Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Villain Appears
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After that, things proceeded in much the same vein.
Slime pack appears → Trapped adventurer shows up → Rescue them and another slime pack appears → Press on and find another trapped adventurer.
After repeating this pattern three or four times, Yoon Young's inventory was stuffed to the brim with junk items.
'Caught a ridiculous number, but only one piece of gear dropped.'
Women's thief bottoms.
He'd thought it was some kind of underwear at first glance since it looked like a scrap of panty fabric, but it was boldly labeled as "bottoms," which surprised him.
'Never seen anyone actually wearing something like this...'
Yoon Young unwittingly pictured Amael in a skimpy thief outfit.
And not stopping there, he imagined her in reverse bunny suits or flashy lingerie or all sorts of other things...
'...Nearly gave me a nosebleed.'
The allure of concealment.
A girl dressed provocatively was way hotter than one stripped bare.
'Wonder if there's a sewing skill or something. Could do some cosplay then.'
With the situation so leisurely, he found himself lost in such thoughts even mid-battle.
Tonight, maybe take Amael to the alchemy workshop and cuddle her along with Eri...
'Just imagining it feels amazing.'
Empowered by the thought, Yoon Young swung his sword.
Splurch! Splut!
The cleaved slime dissolved into a puddle of gooey liquid.
"Hoo, this is getting tiresome. How many more of these squishy bastards do we have to hack apart?"
"To think this many adventurers got caught. Who the hell's behind all this?"
Every time they cleared a pack, one of his two companions would automatically pipe up with lines like that.
Yoon Young, accustomed to hours of repetitive grinding in hunting grounds, didn't mind a bit. But Barrel and Liena looked utterly fed up with the endless waves.
'Still, it feels like the end should be in sight by now.'
How many times had the same pattern repeated?
Instinct told him it was right about time to stumble on something new.
"I'll take point."
"I'll take point."
As Yoon Young stepped forward, Barrel rushed ahead to claim the vanguard spot.
Step... Step...
'Hm. No slimes or trapped adventurers all of a sudden.'
The moment he thought that, the passage abruptly narrowed.
"Quite the narrow passage."
Tap tap.
Barrel rapped his knuckles against the wall.
"Sounds like there's a wide open space on the other side."
[How do you know?]
"You can tell from the breeze blowing through and the echoes."
Whoooosh...
Sure enough, there was a faint sound of wind.
And just like that—a sudden narrow corridor leading to a vast space beyond.
'Screams "boss room" designed to steal the spotlight.'
Probably scout the open area, trigger an event or two, and the quest would wrap up.
Yoon Young ventured into the narrow passage.
And beyond it lay...
Squish squish!
A massive slime the size of a house wriggled and jiggled.
'Whoa, ew. That size is kinda gross...'
Plus, it exuded this overwhelming presence, whatever you wanted to call it.
He suddenly felt like turning tail and running.
And it seemed his two NPC companions felt the exact same way.
"What kind of slime is that huge...!"
"...Disgusting. I heard things like that only existed back in the Demon King's era."
"We should fall back for now and gather more manpower... Hrk."
Barrel whipped around with a sharp intake of breath.
The passage they'd entered through was now completely sealed off with slime gel.
"When did that happen?!"
"Looks like a trap. Someone set this up..."
Liena clenched her staff, chewing her lower lip.
...A sudden crisis vibe, huh.
Even Yoon Young started feeling the tension creep in.
He didn't think a story quest would end in a wipe and total failure, but...
There were no guarantees it'd resolve smoothly either.
[No choice but to fight now.]
The moment he clicked the floating player dialogue, the NPCs reacted instantly.
"W-We're really taking that thing on with just three of us...?!"
"No choice! It's so huge, it'll be slow. We stay calm and whittle it down!"
Liena, who'd held back so far, was now charging ahead in a tense frenzy, fully prepped for battle.
Whoosh! Boom!
Her staff arced toward the giant slime's body.
A far more powerful explosion than any before erupted from the tip.
It looked big enough to swallow Liena herself, but some reinforcement spell must've protected her—she emerged unscathed.
And the attack landed perfectly!
A chunk of the giant slime's body sank in with a squelch from the blast.
[Liena, slimes around you!]
The line popped up in Yoon Young's vision.
Wondering why, he saw the giant slime's scattered debris from the explosion had reformed into minion slimes, completely encircling Liena.
"...!"
Caught off-guard, Liena froze solid, her judgment clouded.
'Guess I have to step in.'
Yoon Young dashed forward, slashing through the slimes.
"Ngh...!"
Snapping out of it, Liena whirled her staff, clearing the surrounding slimes.
[Glad you're safe.]
"I could've handled it myself. Still, well, a l-little..."
A little?
"...I'll focus up more. We're in battle."
Yoon Young chuckled. Not very honest, huh. He wanted to see her more upfront side someday.
"Looks like it's an aggregate of tons of slimes! Hit it and chunks break off, turning into new slimes!"
Barrel shouted as if to prove it, hacking hard into the giant slime's body.
A massive lump tore free, promptly splitting into dozens of small slimes.
Thanks to the prior glimpse, Barrel calmly swept them aside like dust with his sword, broom-style.
Spotting the pattern, his voice brightened.
"It's not one entity but a cluster, so its movements are pretty sluggish! Just like Liena said, we keep chipping away and we can take it down!"
With that, the real battle kicked off.
The party watched the giant slime's lumbering attacks while striking it, methodically cleaning up the spawns.
'Not that tough?'
Its sluggish speed meant pure focus kept hits at bay.
The NPCs' combat AI wasn't flawless though, so their HP steadily drained.
But Amael's steady healing kept crises at bay, letting them grind the giant slime down methodically.
'Feels good watching the EXP pile up.'
Split slimes didn't drop loot but gave field slime-level EXP.
Even split four ways among the party, the gains were visible!
"The giant slime's shrinking!"
"Yeah, way smaller than when we first saw it."
"If we keep this up...!"
Right, just like Barrel said—if they kept this up...
He could wrap this up smoothly and enjoy a fun night.
As he ground away at slime extermination...
"Oh my. Came to check the trap and wouldn't you know—intruders."
A jarringly alien voice from behind.
The instant he turned, his vision locked and his body seized up completely.
"I hate it when people wreck my carefully raised toys, okay? Though I figured since I didn't hide it well, you'd find it quick enough."
A black-haired girl with long twin tails had appeared out of nowhere.
Unlike any NPC so far, she radiated an intensely off-putting aura.
'Sh-she's here for real. The villain!'
Wasn't beating the giant slime supposed to end it?
No wonder they gave him two spec'd-out companions...! What a massive plot twist.
"D-Danger! I can't move...!"
"Urgh... Binding spell...! Can't break it. What the hell is she!?"
Yeah. Felt different from basic debuffs.
Not a system lockout—this felt like actual restraints binding him...
[Resist the binding spell.]
Twitch!
Yoon Young strained to break free.
But he could barely wiggle his fingers and toes.
'No chance, huh?'
Amid it all, the villain girl eyed Yoon Young with interest.
"Hmm. Exhausted from long battle, yet you resist my binding? Not your average wandering adventurer, I see."
...Did I resist? Yoon Young felt meh about it.
Wiggling fingers counted as resistance, technically.
"Alright, I've decided. Time for your punishment—but I'll give you a choice. Dump the pain on your comrades... or shoulder it all yourself?"
The black-haired twin-tail girl in gosloli garb smirked wickedly.
Landmine fashion, they called it.
To rock this era's aesthetic so boldly...
She had that perfect vibe of an arrogant original heroine from a raunchy Japanese manga, ripe for some "proper education."
'Wait, actually—modern landmine girls ape old-timey styles, right? And nitpicking worldbuilding loses the game anyway.'
Damn it. Tense situation and he's off on tangents.
Any way out? He wanted to bolt...
As if mocking Yoon Young's hopes, a dark-energy orb formed in the girl's hand.
"Choose. This sphere packed with 'excruciating agony'... You take it, or pass it to a comrade? I'll release the binding special-like. You know pointless resistance kills the fun?"
"Hah."
The binding truly lifted. He could move freely now.
[What to do?]
[Take the Orb of Pain]
[Ponder it]
Yoon Young ignored the hovering options, sidling up to the slime-gel-blocked exit.
Squelch!
Slashed at it with his sword, clawed at it with his hands—no dice.
System-locked, apparently.
Checked the other walls thoroughly—no other exits.
'Sigh. No way out, figures.'
He returned to his spot.
By then, irritation started bubbling up.
'Damn it. Villain my ass, trapping me here. It's just an NPC! Who the hell are you to strut around inflicting "excruciating agony" on me?'
Glare locked on the villain girl up close, Yoon Young thrust out his right hand in a fit of rage.