044. Intelligent Slime 1
A silver gleam flashed from the greatsword before vanishing in an instant.
"What a shame..."
While Bin wore a regretful expression, Ront couldn't even close his mouth.
'S-Silver light... just now!'
It was something he'd never seen before. No matter how much the weapon had been exposed to the Blood Lake, he'd never heard of anyone reaching silver mana in a single try.
'Something even those who've handled mana for over ten years struggle with... at that age?'
Unaware of Bin's regression, Ront jumped to conclusions. A once-in-history genius had appeared...
Bin, oblivious to Ront's reaction, focused solely on the greatsword.
'I need to concentrate more on the mana this time... Definitely.'
As Bin gathered his focus, something approached.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud...!
A bizarre sound, like rubber bouncing off the ground. Sensing danger, Bin whipped his head toward the noise.
There stood a massive green monster right in front of Mia, who had a ponytail.
Mia's eyes sparkled as she locked gazes with it.
"Wow."
Her mouth fell open at the unfamiliar sight. Mia felt no threat, but monsters could strike at any moment.
......
A brief silence. No one could tear their eyes from the green monster before them. It felt like a giant jelly wobbling in front of them.
Then Ront recalled the creature and spoke up.
"Well, what do you know. It's just a slime."
Ront smiled faintly at the monster, as if it were nothing special.
Codic, meanwhile, muttered while eyeing the slime.
"A pitiful creature without bones..."
To Codic, who valued bones above all, the slime was a tragic sight—forcing its body to hold shape without skeletal support. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Tsk tsk."
Slimes were monsters whose grades varied wildly by type, mostly 8th class or lower. They were the go-to practice foes for novice knights.
The slime bounced toward Mia.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud...!
The oddly addictive sound. Its movements alone seemed utterly harmless.
Mia gawked in awe.
"Wow, it looks like pudding. I wonder if it tastes good?"
Her innocent childlike gaze held no fear of the monster.
But unlike her, Bin hurriedly stepped in front of the slime.
Crunch!
He caught sight of the slime casually opening its mouth.
"Ah."
The slime's fist-sized maw stretched wider and wider, soon large enough to swallow a grown man whole.
Bin swiftly drew the thick greatsword from his back.
Shing.
Much faster than before.
'Light. Still benefiting from the Blood Lake?'
It felt similar to the weight of his old Bow Sword or Shabest. Though as tall as he was, his stance felt far more natural now. One might doubt if a 4th class knight could wield a superior-grade weapon so effortlessly.
Bin fixed his gaze on the slime—then swung the greatsword at its body.
Swoosh—!
Splat!
A sound like a water balloon bursting. The slime's body split into several pieces, scattering like chunks of jelly across the ground.
Ront nodded as if it were expected.
"Well, a mere slime. No need for me to step in."
But contrary to Ront's thoughts, Bin frowned.
'The blade didn't even connect.'
They say bad omens never lie.
The four jelly chunks on the ground writhed... then merged back into one form.
Squish squish.
Everyone gasped at the slime's new appearance.
"......!!"
Codic spoke first.
"M-My liege?!"
It was a perfect imitation of Bin—facial features, black uniform, even clutching a massive greatsword.
Mia blinked wide-eyed at the two identical "Bins."
"Two scary big brothers?!"
Even to the naked eye, distinguishing Bin from the slime was nearly impossible. Only their prior positions gave it away.
Bin stared in bewilderment at the surreal scene.
"What the hell is this...?"
It felt like standing before a mirror.
The Bin-slime seized the moment of hesitation, swinging its greatsword at the real Bin.
Swoosh—
The stance mirrored Bin's earlier one perfectly.
Bin raised his greatsword just in time to meet the incoming steel.
Clang!
The clash of greatswords rang out as the two pushed against each other.
Feeling the equal strength, Bin realized:
'This isn't a normal slime.'
A deadlock ensued—not an inch yielded between a mere slime and Bin, a 4th class knight.
They circled clockwise around their locked blades, steel grinding.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ront grew flustered watching them. Their positions had swapped; even telling them apart was impossible now.
'Have I been underestimating slimes all this time?'
'How can a slime cross blades with the guy who took down Gangble...?'
But Bin soon began overpowering the slime.
Clang!
With a final clash, the slime flew back, crashing into a tree amid a cloud of dust.
Bin advanced to finish it.
Thud. Thud.
Meanwhile, Ront raised his staff—weighing whether to intervene.
'Surely the fallen one isn't him? Should I leave it be? But the world is unpredictable...'
As Ront watched intently, a mysterious voice rang in his ear.
"Hee-hee!"
A confident tone. Ront turned toward the source—empty air.
Then a green slime hurtled from above, lunging at Bin.
"I'll smash you flat!"
Clang!
Bin's greatsword met the green slime amid a deafening boom.
Grrrrrind—
The impact dragged Bin's feet back across the ground. Without the Blood Lake's lingering effect lightening the blade, he'd have been flung away.
Bin tilted his head at the newcomer.
'A slime...?'
This green slime had taken a humanoid form—muscular and solid, unlike the fallen one. And impressively bulky.
Ront panicked at the sight.
'It speaks... An intelligent slime?! One of the rare few said to exist on the continent...'
Slimes were among the weakest monsters. But this was no ordinary one—blocking a superior-grade weapon barehanded.
Even if Bin hadn't mastered Luminare yet, that was no mean feat.
All eyes on it, the green slime paid no mind.
"Well, now."
It shook its head and approached the fallen slime by the tree, hoisting it effortlessly.
Then it swallowed the smaller slime in one gulp.
Gulp.
Its body swelled even larger. The merged giant green slime advanced on Bin.
Thud. Thud.
Seeing it, Bin paused in thought. A certain family from his past life came to mind.
'The Taia family.'
As Bin recalled his pre-regression memories, the green slime crouched then flexed, bulging its upper body unevenly.
"Lost in awe at my taut, muscular build! Haha!"
Bin looked up at the towering green slime—big enough to snap his neck.
The size difference was staggering.
Ront and Mia's eyes gleamed, and the slime flexed its arm to show off.
"I've been working out lately."
Its voice boomed with pride in its form.
Ront stared in disbelief.
"How can it block barehanded... a weapon forged by these hands...?"
Bin's expression soured slightly at Ront's words.
"......"
The slime was claiming a weapon painstakingly crafted by Ront as its own after a mere touch at the end. But Bin brushed it off. Whoever made Luminare, it was in his hands now.
The slime shrugged at their reactions.
"Haha, I'm no softie."
Slimes were dismissed as the weakest of monsters. Most looked down on them—which only made the slime revel in their special attention.
The green slime stopped shrugging and glared down at Bin.
"Shall we begin?"
It wanted to test Bin. Suspicious that he might be responsible for the countless slime corpses littering the Forest of Death.
A foe who could block its signature "slingshot launch." A worthy opponent like this couldn't be ruled out.
Bin had no intention of backing down either.
"If that's what you want."
He was intrigued by a slime that could parry a superior-grade weapon bare-bodied.
Bin sized it up.
'Around a 3rd grade monster, like a starfish?'
But its attack style was trickier than a mindless charging starfish.
The green slime cocked its head side to side and stepped closer.
Bin raised his greatsword with cold eyes.
The slime pulled one fist back behind its shoulder, ready to unleash.
But it hesitated.
Pause.
Normally, it'd charge right in. Yet Bin's greatsword gave it pause.
'High-grade—no, superior-grade weapon?!'
At a glance, it was no ordinary weapon. The green slime muttered inwardly.
'Not an easy opponent.'
......
The silence didn't last. The slime charged first—hesitation wasn't its style.
"Here I come!"
It thrust the fist pulled back over its shoulder at Bin.
Swoosh!
The massive fist closed in at blinding speed. The air-whipping roar prompted Bin to desperately raise his greatsword.
Creeeeak!
The friction echoed as blade met fist. Bin began sliding back under the immense pressure.
Soon, twin gouges like an "11" scarred the ground from his dragging feet.
Mia's eyes sparkled.
"The king jelly's strong! That fist is huge—like me-sized...!"
Ront couldn't hide his shock either.
'No ordinary foe. Even the one who felled Gangble is being pushed back...'
Retreating, Bin grimaced.
'It's gotten heavier...'
The Blood Lake's effect had worn off, adding the greatsword's full weight. Topped with the slime's fist—it was a double blow.
All he could do was hold it up against the fist's mass.
The slime mocked Bin's underwhelming defense.
"What, that's it? Go eat some more and come back!"
But Bin gritted his teeth, igniting his will.
"Too early to gloat!"
He swung the greatsword, batting the massive fist aside.
Ting!
The extended arm shook off—but the slime was airborne in an instant.
"I'll smash you flat!"
Gravity amplified its weight into terrifying velocity.
Swoosh!
Yet Bin smirked at it.
A countermeasure had flashed in his mind—Gangble's bleeding effect.
'Bleed it out and end this in one go.'
A liquid body leaking fluid couldn't stay intact, he figured.
Thump thump.
With a pulsing roar, Luminare began glowing red.