The First Hunt

Was that stubbornness or unwavering loyalty? Either way, I was grateful. Thanks to him, the last shred of hesitation I’d been clinging to vanished cleanly. Honestly, when I first saw those two together, I’d been at a loss. A tank and a mage. Their combination was far trickier to deal with than two ordinary warriors.

Trying to target the female mage meant dealing with the tank’s provocation skills. Going after the old tank first would leave me wide open to the mage’s attacks. The woman’s magic was especially troublesome. This slime body looked invincible from the outside, but it had one fatal weakness: if the entire body was erased in an instant by certain means, Residual would hit zero and I would die. Her flame magic was exactly that kind of threat. The being had warned me about it.

In the end, instead of facing them directly, I suggested using the same tactic I’d used to wipe out the previous party—luring in a massive swarm of ant monsters. It was a shame I couldn’t finish them myself, but survival came first. However, the being had a different ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠idea.

Listening to the plan proposed by the being, whose eyes curved gently, I found myself intrigued. The method was simple: lure small groups of ant monsters toward the pair, force collisions, and repeat the process to drain both the woman’s stamina and mana at once. It was a bit tedious, but the results were certain.

Unlike the old man, whose experience had hardened him, the less-experienced woman grew visibly exhausted with every small skirmish. Her mana consumption skyrocketed, and the potions she had stockpiled began to run dry. After several hours of this cycle, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. Her mana was completely depleted.

Once the woman became combat-incapable, the old man discarded her without a second thought, like a used rag. Watching the scene, I couldn’t hide my shock. Everything had unfolded exactly as the being predicted. The moment her mana ran out, he abandoned her without hesitation.

To think he would so easily throw even a longtime party member to the monsters. A chill ran down my spine, followed by a surge of rage. That wasn’t human. No—he was clearly a demon wearing human skin. Once that thought took root, he no longer looked like a person to me. What stood there was nothing more than a beast beneath even the monsters.

Given how casually he committed such acts, he must have a long list of past crimes. He couldn’t be allowed back into society outside the dungeon. For the sake of even the barest shred of justice—if not humanity—I would end him here. It was the least I could do for the victims who had vanished without a trace.

Having made my decision, I stared at him from the shadows. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Without the mage beside him, the old man wandering alone was nothing more than a massive piece of prey. I took care with how I hunted him. He always approached others wearing that kindly mask, just as he had with me, just as he had with the woman. And the moment he judged his target no longer useful, he betrayed them without remorse.

So I decided to repay him in kind. I transformed into the form of an ordinary slime and waited on the path he would take. Since I made no attempt to hide, it was only natural that he spotted me. But judging me as nothing more than a regular slime, the old man lowered his guard and approached. He had no idea he was walking straight into a predator’s maw—just like I once had, deceived by his harmless appearance.

What followed happened quickly. Instead of pouncing on him directly for fun, I targeted his shield first—the very thing a tank’s life depended on. Even with no hope left, the old man refused to let go of it until the end. If he had abandoned the shield and fled, he might have bought himself a little more time. Seeing his stubbornness, I couldn’t help but laugh.

The desperate, greedy light in his eyes up close was truly a sight to behold. As my body slowly engulfed him, those eyes filled with despair. Why? Why make that face? Did you forget what you said when you watched me die? You told me it was just bad luck… Well, this time it was your turn to have bad luck, wasn’t it? So why are you making that victim’s expression?!

I poured every ounce of my fury into the man now completely swallowed inside me. Of course, he couldn’t hear a word. But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop speaking. It bordered on madness. The violent rage, impossible to control even by myself, poured out like a waterfall.

I stared wide-eyed at the stat that had ballooned to an absurd degree. The bonus levels granted were on par with my original level. Following the being’s advice, I had poured all fifteen points gained from defeating the giant ant monster into Acid. The reason was the old man currently inside me.

The skill Dissolve depended on the Acid stat to determine how thoroughly it could melt a target. A tank with especially high defense might be swallowed successfully, yet Dissolve could still fail to activate properly. To prevent that, I had invested everything into Acid. I had worried it might still be insufficient, but that concern now seemed unnecessary.

Based on the additional value, the old man’s Karma was a staggering one hundred and fifty. The giant ant monster that had slaughtered its own kind had only possessed one hundred Karma, so this easily surpassed it. The situation was truly karma coming full circle. He was being dragged down by the sins he himself had committed.

As Dissolve began in earnest, the old man’s body slowly started to melt. First came the equipment he wore. Countless bubbles formed as everything dissolved, followed by the skin beneath. Watching his own body liquefy, the old man thrashed violently, screaming. For him, it must have felt like being submerged in boiling water—an unimaginable agony unfolding in real time.

The old man burned away spectacularly, bubbles rising across his entire body. The sight was too brutal for words. Yet I felt nothing. Instead, a languid sense of fullness spread through me, bringing with it a quiet happiness.

Honestly, when I first planned this operation, I had expected at least some revulsion at the thought of killing a person. But once I carried it out, my mind was strangely calm. Even watching the old man vanish while screaming a sound no one else could hear, my only feeling was that it was unsightly. I surprised even myself.

Part of it was that I no longer saw him as human, but there was clearly another factor at play. I had sensed it faintly before, but I had already twisted beyond the point of no return. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what that was. A primal fear followed, yet whether it would prove beneficial remained uncertain.

Once the skin had fully melted, the muscles came next. By then, the old man’s violent resistance had completely ceased. I couldn’t know the exact cause of death, but he had likely met the most horrific end imaginable—burning alive in agony. When even the muscles disappeared, the remaining skeletal frame dissolved at a speed far faster than before.

Just like that, the hunter who had been here moments ago vanished without a trace. He left nothing behind, disappearing completely from this world. But it wouldn’t be a problem. This place wasn’t Earth—it was a dungeon, an unknown space. No one would care if someone died here… just as no one had cared when it happened to me.

The now-familiar mechanical voice echoed in my mind. That sweet whisper almost felt like it was endorsing and encouraging what I had done. Of course, I had no intention of stopping here. This was only the beginning.

While savoring the fullness spreading through my body, I heard someone’s voice in the distance. It seemed the woman who had been unconscious had woken up. At that moment, I returned to my girl form. My eyes, fixed on the direction of the sound, gleamed with a dangerous light.