Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: 4. Temporary Hero Promotion Exam (3)
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Slimes.
Gelatinous blob monsters.
They could change their shape at will, but fundamentally, they were hemispherical lumps plastered to the floor.
There were three varieties: Green, Yellow, and Red.
But what was blocking Ian and Vivian's path right now was the most basic one—a Green Slime.
They attacked by bouncing forward or suddenly stretching out to smack their target.
The textbook response was a many-to-one approach.
While a close-range class like a knight held them off...
...an archer or mage pierced the core from a distance.
Vivian's case didn't deviate much from that method.
The differences were that she, a mage, had to engage in close combat, and she had no one to grab onto since she was alone.
"Eek!"
Vivian rolled to dodge the charging slime.
If she could widen the distance and cast her spell quickly, she could take it down easily.
But Ian wasn't allowing that.
'Stick close. Get right up to the slime's range.'
That was his instruction.
'Dodge, then pierce the core with Ice Spear. Remember: you're not casting from a safe distance. You're dodging and casting from dangerous range.'
Vivian muttered Ian's words over and over.
"Dodge, magic. Dodge, magic. Dodge, magic..."
She had no idea why she had to go to such lengths.
She was curious, but she didn't ask.
She decided to follow his orders for now.
Because she trusted him.
"Hup!"
She dodged the slime charging again, readjusted her stance, and prepared to unleash her spell.
But the slime was already spreading across the floor, closing in.
"Ugh, so gross...!"
Vivian shuddered in disgust but refused to back off, diligently stepping side to side or rolling to evade.
Ian watched from a safe distance away.
'She has No Casting talent, but casting while moving is a whole different issue, huh.'
Dodge and strike.
Or block and strike.
That was the most basic tactic Ian taught.
Ian knew how to deal with slimes too.
Bind their movement up close, then pierce the core in the center from range to kill them.
Anyone who knew that method could hunt them, superhuman or not.
But Vivian couldn't rely on that.
Being bound to the textbook meant she couldn't handle diverse crises.
She needed to be strong alone and even stronger in cooperation.
Ian had learned that through numerous hardships, hellish dungeons, and his second playthrough.
Real combat never followed the textbook.
Casting magic while moving was hard.
That was why most mages stood still to cast, protected by priests or archers.
In short, mages were vulnerable when enemies closed the distance.
Ian didn't want Vivian to fall into that trap.
'And instantly targeting after dodging isn't easy either.'
There was a core at the slime's center.
It looked easy to hit, but they could stretch and shrink their bodies at will.
Meaning the core's position in the center shifted constantly.
"Eek!"
Vivian rolled to evade and finally cast her spell.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Ice Spear -Boom!
But it missed.
The denser, smaller ice spear during the remaining time pierced the wall.
'...If she hits it right, it'll definitely die.'
After several minutes of playing tag with the Green Slime that came up to thigh height...
The slime collapsed as its core shattered.
"Yaaah-!"
Vivian shouted in front of the crumbling slime.
Anyone seeing her would think she was a warrior victorious in battle.
"You did great."
"Haa... Really?"
"Really. Just keep doing it like that from now on."
"Heehee, got it!"
Vivian, having defeated one, answered confidently.
That confidence didn't last long.
A few steps later, two slimes appeared at once.
"Uh..."
"Do it like before. You know, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
Vivian entered dangerous range again and began playing tag with the two slimes.
It would take a while to get through the path, but Ian was relaxed.
'No King Slime hunters among those guys. We can take it slow.'
In other words, he planned to drill Vivian even harder.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Stab!
"Clean work."
Felix smiled in satisfaction.
The aspirants he'd brought were all capable, and they meshed well together.
The knight blocked the slime up front, while the archer or mage eliminated it.
When multiples swarmed, they used the priest's protective miracles or had the knight tank the damage before healing miracles.
Perfect textbook responses.
Even ambushes from ceiling cracks or wall gaps didn't faze his four aspirants.
Felix nodded involuntarily.
'This is the most basic way to hunt slimes. That idiot Philip with his illness doesn't even know that... What does he plan to do with just Vivian?'
By the time his aspirants finished the dungeon...
That's when Vivian might arrive at the cavern.
Or maybe she'd never make it.
'That could be entertaining in its own way.'
The foolish Vivian meeting a foolish manager and ruining her own fate.
Pitiful, ridiculous, and utterly predictable.
Felix's party had cleared the path and now only the cavern entrance remained.
"Everyone okay? Any injuries?"
"No."
The four aspirants answered confidently.
"Good. As expected of my picks. Let's keep it up."
Felix grinned in satisfaction, and the aspirants smiled back.
The final gateway, the door to the cavern, opened.
-Creak...
The stone door split to the side.
The cavern interior was pitch black; nothing was visible.
Only the faint, eerie fog on the floor gave any hint.
"Light."
The mage summoned a light and floated it ahead.
The surroundings lit up faintly.
The lead knight cautiously stepped forward.
Felix, at the rear, followed slowly.
'Was it always this dark...?'
He was puzzled but not scared.
They could handle Big Slimes.
-Splurch...
Something moved in the darkness.
The knight thrust out his shield, and the flying slime collided.
He immediately pinned it with his sword, and the archer shot its core.
Perfect defense against the ambush.
"Phew... Good job. Just like that."
The party advanced a few more steps.
In the light's glow, Felix glanced at the other parties' doors.
His was the only one that had reached the cavern.
"It's too dark... Can't we get another light?"
"It's hard to maintain, but I'll try... Light."
Another orb of light appeared.
Still dark.
Nothing visible, but they pressed on slowly.
"Mr. Felix. Is it usually this dark?"
"No... With this much light, it should be dimly lit. Weird."
-Splurch, splurch...
The party froze.
Slimes squelching beyond the darkness.
"Where? Front?"
"Wasn't that the side?"
-Splurch, splurch, splurch...
Only the two lights flickered uneasily in the dark.
And the five people beneath them.
Behind was the door they'd just come from.
-Splurch, splurch...
How far? Which direction?
Impossible to gauge.
The urge to flee back through the door surged in all five hearts.
-Splurch...
"Damn it! Where is it?! Archer! Do something!"
"You think I'm Beatrice or something?! How in this darkness?!"
"Light, can't you do more lights?"
"No further...!"
Thick darkness.
Unknowable direction, distance, numbers—the slime's disgusting sounds.
And something even stranger.
'...Why's there a wall in front?'
This wasn't Felix's first time in the cavern.
The vast, temple-like space was normally barren.
There shouldn't be anything looking like a wall ahead.
Even a Big Slime was just larger than human-sized, not wall-like.
Above all, there should be lit candles illuminating the cavern.
Never this dark before.
'Something's...'
-Splurch, sploosh...
Right after the flowing slime sound...
A massive pressure loomed over the two lights.
"No way, Big Slime...?"
"This big? Mr. Felix?"
"N-No... I've never heard of anything like... this."
It felt like a building rising before them.
As it neared the faint light, they saw it was green.
-Grooo...
The thing right in front of them made a grotesque noise.
"This... is a slime...?"
Before they could react...
Hundreds of Green Slimes poured from the giant slime.
"Aaaah-!"
*
"Phew..."
Vivian and Ian arrived at the cavern door too.
Vivian steadied her breath and brushed dust from her clothes.
"White clothes are pretty, but they get so dirty..."
"Washing will clean it right up, so don't worry. And doesn't a bit of dirt make it look like you worked hard?"
"Heehee, true."
At first, even one Green Slime was overwhelming.
But after taking down two at once, she had no qualms.
Dodge, Ice Spear.
The process was fully ingrained in her body.
Ambushes from the ceiling or wall crevices.
She handled them all alone.
Ian was very satisfied with her rapid growth.
'Picked the right person.'
"If you're ready, Vivian, open it."
"Yes, got it."
Vivian cautiously pushed the door.
The stone door slowly parted, revealing eerie fog and darkness.
"Whoa... It's like ghosts are gonna pop out. Why's it so dark?"
Ian crossed the threshold and scanned around.
Identical to when the King Slime appeared.
All lights out, cavern blanketed in eerie fog.
-Splurch, splurch...
Disgusting sounds from the darkness.
Green Slimes split from the King Slime were guarding the place.
Normally mindless, but different with the King Slime present.
"Vivian. You know Light, right?"
"Yes. Here goes."
"Light." -Pop!
A brilliant light floated in the air.
That single one illuminated the entire cavern.
"Hic..."
Vivian gasped in shock.
An ultra-massive slime in the cavern center.
Green Slimes swarming around it like worms.
And two hero parties clustered by the door, on the verge of collapse.
Felix and Marie turned to Vivian simultaneously.
With the stone door at their backs, they were barely holding off the Green Slime horde.
Some had already fainted on the ground, with slimes approaching to devour them.
"Get lost!"
Their fellow aspirants were busy fending them off.
Even in the chaos, Felix glared at Vivian murderously.
Vivian couldn't keep her eyes still.
This situation.
That gaze.
All too familiar.
The final exam where she, incompetent and safe in the back, was the only one left standing.
Felix had glared at her useless self the same way back then.
She'd stood alone amid the fallen aspirants.
All she could do was hold out until another party arrived.
"Uh, u-uuugh..."
"Vivian."
"Y-Yes, yes, yes...!"
"Calm down. You can do this."
"Y-Yes? M-Me... Me? Someone like me...?"
"Huh? What was that?"
"Huh? Wh-What?!"
The soot of traumatic memories cleared from her eyes.
Vivian turned to Ian, face flushed.
The trembling from painful memories was gone.
"Don't forget what you remembered earlier."
"Ah, uwaaah, really, really? That... you're really gonna do it...?"
"Of course. I promised. Whenever and wherever I want. Don't forget."
"Ugh..."
Vivian looked back at the cavern.
The other aspirants struggling desperately.
Only Vivian was unscathed.
The massive slime in the center choked her just looking at it. Could she really...?
"Vivian."
"Yes."
"Forget all the restrictions until now. You don't have to worry about closing distance or dodging anymore. Do whatever you want, go all out. Now."
She glanced at Ian briefly.
Then scanned the cavern quickly.
No time for long deliberation.
Vivian nodded solemnly, resolute.
"Got it."
"One last thing. That big lump has a small core. So, aim for the moment it's clearly fixed in place."
"Yes."
The King Slime gazed down imperiously.
Hundreds of Green Slimes targeted her from the center.
Vivian stepped forward slowly.
First, illuminate the cavern fully.
She raised her staff, and lights bloomed in the air.
A plain Light spell, but the result was extraordinary.
"Light." Ten lights floated evenly around the King Slime.
Each dazzling on its own, the cavern became bright as a sunlit field.
The other aspirants and Felix couldn't close their gaping mouths.
'Ten Lights...? All at once...'
As if saying it was too early to be surprised...
Vivian murmured to herself, thinking of her next spell.
"I can do it... I can do it."