhang Ying was counting on their carelessness. After all, they were just beginners, bound to mess up. It was the dungeon manager's responsibility to have sent an experienced hunter with them.

***

"This is getting boring," Gao Rong yawned.

Zhang Ying agreed. After all, Jellybean was doing a great job killing any slime they found. But it was worse for Gao Rong as he wasn't getting any experience.

Gao Rong didn't fuss about it because he thought it was the same for Zhang Ying. If he knew that wasn't the case, he would have thrown the biggest tantrum.

Thankfully, the boredom didn't last long as they found the boss' room. Paper enchantments had been placed on the door so that even slime acid won't melt the door.

"So, what now? Got a key, or are we stuck here?" Gao Rong scoffed, crossing his arms.

"I can open the door once the enchantments are removed," Zhang Ying replied. "Can you do it? I'll stay on guard with Jellybean."

Gao Rong scoffed but removed the charms. But as he did, the black ink of the paper enchantments covered his hands.

"What's this!?" Gao Rong exclaimed.

"Relax, it's just ink."

Zhang Ying didn't lie. The ink was truly just ink, but it was slightly enchanted and required a special removal charm to remove it. The enchantment was designed so the dungeon manager could identify who removed it.

But it didn't matter, as Gao Rong wouldn't leave the dungeon alive. Zhang Ying only made him do that because he didn't want the mark on himself.

Once the enchantments were gone, Zhang Ying instructed Jellybean to melt the door. The slime bounced forward eagerly, unleashing a stream of corrosive acid on the door. In mere seconds, the metal door melted away.

As they stepped inside, they found a massive black goo towering before them. Two deep, glowing red orbs floated within its black blob of a body, resembling its eyes.

The acidic air inside the chamber burned their nose, causing Gao Rong to tear up, but Zhang Ying couldn't take his eyes off the monster.

After all, it was the monster Zhang Ying wanted to tame, the ruler of the slime dungeon... the Demon Slime.