Sweeping the Goblin Village and the Hidden King Slime
"Finally... I won this long, grueling battle...!"
"Urk-"
A deep wave of nausea surged up from my gut. Not just one glass—no, eight of them. I'd forced down every last drop of that godawful-smelling smoothie.
Agility +8
"Congrats my ass—urp!"
The stat boost was great, sure. But I'd chugged way too much. My mouth still reeked of that foul stench, and the lingering sweetness had turned my tongue numb.
"Huuuuh..."
I exhaled as much as I could, trying to calm my body. My upper belly was bloated like I'd swallowed a watermelon, but since it was all liquid, it'd settle soon enough.
"Ahh—finally feeling alive again."
After a short breather, my mind cleared up. Not sure if I'd gotten used to that damn smoothie stink or if it'd finally faded, but it was gone now.
"Alright, time to test this out and keep pushing?"
My stomach had settled enough, so I figured it was time to climb the remaining floors. Goal for today: at least the 5th-floor boss. After gauging my level on the 2nd, it seemed doable.
The 3rd-floor entry prompt still hovered in the air. I stared right at it and said,
"Tower, take me to the 3rd floor."
Enter the 3rd floor?
[Y/N]
The tower reacted to my words, pulling the blue window closer. No hesitation—I hit Y.
The scenery shifted again. The 3rd floor was some random forest. Monsters? Just three slimes and ten goblins—nothing special.
Leveraging my boosted agility, I sliced through the goblins' necks in a flash. Slimes? Torched 'em with skills.
"Hoo—next floor."
The whole thing took two minutes flat. Insane growth.
Then the 4th. A forest path somewhere. Monsters and process were pretty much the same as the 3rd, just with goblin shamans thrown in. Slightly more numbers, that's it.
I lopped off the shamans' heads first, then skill-fried the noteworthy ones to wrap it up.
And then.
Entering the 5th-floor boss room.
The long-awaited 5th floor of the tower. I could finally enter the boss room, known as the "newbie wall of tears."
"Phew—just smash the boss quick and head home?"
No major snags getting here had me brimming with confidence. Sure, guides and the association always said "never let your guard down," but maxed-out me? Pfft.
"So, what's the boss this time...?"
Boss room. No clue what it'd be, but I wanted to clear it fast, snag the hidden room, and bounce home. The surroundings were just the forest and path from 3rd and 4th, connected.
I tilted my head in confusion, and right on cue, a tower message popped up.
Clear the Goblin Village
📍 Remaining Goblin Forces:42
📍 Goblin Chieftain:1
"Oh... so just wipe 'em all out?"
Simple clear condition. Gripping my kitchen knife, I headed down the path ahead. Had to be the village at the end.
And I was right.
Keruk?
"There it is..."
A bit further along the path, the village entrance came into view. Size-wise, not huge—just enough for the numbers the message showed.
'Frontal assault, or stealth and sweep? That is the question...'
Hiding in the bushes before entering, I scouted. Frontal was brainless but wasteful; stealth was thoughtful, efficient, and comfy.
But then...
'Wait, gotta wipe the whole place anyway, right?'
Clear condition was "process the village." Meant killing everything. Frontal might be faster—easy aggro, goblins being goblins.
'Nah, why overthink? They're just goblins.'
I shook my head, stood up, and—
Taat- Keruk?!
Slash-
"Smoothie cut-"
In seconds, the peaceful village turned into a slaughterhouse. Sliced the warrior blocking me, then torched the archers firing from the gaps with their bows.
By the time I'd beheaded the last warrior goblin—
Thud-!
Keruk...
"Oh, you the chieftain?"
The guy who landed screamed "I'm the chief!" Big build compared to regulars, hefty frame. Bone club in his right hand looked way better than their crude stone axes.
Keruk-!
As I sized him up, he sensed it, roared in annoyance, and charged.
But...
"...That's your top speed?"
With agility up over 10, he was sloooow. I circled behind the charging brute.
Kruk?!
He swung his club, sensing me—but too late. Dodged easy, jammed my knife into his neck.
Keruk...
Slash-
Ignoring his boiling blood gurgle, I severed his head.
"Yeah, yeah, shove off for now."
I dismissed the reward window popping up right after. Nothing much different from 3rd and 4th floors. The 10 free points were huge, but...
I was hunting something more important right now.
What? "Goddammit, where's the hidden room?"
The 5th-floor hidden room from the guides. Scoured the village—no sign of it. Frustrating as hell. Guides said it was there, but tower randomness per person was the issue.
After searching a while...
"What's... that?"
Deep in the village, a statue that didn't fit the grubby vibe caught my eye. Gray limestone-robed human figure. No way goblins made it—I knew instantly. This was the hidden room trigger.
"Let's see what this hidden room's about."
I reached out. Light burst from the statue, and a blue tower window appeared.
User's royal path confirmed. Entering hidden room.
Hidden room entry message. White light rippled from me—
"Whoa-!"
Instant teleport to some unknown space.
"Wh-where the hell is this?"
Disoriented, I scanned around. Pure white marble space, temple-like. In the center: an unknown statue.
And then.
Kuung-!
The ground shook as something dropped before the statue.
"Uh... long time no see?"
Jelly-like blue body, eye-catching crown, massive size. The thing in front of me? The King Slime from floor 1.
"But... this the hidden boss?"
Doubt only. Felt like a pushover back then. Hidden boss? Like giving a guy a knife and pitting him against a small critter. Expectations dashed a bit.
"Still, better check."
Appraisal.
Lv. 25
Squish... squish...?
(Passive) Squishy Body
Effect: Reduces physical damage to all parts except the core by 80%.
"...Something's different?"
Appraised to check, but it didn't match my memory. What changed?
Then it hit me.
"Oh, the 'weakened' tag's gone."
No "weakened" text from floor 1. Level subtly higher too. This must be its true form.
Kuung-!
"..."
While appraising, it moved. Realizing no weaken tag, tension crept in.
Gulp.
'Nah, same simple patterns anyway.'
I quashed the tension, watched its moves. Patterns unchanged. Charged like before.
Just as I closed in—
Skill power reduced by 50%
"What."
Power halved message. My swung knife bounced off the squishy body.
And I saw it: blue jelly tentacles flying at me.